To some, the idea of being frugal sounds like a death trap. Where’s the dotted line? If I want to be frugal, I know I need to sign off ever having any fun. This line of thinking complexly misunderstands frugality.
To start, you might want to review what I think are the key differences between being frugal and being cheap. Frugality wrongly practiced can feel like a trap. However, frugality practiced properly will be liberating and will allow you to truly enjoy yourself.
4 qualities of those who are frugal and have fun
1. Frugal People Establish and Focus On Goals
Frugality is about finding the areas of life where you truly want to say yes. What are your greatest joys and passions? What are your hobbies? You can never be frugal until you identify your goals. Once you have some personal goals, they become your motivation for being frugal.
For example, my wife and I love to travel. As a result, we know that when we save money in other parts of life we are enabling ourselves to do what we truly enjoy. This way when we ask if we can afford a family vacation, the answer will be yes.
Frugal people know how to say no to useless and meaningful expenses so they can say ‘yes’ to the activities they really enjoy. They know how to create a proper balance to avoid extreme frugality.
2. Frugal People are Willing to Exert Effort To Reach Their Goals
Many frugal alternatives require a little extra effort. It might mean a few extra moments searching for a coupon code online or cutting out a coupon. Frugal people take time because they know how to save money with coupons. It could be rewashing a cup instead of throwing it out. But, a frugal person knows she must exert a little more energy in order to accomplish the goal she is focusing on. They focus on the best ways to save money.
3. Frugal People Enjoy the Excitement of Frugality
I’ll admit. This paragraph must reveal my true colors as a super geek …
You cannot be frugal because someone wants you to be. Forced frugality would be terribly restrictive. However, for some (like myself) frugality offers excitement and challenge. Where can I find the cheap books? How can I get the best deal on a rental car? None of this is burdensome because I enjoy the frugal life.
4. Frugal People are Always Creative
Frugality means find more ways to say yes. For example, you could form a frugal community and find that you can go on just as many dates as before. Now you use friends to babysit and have a homemade dinner instead of spending money at the restaurant. When you do eat out, you know the best ways to save money eating out.
To be a frugal ‘yes man’, you must master the art of initiation and redirect.
Initiation: “Hey, do you want to come over for dinner and a movie at our house on Thursday night.” This way you control the cost of dinner, watch a rented movie, and still get time to spend with your friends.
Redirect: Your friend says, “Hey, do you want to grab some dinner and catch a movie?”
You respond by saying – “You know, we were thinking about having you guys over for dinner some time. Would you be interested in bringing a dish and coming to our place instead? We’d be happy to rent a movie.”
Frugal people look for creative alternatives so they can do the things they truly enjoy.
This is the ultimate irony of frugality. One person might skip the movies so they can go on vacation. Another will skip the vacation so they can go to every new release. Both parties have opposite goals, but they use frugality as a vehicle to help them accomplish their goals.
While spenders see frugality as imprisonment, the truly frugal recognize that frugal choices open the doors to a host of possibilities in the future. As a result, frugal people often feel liberated instead of the commonly perceived miserable.
Photo by photos8.com.
Any other suggestions? How do you practice frugality without giving up on the fun parts of life?
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Great point Craig. It doesn’t make sense to be frugal and save, unless you know what you’re saving FOR! That will help you prioritize your spending and goals, so that you know when to spend a little bit more on the things you truly enjoy. It reminds me of Stephen Covey’s quote: “It’s easy to say ”no!” when there’s a deeper ”yes!” burning inside.”
And I get excited about finding good deals too. Looking at it like it’s a challenge can help fire you up!
Well, my husband and I love to travel and we sacrifice things like seeing movies to save for traveling. We live in California, so movie prices are $12 a person. So when we do go see movies we buy tickets from the WB lot for $6.30 and see the movie two weeks after it comes out. Or we go to the theater before noon on Saturday, where they tickets are $6.00 each! So we don’t see many “new” releases unless its Saturday morning, but we both prefer seeing movies at night…but that’s the sacrifice.
My wife and I simply save up so that we have the freedom do randomly do things. Our “fun money” goes towards coffee with friends, going out to eat with friends (or on dates), heading to the movies when friends are going, or trying some new food from the grocery store. Because we control our money flow, we have the option to do these random activities without concern of where the money will come from.
“Frugal People are Always Creative”
Great thought.
My wife and I like riding bike trails. We can stop for food or even an ice cream. Our biggest cost is the fuel to take the bikes to these trails. We see things people never see. Rivers, cattle, vineyards, and yes even junkyards.
Very much agree, you don’t really have to force yourself to be frugal. When you have a goal in mind, chances are, you really need to find a way to save without actually depriving yourself.
I agree. A lot of people do think that we are cheap because I happen to be proud of a lot of the frugal steps we take, but there are other areas that we probably wouldn’t seem “cheap” in if those areas were isolated. We spend money on what is important to us and make special effort to save money in other areas.