About Lake Country Saver

Lake Country Saver is a blog for all of us who want to spend wisely, save well and live richly in our lovely corner of Southeastern Wisconsin. It’s a place to share money-saving tips, research good deals, and learn how to live frugally in a teetering economy.

About Me

I’ve lived in the Lake Country for almost my entire life. We moved to Oconomowoc from Alderly (near Ashippun, north of Oconomowoc) when I was six years old. My parents still live in my childhood home on Lower Nashotah Lake.

I attended Summit Elementary (the old one, torn down in 2008) and the middle school (again, the old one) in Oconomowoc, graduated from University Lake School in Hartland in 1995, and then graduated from UW-Madison in 2000 with a degree in Human Ecology.

I’ve always been interested in saving money and investing, but I never had a clear picture of where to start or how to proceed. When I was younger, I babysat a lot and saved my money in the wooden clown bank my grandmother bought me. I didn’t like to spend that money, but I took good care of it — I ironed the singles when they got too crumpled!

The only thing I asked for my 18th birthday were shares of my family’s stock in Quad/Graphics, a local and prosperous printing company. I got my first investors’ prospectus (for Cisco Systems) when I was 20.

Unfortunately, I never got those Quad shares and I never invested in Cisco, but it clearly shows how interested I was in saving and investing my hard-earned cash. I still have these desires and interests, even as my 401(k) loses value and grocery prices skyrocket.

Now, a decade, one marriage, three kids and a few “real” jobs later, I’m constantly searching to find what works for my family in today’s economy. I hope to share what I learn so I can help ease the way for other people doing the same.