I am a mom living in New Hampshire with a family of six, and five cats.

This blog is intended to help the frugal family. I am a thrifty housewife and spend a large amount of my time in an effort to spend less money while still enjoying the things we love the most. Here I will share any wisdom I come across.

I love to cook and try new recipes all the time. I prefer cheap meals that are also healthy. My goal is to plan meals that are about $1 per person. Recipes may frequently involve chocolate.

I am always on the look out for tightwad ideas to help pinch those pennies. I like to find coupons and deals that match our lifestyle.

I am interested in reducing waste, repurposing and upcycling. We practice voluntary simplicity in many ways.

I will share some budget and money saving tips. This includes conscious spending, where you put more deliberation into purchases.

I like to find free fun for the family, kid crafts, and recipes for cooking with kids. We do have a resident one year old so some posts will involve babyhood.

I celebrate just about every holiday I can find, with a serious love of Christmas.

I may occasionally devolve into randomness, and post sparkly things, pretties, and neat things.

I am no tiger mom, I am a regular homemaker just doing the best I can.

I came to frugality the hard way. With few female role models growing up I had little example of how to manage money or a household. I was a happy housewife of a successful man, and did not manage the finances. My pretty little head whipped up processed foods and bought furniture on credit. An abrupt change in circumstances forced me to not only take over the finances for our household, but do it on next to nothing. A foreclosure and a short period of homelessness later I was learning how to scrape and scrimp and feed my family on a budget comparable to food stamps. Oodles of learning later, and painful trial and error, I am managing my house in a style somewhat like I think my grandmother did, only with a lot more internet research. I am now a much more capable person, and a conscientious consumer. Along the way I have learned that you are as content as you want to be and all you have to do is choose it.

Thanks,
Melissa, The More With Less Mom

[contentblock id=2]