The Naturally Frugal Baby


Book Description

These are tough economic times, and having a baby seems like an unaffordable luxury to many people. But it doesn't have to be. This book provides a crash course in superfrugal baby care, starting before conception and continuing through the baby's first year. You can make, birth, house, feed, diaper, clothe, entertain, and transport a baby for a mere fraction of what the experts say it all will cost, save thousands of dollars, and have fun at the same time. I wrote this book to be the reference that I wish I'd had before I started having children. It starts with basic financial planning for aspiring parents and straightforward how-to instructions for frugal baby care, and keeps right on going into black-belt frugality topics and some of the more controversial issues of modern parenting. I've read the studies and done the math, and in this book I tell you what I've learned. At the end there is a long list of helpful print and online references, for further reading.




Little House Living


Book Description

The immensely popular blogger behind Little House Living provides a timeless and “heartwarming guide to modern homesteading” (BookPage) that will inspire you to live your life simply and frugally—perfect for fans of The Pioneer Woman and The Hands-On Home. Shortly after getting married, Merissa Alink and her husband found themselves with nothing in their pantry but a package of spaghetti and some breadcrumbs. Their life had seemingly hit rock bottom, and it was only after a touching act of charity that they were able to get back on their feet again. Inspired by this gesture of kindness as well as the beloved Little House on the Prairie books, Merissa was determined to live an entirely made-from-scratch life, and as a result, she rescued her household budget—saving thousands of dollars a year. Now, she reveals the powerful and moving lessons she’s learned after years of homesteading, homemaking, and cooking from scratch. Filled with charm, practical advice, and gorgeous full-color photographs, Merissa shares everything from tips on budgeting to natural, easy-to-make recipes for taco seasoning mix, sunscreen, lemon poppy hand scrub, furniture polish, and much more. Inviting and charming, Little House Living is the epitome of heartland warmth and prairie inspiration.




The New Frugality


Book Description

As the recession deepens, with a downturn in spending, rise in defaulting mortgages and throttling of credit, a Go-Go economy has transitioned to a Uh-Oh economy. How did we get here and what does it mean for individuals and families? The New Frugality lays out how Americans have overspent-and offers a way out through consuming less and saving more-showing that living simply is not just living "cheaply." What is required is a paradigm shift. We need to learn to live more modestly by cutting back on spending, actually attempting to live within our means and increasing savings. Farrell outlines creative new ways of thinking that can help us to accomplish this, not just by reverting to earlier financial models, but by innovating new solutions that are appropriate to the times we live in. In some ways, The New Frugality is the fiscal equivalent of the green movement; and indeed, going green is also part of the project. In The New Frugality Farrell will show where the economy is going, how it will affect regular families, and how they can weather the storm.




Tiny Art Director


Book Description

Architects, artists, ad agencies, designers, copywriters, indeed anyone who's ever suffered the critiques of an exacting clientor for that matter, any dad who's ever tried to keep his daughter happywill find solace in Tiny Art Director. Based on the popular blog of the same name, Tiny Art Director chronicles toddler Rosie Zeman's efforts to get some decent work out of her artist father, Bill. Rosie may not know much about art, but alas for Bill, she knows what she doesn't liketo her ever-increasing exasperation, that's his hilarious interpretations of her commissions. By turns sweet and silly, Tiny Art Director is a paean to long-suffering creatives everywhereand a touching portrait of a father's love for his daughter.




Wallet Activism


Book Description

2022 NATIONAL INDIE EXCELLENCE AWARDS FINALIST — SOCIAL/POLITICAL CHANGE • 2022 ASJA ANNUAL WRITING AWARD WINNER — SERVICE • 2022 NAUTILUS BOOK AWARDS GOLD MEDALIST — SOCIAL CHANGE & SOCIAL JUSTICE • 2022 AXIOM BUSINESS BOOK AWARD GOLD MEDALIST — PHILANTHROPY/NONPROFIT/SUSTAINABILITY How do we vote with our dollars, not just to make ourselves feel good, but to make a real difference? Wallet Activism challenges you to rethink your financial power so can feel confident spending, earning, and saving money in ways that align with your values. While we call the American system a democracy, capitalism is the far more powerful force in our lives. The greatest power we have—especially when political leaders won’t move quickly enough—is how we use our money: where we shop, what we buy, where we live, what institutions we entrust with our money, who we work for, and where we donate determines the trajectory of our society and our planet. While our votes and voices are essential, too, Wallet Activism helps you use your money for real impact. It can feel overwhelming to determine “the right way” to spend: a choice that might seem beneficial to the environment may have unintended consequences that hurt people. And marketers are constantly lying to you, making it hard to know what choice is best. Wallet Activism empowers us to vote with our wallets by making sense of all the information coming at us, and teaching us to cultivate a more holistic mindset that considers the complex, interrelated ecosystems of people and the planet together, not as opposing forces. From Tanja Hester, Our Next Life blogger and author of Work Optional, comes the mindset-shifting guide to help you put your money where your values are. Wallet Activism is not a list of dos and don’ts that will soon become outdated, nor does it call for anti-consumerist perfection. Instead, it goes beyond simple purchasing decisions to explore: The impacts a financial decision can have across society and the environment How to create a personal spending philosophy based on your values Practical questions to quickly assess the “goodness” of a product or an entity you may buy from The ethics of earning money, choosing what foods to eat, employing others, investing responsibly, choosing where to live, and giving money away For anyone interested in leaving the world better than you found it, Wallet Activism helps you build habits that will make your money matter.




Healthy Tipping Point


Book Description

Start small for big results with this inspiring guide to lifelong wellness—from popular health blogger and author of Operation Beautiful. In Healthy Tipping Point, Caitlin Boyle shares the down-to-earth philosophy and authoritative advice that has made her websites so popular. Believing that reaching a tipping point means much more than tipping the scales, Boyle helps readers find their personal ideal balance in food, fitness, love, and life, in a breakthrough program organized around three shifts: • Get Real: Challenge negative-thought patterns to create space for success • Eat Clean: Ditch conventional “diet” advice and follow a simple eating plan tailored to keep energy high, while helping the environment—including forty-five delicious vegetarian recipes for foodies on the go • Embrace Strength: Commit to a high-powered fitness program designed to help one learn to love exercise and build a strong, lean body—with targeted guidance for novice runners, bikers, swimmers, and others Featuring twenty inspiring success stories and photos of people who have transformed their lives, the book proves that a healthy body is absolutely attainable. Healthy living and a healthy self-image go hand in hand. For anyone who struggles to get fit, Healthy Tipping Point provides the drive to thrive.




Traditional Meals for the Frugal Family


Book Description

Low-Budget Should Never Mean Low-Quality In this practical cookbook, Shannon Stonger, author of Traditionally Fermented Foods and co-author of The Doable Off-Grid Homestead, invites you into her bustling homestead kitchen. She shares how she feeds her family of eight with delicious, nutritious meals for less. Based on the wisdom of traditional food diets, these recipes are focused on unprocessed ingredients, pastured animal products and frugal foods that people have thrived on for generations. The resulting meals are gluten-free, almost entirely dairy-free, picky eater–certified and, most importantly, deeply nourishing. Find tips and tricks for cutting down on costs while prioritizing nutrient density per dollar. Follow easy directions for sprouting or soaking grains and legumes to unlock their full nutritional value, then use them in yummy meals like A Better Kefir-Chia Soaked Granola or Soaked Gluten- Free Artisan Bread. Learn to tactfully utilize more expensive produce, with foolproof recipes like higher-protein, lower-cost Stretched-Out Guacamole. With recipes like Homemade Coconut Milk and Cultured Oatgurt, you can make your own pantry staples, saving you money. There are also tons of incredible dishes that maximize wholesome animal products, mouthwatering flavors and cost-effectiveness, such as Mediterranean Hide-the-Heart Meatballs, Stretch-the-Meat and Bean Loaf and Real Food Copycat Tomato Soup. Give your family the gift of nutritious meals made from real foods—without breaking the bank.










The Wisdom of Frugality


Book Description

Why philosophers have advocated simple living for 2,500 years—and why we ignore them at our peril From Socrates to Thoreau, most philosophers, moralists, and religious leaders have seen frugality as a virtue and have associated simple living with wisdom, integrity, and happiness. But why? And are they right? Is a taste for luxury fundamentally misguided? If one has the means to be a spendthrift, is it foolish or reprehensible to be extravagant? In this book, Emrys Westacott examines why, for more than two millennia, so many philosophers and people with a reputation for wisdom have been advocating frugality and simple living as the key to the good life. He also looks at why most people have ignored them, but argues that, in a world facing environmental crisis, it may finally be time to listen to the advocates of a simpler way of life. The Wisdom of Frugality explores what simplicity means, why it's supposed to make us better and happier, and why, despite its benefits, it has always been such a hard sell. The book looks not only at the arguments in favor of living frugally and simply, but also at the case that can be made for luxury and extravagance, including the idea that modern economies require lots of getting and spending. A philosophically informed reflection rather than a polemic, The Wisdom of Frugality ultimately argues that we will be better off—as individuals and as a society—if we move away from the materialistic individualism that currently rules.




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