Bruce Bucks

What does it mean to be Frugal?

For a lot of people being frugal can mean a lot of things. Frugality is synonymous with thriftiness, conservation, and moderation. Being frugal could mean finding ways to stretch the dollar further or just merely living within your means. Being Frugal can be adapted to your own goals and your own experience. If you’re trying to cut back on spending money at restaurants, then maybe never eating out is your way of frugal living. For me frugal living is about not buying anything you don’t need. My frugality falls under conservation. I don’t want to buy items that I would never use, or buy something that I already have.

My frugality is not always about saving money, but rather saving the materials that go into making the goods you purchase. I asked for an iPad for my birthday this last year, and for a lot of people that is not a necessity at all. The iPad is definitely a luxury item compared to a laptop that might make you more productive. However, my logic in buying the iPad was to eradicate the need to purchase books, movies, and music from stores. Think about the amount of paper, plastic, shipping, fuel, and production costs that go into producing all of those goods. I like the idea of being able to digitally download everything and save trees and the environment from further consumption one download at a time.

If your anything like me, you love to read a good book, you love to hold the pages in your hands, and you love the smell of the book as you turn each page. There is something amazing about the experience of reading a book from front to back. However, I have chosen to deny myself that experience in order to conserve and decrease my footprint on this earth.

My frugality is about being satisfied with what you have. Over the past year I have been reanalyzing the things that I have and the things that I think I need. Often times the reason that we buy certain items is because we think that it will make us happier, but the truth is, it always fades. Nothing that you buy will ever make you deeply happy. Since my wife and I got married we have never had cable television.  I have wrestled with the thought of being able to watch Sports Center every night before I go to bed or being able to watch every NFL game on Direct TV. In the end, it all comes down to, do I really need that? Do I really want to spend my life watching television? Instead of watching Sports Center, why not spend the last moments of the day hanging out with my wife? Strange concept I know. Frugality is about being satisfied with what you currently have around you. If you stop and look around your house, you will realize that you have much. Stop reading right now and think about what you own.

Stop. Reading. And Be Thankful.

My Frugality is about buying what I want/need, but within reason. It is okay to buy items that you might not necessarily need, but make sure your buying items within reason. The first thing that comes to mind when I think about hoarding goods that you don’t necessarily need, is Beanie Babies.

Really! Do you need 500 bears with TY tags on them?  People from other countries probably sit back and laugh about American Consumerism. If I already have a black shirt, then I probably don’t need to buy another one. I own a lot of nice products, clothes, and good, but my goal is to not buy in excess.  I want to consume wisely, and be responsible with my money. There is nothing wrong with splurging every once in awhile, or buying items that you want, but I encourage you evaluate your consuming habits.

I hope you will share in the comments below what frugality means to you? What does frugality look like in your experience? What is one thing you’re super frugal about?

-Matt

[Photo Credit: Photo 1 best-advice-from-mom.com; Photo 2 genpulse.bc.edu]