Mom Shows Others How To Live Frugally

The Wichita Eagle:

Long before gas and food prices started rising, Tawra Kellam pinched pennies everywhere she could.

She feeds her family of five on $350 a month, serving favorites such as fajitas, tacos and beef Stroganoff.

The local mother has made a business — and a name for herself — living frugally.

She operates www.livingonadime.com, a Web site dedicated to getting the most out of every dollar.

Kellam, who grew up in Wichita and lives in Andover, got her inspiration from her mother, Jill Cooper, a co-author and editor.

“I saw my mom raise two teenagers on $500 a month without debt, and I wanted to be that free,” Kellam said.

She started working on her first book, “Not Just Beans,” in 1997 while she was on bed rest for her first pregnancy and finished it two years later.

“I was giving people free advice, and I thought ‘This is crazy, I’ll make them pay for it,’ ” she said.

Since then, she and her mother have published four books in print and 23 books online.

The Web site has 26,000 newsletter subscribers and about 100,000 visitors a month.