Hi, I’m Cass and I write The Diary of a Frugal Family.
I started this blog years ago when my children were little and life looked very different to how it does now. Back then, this was my place to record our family memories, share the ways we were saving money and document the little everyday moments that I didn’t want to forget.
A big part of why I started writing was because I’d lost both my Mam and my brother to cancer, and it really made me realise how important memories are. When someone you love is gone, it’s the photos, stories and tiny ordinary moments that suddenly mean everything. I wanted my children to have as many of those memories as possible to look back on one day.
My children are all grown up now and have lives of their own, which still feels strange to say sometimes. My life has changed in other ways too. My marriage ended, I now have a new partner, and I’m very lucky to have a happy life that feels calm, settled and full of things to look forward to.
The blog has changed with me over the years.
Money saving used to be something I had to do because I wanted to work less and spend more time at home when the children were younger. These days, it’s more of a habit and a choice. It’s about intentional spending, making sensible decisions and using money in a way that gives us more of the life we want.
We’ve recently moved into a big Victorian renovation project, so a lot of life now revolves around making our house feel like home, working through the never-ending list of jobs and trying to balance dreams with budget. We also have a mortgage we’d love to pay off as early as possible, so those small money-saving habits still matter.
But the biggest thing for me now is making memories.
There’s a lot of time I feel like I want to make up for, and this stage of life feels like a reminder that money is only useful if it helps you live well. For us, that might mean holidays, days out, home projects, good food, second-hand finds or simply having a little more breathing space.
The Diary of a Frugal Family these days is a bit of everything — money saving, home renovation, food, travel, second-hand bargains, family life, life after big changes and finding joy in ordinary moments.
I’m not about extreme penny-pinching and never really have been. I don’t want a cold house just to save a few pounds and I’m not interested in making life miserable for the sake of saving money. I’m much more about spending carefully in some areas so we can spend more freely on the things that matter.
Thanks so much for being here.
Cass x x
Feel free to e mail me at: [email protected] or you can tweet me and I’m usually around checking in on our Facebook page if that’s your thing.
