MISS FRUGAL FANCY PANTS

Frugal. When you think of the word frugal, what comes to mind? Poor? Cheapskate? Tightwad?  Stingy?

“There is no dignity

quite so impressive,

and no independence

quite so important,

as living within your means.” 

― Calvin Coolidge

One of the biggest falsities against being “frugal” is that it restricts you from “living a good life.” Bologna. In fact, the more frugal your life the better your life can become! If you are an avid reader of my blog, you know that I love to save a penny! No, I'm not cheap. I've just become very particular with what I spend my money on. I place thought into my purchases and always look for a bargain. I like to see my money build not decline. Who doesn't?

fru·gal

  [froo-guhl]

adjective

1.

economical in use or expenditure; prudently saving or sparing; not wasteful Synonyms: thrifty, chary,provident, careful, prudent, penny-wise, scrimping; miserly, Scotch, penny-pinching. Antonyms:wasteful, extravagant, spendthrift, prodigal, profligate.

2.

entailing little expense; requiring few resources; meager; scanty: a frugal meal. Synonyms: scant,slim, sparing, skimpy. Antonyms: luxurious, lavish, profuse.

Here is a simple example of grocery shopping... and a "frugal" grocery shopping experience.

Let's say you have a budget of $100  for groceries. You head into your grocery store with your list of items and walk straight to the items needed.

You walk down the bread aisle,some of the breads cost $1 a loaf and others cost as much as $5 a loaf. When you examine the cuts of meat, some of the meats cost $2 per pound and others cost $8 per pound. When you look at the milk options, some of the milk costs $2.50 per gallon and others cost $7 per gallon. You could use virtually any product in this example.

At the end of the trip, though, you’ll find yourself with much more than $100 worth of stuff in your cart. 

So, how do you go about getting back under that $100 limit? Do you simply put back some of the items and do without? That’s a pretty miserable response. It doesn't feel particularly good to swap some of the items for cheaper versions, either. Those approaches are why frugality feels like you’re not “living life” – you have this sense of giving up things that you care about.

A truly frugal person takes a completely different approach to shopping.  & HERE IS HOW!

When a frugal person looks at the breads, that person decides whether or not expensive bread is actually important to them. Does it really matter much at all if I get the expensive bread or the cheap one? Does $5 bread signify a major life improvement over the $1 bread? Most likely, no....

Even more important than that, the frugal person asks themselves whether they’d rather take that $4 and use it to get better milk, coffee, or something else they care more about.

When I go to the grocery store, I’m extremely picky about the eggs that I buy. I prefer the free range eggs because they taste much better to me and are less likely to have lots of sulfur in the yolk. I’m willing to pay more for those eggs.

At the same time, I’m not particularly picky about the bread that I buy, as long as it’s whole wheat and low carb. Getting the great expensive bread doesn't add to the quality of my life in any significant way. So, I buy the cheap bread and the money I save helps to buy the expensive eggs while still keeping me under budget. {via the simple dollar}

My choice is to spend less on items I don't care all that much about so I can afford the items that I do care about.

Try using this idea and expand this into the rest of your life. For example, I personally don’t care about expensive jeans, the GAP makes perfect jeans for a fraction of the price of what I used to pay. This allows me to budget in the items I need to spend money on, such as professional work attire.

This is what Frugality is all about -  Smart spending!

Im not asking you to limit your life. I believe in doing so you are expanding on your happiness. Less money problems less stress!

Take the time and think about your purchases. You don't need the most expensive brand of water bottles or shampoo, but if those 2 items are truly what makes you happy then cut back on items you don't care about. Being frugal is all about balance. 

Please allow me to recommend one of my favorite books to help guide you in the process... click here

How do you live a frugal life? Are there certain items you would never be "frugal" with spending on? I'd love to hear!

xo
Meems