by Julie Wian

Created on: February 10, 2010   Last Updated: February 11, 2010

Many people are going to write about conserving energy by turning off lights when you are not using them, saving change in a cup for a rainy day or cutting out coupons from the Sunday paper.  It’s not that those suggestions are bad or invalid.  However, this is a story of woman who was pretty well off then suddenly plummeted into a lower income bracket learning that you can live an equally satisfying life on less by making a few adjustments in her thinking as well as her shopping habits.  If you are stressed out because you can no longer afford to or no longer want to buy things on a whim, or if you are questioning where large chunks of your paycheck seems to disappear each week and wondering if you could do better, this is the article for you.

After being laid off from a high paying job I was forced to buckle down and trim the fat from my day to day expenses including omitting many of the “wants” and focusing on the “needs”.  As a result I came up with some creative ways to save money while at the same time realizing the ugly truth that perhaps I had too much stuff to begin with and was guilty of wasting money on trivial, inconsequential things.  This is a hard lesson for many people to learn in our consumer driven culture but I can honestly say it was a lesson worth learning and I would like to share some of my insights with you.

Has becoming a Frugal Fannie compromised my quality of life?  Not at all, in fact it’s been enriched in many ways as I’ve acquired an almost compulsory addiction to seeking out ways to save money, keep face and have fun.  Many people who experience drastic changes in their finances due to illness or job loss will go through a period of mourning their loss of income including having a serious chat with their ego to help him or her adjust to the reality of the situation:  it is what it is and nothing stays the same forever.  So lighten up, you are not alone.  Yes, you can live well on less and I’m going to show you how. 

Goodwill Hunting (Shopping Thrift Stores).  I live in a city where recycling and reusing is a cultural norm and shopping at thrift stores is considered trendy, so Goodwill stores are quite abundant.  Many, many items including brand new designer clothes still bearing their original price tags are just one of the gems you might find in a GW store.  Some new items are corporate donations that come from

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