Calling Myself Fiona

I've been calling myself Fiona lately. There are really three direct reasons for this. #1: One time a kid in our old neighborhood told my dad he looked like Shrek. Let's face it. I look exactly like my dad. This makes me Fiona. #2: I really like Fiona. In Shrek the Third she is an example of a strong woman, not caught up in the throws of body image or materialism (she's an ogre with confidence), and appears to be a good mother to her triplets. #3 As a name, Fiona goes with the word FRUGAL. So really the full name I've been calling myself is Frugal Fiona.

Frugal Fiona has been hard at work trying to save money and simplify the Lisenby household since coming to the realization this summer that her husband is in school and she does not work. Watching the savings account dwindle has also encouraged her to make some big changes. Not buying things and getting trapped in the cycle of consumerism are difficult for Fiona, but she knows this is the next step for her in both her relationship with God and as a wife/mother. Here are some of the decisions Frugal Fiona has made lately:

1. Gone are the days of help with housecleaning, car detailing, eating out without a coupon, ordering drinks when eating out, and buying whatever comes to mind to buy. Fiona admits $200 mall trips and the things listed above.

2. The Lisenby's grocery budget used to be (embarassing, I know) $650 a month. That included formula and special dietary items. By shopping at 3 different stores to get their Loss Leaders, Frugal Fiona now has the grocery budget, including Hypoallergenic formula, lactose free food, and glutten free/low sugar products to $250 a month.

3. Frugal Fiona has switched gyms. As you will note in Fiona's picture she really needs to workout and knows belonging to some sort of structured gym is best for her. Curves cost her $36 a month and was approximately 5 minutes away without childcare. The church gym by Fiona's parents' house is $25 a month with classes, longer hours, and great childcare. Thank you to Fiona's buddy Kristin for help finding this place.

4. Fiona had a garage sale this past weekend where she made $175 off of stuff that was simply sitting around the Lisenby's home. She confesses she has not missed a single item she sold.

5. Fiona's husband has encouraged her to look into selling a few Pottery Barn items for more than she paid for them. If you didn't know Fiona used to work at Pottery Barn and got a little obsessed with purchasing things at 50-60% off. This week alone she has sold a chair she bought for $350 for $500 and has a couch and a few random items pending. The empty space in the basement has allowed Fiona's baby to make a fort out of a sheet in order to crawl in and out of it squealing several times a day.

6. Fiona has downgraded the Cable and Netflix services because she has rediscovered the Public Library. The Library, which takes 3 minutes to get to from Fiona's castle, has tons of movies, Baby Einsteins, books, and CD's to check out and is FREE. Total savings here: $25 a month.

7. Several returns have been made. Fiona bought some computer equipment last week that her husband already had in the bottom of a drawer. Total Savings: $100. Yesterday she took back a pair of men's shorts to Old Navy since her brother gave her husband 3 pairs of shorts he didn't want anymore. Total savings: $7.

8. Frugal Fiona has been wanting to buy a shelf for her bathroom to store towels on since her castle does not have a linen closet. She had been looking for awhile at Bed, Bath, and Beyond at chrome shelves that cost $80 and go over the toilet. Instead she refinished an entertainment center that did not sell in the garage sale and put it in the guest room closet. It has 2 shelves for towels and a drawer for washcloths. Perfect!

9. Fiona has finally taught herself to cook and has found some recipes that only cost a total of $2 to make on www.betterbudgeting.com. She is also cooking meals for her friends that work and making $40 a week.

10. This morning Fiona sat down to order an egg shaker from her baby's music website. She had noticed how much he loves the shakers in class and figured it was only $5.99 to order two. The idea then came to Fiona that she could make a shaker out of a plastic container, tape, and rice. Baby likes it just as much and Fiona saved $6.

11. Fiona has learned to decorate with items that have been given to her, not things she has to buy. For example, she has been thinking about a wall in her kitchen for several months. Instead of buying a picture, mirror, or something that has no sentimental value to her, Fiona has decorated with her grandparents' china, finding plate racks at consignment stores for $3 each. She replaced a mantle full of previously purchased Pottery Barn items with her Grandma's doll collection and her shelf in her room with her musicbox collection from childhood. All of these things were in boxes before, and selling the other items has made space for more valuable things to come out.

12. Finally, Frugal Fiona admits to completely falling off the bandwagon at Children's Place on the Plaza last week when she spent $38 on new sleepers and onesies for really no reason. Her baby gets many wonderful clothes from his friends Nick and Lou, so Fiona isn't sure why she felt the need to make these purchases. She also confesses to spending $20 on an unnecessary dress and shirt for herself at Old Navy later that day. As a final admission, Fiona has dramatically refused her husband's ideas of cutting costs about where she gets her hair done and having internet in the home. With these two things in tact, she will keep her composure and keep trying to tackle consumerism $1 at a time.

If you have any money saving tips, Frugal Fiona would love to hear them ASAP.