Am I Really The Frugal Type?

Well, I drive a Volvo ~ yes, it's new. But there is a reason for that. Do I clip coupons? Yes, but happily I've learned to only clip the coupons I need, rather than the ones that look good.

I am not your typical "frugaller" ~ or what I think is a "Frugal Liver". Heck, my idea of frugal may be totally different than yours, but for me I am working on it. I don't want to live in a cabin in the woods with no electricity. I don't want to make my own shampoo ~ I've searched too long to find a nice shampoo that works for me. I can ignore every single commercial or ad for shampoo because, yes, I have found my shampoo bliss too!

I started this site for various reasons. First because I have always found it easier to save the links I want on my personal web site ~ it's much easier than bookmarking every cool site I see. So I just have to go to my home page where I keep my links categorized by how I use them. One day I realized that I had so many links that I needed to (a) share them and (b) organize them a little better. Second, I have spent a long time searching for my bliss. As silly as they may sound, I know I'm not the only one out there. Strangely enough I was pretty much ignoring my bliss as it sat in front of me ~ I was blinded by a bad job and strange expectations. Rather than let it get me down I decided to feed it. So I took what makes me happy and turned it into something useful.

So, the result is what I call "My Bliss Series" ~ whatever strikes my fancy I feed the bliss. For my cooking fancy I have ChefBliss.com, and because baking is another love (yes, it is different from cooking ~ for me at least!) I have BakingBliss.com, and so on. The links to all my Blisses are at the bottom on each site. I have built them so they can be resources for everyone.

So how did the financial part come about? After years of living well beyond my means I sat down and worked out a budget....and it was not pretty! So I made spreadsheet after spreadsheet (again, it's that accumulation of information that I LOVE!). Documenting my income, my expenses and everything in between. Then I had to work out where I would make cuts, adjustments and what I would treat myself to. My goal was to save more for my retirement (so I wasn't working until I am 80!!!), not spend $$ where I don't need to, and still be able to enjoy life and my monthly pedicure (OK, so now it's bi-monthly. See, I saved 50% on that one and she does such a great job and I get a light polish so it lasts for TWO MONTHS!). Hey even this web site is frugal ~ free web hosting at netfirms.com is an awesome way to go, and if you really have to get rid of the banners it's still EXTREMELY affordable and I have loved them for years. I have both banner and banner-less sites with netfirms.com and they are great! Plus I've got one of the greatest web registration prices around!

I also had to take a good long look at my kitchen. Don't we all have cupboards and pantries full of "stuff"? As I was working on my budget I really took stock of my accumulated wealth of canned goods and my well stocked freezer! So as part of my new budget I made some changes in my grocery shopping. First I drew up a creative shopping list and then I vowed to only buy fresh products ~ dairy, produce, breads and meat ~ and groceries I really needed but didn't have (the starting goal, realistic or not, was to never have to buy more than 50% of any ingredients needed for cooking). Everything else had to come from my freezer or my cupboards. More on this later! Check the Blog for updates on this one!

So the real purpose of this site is to share my findings. But I am also using myself as the guinea pig for own Frugal experiment. As I learn so will you and I look forward to sharing!!

Until next time! ~Kiezie, the FinanceBliss.com webmaster & guinea pig!