When I tell people that we are participating in The Compact this year, I find that they mistake “not buying anything new” with “not spending money” and even equate it with a year of depravation. Both notions are completely false. And we are not trying to destroy the economy by not spending money. Instead, weRead More

I first broached the subject of joining The Compact and not buying anything new for an entire year with my family on December 26th. We were all excited for a day or two and then panic set in. On December 29th, I remembered that I was planning on redecorating the main bathroom. My husband observedRead More

When I first heard about The Compact, I was intrigued by the concept of not buying anything new for an entire year. However, I did not think that I could join on my own and did not think I could convince the rest of my family to join with me. I have since learned thatRead More

When you live in a winter wonderland it would be crazy to go on vacation elsewhere in December. Today we went spent the afternoon sledding on a hill near our house. I picked up the sleds for $1.00 each at a local thrift store a couple years back. Lots of frugal fun was had byRead More

Boxing Day is celebrated quite differently in my house than it is in the United Kingdom. December 26th is the day I inventory and organize the Christmas windfall: the boxes, ribbons, bags, and cards. I am a connoisseur of fine boxes. I was able to rescue the the prewrapped gold boxes from a slow deathRead More

We have already had several snow storms this year. I think the desert is so much prettier when covered by a layer of snow! Andrew’s first snow shoes. He is only two, but he is a natural. We finally got a snow that was wet enough to make a snowman. Rew convinced his big brother toRead More