I read a recent post from moneysaving mom about being frugal is frugality worth it? It poses alot of questions.
Why be frugal?
For me I am frugal because....
Frugality is a part of me. I grew up in a frugal family. My Parents decided to give us the gift of traveling the sourrounding states and exploring the many National Parks around us. They had to figure out how to travel with us on the cheap. You can read about some of our adventures here.
Being frugal helps me to stay debt free. We live in a society that is drowning in debt. We spend more than we have. It is the norm. I have been in debt and I am not going back there.
Being frugal allows me to be a stay at home mom. This is something that is important to me. I want to raise my kids. I can do that by using my frugal ways. I save the family a ton on groceries and home supplies. If I was working I would not be able to devote the time or energy to it.
I grew up with a phrase "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without." Living in our disposable society we have forgotten the essential skills such as home cooking, mending, gardening, homemaking, preserving, things that once were essential. I am working to revive such skills in my family.
Is being frugal worth the effort?
For me being frugal is worth it for the reasons above. I get a high over finding deals. I enjoy the process. It does take time and effort, but it is something that I find value and joy in. My husband fnds value in my efforts. He does not have to work as hard to provide for us. Being frugal is a blessing to us.
Can being frugal go to far?
"There she goes again, going broke saving money." There were several people that my father would say this about. You know the type. The one that can't pass up a sale. They buy things when they have no money getting into debt. Buying things just because they are on sale is a bad habit. There was a point when I could not pass up a sale. The dollar store was a deathtrap. I was buying things that I did not really need because "It was on sale". DO I REALLY NEED IT? WOULD I BUY IT IF IT WERE NOT ON SALE? these are questions I have to ask myself on a regular basis. If I had kept up those bad habits I would have gone broke saving money.
Frugal ways are not just in what we buy, but what we do. There are some frugal practices that are good skills to have like those homemaking skills listed above. Frugal living can be a blessing in life,but when taken to the extreme, some practices can be disguisting and harmful. Sometimes frugal things can take away time from more important things in life. The question to ask is
ARE MY FRUGAL WAYS HURTING OR HELPING MY FAMILY!
Some frugal practices I do not find helpful to my family are....
Upolstering furniture. I have freinds who have done it, and made wonderful new furniture out of old. It takes to much time from my family and sewing frustrates me to no end.
Sewing the family clothes. For me it is a disaster. I can sew simple things and can mend clothing for which I am grateful, but I am much better off to use my bargining skills at yard sales to buy clothing.
Re-using papertowels. Buying two-ply toilet paper and breaking it down to one thin layer. I find both disguisting. That is me and my opinion.
What is your opinion? Are there frugal things you do that blesses your family? What frugal things do you shun or avoid?
this post shared at hearts-4-home thursday
also at http://www.thepurposefulmom.com/2012/06/thrifty-thursday-19.html
and at http://lifeasmom.com/2012/06/12-ways-to-save-on-cars-and-gas-frugal-friday.html
We don't re-use paper towels, we just don't use them to begin with...we are paperless in the kitchen and it has been a blessing in many ways :)
ReplyDeleteI completely agree that begin frugal is a blessing.
I have been a frugal person most of my life. I worked a job that I didn’t love for many years knowing that I wanted to stay home when I had a kid so we saved every penny. I had my son and was so frugal that I couldn’t bear to quit my job. I actually was working full time and being a full time stay at home mom for 18 months. I finally got up the guts to quit my job and stay home full time when I worked out a budget on how we could live within our my husband’s salary and realized that I could do it. It has been a change in (our pre-baby) lifestyle with no eating out, no movies, and no extras and continuing with no cable, low phone plan and more. We enjoy our life now so much more and our family is closer than ever!! I am super glad that we have our savings to fall back on but living within our means that I can continue to stay home with my little angel!!
ReplyDeleteYES! Being frugal is a great blessing. I consider it part of my "job" to use the money my husband earns as wisely as possible. Like you said, you can definitely take it too far, but there are so many, many ways we can save so that there is enough money for the things that really matter... like getting to stay home with the munchkins!
ReplyDeleteThanks for linking up at Thrifty Thursday. :)