-
The 72 Hour List – A Lesson in Delayed Gratification
About a year and a half ago, my husband and I were in a spending rut. We always bought just a little too much and always bought it whenever we wanted it. Go out for ice cream? Sure! New sweater? Sure! We didn’t have any idea what it was like to have to wait for anything. In today’s consumer culture, instant gratification is the name of the game. It’s a treat-yo-self lifestyle in a world that is constantly pummeled with advertisements that reinforce that we need the best and we need it now. Why would big companies do such a thing? Well, there is this thing called your hard earned…
-
Hello Brownlow’s Top 5 Blog Posts
Holy crow – This is my 100th published post on Hello Brownlow! I’ve come so far from my Pinterest fail worthy DIYs and hodge-podge recipes to writing about my passions. Our frugal minimalism journey has become what I am passionate about. Living as a minimalist, and a frugal one at that, allows us to live a stress-free life. I’ve rounded up my top five posts of all time. What’s on deck? Loads of minimalism and saving money! It’s great to see the difference in results on my blog from my lack luster posts to the ones where I write with passion. Do I make money from my blog yet? Not…
-
How to Shop Secondhand Like a Frugal Minimalist
There are many fantastic bargains to be found at the thrift stores this time of year. It makes the frugal heart happy. The post-Christmas purge has been done by many households, Marie Kondo has taken over Netflix, and spring cleaning is just around the corner. With the plethora of amazing frugal scores at thrift and secondhand stores, how do you not go overboard? How do you go about secondhand shopping like a frugal minimalist? Have in mind what you are looking for. Thrifting and secondhand shopping in general is always an adventure: you never know what you will find. That is what makes shopping this way exciting. The “unknown” part…
-
The Best Two Reasons To Ditch Cable
In the late months of 2018, D and I thought about getting rid of our TV. That sounds crazy, right? Let’s toss the TV out the ol’ window shall we? Alas, it wasn’t that dramatic. It was a moment when we realized we would rather be outside than watching a screen for 24-75 minutes at a time. This is coming from a couple where Netflix was life during my first few months postpartum and during my I’m-too-nauseous-to-do-anything-because-I’m-really-pregnant days. Binge watching everything we could from Series of Unfortunate Events, to The Great British Baking Show, to Lost in Space (one of my favorites). We consumed TV for hours at a time. With Little Guy, my blog, seeing family, and traveling…
-
How We Drastically Reduced Our Expenses to Live on One Income
Happy Tuesday everyone! Last month I wrote a guest post for a fellow blogging friend at My Way of Viewing. I posted it on my Facebook page but I’m not sure all of my new followers have seen it! In 2018, D and I decided it would be most advantageous for me to stay home with Little Guy while he continued to work full time. It took a lot of thought and preparation to do this. I made a list of how we reduce expenses so that I can stay home full time. I hope you enjoy it! Cut the Cable We cut the cable cord before it was cool…
-
Planning for the Worst: Job Loss & Financial Security
What would happen if you lost your job tomorrow? Would you panic because you have nothing reserved in your bank accounts? Or would you stress a little and then relax because you’ve thought about this? In light of the recent government shutdown in the US that is creeping to the one month mark, it has us thinking about our financial security.Thousands of federal employees are not getting a paycheck and more are working… but not getting paid. D and I were at risk a few and almost lost our jobs. Working for the same company has its benefits and drawbacks. Both of the locations we worked at were on the…
-
Why I Constantly Declutter & Why It Needs to Stop
I’m not gonna lie. Y’all, we had another coming to Jesus moment with our stuff. Why? Because there is too much. If you remember, in 2017 we decluttered and got rid of a TON of stuff. Like, fill an U-Haul ton of stuff. I thought, wow this is great! We’ll never have to do this again! WRONG. It’s as if we hadn’t been working on our minimalist and frugal lifestyle for over a year. We still have junk. We still have cluttered drawers. So what gives? Why do we have so much stuff and what can we do to minimize the incoming flow of things? Why is there so much stuff? Like so many people, I constantly feel like I…
-
18 Things We Won’t Buy in 2019
Our quest to be less of a consumer has been motivated by our minimalist journey and our frugal tendencies. D and I have curated a list of things that we no longer wish to purchase or be a part of. And we have good reasons too.
-
What Good Financial Habits You Learn from Being in Debt?
Being in debt is perhaps the best way of breaking bad financial habits. When you’re in debt, you realize what led you to this. However, you should follow good financial habits even after being debt free.
-
The Frugal Guide to Entertaining on a Budget
Can you believe it is the end of 2018?! What a year it has been! With the creeping approach of Christmas and New Years, friends and family gather more frequently for quality time together. All of this holiday entertaining can make quite an impact on your budget. What if it didn't have to? What if you were able to spend less than $25 on an amazing evening together with friends and family?
Save. Live. Be Minimal.
