Quick. I tell you “frugal,” you tell me the first thing that comes to mind. I’m guessing that you have an image of a small house and a person cooking with just beans or using a knife to scrape the last of the toothpaste out of the tube. I’m also guessing that you don’t picture that person being happy. You’re probably thinking that person has to sacrifice many things they want and even need sometimes because of their frugality.
There are times when you need to make financial sacrifices but that doesn’t mean frugal always means sacrifice. Frugality is really just about using your resources to their fullest. Generally that does mean budget friendly, free, low cost, etc. But we often think of it as going without. Nothing could be further from the truth!
We live a fairly frugal lifestyle but we still enjoy concerts, eating out at restaurants, shopping, going out with friends, and other fun and splurge type items. We are just smart about how we enjoy these things. Yes, it does mean some sacrifice. To be able to do some thing like go to concerts or have a weekend away, we have to sacrifice other things to save up the money. Sometimes that means some family time on Saturdays so my husband can work some extra hours, sometimes that means not doing date nights. But a lot of times it is just being smart with our money.
To be able to enjoy going out for coffee or doing some fun shopping, I sign us up for a number of e-mail lists. Before we go out to eat or plan on doing some shopping, I check my e-mail. I often have a coupon for a certain amount off two entrees or 20% off a shopping purchase at a certain store. We still enjoy our favorite brands of food and health and beauty products just by stocking up when things are on sale or I have a coupon, often both. No need to sacrifice for a cheaper brand we don’t like when I can often get the items we do like for the same or cheaper than store brand.
The sacrifices we do make honestly no longer feel like sacrifices most the time. I have become very used to only buying meat on sale or on marked down. I often don’t mind that most the time we do not get to go out to eat. It is worth it to me to be able to use that money to have peace of mind in savings or extra for debt or even saved for another fun time.
Being frugal doesn't always mean you sacrifice everything you want. Learn more... Click To TweetYes, sometimes frugal does mean a sacrifice but often it is either a worth it sacrifice or not a sacrifice at all. Being frugal just means being smart with what you have and using resources to make the most of it.
Emily says
This is so true! Signing up for email and even texts have provided us with several coupons. We had to cut back on things after transitioning to one income, but learning to shop the sales has saved us so much while still buying the things we love.
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Julie says
Shopping sales really does help!
Linda says
I love posts like this. I always shop with coupons and the clearance racks. Even though I try to be as frugal as possible there are some things I just do not want to give up. The one luxury I have not given up is my bi-weekly manicure/pedicures. It’s that one time I can give myself some much needed me time.
Julie says
I refuse to give up my iced coffee. I try to make it at home but nothing beats Dunkin Donuts. 😉