For the lucky few who have extra leisure time this summer, I thought I’d put together some suggestions for productive and fun activities that will help enhance your personal, academic and/or professional life. Some of these suggestions are addressed as if to young people (students, adolescents, etc.) but can also apply to grown-ups.

My suggestions are divided into the following subsections:

• Summer Hobbies - activities with lasting benefits and meaning
  
• Summer Studies - develop skills that will be useful in life
  
• Summer To-Do’s - a few ways to get your life or home in order
  
• Summer Fitness - ways to keep cool and stay fit
  
• Summer Pet Bonding - make your pet happy and you healthy

Summer Hobbies

Here are some ideas for catching up on tasks that may have been neglected during the year.

• Write in your journal
  Write about your past year, what’s on your mind, who and what you like and dislike, your daydreams, anything. In future years you will be glad you did it and also amused by your younger self. You think you will always remember what happened when, but as time goes by, memories do fade and become forgotten. (Trust me, I’m speaking from experience and I’m not yet 30 and have a memory better than most.)
• Make a family video
  Go around the house and take a video of your family going about its regular business. You will be glad for the memories one day.
• Scrapbook
  Organize family photos, report cards, birthday cards, artwork, concert programs and other keepsakes from the past year into a scrapbook.
• Reading
  Reading (even fun fiction) can help improve your mind, vocabulary, grammar and writing skills. If you go to the library, you can read in an air-conditioned environment without having to pay for the air-conditioning or the books.

Summer Studies

Yes, summer should be fun, but there’s no reason it can’t be both fun and productive.

• Learn a new language
  The benefits of learning languages are endless. Learning a new language can help you to:
  • Get ahead in your career
  • Make new friends from different parts of the world. When you show an interest in someone’s language or culture, they are often appreciative and take an interest in you in return.
  • Improve your English (or first language)
• Learn to play a musical instrument
  Music enhances the mind in many ways. Studies have shown that children who study music at an early age do better in school than those who don’t. Aside from that, it is also just plain fun.
• Learn to sew
  Sewing is a very useful skill to have regardless of your gender. You can learn to mend clothes, make your own clothes and other things for your house, which can save you a lot of money. Older and more skilled children can even make their own clothes for the coming school year. Check out one of our earlier articles for more info: Save Money by Sewing Your Own Clothes.
• Take a computer class
  Learn to type properly, use a spreadsheet or database, design websites, make presentations, etc. Most jobs these days involve computer use, so knowing as much as you can about computers might help you get a higher salary.

Summer To-Do’s

A few suggestions for improving life at home and getting ahead on the coming year.

• Get a head start on your Christmas shopping
  This could save you time and money because you can shop at your leisure and take advantage of summer sales. Leaving your shopping to the last minute usually costs more because you are up against a deadline and usually have fewer options.
• Sort through your stuff
  Go through your clothes and things and prune out those you no longer want or need. You could donate the things you no longer need or hold a garage or yard sale and make some money to put into your college or retirement savings.
• Re-arrange your room or home
  Re-arranging your room or home can have a positive impact on your life. A change can be uplifting and produce an overall feeling of well-being and accomplishment, renew your energy and increase productivity.
• Clean out your computer
  Ideally you would do this several times a year, but if you use the internet and download a lot of things, it’s a good idea to clean out your computer on a regular basis. If there are programs you don’t use, uninstall them. If there are files that you no longer need, delete them. Clean your registry if you’ve had the computer for a while. Keeping your hard drive from getting too full will extend its life.

(more…)

Note: We are taking a short break from blogging this week and will be re-posting a few of our earlier articles that may not have been read by many of our current readers. If you have already read this article (and those few to come), we apologize for the repetition and assure you that we will have some new material for you soon. Thanks for reading!

Language Lesson ~ Frugality is a Virtue
(Re-Post: Original post date February 24, 2008)

In modern times where the spending of money is oftentimes equated with power and status, the word “frugal” or “frugality” seems to carry an almost negative connotation and be associated with stinginess or miserliness (if you look it up in a thesaurus). However, if we go back to the actual definition and etymology (origins) of the word, we see that frugality is really a positive trait and nothing to be at all ashamed of.

“Frugal” or “frugality” is defined as “characterized by or reflecting economy in the use of resources”, “prudence in avoiding waste”, and “prudently saving or sparing; not wasteful”.

(more…)

Reading is one of the most frugal hobbies in existence, and is something, in my opinion, that everyone should do. Not only is it entertaining, but it can be beneficial and educational in many ways. In fact, reading is (along with watching period films based on classic literature) Madoline’s and my favorite hobby, and when we’re not working we can often be found with a book in front of us, even while eating.

The virtues of reading (even light-hearted, entertaining fiction) are as follows:

• Subconsciously improves your knowledge of language, grammar and writing
• Acquisition of vocabulary through example in context
• Expands your horizons and knowledge of people and the world
• Teaches a sense of perspective and the ability to see more than one side of a situation
• Improves overall reading comprehension skills and better prepare you for life
  • Good reading and writing skills are essential for success in career and business
  • The ability to better read and understand contracts, terms and conditions (such as credit card terms) helps you to be a more conscientious consumer
  • Proper writing and spelling is a necessity if you want to be taken seriously whether it be in letters, on message boards, your own website or blog, etc.

So now that I’ve convinced you of the virtues of reading, here are some tips for reading on a budget (or No-Budget) and sources for affordable reading. While we try to borrow from the library as much as possible, we do sometimes purchase books.

A few reasons we purchase books are:

• Collecting
  Book collecting is just as rewarding a hobby as stamp or coin collecting. Some people collect for fun, and others for profit. We personally love books so much that we would rather keep old and rare books than sell them.
• Reading more than once
  We have favorite books and series that we often read more than once (sometimes once a year) and feel it worthwhile to purchase and collect them.
• Study and reference
  Madoline is currently studying in preparation for graduate school, so we often purchase reference and related materials that will be useful both now and later.
• Home library
  We live in a remote area without much to do and our local library can be rather lacking in some areas, so if there is a book we are sure of liking and re-reading, we sometimes purchase it. Also, if you live a frugal lifestyle and often opt to stay home instead of going out and spending money, it’s sometimes nice to have a handy library to pick from when in need of some entertainment or activity.

You don’t have to purchase new books to fill your collection or library. In fact, we often prefer to purchase used books just because they’re more comfortable to read. When we read a new book, we always feel the need to keep it pristine and hate seeing them get dinged or creased. But with used books, we don’t have that problem, and can read in total comfort (after wiping it over with rubbing alcohol). There are many sources for very affordable books, as low as 10-25 cents per book, which I will share below. I will start with the most preferred (frugal) sources and work my way down.

Continue on for a list of affordable reading resources. (more…)

It is not easy to be young, single and frugal these days when designer clothing and accessories, iPods and Blackberrys are king, and being cool and having fun is dependent on how much money you can spend. Frugal is not a word often associated with the first 2 traits - young and single - and frugality is something looked down upon as uncool, un-fun and downright unnatural.

So here are a few basic points and tips for the young and frugal. They may not help you climb the social ladder, but keeping them in mind and practicing them in whatever you do can keep you from falling off, and maybe help you to climb up, the financial ladder. And remember that basics are not just for beginners. They are taught first to beginners not because they are easy and therefore less important, but because they are the foundation upon which to build everything else.

Basics for the Young and Frugal

• Frugality is a Virtue
  This is not just another feel-good phrase to make you believe something that’s not true. The word frugal actually comes from the Latin word for “virtue” or “virtuous,” “valuable,” “worthy,” “deserving,” and many other good things. Check out my post Language Lesson ~ Frugality is a Virtue and see for yourself. You should not be ashamed of being frugal; in fact, you should be proud that you are thinking ahead and planning and saving for the future - be it a down payment on a house or car, your retirement, a family, etc.
• Frugality entails sacrifice
  You will have to give up some luxuries if you truly want to save money. This doesn’t mean you have to give up every single joy in your life, but you will have to cut back.
• There is nothing wrong with staying home
  A little extra time to yourself at home is good. You’re paying rent or mortgage on your home, why not actually use it for something other than sleeping?
• It is never too late to take up a new hobby
  If you’ve always wished you could play a musical instrument, speak another language, sew or knit your own clothes, the sooner you start, the less time you’ll have for regrets and “if only’s” later. Invest in a useful hobby that will benefit you in later life as a professional or a parent, and stay home and practice it. For example, when you are a mother with a handful of children and not enough time in the day, you will be glad that you already know how to sew and mend clothing rather than having to learn to sew at that time.
• True friends will respect your choices
  If your friends put you down for your frugal lifestyle, then it’s time to find some new friends. Friends who really care about you will not repeatedly ask you to make sacrifices to feed their need to spend money. You don’t have to sever all ties with such friends, but there is nothing wrong with making new friends who share your values and can help you stay on track in your frugal lifestyle.
• It is never too early to think about your future
  Even if you are still 40 years from retirement age, you must start thinking about and take responsibility for your future. What if you’re lucky enough to live another 40 years after retirement? And this is assuming that all goes well and you do not need to take early retirement for any reason.
• A penny saved is a penny plus interest earned
  Check out my previous article Prune your spending and watch your savings grow and learn just how just a few dollars saved per day can turn into a small fortune over the course of 1-40 years.

Check back soon for suggestions for frugal activities and hobbies.

These days, the word “finance” is generally accepted to mean something like “the management of money,” and while “management of money” doesn’t sound quite so bad, the word itself (”finance” or even worse, the plural “finances”) often seems accompanied by a host of psychological and emotional effects including but not limited to: fear, dread, confusion, and sometimes a general feeling of doom.

For example, Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary provides the following definitions:

1. (plural) money or other liquid resources of a government, business, group, or individual
2. the system that includes the circulation of money, the granting of credit, the making of investments, and the provision of banking facilities
3. the science or study of the management of funds
4. the obtaining of funds or capital

To the layperson, these definitions may seem rather daunting, especially #2. However, a closer examination of the origins of the word “finance” reveals quite something else and suggests that perhaps the earlier users of the word may have had quite the more optimistic outlook in dealing with their finances.

(more…)

In modern times where the spending of money is oftentimes equated with power and status, the word “frugal” or “frugality” seems to carry an almost negative connotation and be associated with stinginess or miserliness (if you look it up in a thesaurus). However, if we go back to the actual definition and etymology (origins) of the word, we see that frugality is really a positive trait and nothing to be at all ashamed of.

“Frugal” or “frugality” is defined as “characterized by or reflecting economy in the use of resources”, “prudence in avoiding waste”, and “prudently saving or sparing; not wasteful”.

The word frugal descends from the Latin frugalis, which has been associated with words such as “virtue” or “virtuous,” “honest,” “worthy,” “deserving,” “useful,” “thrifty,” “simple,” “profit” or “profitable,” “value” or “valuable,” “economical,” “temperate,” “sober,” and also “fruit” from frux or fructus, the root of the word “fruitful” which is defined as “yielding,” “profitable,” “productive” or “producing abundantly.”

The word “economy,” which is often associated with frugality, is defined as “management of expenses or resources”. It desecends from the Latin oeconomia and the Greek oikonomíā, which meant “household management”, derived from oikos “house,” nomos “managing”, which comes from nemein “manage” (and also I believe, the root of the Old English niman and the modern German “nehmen” which means “to take”).

(more…)