Why Would A Person Choose To Live A Frugal Life?

Until some years ago I didn’t know what budget was, since I had/choose to have a simply life I discover who were my true friends, they find good stay at home watching dvd instead fancy restaurant, new low cost or absolutely free fun… but I agree with all your post, having a frugal life doesn’t means have a boring life

I used to be frugal to a fault. Then, I married a spender. We’ve balanced each other out and are finally on the same page with a budget. We are aggressively paying off our cars/student loan, and saving 10-15% for retirement. Once our loans are paid off I’m going to relax a bit. While I do love being frugal and saving money, I’m also starting to realize that life is too short not to enjoy it sometimes! So, we will budget for things like yearly vacations (within driving distance), and other special memories we can make with our kids while they young.

It definitely helps you more appreciate what you have, but I still think being too frugal can actually make us more miserable, but that’s just me.

I think there’s a stereotype that frugal living means you’re living without. In a way you are, but it’s supposed to be worth it because you gain so much in simplicity and contentment. I do have a minimalist attitude in general, but that’s just my personality. That’s the extent of it. I really have no desire to be completely frugal!

Living frugal is a way of showing humility. As many people believe they need alot to live on nowadays or have something to showoff to people, “having just enough is good enough.”

My lack of employment over the last year has really helped me focus on what I value. Before, it was no big deal to spend $30 to pick up drive-thru for dinner, but now $30 is a lot of money to me! I could eat for days for that price. I’ve basically given up all of the “extras” in my life – no shopping, no fast food, no hair cuts, and to be honest, I don’t really miss any of it. I think I could live a very happy and frugal life, even if I wasn’t sort of forced into it 🙂

I’m not the most frugal person, but as I’ve gotten more frugal in the last couple of years I’ve still been able to enjoy life. Frugality doesn’t mean a boring life.

You make excellent points Michelle! Lliving a frugal life is simply a trade-off. We trade “stuff” for peace-of-mind. We trade financing for patience, and put what we would have paid in interest, right into our bank account! We trade eating out for cooking at home and eating healthy food. We have everything we want and need in life, and I would venture to say, someone on the outside looking in, wouldn’t think of us as frugal. The main reason for our frugal lifestyle is as Christians, we believe we are honoring God by carefully managing the resources He has given us.

Nelson, I 100% agree with you here. I’m progressively getting rid of stuff, and one of the blessings in my life is that I never lived in a big place (since I moved out from my parents’ house). As a result, we have been constrained to small places all the time, reducing the amount of stuff we could buy. In my “spending” years, I hated it, but now I am glad this was enforced on me, as it increased my frugality. I wouldn’t change it if I could.

All of those make perfect sense. A lot of people think that frugal living means having a boring life and not allowing yourself to have any fun or buy anything new.

I started being frugal a few years ago when I realized that I needed a change. Some people understand what I’m doing, but a lot of folks don’t. They are too busy keeping up with the Joneses. Being frugal has helped my debt get lower and has allowed me to raise my credit score by 168 points in 8 months.

I consider money as a means to financial independence, not as a means to happiness. I think what people forget is that living frugally doesn’t mean that you’re not living a happy and fulfilling life.

Great article! These are very helpful ideas for me. I really wanted to live a simple and frugal life and yet I’m having a hard time pushing it since I’m living with my parents and I’m the bread winner of the family. I really enjoyed reading your article and I learned a lot from it. Thanks for sharing.

Nice article. Yes there is a clear difference between being cheap and frugal. Being frugal doesn’t mean that someone is cheap and can’t afford but it means that how to manage and spend your money wisely. I really love to shop new clothes and first it was to take lots of money of mine but then I turned my self as a frugal person and started shopping it while availing the coupons from clothingric.com, lavishcoupon.com, savings.com and sites a like and now I am really able to save my money.

Frugal? Gee to so many people, including some of my “so called” friends that means I’m a Scrooge. Or worse a tightarse.

The last one comes from my wife so often it isn’t funny.

Funny how “she” complains we don’t have enough money, but NOTHING stops her from shopping for clothes (3 wardrobes jam packed full of that). Nor from buying supermarket “treats” because “I work hard and I’m entitled.” Such a mentality huh? Nor from inviting her “friends” (some of whom she actually dislikes) for an eating session, typical Filipino tradition. Or from buying takeaways (take out in the US) because I can’t be bothered cooking. Oh, and my cooking is never ever good enough for her, even if she likes it and comes back for seconds, and god forbid, thirds.

Yes this Frugal stuff is so hard… on your wallet. Not!