Hi I'm Angie, welcome to Naturally Frugal Homemaker. I started this blog to share how I found a more natural, frugal and simple lifestyle.
My Mom is by far the biggest reason I am naturally frugal. I have many memories from childhood of hanging out our clothes to dry, canning foods, gardening, sewing our clothes and drying foods in the sun. She and Dad came from a time when all these things were a way of life. If you didn't grow it, preserve it and store it, you wouldn't eat. Mom tells us stories of sack cloth dresses, walking to school and working as a child picking cotton to help the family. My Dad also came from a family who relied on farming and grew up poor. He quit school at a very early age to go to work. In contrast, I had a wonderful childhood and never realized we were 'below middle class'. Mom and Dad made sure of that.
I was married for 18 years and had 3 wonderful children. I stayed home with them as much as possible. I loved every minute of it. Living on one income wasn't easy. I found ways to stay home, make money and live frugally just like Mom had taught me. Those years with my children are very precious. Now that they are grown, I see some of the same tendencies in them that my Mom passed to me. I am so proud of the adults they have become. Loving, caring and kind....
Around 2003 I was suddenly a single mom struggling with a lot of debt and just diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis. I took a job promotion that would certainly help with the bills. It was commute of 45 mins each way and a 50-70 hour work week. Pretty smart huh? Not really. I soon realized I could not continue this job forever. A few years later I did get transferred to my home town but still lots of hours and stress. With me having RA the job was too much. So whats a girl to do? I buckled down, paid off my debt and took a demotion 6 years after being promoted. I now live on half what I use to make. And I've never looked back.....
