The Tuesday choice: 9 frugal living blogs

Frugality (thanks to sweet mustache)

Problems with debt can often lead to difficulties with budgeting for food, leisure and general everyday life. Many people have developed ways of avoiding problems by getting more out of less and making supplies and money go further through living frugally.

You can learn more about frugal living by exploring the blogs below. These offer an excellent insight into the frugal way of life, written by people living frugally in the UK, detailing their experiences and sharing their knowledge along the way.

Frugaldom
Frugaldom is the blog of a Scottish frugal entrepreneur where you can also get an insight into ‘frugalising’ your home insurance, installing a wood-burning stove, rearing your own animals and growing your own food. This blog is of particular interest to readers in rural areas living on a budget and in search of the good life.

Frugal ways – a frugal life is an easy life!
A large blog with several sections on different topics. Get advice on gardening, where to find free seeds, links to discounts and vouchers in UK shops, thrifty alternatives to traditional recipes and even ways to find free wood. Frugal Ways aims to show that being frugal can lead to a healthier and more enjoyable life.

The Frugal Gourmet
The Frugal Gourmet is Colin Dyson, whose interests are ‘wide and eclectic and encompass the use of wild produce, traditional recipes, Arabic cooking and Loire wines’. Learn how to make fruit syrup, bake your own artisan bread or master Oeufs à la Neige with Strawberry Soup. Not just a blog about food, Colin shares his insights into a frugal approach to life as well.

Becoming Domestic
Written by a mother in a family that has swapped East London for a rural life in Worcestershire on a reduced income, this blog gives excellent advice on becoming self-sufficient and living a simple, frugal lifestyle. Alongside frugal recipes such as broccoli and Stilton soup, get organised with sample menu plans for kids and find out the pros and cons of washable baby wipes.

FruGal
FruGal is Iva Marjanovic, a personal finance writer by day and a blogger by night, who wants to help you live a big life on a little budget. Follow her ‘Five days to better finances’, get excellent resources on free activities and identify the top 5 food stuffs that you can’t afford to scrimp on.

Taste the Goode Life
Shirley Goode is the BBC’s cost-cutting cook and is the queen of making the most out of what you’ve got. Find out how to make chocolate bread and butter pudding without the butter or how to prepare a fruit cake for Christmas. She shows you how to make more delicious desserts with the leftover bits of fruit, as well as many other ways to make your food go further.

Frugal Missy (update 28/02/12: website no longer available)
With a mission to beat the credit crunch, save money and stay fashionable, Frugal Missy offers a personal insight into living on a budget. Through her blog you can get cheap DIY tips, learn how to spread cash over 5 birthdays in one month, and become a ‘Frugal Wedding Guest’ by revamping an old outfit.

Penny Golightly
Penny Golightly’s blog is for those who like enjoying the nicer things in life for less, the ‘bon viveurs on a budget’. An award-winning journalist and blogger, Ms Golightly covers everything from health and beauty, to leisure and travel. Be sure to keep an eye out for regular competitions as well as book reviews alongside her high-quality blogging on such things as kitchen gardening and budget catwalk make-up.

Five pence piece
Each Friday is ‘Frugal Friday’ where you can learn how to become more frugal with tips on reducing your grocery bill, electricity bill or how to buy Christmas gifts on a budget. This blog began as an account of living with debt and has developed into a guide to personal finance. From his own experience, the author has written a series of articles on how to dig yourself out of debt.