Lots to update this week…. But I wouldn’t call it the “frugal five,” considering this is warring for possibly one of our most expensive weeks ever. So here’s to hoping July starts off on a cheaper note, because phew July has gone out with a bang. Also – to note – this week is also a dumpster fire at the SCOTUS level – alllll the garbage decisions, plus the first anniversary of Dobbs. What a time to be alive. Friday’s (Un)Frugal Five 1. The husband’s truck has been having some issues reversing, and his tires were on their very last, aka probably should have been replaced months ago. He took it ..read more

Last week, we flew down to El Paso to visit our goddaughter and her family. Or, as our son calls them, his cousin, aunt, and uncle. Not all family is by blood, and they are some of ours. Thanks to COVID, we’d only gotten to see them for short snippets of time over the last few years, so it was so good to spend a full five days together. Their daughter is fifteen months older than our kiddo, and they get along extremely well, even though they haven’t gotten a ton of time together since they moved almost four years ago. (Yep, like our Italian friends, they also moved a bit before COVID, and all ..read more

These last ~4 months have been long. Mostly a good long, but long nonetheless. As I’d mentioned before, I ended up getting very involved in the state legislation session this year in regards to housing policy. But it was absolutely worth it, and one bill we helped write got passed, which felt incredible. I also got invited to the bill signings for the Covenant Homeownership Account bill (aka Black homeownership) and well as the Middle Housing (<= scroll to the last photo and see if you can find me; being short can have its perks) signing that happened with a number of other housing bills. I ..read more

I’m finally starting to come out of my work overwhelm of the past few months, so I’m back with a Friday update! As many of you know, my day job is all about (sustainable) affordable housing. These past few years we’ve gotten involved in state level policy, and this year we went allll in. Which has been awesome and rewarding as we see housing bills pass this year, but also exhausting. The hours have been long and all over the place, and I have a new appreciation for our elected officials who put in allll the hours during session to make things happen. Even as just outside support, I am so ready ..read more

It is SIXTY degrees and sunny today!! Hello spring and warmth. I have seriously missed you. My weekend is going to be spent outside – what about you all? Gardening, biking, walking the doggo. All the outside things, thankyouverymuch. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info. Friday’s Frugal Five 1. Since the kiddo’s school changed locations, a bit farther away from work and home, we’ve been settling in to carpooling with another family. Now that we’ve been at it for a few weeks, things seems to be sorting themselves out. The cost and time savings of carpo ..read more

Welcome to March! And slightly longer days. Sunset is now almost 6pm, which is glorious. Finishing work days before it’s completely dark is just lovely. For those of you who don’t live at latitudes closer to the poles, the difference between 4pm and 6pm sunsets is everything. I’ll handle the cold, wet days just fine, but the dark is hard. PS if you thought it was time for me to stop tracking these weeks in COVID time… Our roommate just tested positive this week for the very first time. Keep your fingers crossed for us that we’ve had it recently enough to not get it from him (plus masking and i ..read more

Since I’ve skipped the last couple of Fridays, I’m writing to you as the parent of a now eight year old! Which means we’re halfway to sixteen (if he even ends up driving at that age – maybe we’ll get him an electric bike instead). So far, I don’t have any “bittersweet” feelings about him getting older, just sweet ones. I wasn’t in love with the baby phase, so seeing him grow into his own person is one of my favorite things. If you’re a parent and not a baby person, know you aren’t alone feeling simply joy as your kid gets older. There are more of us that feel that way than you realize, I promi ..read more

Phew. I made it in the first week of February at least. The first five weeks of the year is still reasonable for a book recap of the previous year, right? I do really enjoy being able to look back at the books I’ve read over previous years, especially when I’m looking for an easy re-read. I’m always looking for new books to read, so please share your favorites with me! Bonus points if they’re written by BIPOC, women, or nonbinary authors, have LGBT main characters, or are simply can’t-put-it-down good. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info. 1 ..read more

We are thiiiiiis close to being back to 5pm sunsets (4:51pm tonight). While I don’t mind the rain so much, I do mind the short days during the winter, especially when I’m having a busy time at work and don’t get done until after it’s dark most days. If you’re in the northern part of the northern hemisphere like me, know that the longer days are just around the corner. I don’t need light until 10pm like midsummer, but I sure can’t wait for post 5pm sunsets. Even in the rain and the cold, the days don’t seem so bad when you can at least see them. Friday’s Frugal Five 1. Speaking of long work day ..read more

We’ve made it to 2023. Will this be a better year? No matter what, it means that I’ve now been blogging at this little space for seven different calendar years (2017 to today). When I started TLRE, I didn’t realize how much it would change my life. But through the relationships I’ve made by being more visible online and the entire business and community that is Women’s Personal Finance, that decision back in mid-2017 to start blogging about money has literally changed my life. And yet, the money piece isn’t even the most important part of it. Friday’s Frugal Five 1. We generally spend New Year ..read more