Comments on: Playing at Frugality… or Really Living It?

By: Annie

Annie — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 00:52:14 +0000

What a refreshing post! What my family wants and desires may be totally different from yours or others.

So many times over the years people have looked at us with disdain because our wants and needs were different than what they considered “normal.” Your post needs to be read by everyone! Consider thyself Facebooked!

By: Thevail

Thevail — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 23:00:06 +0000

I keep trying to explain this very point to friends and relatives! Frugality isn’t about “wintering over” in a teepee heated only with downed branches and eating rice and beans for every meal. To us it’s about identifying and then creating a lifestyle that we LOVE and are happy with, that just happens to cost less than we make.

Sure, we’d love to spend the winters on the med.. who wouldn’t.. but it isn’t something that we sit at home and moan about all winter. Who does?

Sometimes I think that there’s a really strange level of expectation built up by our society and the media as to what “middle class” and “acceptable lifestyle” really mean. It seems to lead a lot of people to a place where they feel really deprived because they can’t just have ALL of it. Furs, jewels, the latest electronics and spend the winter in Italy.

But realistically, that has NEVER been a normal lifestyle for anyone but the less than 1% of people worldwide who are “Rockafeller Rich”.

By: Zana Hart

Zana Hart — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 19:43:38 +0000

I really like how you compare bouts of frugality to crash diets! It’s so true, and I wonder how people who are currently trying to be frugal because of the economic downturn will cope when they want to go splurge and don’t really have the means.

My husband is world-class frugal by nature but I am not really. But enough has rubbed off on me that we have been able to do things that friends of ours making twice our income (or more) can’t seem to afford!

By: Richard K.

Richard K. — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:58:59 +0000

One of the points you made really sticks in my head:

“I can’t tell you how to be frugal, because my style of frugality will not be the same as yours.

What a refreshing outlook in a world where one size tries to fit all. Something I spend money on might be absolutely vital to me but look like a frivolous luxury to my neighbor, and vice versa. So which of us is right? Maybe we both are, and what’s good for me isn’t necessarily good for him.

Thanks for such a balanced post. You are doing good work — I am thoroughly enjoying the rest of the blog as well.

By: Anna

Anna — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:54:54 +0000

This article is 100% on the mark. Living frugal isn’t a process of cutting everything out of your life that isn’t 100% essential. That’s a recipe for failure, you can’t live like that your whole life. Living frugal means you make changes in your life that improve your finances and that you can live with forever. It really is like a diet, you need to think long term. Thanks for posting about this, this really needs to be said because there is so much misinformation out there.

By: slawebb

slawebb — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:24:23 +0000

We still have debt, but we are working to become debt-free…again. We did it once so we know we can do it! It DOES take commitment. We are now living within our means. Some months it is really, really close. But we are being blessed because we have made the commitment to do it!

Like you said, frugality is personal. It’s hard when you are getting started. Everyone can find a way to cut back or earn more, redistribute the funds coming in. And after you do it for a little while it becomes second nature!