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Why We Choose To Live Frugally

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Frugal living is a popular topic around the interwebz. Everybody – or so it seems – is looking for that one magical tip that will fix their budget. 

And yet, there’s an equal amount of criticism to those who choose to live frugally, from the professional life coach telling you that giving up Starbucks will never make you rich (he’s right), to the random blog commenter blasting me for publishing a $20 shopping plan

Why we choose to live frugally (and why you might want to too!)

But here’s what they don’t realize – or at least, what their comments don’t address: you can’t have everything

Or at least, I can’t. 

And that is why my family and I choose to live frugally. 

See, being frugal is simply the concept of giving up what you don’t need, for something you want more

I don’t need Starbucks, and when it comes down to it, if I have to choose, that’s one of the first things I’ll give up. In fact, it’s one of the first things I did give up, because there’s a whole host of other things I’d rather have, and like it or not, my budget is limited. 

And you know what? This really has nothing to do with how much money I make. My goal isn’t to spend every dime I earn, my goal is to invest for the future, so I don’t always have to work so hard to provide for me kids, and after that, to provide for myself as I get older. 

So yeah, I’ll always be on a budget, no matter how much I make, and there will be give and take in that budget. 

I’ll give up Starbucks so I buy protein powder and BCAAs. 

I’ll give up eating out so I can travel more.

I’ll give up movie theaters so I can take the kids to zoos and museums, and maybe even Six Flags one of these days. 

We choose to live frugally because it gives us a better life from a long-term perspective. 

I have to admit that it hit a nerve when that person said I shouldn’t have had kids if all I could afford was $20 a week in groceries, but you know what? That person doesn’t know the whole story. I put that information out there to hopefully help someone who’s in a tight place, or maybe like me,  just wants to save a little bit more money. It’s not for everyone, we all steward our finances a little bit differently, and that’s perfectly okay. 

I’m glad that frugal living is such a popular internet topic. There may not be a single magical budget fix, but there’s very possibly an overall fix in the hundreds – nay thousands – of tips out there. 

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5 Comments

  1. People are mean when they are anonymous on the internet. I’m sure that comment stung but I am also sure that your post has helped many, many, many people who are in a tight place and a little bit scared of how they are going to feed their family. Your blog is lovely and inspiring and your readers (the vast majority of us anyway) really appreciate you. (((Hugs)))

  2. I agree with you about living frugally. Everyone has a different reason(s) for doing so. For me, both Grandmothers were GREAT depression Era cooks and i learned from them that despite there being no choice in the matter of needing to put a full dinner for so many children, it was a CHOICE OF LIFESTYLE. I would not trade what I have or do for a million bucks. I might make small changes, BUT my heart would want to take care of family first and then make sure as many as possible were fed and had BOOKS to READ, not tablets to get “sucked into.” Reading allows for thought between the “lines” and not just a quick reaction to a scenario presented in a game. Life is no game and we are responsible for everything we say and think and do, like it or not. Thanks for your dedication to Frugal Farm Wife. We may be decades ap0art in age, but6 not in thought.

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