Meet a Reader | Central CA Artist Jana

Today we’re meeting a familiar member of the Commentariat: Central CA Artist Jana, as she names herself in the comments!

 1. Tell us a little about yourself

Except for college, I’ve always lived in the same county. I’ve been married 38 years to a now-retired husband (from Sequoia National Park—equipment operator, not “ranger”), no kids, revolving herd of cats because we let them be cats.

We live summer in a mountain cabin without electricity, internet, phones.

 

My extracurriculars are knitting, reading, and I love to yarden (yep, “yarden”). I’ve been a full-time artist* for 31 years, and by choosing a non-essential profession in a very poor rural county, it has been absolutely necessary to live frugally.

*Using pencils, oil paint and murals, I make art that you can understand, of places and things they love, for prices that won’t scare you.

There have been times that I didn’t earn enough to both live and pay income taxes, so I would get a second job during my slower times. I couldn’t have pursued art without my husband’s support, both moral and financial (steady paycheck, insurance).

 2. How long have you been reading The Frugal Girl?

I don’t remember—if it feels like 5 years, it has probably been 8, and I’ve only been active on the Commentariat for about 2 years.

I found the Frugal Girl by cruising the internet looking for good blogs to enjoy and use as a model; “frugal” seemed like a good search word for a blog that would hold my attention.

3. How did you get interested in saving money?

It is the way I was raised.

Farming meant my parents never knew how much would be available from year to year, so we three girls had a feeling that we were poor. Our parents never discussed money, and we often heard that things were too expensive.

I learned that if I could squirrel away extra money, then I could have more choices, a little more monetary freedom.

I once asked my dad if we were rich, and he said, “Compared to your friend Kelly, no. Compared to Sid (his hired man), no.” Our parents gave us allowances to use however we wanted but there was NEVER a sense that we could ask for more or ask for things.

Living out in the country meant there were very few job opportunities, requiring Mom to drive us to town until we had licenses, which then meant we deprived Mom of the family wagon.

4. What’s the “why” behind your money-saving efforts?

Learning to make do, being self-sufficient and prepared for unexpected opportunities or troubles, having freedom to be generous and the ability to save up for the big stuff.

 5. What’s your best frugal win?

Picking a spouse who shares the same outlook on money.

 6. What’s an embarrassing money mistake you’ve made?

Redoing the chimney for aesthetic reasons when we needed a new roof.

7. What’s one thing you splurge on?

Plants for the yard, yarn, or books, but even then I buy the yarn on sale and buy the books used. (Oops, that’s three things)

8. What’s one thing you aren’t remotely tempted to splurge on?

Vanity – no hair color, tanning sessions, manicures, makeovers, fat lips, botox, fake eyelashes, fancy purses, anything trendy, and I resist updated tech.

 9. If $1000 was dropped into your lap today, what would you do with it?

Give 10% and slap the rest into savings for “Someday”.

10. What’s the easiest/hardest part of being frugal?

An innate lack of desire to own many things along with a need to keep life simple makes it easy, but on the other hand, a love of beauty in my surroundings, always wanting to make things look better creates temptations.

There’s also the complication of owning a very rustic seasonal mountain cabin, which is over 100 years old in the county’s harshest climate.

11. Is there anything unique about frugal living in your area?

There are very few places to spend money in our little foothill town—no chain stores, theaters, entertainments, or malls (all 35 miles away) We only have restaurants or gift shops geared to visitors, who come to visit Sequoia National Park.

There is a great hardware store, an independent grocery store, and 2 very high-priced places for gas.

12. What frugal tips have you tried and abandoned?

Back in the days of newspapers, reading ads for sales caused me to make lists of “needs”. Ignoring those ads helped me only buy what was truly needed.

I quit couponing when I realized it made me buy stupid things we didn’t need. (and when we stopped getting newspapers)

13. What’s your funniest frugal story?

I have two: after my radiator disintegrated last summer, I thought it might be time for a different car. My husband said, “Only 249,000 miles? You have plenty of miles left!” So, instead of starting to look for a car, I upped the towing package on AAA.

The only store in town that carries clothing is a thrift shop. Once a friend brought me a sweater from there and said, “This reminds me so much of you that I had to buy it for you!” I said, “It used to be mine.”

14. What single action or decision has saved you the most money over your life?

Rather than a single action, it is a series of lifelong behaviors: keeping things a very long time, not caring about trends or fads. Knowing one’s colors and styles is very freeing in terms of buying clothing.

I’ve had the same purse since 1995, bought my wallet in 1979, had my ’96 Honda Accord since 2001, and I keep my clothing forever (I could probably clothe a small island nation). I would rather buy used high-quality almost anything than something new and cheap.

Having a great mechanic has made it possible to drive old vehicles; paying off the house has provided a tremendous sense of relief and the ability to both save and give.

15. What is something you wish more people knew?

Most of what we think we need are actually wants; leasing is the most expensive way to have a car; avoiding credit card debt will save you all sorts of money and stress; money problems and money fights are the main cause of most divorces.

16. How has reading the Frugal Girl changed you?

It has helped me to recognize that my approach to life and money is good, not “cheap”; it also causes me to examine life weekly to recognize frugalities and blessings.

17. Which is your favorite type of post at the Frugal Girl and why?

When Kristen just writes about her day-to-day life or answers questions, it is a blend of enlightenment and entertainment.

I love her authenticity and honesty minus the ubiquitous internet self-centered whining, public bleeding, tiresome clichés, or profanity. The Commentariat is full of different approaches to life along with all sorts of opinions and suggestions from all over the globe.

18. Did you ever receive any financial education in school or from your parents?

My parents taught us to save and to give, but not to spend, so there is a weird guilt associated with spending.

They balanced checkbooks and taught us early that if you don’t have the money, you make do or do without. When I wanted extra money, I did farmwork for my dad, and learned early to not get paid in advance.

 19. Do you have any tips for frugal travel or vacations?

When renting a vacation home, try to go directly to the manager or owner so you can bypass the VRBO or AirBnb fees. Also, clear your browsing history when seeking airline tickets so that each time you visit the seller’s site it won’t know that you have been there and continue to raise the price or tell you that there is only one seat left (may or may not be true, but worth a try)

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Aww, Jana, it was so much fun to learn more about you, since you are such a familiar presence in the comments. Yay!

Readers, if you want to see more of Jana’s art, you can view it at her site, Cabin Art. And on the site, she has a blog.

Also….remember when I had that picturesque pear? Jana is one of the readers who painted it, and you can see her painting in this post.

Readers, the floor is yours!