If this is your first visit at Frugal Living NW, welcome! Our goal is to help you save money so you can reach your family's financial goals. We focus on deals in and around the Pacific Northwest, with a special focus on Oregon and Southwest Washington. To stay up to date on the deals, subscribe to the daily email (it's FREE!) and "like" Frugal Living NW on Facebook. ******************************* Looking for ways to enjoy Portland without breaking the bank? The following is a list of fun and frugal activities, events and attractions to get your imagination started! This list can be enjoyed by vacationers, newly transplanted Portlanders and those who Keep Reading
Staycation 2012: Fun in and around Portland, Oregon
Cheap Washing Machines Still Get Clothes Clean
Quick! What's missing in this picture? If you guessed dirty laundry, wrong. That's in a pile at my feet. Dryer, anyone? Yes. But not just any dryer. An extra large capacity high-efficiency front load dryer on a pedastal, please. Matching set? Oh, even better. We included our front load set in the sale of our last home. That left us with a big open space in the laundry room of our new home. My husband and I halfheartedly shopped around, but neither of us was interested in getting our credit dirty just to get our laundry clean. It had to be cash and cheap. On our third trip to a Sears Outlet, where stock changes constantly, we decided to run Keep Reading
Frugal Meets Local: A full-diet CSA opportunity
image credit Guest Post by Kari Patterson The unspoken rule around here is, If you find a deal, you gotta share the love. Well, I found a deal. At least I think it is, but I'm a crazy locavore who loves supporting local farms and eating organic produce, raw honey, grass-fed beef, and those awesome brown eggs with dark yellow yokes. The difficult part of that diet is fairly obvious: It's expensive to eat that way. But since I'm a frugal-fanatic you better believe I was out there like a hound dog sniffin' out some ways to make this work. I found one way: The Full-Diet CSA through Afton Field Farm. CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) is Keep Reading
I still live with my parents. And it’s not so bad.
image credit Last August, my husband and I sold our house. With everyone (and I do mean everyone) telling us, "It's a great time to buy!", we figured we'd be in a new place in no time. It took us nine months. During this whole house hunt, we moved 90% of our belongings into a storage unit and moved our little family of four into my parents' house. We had the downstairs living space to ourselves and paid a small monthly rent. I can't even tell you the number of times I had some version of this conversation with people: "So, have you guys found a new home yet?" "Not yet. We're living with my parents right now." "Oh..." [insert raised eyebrows Keep Reading
Ask the FLNW Community: How to save money on internet service
I just received an email from our reader, Malinda. She needs your help with internet provider options: I'm looking at my Comcast bill thinking "there's got to be a cheaper option out there." Hoping some followers can suggest a provider in the Portland area. If you have any advice for Malinda, please leave a comment! Go here for step-by-step instructions on how to leave a comment. image credit Keep Reading
Gardening: The hardest part is getting started {Part 1}
Guest post by Mavis from OneHundredDollarsAMonth.com. This is my neighbor's garden. It's a masterpiece. A real beauty. So when my neighbor called the other day and asked if I would help her with her garden, I laughed. "Define help" I asked. "Look, I'm really busy. I will give you anything you want if you just come over and weed and plant the whole thing for me... anything!" she pleaded. "Would you give me a case of toilet paper and a 25lb bag of sugar?" I asked. "Are you serious?" "Are you?" "Fine. Yes, I will go to Costco and get you toilet paper and sugar you weirdo, now how soon can you get started?" "I'll be over Keep Reading
Ask the FLNW Community: How to find a produce co-op
I just received an email from our reader, Lora: I just recently started trying to coupon. What I was wondering is if you know of any good produce co-ops? My sister in laws and mother in law live in Idaho and all have been a part of Bountiful Baskets. That isn't an option here and I was hoping to find something similar, price-wise too. That seems like such an awesome deal. Just curious if you knew of anything that was similar and not too expensive. I wrote a series on this topic, "Saving Money on Real Food," which is a good place to start, but I don't have information on specific options for co-ops. If you have any advice for Lora, please Keep Reading