This month is a big month for me. Our first baby is due to arrive in this world around the 20th. So if I’m not around to answer emails or comments, you will know what I’ll be doing!

And if you’re interested, this proud mama will be putting up some baby snap shots (I won’t be able to help myself!)

However, I’ve been working hard over the last month or so writing articles so there will still be plenty of new content each day to read on the Frugal and Thriving website while I’m having a little internet hiatus.

Speaking of content, I get a few emails every now and then about guest posts. I’m always happy to accept guest post submissions. If you’re interested in submitting a guest post, please check out the guidelines here.

I have lots of plans for developing and improving the website this year, but I’m not sure just how realistic it will be getting them all done, so I won’t make any promises .

Thanks to all the readers of Frugal and Thriving. You make this all worth while.

Photo by Gary Hayes.

It’s our national public holiday, so I’m having the day off today. If you’re an Aussie, I hope you’re having a great Australia Day. You can find out what’s on in your area here or check out your local council.

For the non-Aussies, today is the day we celebrate the planting of the English flag…

um…

Today is the day we celebrate all things Australian: BBQ’s, beer, cricket, sun sand and surf, fireworks and wearing the Aussie flag in one form or another. Today is the day to become a citizen and the day we celebrate achievement by naming the Australians of the Year.

Photo by Gary Hayes.

My Australia day typically resembles the photo above. Food and entertainment.

Photo by Golden Ratio

Hope you have a great day.

This might be a bit of a who cares post, but then again, you may be interested in what this blogger reads when not blogging. Although these aren’t ‘frugal’ or personal finance books, some of these are a pretty darn good read, so if you’re looking for a book, then here are a few suggestions.

My selection is limited to what is held in our public library, so not exactly the latest and greatest NY Times best sellers, but the library has a pretty good collection and these are some of the best read this year in no particular order:

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Best wishes to you for the New Year, I hope that you have a great year.

Thanks to everyone who visits the site, and thanks a million to those of you who leave comments, I love hearing from you, it makes my day.

I hope that you enjoy the festive season and that the New Year brings prosperity and happiness.

This year is the first year that I won’t be spending Christmas with my own family and I’m a bit upset about that. While I have a second family now whom I love and who have their own traditions, there’s nothing like the traditions that you grow up with.

Despite the heat of Summer and my mum threatening that “if it’s hot this year I’m not cooking”, we always have a full roast at home. In fact, our Christmas day tradition pretty much revolves around eating and enjoying food.

We start the day with ham and eggs on toast. The ham is real ham, cured by a butcher friend, served on with homemade bread with poached fresh free range eggs from another friend and some good old Aussie mustard.

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You may have noticed the little addition of the signup box in the sidebar. Well, January will see the inaugural Frugal and Thriving Newsletter. It will be once a month, and it will be free.

I’m pretty excited about the newsletter and also a little nervous. I have big plans for the newsletter content, it will include all sorts of useful tips and resources that don’t make it to the blog. And I’ll be asking you for your feedback as to what you want to see in the newsletter and on the blog.

If you would like to make some suggestions for the blog now, I would love you to leave them in the comments below.

To find out more, visit the signup information page. I hope that you find it a valuable and interesting resource.

I’m changing the site a bit today, so sorry if it looks a bit mish-mashed for a while. I had intended to do a full new site design launch but I’m stuck on some PHP and Javascript problems so I’m doing this redesign in a few stages while I learn more about programming.

I would love to hear your feedback about the new colours. Also any site problems. I have only tested in Firefox and IE7, so if you use other browsers and stuff on the site doesn’t look good, let me know and I’ll endeavour to fix it. Be gentle, I’m very slowly teaching myself web programming, so site design isn’t my forte.

I began reading The Little Book of Big Savings by Ellie Kay with high expectations. We’re pretty frugal, but you can never stop learning, and our budget can still do with some massaging. The book claimed to save me $1,200 per month after all. Maybe having high expectations was the problem, because I was pretty disappointed by this book and what it has to offer.

The book looks at twelve key areas of spending and gives a list of tips on how to reduce your spending in each area. It covers:

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You may have heard the recent news that we are all suffering from green fatigue. Reader’s Digest did a survey that revealed we’re switching off to eco advice, and despite many of us believing that we should be doing more ‘green’ things, that belief isn’t translating into taking action.

The recently published Green Made Easy: The Everyday Guide for Transitioning to a Green Lifestyle by Chris Prelitz presents a solution to our eco overload. And the book begins by busting the myths about being ‘green’ including the disillusioning belief that small changes don’t matter. We underestimate the cumulative effect of many small changes that we each make over time and the cumulative effect of millions of people making small changes.

This book definitely lives up to it’s title. It’s a handy reference that cuts through all the overwhelming info that’s out there and makes ‘green’ choices so simple. You don’t need to drive a hybrid car to be green, this book provides ways to be green across all aspects of our daily lives.

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