I’m still here! I took an unplanned (and therefore unannounced) break from writing the blog, which was intended to be for a week, but expanded to a month and then two months… WHOOPS. I confess I needed some time off from ye olde Frugalwoods after consistently posting for 9.5 years. That’s the longest I’ve ever done any one job and I realized during this impromptu hiatus that I–gasp–MISSED writing and MISSED all of you. Sometimes one must have some absence in order for one to realize what one misses. So, I’m checking in to let you know that I haven’t died or abandoned Frugalwoods, but that I am ..read more

..read more

Brian and Michael, both 34, live with their two cats in central Connecticut. Michael works as a project coordinator for a state behavioral health agency serving young people and has a side job as an advocate and disability leadership coordinator. Brian is a quality assurance manager for a state-run hospital. The couple’s been together since 2013 and looks forward to celebrating their 10-year anniversary in November. While Brian and Michael have achieved a lot, they feel as though their debt and lack of home ownership is holding them back. They’d like our advice on how to unlock this next ..read more

As you may have noticed, things look different around here! Turns out, there’ve been some advancements in web design in the nine years since I started Frugalwoods. No one will be surprised to hear that the old website was looking a bit, well, old. And so, I hired an incredible designer who created a brand new look for good old Frugalwoods! I also hired a–GASP–professional photographer to come to my house and take my picture since, unsurprisingly, I too have changed quite a bit in the intervening nine years. Nothing worse than a headshot that looks like it was taken nine years ago… I’m very ha ..read more

Hello Frugalwoods folks! This is a brief heads-up that we are re-designing the Frugalwoods website. I started this thing back in 2014 and it has come to my attention that there’ve been advancements in web design in the intervening nine years ;). Not to worry, nothing will change about the content, the web address, the writing or my financial consultation practice–just the site design, layout and appearance. It might even look like it’s now from this century! I tell you this for two reasons: Starting today, any comments you make on the blog will unfortunately not be migrated onto the new websi ..read more

Kat and her husband Jay live in the Okinawa Prefecture of Japan where Jay is stationed as a Captain in the U.S. Marine Corps. They are childfree by choice and have an adorable dog named Sadie. Although they’re just 29, they’ve been diligently saving, investing and planning for the date when Jay gets out of the military. Their goal is to reach financial independence by that deadline, which is now five to eight years away. Kat would like our help determining if this is a reasonable goal and, if not, advice on what they should do to make it feasible. What’s a Reader Case Study? Case Studies addr ..read more

A menace wall in our home is gone! Longtime readers may recall that we’ve embarked on a slow, years-long renovation process, which we kicked off with a wall removal. This erstwhile wall awkwardly divided the kitchen and dining room from the rest of the downstairs and, to make matters worse, had a weird, low archway door for egressing. Not great. Everyone who came into our home said, “why do you think they put a wall there?” I will tell you why. When our house was built–circa 1991–the builders utilized this wall for the following fairly crucial items: Load-bearing. It supports both the floor ..read more

Laura and her husband Ethan are from Philadelphia, PA, but have been living in Hanoi, Vietnam for the past two years. Ethan teaches English literature at an international school and Laura is earning her Master’s degree in public health. They’ve loved their time in Vietnam and plan to be there for at least another year, but are less certain of their plans after that. Ultimately, they know they want to return to the US in order to be closer to their families, have children and buy a home. Laura is concerned they’re falling behind on retirement and won’t be able to afford a house once they move ..read more

A question I’ve been getting a lot lately: “What happened to your dog???” I get this question via email, through blog comments, on Instagram, Facebook and in person. It’s taken me awhile to put together my response because it’s a painful one. But today, I’m ready to share. The Tail of Genevieve (aka Gigi) the Hound Gigi showed up emaciated and covered in scratches in our friends’ yard in late September. They (and we) tried to locate her owner, but she came with no tags and no one responded to our advertisements with her photo. We took her to the vet to scan her for a microchip and she didn’t ..read more

Anna is a 35-year-old special eduction teacher of middle school students with severe and profound disabilities. She lives in rural Illinois and is currently working on completing her master’s degree in education. In the future, she’d like to move into a different teaching position that’s hopefully more lucrative since she doesn’t make enough at her current job. To make ends meet each month, she works a part-time retail job and receives financial assistance from her parents. Anna envisions a debt-free future and would like our help charting a path to get there. What’s a Reader Case Study? Case ..read more