The Power of Change: A Frugal Move to Wise Bread

Advertiser Disclosure ▾

This page contains affiliate links from which we receive a compensation. Like many publications Wise Bread is supported by affiliate commission from partner companies whose products appear on our site. This may influence which products we write about and the location and order in which products appear. We aren't able to cover every product in the marketplace.

Wise Bread Picks

• Travel Rewards Credit Cards
• Cash Back Credit Cards
• 0% Balance Transfer Credit Cards

I have a new home on the Internet — Wisebread.com — and the move is part of my frugal strategy. Quite simply, as a long-time frugal blogger, I’ve hit the conservation and delete button. I’m saving my energy and getting greater mileage from my online presence.

Here's what I've learned:

Join a Co-op

Community efforts and joint projects can increase our professional and personal accounts. For instance, as a shopper I participate in an organic co-op that saves money because the cost of a large shipment of organic fruits and vegetables is shared by a large group. We share the expense; we share the discount. My family also plans to participate in a community garden in which we’ll share the labor and the harvest.

Likewise, as a writer, I participated in 10,001 Ways to Live Large on a Small Budget, a Wise Bread project that was shared by about 40 writers. As consumers, we can save money by sharing tools, babysitters, clothing and books.

The Lesson: Group efforts and co-ops are frugal uses of time and money.

Specialize

As the founder of the Frugal Duchess blog, I was a one-woman shop, responsible for writing, editing, formatting, designing, ad sales, marketing and networking. That’s a lot of hats for one person to wear, especially given the other roles in my life: mother of three, syndicated newspaper columnist, in-house writer for a large nonprofit, poet and author of The Frugal Duchess: How to Live Well and Save. Those duties exhausted me, and I struggled under daily and hourly pressures to update my blog with great content. But as part of the Wise Bread team, I can specialize in the task that I do best: writing and reporting. It’s a better use of my time, and specialization will free up time and energy for other professional and creative opportunities.

The Lesson: To earn more, sometimes you have to do less.

Networking

In addition to my Frugal Duchess newspaper column, I have teamed up with Myscha Theriualt, another Wise Bread blogger to write an internationally frugal travel column from McClatchy Tribune news service, which is being picked up by a number of well-known newspapers (online and print). Our joint efforts have led to additional networking opportunities. In business, art and friendship, networking is a valuable tool that provides introduction, resources and education.

The Lesson: Networking cuts through the red tape that can tie up money, time and other resources.