Happy New Year to me! This is the first post of my sixth year writing at frugalfish.org.

Years ago, my friend’s brother-in-law said, “No one can make it living on $30,000.” She knew our income and took him by our home. She showed him our compact home, old truck, and the used van that we drove. She noted that, at the time, we had 2 kids and we were happy.

One year we worked 5 jobs between the 2 of us, but that raised our income only to a little over $50,000.00. We worked all of the time, never had time for each other and our family time disappeared. We believe it is much better to keep our expenses lower than our income. I have been sharing my secrets for the last 5 years how to be happy living on around $30,000.

We all have to decide what is the most important thing for ourselves. I talk about saving money on things we need, not things we want or desire.

I added ads to the bottom of my page a couple of years ago. I hoped to make a little money on the side, but that did not pan out. If you find a blog you hope will not disappear, then click on the ad. It is like casting your vote for that blog. It is even better than clicking on the “Like” button.