I spent all day thinking about this. How to live the "simple" life. There's nothing wrong with the simple life. We all get so caught up in being able to afford the most expensive toys that we forget to enjoy the toys. By the time we remember, it's too late. I came up with some tips to share on how to simplify our lives and save some money in the meantime. I always said my husband should have been an adult in the 1950s. He's so old fashioned. Doesn't think his wife should work, women shouldn't swear, and I should never contemplate getting a tattoo. I guess my point to that statement is that he thinks that back then, life was much more simple. I agree with him.

Remember when I said I needed to cut out the premium channels in my cable package to save some money? I thought about this all day and realized that I need to cancel my cable package altogether. Just call up and tell them "No, thank you." I'm going to invest in some board games for me and the kids. Too many Americans spend too much time in front of the tv. I rarely watch television and the kids could do without it. Just say goodbye to it and don't look back. Don't panic, you'll still have basic cable if you have a cable ready tv, but you won't have to go crazy with a $190 a month bill for channels you never watch. Invest in a VCR or DVD player and sign up for Netflix. I was spending $2.99 to rent movies from Comcast's On Demand service. At Netflix, movies are $1 each and they deliver them to your home with no shipping charges. That's a 200% savings right there.

Which brings me to family vacations. The last family vacation I went on is a blur. 3 or 4 days in Maine which was such a nightmare I think my subconscious has blocked out, to spare me more pain. The kids were 2 and 3, Maine broke a record that week for rainfall, and we stayed in our log cabin (pictured) in a town in the middle of nowhere. The closest hospital was 60 miles away. I'm from just north of Boston..NOTHING is 60 miles away. Buying that log cabin was not one of my smarter purchases. Either way, sometimes we don't truly "see" what is right in front of us. I was born in the first city in the United States to use water power. Lived here all of my life. Last year was the first time I ever took one of the free tours they offer. We took a boat down the Merrimack River, walked around inside of mills that are hundreds of years old, rode the trolley, and truly experienced history. The tours are offered by the National Park Service and are free of charge! Sometimes we don't see the beauty and history that's right under our noses. Check with the Travel and Tourism department in your state and see what hidden gems it has to offer. I just read that in Dillsburg, PA on New Year's Eve, instead of dropping a ball, they drop a huge dill pickle. I'd drive to see that. I don't need a plane ticket or a rental car or a limo to the airport if I'm staying in relatively close proximity to my home. All I need is my car and a hotel room. Huge savings. We all dream of these really exotic vacations..we daydream about Paris and Italy and Rome and Switzerland and the Caribbean and Aruba. What we don't daydream about is Mass and NH and ME and VT and NY. Which is a shame..because there's just so much here to see and do.

Family entertainment is no longer cheap..unless you're doing it right! I am a huge Red Sox fan (don't hate me, now). To take my small family of 4 to a game it would cost me about $300 between tickets, parking, food and souvenirs. Instead, look for things to do with your kids that are free or discounted. Boston Children's Museum is just an amazing place to take your kids. The regular price is $10 for adults and $8 for kids. It would cost me $36 for admission for us to take the kids there. On Friday nights I found out that it is $1 admission for everyone after 5pm. Now, we go on Friday nights. Nothing is different, you don't miss out on things because it's Friday night, you just save a lot of money. On Thursdays at the local library they have story hour. The kids love it and it's free. We have a Quilt Museum that has shows and exhibits and it is all free of charge. You just need to do a little bit of research on what you have near to you that you'd enjoy exploring. How about some bowling? I signed up with Brunswick Bowling for their newsletter and they send me some great coupons. Free bowling for an hour, highly discounted lane rates, etc. It's so funny to watch my kids learning to bowl. Don't forget library hour, either. Every Thursday at noon our local library has story time and cookie time. The kids all gather around while someone reads them a story and then they socialize and have cookies and punch. It's free. Doesn't cost anything and it's so great to see your kids interacting with other kids. Instead of an expensive meal at a restaurant with your kids, how about planning a picnic? My kids adore that. We have a lot of fun packing our picnic basket with foods we all love and finding a great spot to sit and eat. Sometimes, it's as simple as sitting on the big rock in our backyard. We lay our blanket out, unwrap our food and have a fun lunch. We don't disturb other patrons (a big no-no) and they learn how to help make their own lunch. Doing fun things doesn't have to cost anything. You can take half a loaf of bread (cost of about .50 cents) and go to your local pond or lake and feed the ducks. Saving money isn't about sitting in your home with the lights and heat off while you remember the "good ole days" of when you spent a quarter on a bag of chips. Being frugal just means being aware of where your money is going and how well you are spending it!

One quick tip on how to save on your electricity bill is laundry. Probably the chore I dread the most. I do love the smell of clothes that were hung out to dry. When we moved into our new house a couple of years ago, our "old" washer and dryer didn't have the newly required 5 prong plug. Instead of having my brother put a new plug on, my husband surprised me (Oh yes, yes he did) with a new front loading washer and dryer. I want to get as much mileage out of this as I can since he doesn't shop on sale and I almost fainted when I saw the price. So, during the spring and summer months I hang most of our clothes out to dry on a clothesline. Some of my best memories are helping my Nana hang out her clothes on the line with the basket and the clothespins. No one in my neighborhood hangs their clothes out..lol. I always make a remark like "Oh look honey, it's that nice young Boure couple hanging out their clothes. How passe." I save money on my electricity bill, it doesn't heat up my house in the summer making the a/c work harder and I'll get more life out of my dryer.

Thanks for all of the support and great comments you all leave! They are truly appreciated. Until next time....Happy Saving!

Happy 2008 to all of my Frugal Living followers. As I sit back and reflect upon my life this year, I find myself pondering how to simplify my life...not even so much for money, though it doesn't hurt, but for peace of mind. I find that I work and work and work so I can earn and earn and earn...but why? So I can have THE prettiest funeral because I didn't stop to enjoy what I'd earned? Well, anyone who knows me knows that I am a person who is determined to enjoy my life to the fullest. Oh, there will be the regrets one day of "I wish I had...or I really SHOULD have.." but well, that's because I'm a coward and as much as I want to try sky diving, I want to try crashing even less. I was thinking of ways to simplify my life and in the course of doing that, how could I save money? Here is what I came up with...

Cable television. I have one of those bundle packages where I get the phone,  internet and cable tv for one price. That price was SUPPOSED to be $99 a month for life. Typically, it was $99 for about 3 minutes and then it jumped to around $197.00 a month. I mean, come on, I'm paying that much for tv? So, I took out the bill and started to go through it. I was furious. They're charging me over $25 a month just for "rental" fees of their boxes. Oh, I don't THINK so. So, I pack up the 2 boxes we had and the 2 remotes and return them. Then I start looking at the "premium" services I'm paying for. I'm paying for movie channels that not only do I not watch, I don't even know who signed up for them. I rarely have time to watch a movie and if I have that much free time, I prefer to read a good book. So, cancel all of these lame channels that no one ever watches (except for Nickelodeon and Playhouse Disney, can't have a mutiny), and all of a sudden my bill is almost $90 a month cheaper. Basic cable costs pretty much nothing. Invest in a DVD recorder or even a VCR at Wal-Mart for around $25, and you've got a really decent yearly savings. Close to $1000 a year.

It's no secret that gas prices are astronomical. If you live in an area that has public transportation, invest in a monthly bus pass. I found out that for my personal car I was spending around $500 a month for gas. That's just ridiculous considering that I don't go far. I called the local MBTA and found out that a bus pass is $34 a month and there's no charge for kids under 5. So, if I bought 2 bus passes for me and the 2 kids, it's $68 a month for transportation costs. The kids get to ride the bus (a treat for them) and I am saving not only the wear and tear on my car, but $432 a month on gas. So, I figured that the savings for the year is $5184. That's a decent chunk of change to put in your piggy bank for a rainy day. If you don't live in an area that has reliable (that's very important when you have small kids) public transportation, how about buying some bicycles? Not only is it great exercise but it's a great way to spend some time with your family.

Have you heard about Freecycle.org? Freecycle is a group in your community that is dedicated to keeping unnecessary trash out of our landfills. We offer items that are in perfectly good condition, at no charge, so that we can also help our environment. Freecycle is a great way to save money. I have given away all of my kids' baby clothes, toys, computers, etc. In return, I have also gotten a television, some dress up clothes for my little girl and a laptop computer for my son. Freecycle is such a great organization where I live. You can save hundreds of dollars on items you'd buy just by posting a note to your local group that you are looking for something. When my Dad passed away unexpectedly we were left with so much of his stuff. We gave away his 2 wheelchairs, crutches, clothing with tags, etc. We saved someone a LOT of money...and that's what it's all about.

There is nothing I like more (other than chocolate) on a breezy summer morning than to get up, grab the newspaper, and see where the yard sales are. You can find some of the coolest stuff at yard sales for pennies. Some people don't like "used" items but I don't care. If I can clean it up and get some use out of it and save some money, then it's been a successful day. I can pay $25 for a new book at a large chain store or I can get up at 7am on a Sunday morning, armed with a purse full of dollar bills, and buy tons of books for a quarter a piece. I can also buy pictures for the walls, a sugar bowl to replace the one I dropped, and still not spend $5.

Phone service. Ok, I admit, I'm a sucker for a phone with a lot of buttons. I keep changing my cell plan. At this rate, I will have to live to be 112 years old to fulfill the terms of my contract..lol. Ever since phone companies were deregulated they're offering you everything but to come over and do the dialing for you. You could check around and compare pricing plans. I changed over from one company ::coughverizoncough:: to a different company and instead of $350 a month I am paying $138 a month. Sounds high but I have a LOT of lines here. Or, compare your monthly cell bill with your monthly land line bill and see which one has the better deal. Usually it's the cell..then consider just dumping your land line altogether.

Well, if I gave you all of my tips today you wouldn't come back, I'd miss you, there'd be no reason for me to be here, and I'd be sad...so, I'm going to hold onto some more of my tips until next time. Living a simple life isn't a bad thing. It's...simple. Until next time..Happy Saving!