"Our family needed to cut back on expenses," Ingram explains. "In 2007, we sold our old house to pay off debt that we had incurred and moved into a new house and I swore that we would never get ourselves into huge amounts of debt again."
But the book is also subtitled "How to Live Happier and Healthier for Less. " And one of the points she makes is that even if you're being frugal, you can still take vacations.
"You cannot go to the Caribbean in February and expect to save money," Ingam says. "But there are ways that you can travel and save money."
One of those ways is to travel off-season. That's how Leah's family saved on a trip to Wildwood Crest, New Jersey.
"The whole notion of going off-season, even just going to the Jersey shore in mid-June, or even a bit later in June, before schools get out, you'll save a couple hundred dollars a night on hotel costs," Ingram says.
Another tip is to stay with relatives. During a trip to Maine, Leah's family stayed with her Mom.
And she also suggests turning business trips into family vacations. When her husband's company paid for his airfare and hotel in London, the rest of the family tagged along and only had to pay for their airfares and meals.
Her other tips:
Check for cheaper flights out of smaller airports, like Allentown or Atlantic City.
Pick accomodations with kitchens, so you don't have eat all your meals in restaurants
Consider house-swapping (though only with friends, or friends of friends).
To check out Leah Ingram's Suddenly Frugal blog, click here.
