This little life of mine tends toward the very frugal. I enjoy what I see as benefits of frugal living – simplicity, appreciation, creativity. There are many lists of the things that frugal people should or shouldn’t do. There are many things that I would never dream of having and most of them are things that come with monthly payments. By living frugally for a lot of the bigger things in my life, there is room left for me to enjoy simple and sometimes expensive pleasures without guilt. So, while I do things – like visit Starbucks, wear nice clothes, and carry a Coach purse – that others in the frugal world might frown upon, I do those things because I believe that it’s okay to enjoy something and fit that into your financial picture and just let it be – no guilt.
I enjoy hanging clothes outside on the clothesline.
I don’t miss cable TV.
I like our older cars.
I love venti white chocolate mocha lattes.
I like my designer jeans.
I like growing vegetables.
I like eating leftovers.
I love do-it-yourself projects.
I don’t clip coupons.
The amount of time, energy, or desire to do certain things determines how frugal we are, right? So, I ask you…what are the splurges that you still allow yourself in your frugal life? What aren’t you willing to give up? And what aspects of frugal living are you more than happy to do because you have the time, energy and desire to do them?
I don’t need many clothes.
I won’t give up nice vacations.
Great discussion!
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Both my husband and I spend more on our clothes and shoes, for work because we find that good quality items hold up longer and tend to stay in style if they are classic pieces. Also, since my husband is on his feet all day for his job, good supportive, comfy and sylish shoes are a must. Otherwise, I do a lot of the same things you do – we eat at home most every night, we pack lunches, I line dry clothes when we have good weather, we have only basic cable to get our local stations and a few channels for the kids. I’m not good at coupons either, but I always shop the sales and plan our menus, plus I cook from scratch so I think I’m doing fine in that category anyways. We grow our own raspberries and this year blackberries and make our own jam too. Most of the frugal things we do, we truly enjoy doing. In my opinion, some of the simplest things in life are among the absolute best – who can argue with a homemade blackberry cobbler??
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I love that there is an overall consensus about not forgoing quality to save a few bucks and that many are willing to spend less elsewhere so you have money to experience, travel, and learn. Thanks for all the input so far, I’m really enjoying reading your comments!
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I’m not much of a couponer, either. I’ll use coupons, but I don’t go out of my way to find them. We don’t get the paper, none of the stores around here double coupons, we don’t buy a lot of name brand stuff, we don’t buy a lot of processed food, and the locally-owned grocery store (with very competitive prices & much better products) doesn’t really do a lot with coupons. I know some people are coupon queens/kings, but I just don’t see it helping us out much.
Other things I won’t sacrifice: our physical & mental health (including eating good food), tasty food including chocolate, hot showers, AC (though we use a lot less nowadays, it is Florida), real friendships, time with family, our pets & their health, having a house with a yard, high speed internet, all makeup, cute shoes.
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I love coupons! I love my Suburban that I have driven for almost 10 years! I love to cook from scratch! I love to line dry my clothes. I will not give up my internet and my Directv (I get HBO for free)
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Nice tips, I may try and revert back to the simple things in life. In this hectic world we live in, people often forget that the most simple things give the biggest pleasure.
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