Living Brilliantly
Posted by Mary Caraccioli | Filed under Innovators, Kids, Lifestyle, parenting, shopping
One of the great things about my job is that each day I get to dip my toe into a new world. With every story I cover, I meet new and often interesting people and for just a few hours, I get to live in their world. This week I spent time with author and blogster Kristen Hagopian. She wrote the book Brilliant Frugal Living. She is a whirlwind. Funny and non-stop with the snappy dialogue. But Kristen’s genius is living frugally. She gave up her $50K job when she had kids, after she and her husband decided to make one paycheck work. Instead of sulking about what she had to give up, Kristen is joyful about each dollar she saves.
The day I spent with her she took me to her secret weapon grocery store, BB’s in Morgantown, PA. BB’s sells overstock and damaged products from the big grocers. It was a delight finding high quality organic and other top quality products for literally next to nothing. But it was even more fun watching Kristen come to life as we stumbled upon organic dark chocolate bars, usually 3 or 4 dollars a piece for 25-cents. She momentarily forgot about our shoot and grabbed the stack. This catch wasn’t going to anyone else.
The same day she snagged a $70 Little Tykes desk for her daughter for $20, thanks to craigslist. The beauty of Kristen’s lifestyle is not just consuming cheaply, it is about using what you have and thinking things through before you spend money. Those things ultimately reduce the quantity and increase the quality, of what she and her family consume. Keep your eye on LiveWellHD.com to fin out when my stories with Kristen will air. In the meantime check out her blog at HTTP://BRILLIANTFRUGALLIVING.WORDPRESS.COM/
Tags: brilliant frugal living, caraccioli, craigslist, hagopian
