How to keep frugality fun and interesting
Posted
Jan 14 2008, 07:27 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
This post comes from J.D. Roth at partner blog Get Rich Slowly.
Thrift is an essential skill for overcoming debt and building wealth. Even a billionaire like Warren Buffett preaches the virtues of pinching pennies. But can a frugal life be fun? What do you do when smart spending gets boring?
Here are some strategies I use to stay focused:
Set goals. Frugality used to drive me crazy, too. Sometimes it still does. One thing that has helped, especially over the past year, is to have goals in mind. Do I still want a new car? You bet I do. And I want to buy some new furniture for the living room, a new bicycle and some new clothes. But I keep reminding myself that other goals are more important. Until recently, I focused on becoming debt-free. Now that I've achieved that, I keep reminding myself that my objective is to work from home as a full-time writer. Goals get me back on track when I lose my way.
Beware of the tedious stuff. I believe that if there's something you do to save money that really bugs you every time you do it, you probably shouldn't be doing it. For example, some frugal folks rinse and reuse Ziploc bags. I can't do that. It would drive me nuts. Could I save more if I did so? Sure, but at the cost of my sanity. Do what works for you. Find frugal things that make you feel good about yourself, and ditch those that make you loathe living.
Allow yourself a periodic splurge. Many diet plans incorporate one day (or meal) each week during which you can eat whatever you want. Try a similar concept with your money. Practice frugality on a regular basis, but set aside maybe one day a month to spend some preset amount of money at the mall or the record store or the garden center. Last year, I saved for a Nintendo Wii. I'm proud to have done so. It's one of the first things I ever saved for instead of just buying. (And it gets a lot of use!)
Pick one area of life in which you don't exercise thrift. My wife and I, for example, like to eat at nice restaurants. We don't eat out often, but when we do, we eat well. During these past three years, as I've eliminated my debt, I've cut back on many things, but I've intentionally always allowed myself to dine out at my favorite places. (It's also true that I've continued to spend a lot on comic books, but that's because I lack self-discipline.)
Read about other thrifty people. Whenever I leaf through "The Complete Tightwad Gazette," I find myself rededicated to frugality. "If all these people can do the frugal things they share here," I think, "then I can keep being thrifty, too." Your public library probably has a dozen or so books on frugality. Mine does.
These are just a few of the ways I work to keep frugality fun and interesting. What about you? How do you keep frugality fresh?
Other articles of interest at Get Rich Slowly:
"Why frugality is an important part of personal finance"
"Frugality is not a dirty word"
"Every penny counts: Saving for big goals"
