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Forced Frugality
By Daphne | April 8, 2008
Before the housing crisis and Americans began their new-found, or in some cases forced frugality… was the economy even an issue?
Most people didn’t care about saving money or even what they spent. Then when things began to change, then all of a sudden spending within your means became attractive and imperative. A year ago, saving was a pejorative term. Enjoy now and pay later were much more attractive ways of living than saving and paying what you could afford. Then the bottom fell out.. Easy credit was no longer an option.
Frugal… the word is taking on a more attractive meaning than ever before. A miser may even be praised for his efforts at conserving money.
Being forced to be frugal isn’t as much fun as it is to save because you want to. Being forced to save, because you have no other choice can be devastating - like a crash diet.
Even if you are at the bare bones… there still may be something that you can cut out and not even miss or something you can sell or give away and alleviate your life of some clutter. Forced frugality doesn’t work well. Some of the money saving tips that are natural and creative work when some individuals commit to living within their means and not use all of the credit that they are offered, if they can’t reasonably repay it.
Frugality isn’t about just saving in the present but preparing for the long term. You know when the new weight loss commercials tout lifestyle changes. The same applies to your money. If you constantly overspend then you set yourself up for failure.
Plan for the long term, when cutting things out. Would you really miss eating out 4 times a week at quick food restaurants, even if you had the means? Would eating out once a week at a better quality but still affordable restaurant be acceptable? Couldn’t you make your own coffee or tea drink at home and put it in a thermos and enjoy it just as much? When the economy improves and your financial situation does as well… will you still espouse frugality?
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Topics: April 2008 |
April 8th, 2008 at 2:07 pm
[...] Daphne ’s post is one of my favorite picks for today. Check out the post Forced Frugality below. I highly recommend viewing the full post! [...]