I’ve been pondering this myself lately. I used to think I was fairly frugal, however that was coming off the back of being the ‘biggest consumer on the block’. Now after blogging for nearly two years and reading so many frugal blogs I realise I’m only about half way there. There is so much more I could, and want, to be doing.
I’m not beating myself up over it, and it’s not a competition, it’s a fun journey. It’s much more fun paying off the mortgage and working towards our dreams, than spending our money on the latest gadget.
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I too feel I could do so much better, but it’s a process and at least I, like you, am on my way!
You’re doing great!!
:0)
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I know how you feel. I get more out of saving these days and actually get a bit grumpy when I have to spend money!
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Compared to friends and coworkers, I am very frugal. Compared to people on the frugal sites, I can do a lot more. The more frugal I am the more I notice other places to be frugal.
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Everybody could probably do a little (or a lot) more but as you say, we’re learning and improving the whole time.
I think the thing I enjoy most about frugality is that it frees me from being controlled by the big capitalists.
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Hi Laura. I´m a “spendaholic” in treatment but as a daughter of an extreme frugal I think frugality has different stages and I agree (first comment), it´s a process. We can always do much better, if we set our minds to it. There´s one idea that keeps me from being more frugal: I only have this life to live, when I become older I´ll have to deal with what I haven´t done and can´t do anymore.
So, right now I´m searching for a balanced position instead of trying to be in one extreme, which isn´t me at all. I love food and all the good things in life. I don´t want to change myself just to have a few more bucks. All we earn are bucks comparing to rich people. Those also have problems because they have too much money:)
Freedom is being out of debt, and being able to go anywhere we want. If we have a 9/5 job than we´re not really free. And nowadays, who is?
Cheers.
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i’m with you. you always think you are a certain way until you realize you could be even more that way.
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I couldn’t agree more. When my wife and I got some extra cash this month, I asked her what she planned to do with it. She looked at me like I had two heads, and said, “Put it toward the mortgage, of course.” We’re so committed to freedom from our mortgage debt that we no longer take pleasure in splurging on more stuff.
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Thank you for all the comments.
It seems we are in agreement Frugality=Freedom, and its a learning process that we are all undertaking and enjoying
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In some ways I am frugal in the extreme (one tea bag between 2, breaking dishwasher tablets in half etc) but still spend too much (addiction to car boot sales and charity shops) so know I can do better! I shall be pulling in the belt a knotch or two to make this years targets.
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Hi Laura & DH
I don't often repeat this, as when I tell people they look at me as if I were demented. And the truth hurts…
When we were trying to put the money together to finance our future in Portugal, there was one little trick that paid dividends, and was sure to guarantee that our friends thought we were one sandwich short of a picnic. It is one of the simplest money earning tips we can give to anyone.
Lend money to yourself.
You read that right. OK, example, in a nutshell – You've got some money in the bank. The fridge breaks down. You take the money from the bank and buy a new fridge, right? WRONG.
You take the money from the bank, you buy the new fridge, then, you repay yourself, with interest, the money that you borrowed from the Bank of Laura.
At the end of the day. you have the new fridge AND you now have more money than you started with.
If you didn't have the money in the first place, you would had to have financed the purchase. Why should you lose out just because you had some spare cash lying around?
Try it, keep a record, and tell me in five years if I'm a liar!
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