Tag Archives: Frugality

“Minimalism” seems to be a trendy topic these days, with glowing articles in the New York Times and in The Atlantic and minimalism gurus like Marie Kondo writing bestsellers (she even has a Netflix show — and it’s pretty good!).  As someone who has practiced frugal living for a long …

Frugality is simply seeking out the most effective use of your money and other resources, allowing you to enjoy life now while also preparing for a wonderful future. It’s like thinning out the garden of life — you’re removing the weeds and unhealthy plants so that the healthy plants can …

In psychology, there’s a popular model of how people learn that describes how someone progresses from being a complete beginner at a skill to being proficient at it. In the first stage, called unconscious incompetence, you’re stumbling through your first attempts at something. You’re not just bad at it, you …

During the last few months of social distancing, many people found themselves living a far more frugal lifestyle than they had done before. Many of us leaned into that frugality, doing things like baking bread, cooking meals at home, using up things that were in the pantry and doing all …

I love playing games, and I’ve found that one of the best strategies over the years for getting me to do anything is to turn it into some kind of game. I’ll find ways to keep “score,” keep track of my best score, and then try to break it, and …