About Us

Carole, who lives in southern Nevada, is the matriarch of this trio. She and her husband of 26+ years have bought, managed and sold two small businesses while raising a family of 5 children.  Amazingly they were also able to pay off two separate homes, $60,000 in student loans and over a million dollars in business debt.  Living in a frugal way has always been part of the family equation, but so has been taking advantage of the good things of life!  Over the years they have travelled a great deal and saved up for anything they really wanted.  Carole and her husband have successfully launched three daughters into independent adulthood and have a teenage son still living at home, who is well on his way to a bright future.  No debts and money in the bank -- or the stock market -- brings a peace that comes in no other way.

Janssen and her husband Bart live in Austin, TX. She has a bachelor's degree in history from BYU and a masters in information studies from UT Austin. She worked as an elementary school librarian in Boston before the birth of her daughter. She lives frugally in order to feel secure and for the rush of "beating the system." If money were no object, she'd travel the world, buy clothing that wasn't on clearance, and have a kitchen stocked with every item Williams-Sonoma sells. She likes to read, cook, and garden (in an apartment, that means three little window pots). She also earns a little extra income working for her dad's dental office in Las Vegas. She blogs about books and the minutia of her life at Everyday Reading.

Merrick and her husband, Philip, live in Provo, UT. After recently being laid off from her job, she has fully embraced life at home as a full-time painter and crafting entrepreneur. She received her bachelor's degree from BYU in visual arts, and now attends evening classes at the Bridge Academy for post-grad fine arts studies. She lives frugally in order to keep the savings account high on a now-one-income family, to feel secure about adding baby expenses to our budget in April, and to never get over the proud feeling of buying a $5 pair of shoes. She likes to paint, listen to books on CD, and cook. She also blogs about her art (and other random stuff) at Merrick's Art.