People who know me sometimes wonder why I’m so frugal. They question why I don’t seem to eat out. They can’t understand why I rather watch a movie at home than go to the movie theaters and they certainly don’t feel that I’m actually enjoying life. They, like most people, are simply failing to look at my life from my point of view.
Frugal Living Isn’t Just About Cutting Down
Many people may feel that being frugal is about having and doing less but it’s really about doing more with what you already have. It may seem weird to some that not getting something is actually good but there’s true happiness when you don’t feel the need to buy.
My parents used to tell me that they made up all these wonderful paper based games because they didn’t have the money to buy anything else. Nowadays, we not only need video consoles, we won’t be satisfied until they have an Xbox 360, PS3, Wii and a Nintendo DS. You would think that having one console would make us happier than not having any, but we actually feel worst. You may have four machines plugged into your TV, but you can only play one game at a time (I’ve seen some amazing stuff with kids playing video games, but I have yet to see them play more than one game concurrently). It’s not what we have. It’s how we feel about what we have that matters.
True frugal living to me is:
- Enjoying what you have instead of what you can’t get
- Detaching Yourself from Lure of Consumerism
- Learning that Happiness Comes from Within
I’m not totally immune to consumerism. I go out to dinner, buy new gadgets and go on vacations as well. It’s just that I don’t see the need to do it as often as everyone else. I rarely feel unhappy about not buying, because I already buy a huge majority of what I want. I’m detaching myself from needing “things” to make me happy. For all those who care, this is good for me, not bad.
I’m not frugal because there’s a need. Rather, there’s no need for me to spend. How about you? Why are you frugal?
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- Digging Up Childhood Toys is Fun and Frugal
{ 27 comments… read them below or add one }
Part of the reason I’m frugal is because I’m tired of just collecting “stuff.”
I always wanted things — I have more than 200 DVDs right now, and plenty of videogames, too — but now that I have a family, the more I want to spend time with them and save to give them the things they want. I don’t have time for accumulating stuff, so that money goes toward them.
Great post. Frugal living is truly about not being wasteful and not so much about the need to save every last cent.
I am frugal because I just don’t see the need to be otherwise. For years, my friends laughed at me while they were buying new mercedes SUVs but these days, they are all begging for my help in helping them fix their finances. What goes around comes around I guess.
Utterly fantastic post. As I strive to be more frugal, it helps with articles like this. While there still is a consumerism drive in me, it has been tempered with the ability to look at things in the long term. I enjoy sitting at home watching an occassional pay-per-view feature and spending $4.99 as opposed to $8.50 a person. My parents tried to instill these values on me as a child, but it took some hard times for me to realize that they were right.
Make do with what you have before you get more.
Agreed, I also, don’t need all this “stuff”. It is nice to have it but there is a time and place for it.
Also, if you want to get somewhere, let’s start with the basic needs for survival and go from there.
If I spend money, it is not just my money I am spending, but my time.
The time it took to earn that money, and the interest that money could earn over time.
Therefore, I need to know that what I am spending on is worth the time it took out of my life for me to earn the money for it. Somethings are just not worth the trade off in my life blood. I just have NO desire for them to start with, and see no need and no want for them. I live fairly simply, because that’s what makes me comfortable and content and even happy.
I do not have time to fully use all the things I have now and all the books I have not read and all the projects I have not started let alone finished and not enough time for all my grandkids nor for all I want to do…. so why would I want to waste any of my time on useless trivial pursuits that would take my time away plus the time already spent to earn the money?
However, there are things I do not hesitate one moment to buy – such as a vacation to FL to visit my Mom and siblings. Well worth the money and the time it took to earn it. Precious memories. New waders for clam digging when the old ones wear out. (unless I can find them at a garage sale) New line for my fishing pole. Etc. What I am buying HAS to be worth my life blood or I will NOT spend the money on it. That’s the way I figure it
Well said. I have gotten to where I place a value on all major purchases (anything over $100) and calculate out how many hours I had to work to accumulate enough to pay for it. Makes it easier to decide whether something is worth the asking price if you have to figure out how much personal labor was expended to buy it.
I got tired of buying stuff because of clutter and as I get older, less and less of the merchandise out there interests me anyway. Now, I’m slowly using up or giving away what I have collected.
I am frugal in spurts, and here and there like the commentor above, there are some things that are worth splurging on. But it is certainly “fun” to be frugal most of the time. I play a game in my mind how frugal can I be. Thanks for the great post.
I guess I started out being frugal because it was a necessity – we were poor when I was growing up. Now, I would feel silly not being frugal. I would hate to use more than I need, buy new when I could buy used, pay more for something than I had to, or not make something last as long as possible by fixing it rather than getting a new one. I hate waste. I also hate clutter, and don’t see the need to own a lot of things like books or movies, that I could just as easily borrow.
That’s kinda funny because I wrote about this same thing on Monday. I’m frugal because I want to get the most value out of every dollar that leaves my wallet. That means I don’t necessarily buy the cheapest things if the cost of repeated replacement would be more than a better quality item and I make do with what I have as long as I can.
I could do a lot better at being frugal. I don’t like having lots of “things” either. It’s easier to think and work when you have lots of space to do it in. Plus, you have to take care of all these things you buy, too. My main weakness here is books.
We are frugal and my wife is frugal because we have goals that we want to reach. Living frugally is our insurance that we can meet and surpass the goals that we have put forth. If living on less leads us to buy less “stuff” then so be it.
Jerry
I started being frugal about a year ago. I realized that all the stuff we were filling our house up with was just causing me more work to keep it clean and put away when not in use.
I was also bored, if I’m being totally honest. Trying to be frugal was like a game at first. Now that I’ve become jobless (not to worry hubby is still employed and doing well), I find that being frugal gives me something to do while I’m home and I find myself returning to a life I remember growing up. I am a lot more relaxed now and my husband commented that he’s noticed that we have been getting along a lot better now too.
Maybe being frugal and a SAHM really is good and not as scarey as I once thought.
The reason I’m frugal is because I reaaaally hate having a job. Having to wake up at 6am 5 days a week and spend 8hrs doing something I don’t want to do is not how I want to spend my life any longer than I absolutely have to. The more money I save the less I have to work and the quicker I can retire.
I am frugal because I LOVE having money in the bank and the feeling of security it gives me. My frugality enabled me to buy my first house at age 27 with 21% down – a house big enough to grow into and have a family in. Plus it keeps me from feeling overwhelmed by having too many things to put somewhere and keep track of.
I’m frugal because I don’t need too many things to make me happy, I got great family and friends to fill goods left by wasteful spending…
I have been frugal a very long time…as a child, 1 of 9, we shared a lot…we passed clothes down…my sister and I at one stage could wear the same clothes, so she might wear them one week and I would wear them the other…back then (the 60′s and 70′s) no one ever judged us by what we wore, just by who we were…so there was no pressure to look good just be good and good for something…I learned a secret, notice and appreciate the little things…a beautiful day, a rainbow, a bug, your pets, beaches, walks, bicycle rides, eating when hungry, family closeness, grandparents, getting hugged by parents after being disciplined for doing something wrong, playing with your siblings, etc….all those little things that make up a day, a week, a month a year, and your life…that little secret opened up a whole world to me of appreciation and gratitude…good things happened all the time and that ‘attitude’ helped me get through the bad things that happened regularly. So, when I was out on my own at 19 making $850.00 and getting paid once a month, when the money was gone, it was gone…not wanting to burden my parents, I didn’t ask for any help…when things got tough, I got a second job, and the 2nd secret I learned at 19, was pay your bills first…pay them first, and what you have left is what you spend or save…now I know the rage today is to pay yourself first…but I felt that when I paid my bills and lived up to my responsibilities, I earned self respect and developed character…that WAS paying myself first…in time, a longer time than most, savings came…So, I also learned, as long as my clothes were clean and I was clean…I didn’t have to spend a lot of money to look good, just choose low cost, classic styles that last the test of time…Of course, over time, I had to buy suits (back then) for my job, but I built my wardrobe slowly and steadily and inexpensively…I kept VERY good care of my things so they didn’t need replacing very often. Well, suffice to say, at 50, I have everything I could ever want, drive a 12 year old $2500 paid for car, own my house, own one pair of jeans that fits, many different shirts, a few sweats, and still look good and feel good…my frugality has become such a way of life, it isn’t even a strain…it is a freeing, calming, confidence building lifestyle…There are many things I can do IF I wanted to in the spending department, but I have no desire for more material things…what I like to do is teach others, IF they will listen, this rewarding lifestyle choice…I have found it really starts everyday with loving yourself enough to not have to compete with anyone for anything. Also, give…give, and give some more of yourself to others…it becomes easier as you don’t need to spend as much time on yourself, that extra energy, time, and money can go in directions that bring much joy…it is said that when we leave this life on earth, we cannot take ONE physical material object with us…BUT, what we take with us is between our ears and in our hearts….a frugal lifestyle is a prosperous lifestyle because one can reach a place of enough and then can give so much more out of a place of prosperity….and there is peace within.
My oldest daughter recently moved to Paraguay to work for the Peace Corps. She is amazed at how little people have, but get by and are happy. They grow their own food, raise chickens, milk the goats and trade goods amongst themselves. The community she is in uses bicycles for basic transportation. When it rains the dirt roads are not passable and schools close. She told me she isn’t surprised Americans are materialistic because “things” are so easily purchased here. Instant gratification. Just think…If you have to travel 4 hours by bus to the nearest town, you make do without.
I am from a family of 14. My husband is 1 of 5 boys from the Midwest. Our families were very frugal. My mother always said she “didn’t have two nickels to rub together.” We both wore used clothing, and our parents found ways to stretch the dollars[e.g., meatless Mondays, homemade jello Popsicle, sewing & mending clothes, bathing 5 kids at once, etc. It was a way of life.
EVERYONE knows that we frugal. We don't hide it and we're not ashamed of our "cheap" ways. My husband is even more frugal than I am. I cook dinner every night and pack our leftovers for lunch at work; we wear Goodwill purchased clothes & shoes; drive 10- yr-old+ used cars that we paid for with cash. We've furnished our home with inexpensive antiques we got from yard sales over the years; take advantage of sales on day-old bread/pastries & marked down meats & veggies that we cook the day we bring them home from the store; and foodsaver freeze meals for our daughters to take to college so they have home-cooked meals. We're avid coupon clippers. We taught our three young adult daughters to do the same. When they were young they would be given 50% of the cost saving on any grocery coupon that we used if they cut it out of the Sunday paper [they put their initials on the coupon]. It was a great learning opportunity.
My main reasons for being frugal go back to maximizing the potential of every sale, every meal, every dollar, every opportunity. I can’t stand waste. Another reason is that people have money because they save it, not because they spend it. A divorced mother, on a teacher’s salary, with little child support and no family within 4 hour radius has taught me to be self-reliant in every possible way. Yet, I have a much bigger and nicer home than most people I know, am able to take vacations, save money each month, put name brand clothes on my kid’s back, eat well, have a brand new car, etc etc. And I’m not strapped to the hilt in debt either. I have about 25K in equity in my home, drive a 4 dr Yaris, have an Energy Star home, etc etc. We’re not wealthy but comfortable in the middle class. Efficiency is one of the main characteristics of frugality; the more efficient you are, the more money you will save and vice versa. Another part of being frugal is making smart choices about goods, employment and even relationships. Poor choices lead to all kinds of problems.
I employ many of the most common and even unusual ways to save money but I draw the line at a few things: quality (not cheap) paper towels, I’m not making my own laundry soap, body wash or deodorant, organic foods for us and our pets, don’t have time to grown my own veges, etc etc. As one poster said before, buying quality, and not necessarily the cheapest thing, is truly frugal. Always ask yourself this: do I NEED it? Be honest with yourself.
One last thing I forgot to include….I refuse to own an old car. It seems cost effective in terms of payments and insurance but extremely cost-prohibitive in terms of unexpected major repairs, gas mileage and safety. Buying a gently used newer car enables me to have a warranty, which is super-frugal all the way around.
Long live frugality. Being frugal is all too often misconstrued. We truly believe that being frugal is actually people being savvy shoppers. We find it hard to believe that people always pay full price for any product. In reality, it’s not even about paying full price it’s about being sure you are comfortable with the price you paid for an item.
Much like the comments above some items people feel comfortable spending more on certain items and that is perfectly fine. Some of our site users will spend hours comparing prices and finding the perfect discount and others will simply use what is available. They are both being savvy shoppers. It is up to the consumer to decide what their time is worth and how much they seek to save. How frugal you want to be is up to you but in all honesty we should all have a little frugality somewhere in our lives.
We want to leave you all with the best tip possible because this attacks the heart of the issue before frugality is even brought up. Be a smart shopper and just ask yourself… “Do I NEED this or do I WANT this?” You will be amazed that simply stopping for a moment to think about a purchase is all you need to be a savvy, smart, and frugal shopper. Good luck out there.
These area great tips, thank you everyone. I’m newly divorced, and frivolous spending was a big factor in my decision to split. Its good to get back to the basics.
For 34 years my mantra was “I can’t retire if I spend all my money.” Now that I’m retired (at 56), my mantra is, “I can’t stay retired if I spend all my money.”
Wow, I never actually realized I was frugal until I read the comments above.
I also cook at home, buy fresh produce at the cheap Greek and Vietnamese markets (not Whole Foods, like my friends!) drive a 2004 Element (bought used after reading Consumer Reports about reliability) , always carry lunches, etc. We also only buy clothes on sale or off season.
Still, I feel like we could do more.
We’re thinking about selling our house to get our hands on the equity before prices fall yet.. It’s always been a bit pricey for us here, given our incomes, and we probably shouldn’t have bought it. Though we’ve saved/earned $20,000 per year in our retirement account, and have significant equity in our home, we don’t have any liquid assets, and I HATE that feeling!
Although my father was a doctor, as a child my mother gave me dripping (beef fat) sandwiches with salt and pepper to remind me what they ate during the depression. My mother kept a stockpile of canned food in the storeroom ‘in case’.
Orphaned in my early teens, I became frugal a) because I was alone and didn’t have anyone to turn to, and b) for intellectual interest, as I like to do calculations (I have many budget/spending spreadsheets).
Agreeing with the article – I was intrigued with a student the other day who said he preferred to buy the most expensive because he assumed it would be the best quality – I prefer to spend least (buying top quality in perfect condition second-hand at garage sales for 1/10th of the new price works for me) and enjoy having money in the bank so I can, without hesitation, book an overseas holiday without a financial concern. Repair, reuse, recycle. Today I took home a perfect kitchen knife someone had put in the rubbish.
I rarely use cash, and have automatic savings plans, my credit card balance is paid automatically each month, and measure water/electricity cost, e.g. 2c/toilet flush, 30-60c/hot shower, and brew my own beer for about $15/23 liters so a 300mm bottle costs me about 25c rather than $3-6 from the pub.
We mostly cook at home, but enjoy a local cheap restaurant for about $10 once a week. I live in the city so mostly walk, and drive my 20yo car worth about $1000 about twice a week which irritates me as it loses value rather than growing like most of my investments.
Rather than the hedonic treadmill seeking good feelings from spending money, instead I get pleasure from saving money!
The things own you. You do not own the things!!!!!