In November 2006 we made an important and necessary decision that would allow us to move on with our lives. Our income dropped but the bills were still there. We had to use credit cards to cover bills and groceries for several months. And now we stand here, thousands of dollars in debt and when I read some PF blogs, I feel envious and guilty that I'm not as frugal as they are, or have been over the years. For… Read the rest

I was a stay at home mom, living on welfare and food stamps for the next five years. I was very frugal during that time. Once again I went without a car for three years because mine broke down and I couldn't afford to fix it without credit cards. I had accrued most of my $6000 credit card debt fixing the car we'd had, so when the engine failed, that was that. We spent four years living even more frugally… Read the rest

I managed to extricate myself from the “foster family” at the age of 21.  Basically I went to work one morning, the day before Thanksgiving, and never returned. After living with my boss and his wife for a couple of months, I moved into a trailer park that was the least expensive I could find. I was very frugal. I spent hardly any money on extraneous items. I was very tight with my money. I donated to my church, I… Read the rest

When I was sixteen, I was sent to live with another family. Within 6 months they found a job for me and I was expected to give my entire paycheck. I wanted to help, so I did it with little resentment. One day I tried to keep back five dollars and was promptly punished – emotionally – which taught me to never try that again. The punishment was this: when the mother discovered I'd kept out a few dollars, she… Read the rest