by Ashley
I’ve been an avid blog-reader for years. I have lots of different “genres” that I enjoy reading about (e.g., personal finance, healthy living, mommy blogs, etc etc etc).
But I want to share my…
Top 5 Favorite Debt-Repayment/Frugal-Living Blogs
5. Zero Waste Home. Technically not a finance/frugal blog, the purpose of this blog is to document a family who lives a life with no waste (they don’t have trash cans or anything!) I love the message of making do with less and the ideas for recycling (or “upcycling”) items. She has some cool tips about clothing (which she purchases all second-hand) and how she can wear a single outfit a TON of different ways so she can have fewer total wardrobe items. The website is a little bulky and I don’t like how there’s no “search” box (I wanted to link to a favorite post and I couldn’t find it!), and I’m more of an intermittent rather than daily reader, but still think its a great and inspirational resource for thriving with a more simplistic lifestyle.
4. Blissful and Domestic. A stay-at-home Mom’s homemade-cooking and frugal-living tips.This is another one I don’t check daily, but love to browse the archives. My favorites are the menu plans (and her ideas about how to plan rollover meals and grocery shop for a month at a time), homemade recipes, and thrifty living posts. It’s incredibly encouraging. This family of four lives on $14,000 per year and have no debt at all (owning their vehicles and home outright)! If they can do it, anyone can do it, right?
3. Blogging Away Debt. Okay, okay, I had to give BAD a shout-out. But for real, I have loved this blog for a long time (been a reader since the days of Beks) and really enjoy being able to read and follow along with the other bloggers’ journeys, too! It’s so motivating to be a part of this community! A big shout-out to YOU (the collective readers) because I have already learned a TON from you guys in the comments! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Keep the comments coming!
2. No More Harvard Debt. He’s actually well beyond his debt-reduction journey at this point, but its fun to read the archives of his story (this is how I did it). I love hearing about the great lengths he went to in order to make some extra money (pedi-cab driver! landscaper! taking on 2 roommates!), and the sacrifices he made along the way (selling his vehicles! foregoing friends’ weddings! staying home – alone – instead of traveling for Christmas!) He really went all-in and I admire his enthusiasm (and his financial transparency).
1. The Fun Cheap or Free Queen. Another stay-at-home Mom who blogs about frugality. She’s got some great budgeting tips, and is really encouraging. Her tagline is “where frugal gets a facelift.” She’s got a bubbly, contagious personality (she does lots of video how-to’s and live streaming Q&As) and talks about how you can live frugally and within a strict budget, and yet not feel deprived! I don’t know about you, but it feels more sustainable to live a super-frugal lifestyle long-term if you find ways to still sneak indulgences by fitting them into your budget! This is the only one of my top 5 (other than BAD) that I read almost daily. Love!
I have lots of other personal finance blogs I enjoy too (Mr. Money Mustache, The Simple Dollar, Money Saving Mom, Saving Money in Your 20s, and Frugal Beautiful, to name a few). It’s hard to narrow it down to only 5 and I wanted to give a good mix of smaller/less-well-known blogs and larger ones, from the areas of debt-repayment and frugal living so hopefully everyone was able to find one or two new-to-them blogs that you can enjoy in addition to your daily BAD fix.
What about you? What are your favorite debt-repayment/personal finance/frugal living blogs? Anything fantastic I need to check out?
Hi, I’m Ashley! Arizonan on paper, Texan at heart. Lover of running, blogging, and all things cheeeeese. Freshly 40, married mother of two, working in academia. Trying to finally (finally!) pay off that ridiculous 6-digit student loan debt!
I read Three Thrifty Guys (www.threethriftyguys.com) regularly. I enjoy their reviews of lower cost alternatives to cell phones, etc such as ooma Premier, Wal-Mart’s family mobile, and Ting Mobile. I also used to read Punch Debt in the Face (www.punchdebtintheface.com) but haven’t been on there as often lately. I also read most of the blogs you mentioned, but have a few to check out. Thanks for sharing!
The Frugal Girl is one I read daily, along with BAD
http://www.thefrugalgirl.com
I’m not affiliated, just like her writing style and her thoughts on frugality.
I’m addicted to Ana-White.com.
She is a homemaker in Alaska that got sick and tired of not being able to find good furniture where she lives without paying an arm and a leg for it. WIth zero skills, she taught herself woodworking and she gives you all of her plans for FREE! With very low investment – less than $500 plus building materials – I’ve been able to make amazing furniture (I had shop in 8th grade more than TWENTY TWO YEARS AGO) that would have cost $$$ had I bought it at the store!
Here’s the queen sized farmhouse bed I made at Christmas time. – http://ana-white.com/2014/01/combo-farmhouse-bed-farmhouse-storage-bed
I really enjoy http://theprudenthomemakerblog.blogspot.ca/
She has a series on how she feeds her family on 40 cents [per person] per day, which has some fabulous cost effective cooking practices and meal ideas.
She also once a week discusses her frugal accomplishments from the week before. Between her offerings and her readers in the comment section, it truly provides thoughts on additional ways to save money and makes frugal practices the “norm” rather than the exception.
I like the Passionate Homemaking blog-she’s a Christian woman who makes real food (lots of organic on a budget!) and most everything from scratch. She’s very frugal. She doesn’t blog anymore but there is a ton of stuff in the archives. You can check out her real food budget. She also embraces simple living.
I like Ana-White as well and No More Harvard Debt. I also love the inspirational stories on Dave Ramsey’s website. A Country Farmhouse blog is a favorite too. While not necessarily frugal, her country style is stunning. She is living in a rental house currently with her husband and twins however it’s worth looking at their former Oregon farmhouse that they redid. It was beautiful.
I like Ripe Red Berries (wordpress), although she does not post too often. This family of three lives in Maine in a charming home on about $25,000/year I believe. They do a lot of gardening and have created a gorgeous home (rental), using lots of second hand goods. She posts quite a few nutritious recipes. I too like the Prudent Homemaker. I may not agree with everything, but I really appreciate how she takes such efforts to create beauty for her family on a super strict budget. Also, her photos are lovely.