Meet the Frugalwoods

Mostly memoir with a little financial advice thrown in, the end goal is raising the the quality bar on our daily lives is essential so we're not living life in the valleys (i.e. cubicles, 9-to-5ers, etc.) waiting for peaks of decadence. The author acknowledges her privilege but also offers a helpful foundation around paying down debt, saving, and investing. Even the smallest changing around spending habits are important so we're not led by the next dopamine hit of the next hot, spendy trend. Excellent read.

I really appreciated her introduction acknowledging her privilege but the rest of the book seemed kind of tone deaf to that.

Truly enjoyed reading their story. Yes, it's true they earn above average incomes. But still, the family made significant sacrifices and changes to their lives to make their dream life possible - and that should be admired and learned from :)

I love the Frugalwoods blog and it was so nice to learn more of their story and in longer form.

While some might raise eyebrows, I think the heart of the story and the lessons she learned is very valuable and refreshing to anyone who's found themselves in a place of unidentifiable unhappiness by doing what society tells us we should do.

A fun read, makes a lot of sense, a tad repetetive, and skip the last pages. Otherwise: yes, we're in a treadmill we can step out of. In many ways. Frugality makes sense in a world that is consuming itself to annihilation.

Clearly I'm on some kind of self-help kick - Thames' suggestion that we can enjoy the present more/better if we just desire less things is relatively buddhist. Do not expect this to provide a play-by-play on how you can retire in your 30s - maybe your own priorities aren't living in rural Vermont homesteading. It did make me re-think a few of my own bad spending habits.

update thought kinda only really works if you manage to escape school etc without going into debt mostly. I did appreciate that Thames acknowledges her privilege as a white middle class professional person who had 0 debt coming out of school (I can also say this for me, it makes a HUGE DIFFERENCE).