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Vintage Skills

How To Have An Old Fashioned Valentine’s Day

February 5, 2019 by Tiffany Davis 2 Comments

Are you ready to have an old fashioned Valentine’s Day celebration? I know in today’s modern world everything is commercialized, even love. But you can have an old fashioned Valentine’s Day, and it do it on a budget!

how to have an old fashioned valentine's day

In our tech-crazy modern world we can lose sight of the simple pleasures of old fashioned ways. I encourage you to take a few of these ideas for having an Old Fashioned Valentine’s Day and see how lovely the day can be. Sometimes looking to the past for sweet, romantic, ideas can be just what we need to make the holiday more than a commercialized date on the calendar!

How To Have An Old Fashioned Valentine’s Day

Make Some Old Fashioned Valentine’s Day Cards and Crafts

Remember those days back in elementary school? The pink and red construction paper? The paste? The paper doilies? Go old school and make some old fashioned Valentine’s Days cards at home. This is a great project to do with the kids too. My neighbors love getting a paper craft Valentine’s Day card and some homemade cookies. It is a rare treat these days so it will be treasured and remembered. See: Best Valentine’s Day Cookie Recipes

Be sure to see my Huge List of Homemade Valentine’s Day Crafts!

Send Love Letters  or Poems The Old Fashioned Way

Nothing says Old Fashioned Valentine’s Day like getting some paper mail. Try your hand at writing your beloved a love letter or poem and put a stamp on it. Need some inspiration for your love letters? Read the book Love Letters of Great Men with romantic letter by John Adams, Ludwig Van Beethoven and François-Marie Arouet Voltaire; or How to Write a Love Letter by Michelle Loric. But don’t worry too much, the thoughtfulness of a handwritten note will be greatly appreciated in these modern days.

Old Fashioned Valentine’s Day Gifts

Maybe you want to go beyond writing and paper crafts. How about some old fashioned Valentine’s Day Gifts that won’t break the budget.

  • Pick a bouquet of wild flowers.
  • Make your loved one breakfast in bed.
  • Watch old romantic movies at home with fresh popped corn and movie style candy. See Most Romantic Movies of All Time
  • Read a romantic novel or poetry aloud to your valentine. See Most Romantic Books of All Time
  • How about a serenade under the moonlight?
  • Not a singer? How about setting up a dance under the stars?
  • Make a mix tape…ok that’s not super old fashioned but in the 80s that was a BIG thing (maybe modern day would be a playlist).
  • Cook a dinner and eat by candlelight.
old fashioned valentine's day picnic

Romantic Outings the Old Fashioned Way

  • Pack an old fashioned picnic in the park with a wicker basket.
  • Find a drive-in movie theater and see a double feature. Not one in your area? Make a outdoor movie theater in your backyard! See DIY Outdoor Movie.
  • Share a milk shake with 2 straws at a 50s themed diner or make one at home with big old fashioned straws.
  • Recreate a famous love scene from a play, book or movie.
  • Sit for an artist to do a sketch of you and your spouse.

Old Fashioned Valentine’s Day with the Family

  • Make some homemade candy together
  • Bake cookies.
  • Make a red velvet cake.
  • Have a Old Fashioned Valentine’s Day Red & Pink Themed meal where all or most of the foods are red, pink or heart shaped.
  • Make the paper valentine’s crafts mentioned above.
  • Hand deliver some Valentine’s Day treats to family, friends and neighbors.
  • Study the real history behind St. Valentine and why this holiday became a romantic one.
  • Make a scrapbook with a love theme – famous couples in history, the couples in your family history or your family’s love story.

It isn’t hard to have an old fashioned Valentine’s Day. Just turn off the electronics and spend time with the ones you love.

Filed Under: DIY, Holidays, Vintage Skills Tagged With: diy, handmade, homemade, old fashioned, valentine's day

How to Improve Your Finances This Year

January 1, 2019 by Tiffany Davis 3 Comments

Improve your finances with 10 quick changes! You don’t have to eat beans and rice everyday to changes to your finances, start saving money and being more frugal. You can improve your finances with a few small changes that add up over time and I have 10 to get you started. Most of these crazy ways to save money are way out of most people’s comfort zones or feel downright weird; but being thrifty doesn’t have to be nuts. I promise with a few changes you’ll start seeing BIG changes.

How to Improve Your Finances


How to Improve Your Finances – 10 Quick Changes

Signs You Need to Improve Your Finances

Most of us know that we need to fix our money issues but maybe you’re not sure. Here are few signs that your finances are controlling you and not the other way around:

  1. You’re in debt.
  2. You worry about money.
  3. You have no savings.
  4. You have no retirement.
  5. You’re neglecting some bills to pay others.
  6. You feel hopeless.
  7. You’re borrowing money from family and friends.
  8. You have no finances to contribute to causes that are important to you.

Do any of those statements ring true…do all of them? Don’t worry, I’ve been there and it isn’t hopeless! 

“True economy consists in always making the income exceed the outgo.” – PT Barnum

Before we move on to the tips on how you can improve your finances, let me say this; don’t be afraid to get radical! Sometimes we need to really stir things up to make changes to our finances. No fear! No guilt! We are going to get a handle on this!

Improve Your Finances Tip #1

First thing you must do to improve your finances is to stop using credit! Credit cards, personal loans, car loans – cash is king! Nothing will cause you more grief, stress and hurt your long term financial goals than debt. I recommend using the snowball method to pay off debt.

Improve Your Finances Tip #2

Start an emergency fund! The only way you’ll stop racking up debt is to have a fund for emergencies. Emergencies are not finding a great deal on something you want! I’m talking car or house repairs, medical needs, animal care, etc. True emergency needs that are not in your household budget. Dave Ramsey has great tips for getting your emergency fund built up quick. These first 2 steps are so key to improve your finances!

Improve Your Finances Tip #3

Stop shopping. Let’s be honest, shopping in the modern age has never been easier. I can shop from my computer, my phone, a tablet…I never have to leave the house. I’ve never been a mall window shopper but Amazon is very tempting. Don’t browse brick and mortar or online shops. Do not shop for fun – only if there is a true need and the budget for it!

“We make ourselves rich by making our wants few.” – Henry David Thoreau

Improve Your Finances Tip #4

Learn to entertain yourself at home for awhile. Both Netflix and Amazon Prime Video are great ways to watch a fantastic movie. Pop your own popcorn at home (skip microwave popcorn and learn to make it the old fashioned way on the stove for MUCH better flavor) and put some REAL butter on it!

Invite your friends over for a potluck dinner and games night! It is a fun way to gather without costing anyone an arm and a leg. Some of our family favorites are: Dutch Blitz, Apples to Apples and Scattergories.

Improve Your Finances Tip #5

Have a yard sale or start selling things online. A simple yard sale can bring in hundreds of dollars by simply purging things you don’t need or use anymore. One man’s trash… Use this extra fund to build up your emergency savings or apply to debt. Bonus: Your home will be cleaner and more organized! See my Yard Sale Tips!

Improve Your Finances Tip #6

Get a side hustle. Another way to improve your finances is to bring in an extra income through a side hustle. This is typically something part time and flexible that you can do around your full time job and family. Again this “extra” income should be something you first use to build your emergency fund and then debt payment. After that you can use it to save for big purchases, start an IRA, get your mortgage paid off early, etc. If you’re not sure where to start, check out the book Side Hustle: From Idea to Income in 27 Days.

“Beware of little expenses; a small leak will sink a great ship” -Benjamin Franklin

Improve Your Finances Tip #7

Get more self-sufficient in 2019! Learn to grow and produce your own food; even growing your own herbs can help the budget. Cook more from scratch – this will help your health too which will save you long term. Not to mention a garden can be a great stress reliever. Start with my article on having The Best Backyard Garden!

Improve Your Finances Tip #8

Be careful with coupons! We ditched them, almost altogether, because I found them to be more of a hindrance than a help, See 5 Reasons I Quit Using Coupons. There are other ways you can save on food and groceries I wrote about this in 20 Frugal Food & Grocery Tips (also see tip 7 again).

Improve Your Finances Tip #9

You really need to create a budget. I have a written budget for our 2 pay periods per month. Then I have a list of set bills for each of those pay periods like mortgage, electric, Netflix, etc. At the start of the pay period I look at our bank balance, subtract bills due, living expenses (like food & gas) and then I know exactly what I have to spend for the 2 week period. I go over this daily with our bank account to make sure we are on track and that I haven’t overspent or missed something. If you find you have a hard time sticking to a budget you should consider trying the envelope method.

Improve Your Finances Tip #10

Get comfortable with being thrifty. Learn to shop used, that can be online like Craigslist, or yard sales or your local thrift store. I have found not only great deals on clothes but canning jars, books, furniture, games, puzzles and so much more. People get rid of stuff that is still in great shape, because they aren’t using it. Remember no shopping for fun – needs only.

Here’s my gift-giving rule: Respect your current financial situation. Suze Orman

It is ok to re-gift! Now I’m not advocating giving crap to your friends and family. But if you get a gift card or item (new) that you know you won’t use, hold on to it and give it as a gift later in the year. TIP: Just make sure you don’t give it to the person who gave it to you!

Improving your finances doesn’t have to be a miserable venture. Start with little steps that you are comfortable with. It is amazing how fast things can improve with just a few minor changes. I found that I loved seeing the results and wanted to try BIGGER things to get us in a better financial place.

Other Articles You Might Enjoy on Frugal Living

Frugal Tips for Surviving a Layoff

Living within Your Means

Filed Under: Frugality, Vintage Skills Tagged With: debt, improve finances, saving money

Homesteading Skills We Need to Learn and Teach

August 3, 2018 by Tiffany Davis 31 Comments

The other night I was thinking about the homesteading skills I learned from my grandmothers. They were very different women, each with their own skill set. Neither of these women were homesteaders really but they had vintage skills to share with me…sadly, at the time, I wasn’t very interested in learning them. But it got me thinking about homesteading skills; how important it is that we learn them and begin to teach them to others (especially the younger generation).

These vintage skills were naturally passed on for generations. That is until many of us moved into cities and found that we enjoyed convenience over quality. However in the last few years I have seen a revival of homesteading – from small backyard homesteaders to those leaving city life behind and moving onto acres in the country.  But what homesteading skills do we really need? Where can we learn them and who needs to be taught?

Homesteading Skills We Need to Learn & Teach.

Homesteading Skills We Need to Learn and Teach

Well I’m glad you asked! I formulated a little list of what I think are the most important homesteading skills that we need to learn. Now I’m not saying these are the only homesteading skills you need, nor am I saying you are not a homesteader if you do not know how to do some of these. But I do believe we all should be doing our best to acquire and then pass down these skills; and I’ll share why as well as some resources.

The biggest piece of advice I can give you, before we head into the list, is to take on one or two skills at a time. If you try to learn and execute them all at once, you are going to do them poorly and probably burn out.

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Filed Under: Backyard Homestead, Homesteading, Vintage Skills

15 Vintage Skills That Can Be Learned On YouTube

August 3, 2017 by Tiffany Davis 6 Comments

In today’s modern world we can make the internet our teacher. I bring you 15 Vintage Skills That Can Be Learned On YouTube. Now I know that some YouTube channels are not to be trusted but there are some awesome teachers out there that have a passion, like me, to keep these skills alive. Now their lessons are easily accessible thanks to the internet. I have included 15 different skills that I think you can learn very well on via videos. These are also vintages skills I’ve discussed in other articles. I feel that many kids aren’t being taught these practical skills because many of their parents never learned. You are NEVER too old to learn vintage skills; and learning has never been easier!

15 Vintage Skills That Can Be Learned On YouTube

15 Vintage Skills That Can Be Learned On YouTube

I’ll tell you that I had the opportunity to learn many of these skills in my younger days but either didn’t want to or didn’t keep using them. I have used YouTube to learn and relearn and I love that I can pause or rewind over and over without annoying the teacher. 😉

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Filed Under: Survival Skills, Vintage Skills

10 Important Vintage Cooking Skills You Should Have

May 16, 2017 by Tiffany Davis 3 Comments

Vintage cooking skills seem to be a dying art in the general population. I write a lot about “vintage skills” because I don’t want to see this important knowledge to be lost to current and future generations. You don’t have to be a homesteader or a prepper to appreciate that there a skills we need to maintain, even though modern society has a easier version.10 Important Vintage Cooking Skills You Should HaveSo I sat down and made a list of of the vintage cooking skills or kitchen skills. Some of these may feel extreme for you while others may be ones you know well and can’t believe anyone doesn’t know it. But bear with me because there is something here for all of us to learn! Never assume that these old-fashioned skills are used by anyone, just because you and a group of people on a forum are putting them to practice….

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Filed Under: Kitchen Stories, Survival Skills, Vintage Skills

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