Totally :) And they got through it without cell phones or the internet too – imagine that!!

My pleasure :)

Thanks for posting this, J!

Fascinating!!

I am part of a no spend group on Facebook and if I ever feel like a I need a boost, I get on and read/participate. I feel like I can do better too. I’m going to see how much better I can do in 2020! My oldest daughter manages our yearly secret Santa name picking by some app she found. We have a $50 limit. We even have the three granddaughters do the same, even though two of the are sisters!

I started listening to The Year of Less by Cate Flanders yesterday. Her story is very interesting. I encourage you to read or listen (I buy super cheap audio books from Chirp.com). I’m sure I will finish it today. Start with one or two things. Good luck!

I was raised by a very frugal mother. We had to practically force her to buy a new bed when she was in her 70s. On a teacher’s salary, in 7 years after she and my father split up, she saved and paid off her home. At 90 she has enough money to live in a nice assisted living facility near my home (that I used to run until my retirement). I think my spending was trying to make my children’s life better than mine as a child. I didn’t have enough socks and by the ages of 2 and 4, both my older daughters had about 30 pairs of socks. I figured that out! I still love socks but I can walk in a store without buying any now!

We had two young teenage boys trick or treat and ask for canned food for some food drive. We have always had a full pantry so I got a grocery bag and filled it up. His eyes got wide when he saw the bag. I love being able to do that and wish I could do more, but stupid spending in our earlier years prevents that now. We do donate to St. Jude’s every month. Also we have a very wealthy friend from high school, who responded to me on Facebook, after I said something about getting my husband in a costume, saying he would pay money to see that. I said how much? I got DH to put on the Santa Costume I bought after Christmas last year for 75% off, we took a picture, posted on Facebook tagging friend that sending a check directly to St. Jude’s would be fine. A week later we got a card from St. Jude’s saying a donation was made in DH’s name. We were so happy!

I feel like if I save one person from our stupidity it is worth it! Now it’s just kind of a hobby! The goal is $14,000 a year to our IRAs!!