Frugal Living Should Result In Fun, Not Frustration – Frugal Challenge
I’m trying to figure out what constitutes “frugal thinking” and I’m hoping you’ll join me in this endeavor. There are many areas in which I can improve my frugal thinking. Sometimes I get a miserly approach to frugal living which, although the pennies stay in my pocket longer, doesn’t always yield the best results in the long run.
The simplest place to start examining our frugal thinking is, of course, in the kitchen. For instance, if the only thing stopping you from making your own smoothies at home is a good blender, that may be a wise investment to make, especially if you’re still going to your favorite smoothie place and paying top dollar for them.
Appliances of all sorts can be examples of investing in frugal thinking, but they can also be wasteful. The food dehydrator, juicing machine, toaster oven, waffle maker, or deep fryer that never sees the light of day on your kitchen counter is certainly money wasted. Before you make those types of purchases ask yourself if you are already cooking these foods and need a better way to cook them. If the answer is no, that you just thought you’d start cooking differently, you’re probably wasting your money.
Frugal thinking isn’t always easy. Sometimes you’ll feel like an accountant trying to figure out the return on investment for each of your purchases. Of course, some purchases require deeper thought than others.
As an example, buying a car may not feel frugal at first but if it has better fuel efficiency than your old car, it could qualify as a frugal purchase. If, however, you borrow money at high interest rates to pay for the new car, then the frugal thinking gets a little foggy. The fuel savings would have to outweigh the cost of the interest paid. Yes, you will need to figure out the return on investment in this case. I did say it wasn’t going to be easy.
A frugal purchase will normally save you money in the long run. Let’s go back to a simple example – food. Consider something as easy as buying dried beans versus canned beans. You don’t have to do a lot of figuring to know that dried beans are a better investment. However, if you have bags of beans in your pantry that have been there for a year or more, if you keep throwing them out, and you keep reaching for the canned beans, then you need to reevaluate your frugal thinking.
In other words, know thyself. It’s not a frugal crime to buy canned beans if, by doing so, you avoid calling for pizza delivery when you’re in a rush for dinner. If your lifestyle is such that opening a can of beans and throwing together some quesadillas for dinner is what saves you from a hectic night doomed to carry-out, then dried beans, no matter how frugal, aren’t going to work for you. If, however, you plan your meals routinely with plenty of time to soak and cook dried beans, then they are a frugal choice for you. I can’t stress this point enough – know yourself and the limits you live with every day. Your lifestyle matters.
Look at your own purchases and see if your pocketbook would be better served with different choices. If you’re spending money wastefully or hoarding money at the expense of a wise purchase, you need to re-examine what frugal means to you.
Frugal living should reap rewards, not leave you feeling deprived constantly. A little bit of sacrifice is good for the soul, but to do without our favorite things in life all the time just leaves us sad. Your frugal living should result in something fun, a reward. Relax and choose your frugal battles. Your frugal choices may not be the same as someone else’s, but you’ll know what works for you because you’ll start to relax and have a little fun.
p.s. Have you made choices that you thought would be frugal that backfired on you? I guess everyone has. I’d love to hear about how you’ve overcome your battles choosing a good frugal lifestyle fit for you and your family.
Tags: frugal living, frugal purchases, frugal thinking
January 25th, 2010 at 9:56 am
I recently decided to give up on the salon and have my husband color my hair. Mind you, coloring my hair at the salon is $100 and the box of Miss Clairol is only $7. Bright way to save $$, right??? I forgot to take off a pair of nice jeans that I got for Christmas from my Mom- don’t have to do this to go to the hairdresser, right? Long story short, hair dye got on the new jeans and on the floor. My husband stepped in the dye and tracked it across the bedroom carpeting! This was not the big money saver that I thought that it would be but, some day I will laugh!
January 25th, 2010 at 1:53 pm
I too have fallen into the small appliance trap….. the ice cream machine that I waited so long for was a total failure. It’s better to save that dessert for special occasions (and sales that coincide with my coupons) than to use that impossible and disappointing machine!
The best frugal investment I made was the front load washing machine. Even with a house full of boys and a do-it-himself husband, I can get large amounts of laundry done quickly. It takes less time to dry on the clothes line as well. My husband balked at the price ($700) at first, but with my credit card I had 12 months to pay it off interest free. I worked out a budget and had it paid off in 11 months. My electric bill was lowered a bit and my well isn’t in danger of going dry durning the summer any longer.
January 25th, 2010 at 11:20 pm
As a single mom of three any savings is welcome. My friends and I meet one Sunday a month and schedule our car pools and to make meals for the next month. We each buy a part and then assemble the meals to be frozen all at once. The kids play, the adults talk and we all walk away with several meals ready for the busy weeks to come.
Thanks to your receipies we have been able to stretch our buying dollars even more. Thanks for a great website.
Myra
February 1st, 2010 at 1:00 pm
I haven’t decided on this yet, but I’m currently trying to figure out the lifestyle variable in making frugal choices. I know that if I wash diapers I will save probably about $5/week. (I know I need to subtract the cost of making/buying the diapers, but it still works out to a savings). I just really need to figure out if it will end up costing me more in the long run if I go that route – will I need extra diapers to stretch me through when I can’t do laundry? How much more would that cost? What if I just buy a batch of diapers right before I go back to work and then discover that I need the diaper service after all? (And I don’t know if they’ll let us switch in). Definitely the lifestyle equation is a good one to worry about. A friend of mine uses canned beans for that very reason.
February 14th, 2010 at 3:49 am
We can all make better life choices. I feel with food especially, with a little ingenuity and planning there is so many ways to cut costs when purchasing food. For starters, try your local markets or supermarkets and see if there is any fresh procuce reduced or damaged. Sometimes there is a discount rack. And if the fruit or vegetable is damged request a discount. It pays to ask and it can’t hurt to try to seek out local markets requesting damaged or bruised produce for a discount. I am not a really big fan of coupons. Most items that you purchase directly from the store have their own brand and they usually undercut their competitors. However, if you are a die hard coupon collector and you found away to make make a dent in savings , then good for you! And whatever it takes to cut your food budget I am all for it! However, I really beleive in buying either fresh or frozen items . Try to keep away as much as you can from canned items. The sodium contact can be very high and the nuitrional value never measures up to fresh or frozen. So the first rule of cooking look for reduced items , dented cans ( be careful of botulism) but as far as fresh vegatables or fruits reduced items are just as good. Also watch your intake of meat protein and subsitute beans occasionly like lentils ( dried beans or powdered milk can save you money in the long run) and beans for example, are high in vitamins as well as protein with low fat! Finally if you are able to grow your own fresh vegtables, then do it! And finally work with what you have in your kitchen ( you would be amazed) t! I have come up with simple meals on a budget. I am a proffessional Chef and I have some great tips to cut cost..check out my site!
Signing off for now ,
Chef Sam