A few years ago, I lived The Good Life. Okay, it looked good. Damn good.

Here’s the house we lived in.

I had a big house on an acre on a cul-de-sac, just like all the cool moms in town.

Here’s my old car.

It’s a freaking PORSCHE SUV. I upgraded from a lowly Beemer, just like all the cool moms in town.

And this was me.

I dressed FABULOUSLY, just like all the cool moms in town. Oh, except I was the only one wearing size 2X. I was a COW.

Our kids were not happy. They were sad puppies.

My husband, AKA Mr. Lemony, traveled around the world on business NONSTOP. The rare times he was home, he growled and slept. He was a BEAR.

I was a cow, my husband was a bear and the kids were pitiful pups. It was beastly.

SO.

We decided to re-invent.

COMPLETELY, UTTERLY, INSANELY RE-INVENT.

Mr. Lemony quit his job. And career.

We sold EVERYTHING we owned. EVERYTHING. The estate sale lady even sold all my gorgeous 2X clothes, my painful designer shoes and the unused-because-we-always-ate-out spices from our custom kitchen cabinets.

We moved a thousand miles west to Boulder, Colorado ON A WHIM.

We enrolled the kids in awesome public schools. So what if the new schools don’t have $45 million additions? So what if every student doesn’t look like one of those gigantic Abercrombie photos of gorgeous half-dressed teens with their hands in their pants?

We bought a much smaller, cheaper house sitting on less than 1/4 acre. The house is just big enough for us to hang out together and the yard is just big enough to serve as the dog’s bathroom.

I bought a Toyota SUV. Its cup holders are WAY better than the Porsche’s.

Mr. Lemony re-invented his career. He didn’t get a new job until he had learned a new career. A career that he actually found INTERESTING.

He didn’t make a single penny for two YEARS.

We learned to live well on less. Much less.

I learned to cook and lost 40 pounds.

The kids adore their new schools.

It’s GORGEOUS here.

We fucking LOVE our new life.

We’ve never been happier.

SO. I want to share my goofy to bizarre experiences AND share handy dandy money-saving tips with you. Just click on the DEAL O’ THE DAY tab to see new offers daily.

Enjoy!