The Lost Art of Frugality

Being frugal is often associated with cheap, penny-pinching behavior. But truly frugal people aren’t the ones you see obsessing over their finances, trying to shave nickels and dimes off every corner. Practicing the art of frugality expands your life experience and gives you choices, rather than turning you into a coupon-clipping bean counter.

Many people don’t know the distinction between frugal and cheap. I didn’t either until my sophomore year of college when my roommate, a Scotsman who prided himself on his frugality, cleared it up for me.

“But that’s an ugly phone!” I said.

“It does everything I need,” he replied.

“But for only $20 more you can have one that has more features and looks nicer!”

“I don’t need those features, and who cares what it looks like?” he retorted.

My roommate was the patron saint of frugality. His desk sported a heavy CRT computer screen long after LCDs became the norm. It worked fine, so why replace it? But if he needed something, he didn’t hesitate to spend the money. And therein lies the distinction between cheap and frugal.

Cheap people have fancy tastes but have an aversion to paying for anything. They exploit the generosity and/or ignorance of others, and spend lots of time and energy devising complicated schemes to get things for cheaper. But at the end of the day, they may also be spending a lot of time, energy and money acquiring things they don’t need.

Frugal people share the philosophy of wanting to conserve money and resources. But a frugal person doesn’t hesitate to shell out money for something that they genuinely need. They don’t stress out trying to scour Google for a coupon so they can save $10 on a $200 item. They find what they need, buy it, and move on with their lives. But they also don’t buy more than they need. They’d settle for a $50 widget over one that costs $200 if the $50 widget does all the functions they need – even though the $200 one has more bells and whistles and looks cooler.

The art of frugality is really about cutting costs through paring down expenditures that are unnecessary. The frugal person’s mantra is “Do I really need it?” If you ask yourself this question before buying stuff, you might find that you buy a lot less stuff.

For the most part, I no longer buy restaurant beverages, alcoholic drinks, desserts, fancy soaps, souvenirs/trinkets, kitchen gadgets, bath accessories, printed books, nor do I replace computer equipment that still works or clothing that’s still perfectly wearable.

And when you buy less stuff, you have a lot more money for the things that really matter. Therein lies the ultimate goal of frugality – directing money towards the things that matter.

Before spending money, I now ask myself “Will this add to my life experience?”

I’ve noticed an interesting pattern in my answers to this question. If the question relates to purchasing material objects, about 80% of the time, the answer is no. It might be nice to have a new pair of $120 Lululemon yoga pants, but my 8-year-old sweatpants do just fine.

On the other hand, if I ask myself the same question when it comes to health, skills development and adventurous experiences, 80% of the time, the answer is yes. Eating well, exercising, reading books, attending workshops, climbing mountains, and even going on scary amusement rides, have all added something positive to my life experience and often changed who I am as a person.

I recently realized that over the last three years, I’ve spent over $40,000 on things that have added little to my life experience – a shiny new car, a piano that I seldom played, designer furniture, and an $80 a month phone plan. I’ve enjoyed these luxuries, but for the most part they haven’t been life-changing. For the same amount of money, I could have visited every continent on the planet and trekked up Kilimanjaro.

Most of us aren’t financially constrained because we don’t make enough money, but because we spend our money on things that don’t fulfill our deepest desires and interests. Whether that’s traveling to the far reaches of the globe, spending quality time with your family, or pursuing an unusual hobby, you probably have the means to do it. You just have to cut out a lot of the other crap.

So the next time you’re tempted to buy a $200 towel warmer, ask yourself “Do I really need it?” and “Will this add to my life experience?”

Now if only we could teach governments how to be frugal…

Photo credit: Flickr

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