Search Results for: blog the mcmansion phenomena

The McMansion Phenomena

Recently, our city newspaper has been running all sorts of news stories about homeowners who are facing tough times because of their mortgage payments. Many families took advantage of the housing boom and bought big, taking out variable rate or interest only mortgages that are now about to change, increasing the mortgage payments far beyond what the homeowners may be able to pay. And they are panicking. While family size is decreasing in general, the size of houses are actually increasing. McMansions, one of my friends calls these places, seemingly complete with enough square footage to shelter several families. We … Continue reading →

The New Small House

Gone are visions of McMansions and large impressive houses with top of the line amenities. Instead, buyers and builders are looking toward smaller homes with tighter floor plans in an effort to bring home ownership and sales in line with the economy. Typical new homes during the boom were along the lines of 3,400 square feet and featured expensive amenities such as Tuscan style kitchens with granite countertops and top-of-the-line stainless steal appliances, archive rooms, media rooms, etc. Today, builders of new homes say that they typically switched to putting in 2,400 square foot homes that may be more affordable … Continue reading →

Getting Free Design Ideas

It is always exciting when you have the opportunity to decorate or redesign a room. We are slowly making our way through repairs here at our house and are almost ready to decorate our family room. And, we have three sets of friends who are making big moves to new homes and will need to think about designing their spaces. So short of hiring an interior decorator, how can you get some design ideas? Look to the following places for free design ideas. Catalogues Catalogues of home items are filled with pages of professionally designed spaces. Naturally, the companies that … Continue reading →

5 Reasons Donating Your Old Stuff Saves Money

You wouldn’t normally think that giving away your stuff as saving money, would you? Well there are plenty of reasons that donating your un-needed items can actually save you money! I am a big believer in donating stuff. When my husband and I married, we basically had two households to combine into one. Later, after my mother passed, we had another household full of stuff. And just recently, we moved to another home, and I started donating like crazy, since moving extra stuff can get costly. So, I have a lot of experience with dealing with extra items and donating … Continue reading →

Hidden Storage for Stockpiling

There is no doubt that stockpiling can save you a lot of money, especially when it comes to food goods. But lately, I have been hearing from folks who want to stockpile but just don’t have the room. I can appreciate this. It means that you all must be doing a great job of living within your means and not falling into the whole McMansion Phenomena of buying more house than you need, right? Well, whatever it means, this article today is here to show you that you can do some stockpiling even in a smallish space. Here are some … Continue reading →

5 Ways to Save on Your Phone Bill

Phone charges can be a very costly monthly expense. It is not unusual to pay $40 or $50 a month before you even make a long distance call. And if you get caught up in the whole local carrier versus long distance carrier issues, it can get really nuts. We found out about this the hard way, a year ago. Our phone company automatically switched us over to a new long distance carrier when the old one went under. Our first bill revealed charges that were three times as much as we would normally pay. And it was a complete … Continue reading →

Frugal Living Week in Review for July 30th to August 5th, 2007

The frugal living blog has been full of activity this week, with articles of all kinds, offering you ways to save money. For most families, saving money is important to allow them to have money for other things. With school in full swing for many, and it rapidly approaching for others, now is a great time to find ways to save money on everyday things. So what articles showed up in the Frugal Living Blog last week? The McMansion Phenomena Recently, our city newspaper has been running all sorts of news stories about homeowners who are facing tough times because … Continue reading →