Interview with a blog writer

Today we are interviewing the writer and creator of Frugal and Thriving.

Interviewer: So tell us a little bit about yourself.

Blog Writer: My name is Melissa. I live in sunny Queensland, Australia (although today it is pouring with rain!) with my husband and fur child The Cat.

Originally, I studied to be an English teacher. I did a BA in English Literature and Ancient History with minors in Linguistics, Philosophy, Latin and Greek. I completed my Honours in Ancient History.

Instead of teaching, I worked in retail full time for a while before studying accounting. I worked as a bookkeeper, office manager and accountant before quitting to start a family and this website.

[2011 update: I am now a SAHM with our 18 month old son. I write for this website and plan to make it into a fully fledged business].

Interviewer: What made you decide to create the Frugal and Thriving website?

Mel: My husband and I (for a variety of reasons) have never been high income earners and yet we’re pretty frugal and as a result, we do pretty well on what we earn. I thought I would create a website writing about a topic I’m passionate about. I want to create an awesomely useful resource for frugality. I want to show that it’s easier than we might think to live on one income.

Also, I want to convey that being frugal is a whole life attitude as well as a budgeting decision. It’s about conserving resources, being creative, thinking about what is really important in life beyond consumerism and it’s a topic I want to explore in my personal life. I want to keep a record of that in a blog.

[2011 update: and going ahead, I really want to focus on the ‘thriving’ part of Frugal and Thriving and earn an income from this website to help pay the bills ]

Interviewer: And are you some kind of frugal expert?

Mel: Far from it. But I confess, I am a tightwad at heart and have spent nearly all my life, scrimping, saving and penny pinching, so I have quite a bit experience in frugal living. And I love it. I love everything the frugal philosophy embodies. Most of all I love the freedom that comes from not being a slave to debt.

Interviewer: So you’re totally debt free?

Mel: No we have a mortgage. I’m dreaming of the day when we are debt free again. In the meantime, I am hoping this blog, among other things, will track that progress.

Interviewer: What is your most frugal moment?

Mel: They say the best things in life are free! I love freebies. However, my most frugal moment was when we were at a picnic with friends. They had brought along disposable plates and cups (and I’m not talking about the cheap and flimsy kind, either!) At the end of the day they went to throw out the plastic and instead I took it home and washed it up. We now have a very nice plastic picnic set. They thought I was a little weird, but what a waste if it had just ended up in landfill, just to save a 3 minutes washing up.

Interviewer: What do you mean by thriving?

Mel: The studies have shown that the happiest people on the planet are amongst the poorest. Thriving is about being rich in other ways besides money. However, I also want to look at ways the average Jane like you and I can increase our financial knowledge and make better financial decisions. Most of us are in the dark when it comes to money. The flip side to being frugal, is investing our savings for a better financial future, free from debt.

2011 update

Interviewer: What do you do with your spare time?

Mel: I don’t have a lot of spare time these days, looking after an active toddler takes up a lot of my day! And I spend a lot of time writing for this website. So much I want to do with this site, so little time!

I like to read when I can, pretty much anything I can get my hands on; sew (particularly quilt) knit, crochet or do some other kind of craft. I like to cook and read cook books and plan. I’m an organisation freak, although our house and our life is far from organised (and possibly that’s a good thing!).

At the moment I am also a volunteer tutor. I teach computer courses within an adult literacy programme. I love the teaching that I do, I have very inspiring students and we have a lot of fun.

 

Interviewer: Thankyou, that’s all we have time for today. Good luck with your future blogging endeavours.

(Mel was interviewed today by herself.)

Have you read these posts?

1. finding time to blog