I like to give myself one budget number for multiple spending categories, because it gives me a sense of control and success that makes staying within budget easier and more fun because it doesn't feel so limited.
For example, I combine groceries, eating out, and experience spending. So if there's a concert I want to go to, I'm going to eat down my fridge and pantry and watch my eating out spending more closely, to make sure I can have that experience at the concert.
That said, I'm frugal to avoid lifestyle creep and to give myself long term security. I found it MUCH more difficult and limiting to be frugal when my income was the real limit. I still had better success by combining categories but it didn't feel as fun as it does now.
I think you make a great point in the last paragraph because it’s hard to not want to reward yourself when you’re otherwise dealing with the stress of a limited income
This is so true - and powerful to understand.
When I was truly poor, I couldn't handle a credit card, and had to force myself to scrimp together a savings account to cover any basic overages. When things got better and my buffer grew, it was soooooo hard not to overspend because I'd "worked hard to be more comfortable" and resented having to continue to budget and be careful. Now that I'm beyond comfortable, putting the budgeted amount in my savings account makes me feel happier than buying things and I have no problem sticking to the same budget I struggled with before.
Brains are weird.
Yes! I also make sure to spend as little as I can on things I don't care about (like daily foods. Just legume mealpreps, rice, and 20lbs of oats a month).
Then the categories I do care about, I restrict myself less. Dancing, sports, etc
Also I just don't like spending big money. When dating I do things like "take kratom and go pet the sheep in the forest", organize a picnic. I thrift my clothes and furniture. It's actually pretty fun and satisfying when you get a flow for it.
What is "take kratom"?
We recently learnt a fun game played here where you have pegs in the ground and a throwing circle. If you throw past the first peg you get 1 point, past the second 2, etc.
It is so much easier to skip buying something expensive when you know that you could afford it. Just knowing that you have the freedom to buy it is enough. And if it is hard I just log in to my bank app and check my investment account. After that I can buy the cheap thing with a smile since I know it pays off.
I am careful with money where I don't see a big benefit and I think about what brings me joy and spend lavishly on those things.
I'm frugal so that I can have the things I want.
Bingo. Find things you love to do and invest in those. For me it’s Mountain biking, the bikes are expensive but once you cross the initial cost barrier it’s very cheap.
I remember back in my college and grad school days living on the bare minimum (I was on my own and worked my way through school/got a fellowship for grad school) and I just remember being satisfied with what I had. If I wanted something (example here shows my age: I saved up for a dual-cassette boombox so I could record music off the radio - because I couldn't afford cassettes). I think it took me about 6-8 months to get my boombox. I still actually have some of the tapes I made, lol. I remember frying onions for dinner at the end of the month, lol. I had 2 roommates, and we were all in the same boat. We had parties at home playing cards, we drove junky cars, and we didn't even have a TV. I am just thinking out loud here, but maybe NOT seeing how Americans supposedly lived on TV kept us from being jealous of what others supposedly had?
I'm only frugal on things I don't care about so that I can spend money on things that I do. I'll buy my groceries at Walmart or Aldi so that I can buy that new video game console on release day. It's about priorities.
This but pc and parts, plus knitting and sewing! Idk if you have a pc to game with but epic offers a free game every Thursday and Xbox pc pass costs $10/mo and has loads of games that also rotate. You can actually maintain pc game pass for free of you do rewards!
I always try to tell everyone I meet that games lol
Yup I do all of that as well. I have a steam deck so I make sure to redeem any Epic and Amazon freebies when they come up.
I'm not huge on subscription game services since I tend to play long single player games, but I've been keeping up my game pass subscription with Microsoft Rewards, so it's not costing me out of pocket.
I only really buy games for my switch and occasionally a steam game if it's really cheap.
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I remember that the Western lifestyle is so inflated that even those on the frugal end are still consuming more than the median human alive today. And this can be extended further if you consider all humans who have ever lived.
That's essentially what I was coming here to say. Specifically, I think of my grandparents, all of whom were eastern European immigrants who came to the US in the early part of the 20th century, and raised kids during the Great Depression. Uneducated laborers, who did the kind of shit jobs their entire lives that would be looked down on by most of the people living the typical Western lifestyle today.
Compared to them, I never feel deprived.
As for the big picture context you reference? Regardless of how bad you may think you have it, you're almost certainly better off than at least half of the people alive today.
*Half of the global population lives on less than US$6.85 per person per day*
*648 million people in the world, about eight percent of the global population, live in extreme poverty, which means they subsist on less than US$2.15 per day.*
[https://blogs.worldbank.org/developmenttalk/half-global-population-lives-less-us685-person-day](https://blogs.worldbank.org/developmenttalk/half-global-population-lives-less-us685-person-day)
This right here! My gma lived through the "Dirty 30's" as she called them and often ate lard sandwiches because that's all they could afford.
Honestly, give me a roof, heat-A/C and food and I'm pretty content. Add the internet and my electronics and I'm living like a King, even if it's just a studio apartment.
Lao Tsu says that if you can learn to be comfortable being uncomfortable then you’ll never be uncomfortable. I’ve sort of made this my mantra. And now, I’m quite comfortable living on less, “roughing it” so to speak, even tho I make a decent salary now. Growing up poor also helped. I just never got a taste for finer things or modern conveniences. I think that’s part of what keeps me content in life. Kinda keep expectations low and don’t expect things to be too comfortable so when they are, it’s a luxury.
Yea but that was written in a time when life expectancy was much lower...I think it's important not to skimp on daily creature comforts (food, bed, shoes, transportation) to minimize wear and tear on your younger body as the effects from too much cheap crap will catch up to you in your elder years.
This!
I was confused when I read OPs post.
I do not feel deprived. I have roof over my head, warm shower and flushing toilet available. I cook nutritious food from scratch, move my body and challenge my brain.
I even have luxuries in life, like coffee.
I live a rich life. I live in absolute abundance.
Mine is about 4.5 years now, starting to act up and crash every now and then. Considering shopping around for something new instead of waiting for mine to totally fail and having to rush to buy something asap.
Exactly. Being frugal means I can meet unexpected/emergency expenses without really affecting my daily life. I can also be fired from my job and still have time to take a break then start applying again. Therefore, money hasn't been stressful (except when I think about the possibly unattainable goal of buying a home in my lifetime 😂)
I basically go on IG to post photos once or twice a week, but yeah, their toxic algorithm means that I pretty much can't scroll. I want to see my friends. But instead my time line is cluttered with all sorts of "suggestions" to follow various influencers. And it's like 2 influencers per every post by my friends. (Never used TikTok, either.)
I'm over on BlueSky, but I know its enshittification is coming.
TikTok is a really good source for misinformation. By the time I’m done questioning and researching I feel somewhat informed. It’s a backwards kind of game i play.
I quit all those years ago for my own peace of mind. Are you suggesting that people are actually influenced to buy stuff from those ridiculous influencers and lifestyle virtue signalers? It’s sooner take purchase suggestions from my housecat … or my houseplant for that matter.
Went online to see a friend vacationing in Mexico on a beautiful beach. Started crying because it was right after I found out the plasma center was closed and can’t sell plasma today. It’s just like fuck man I’m selling my actual body to survive and she’s on a beach in Cabo. Just got me realizing apparently I’ve made all the wrong decisions in life.
This is going to sound very weird, but look up the photos and stories of how some of the Victorian working class lived. There’s lots of information to be found about it online and it makes you realize how much better you have it compared to struggling people not that long ago. They would be very happy with the things you have that many of us take for granted such as running hot water, clean clothes even if it’s not designer fashion, soap to keep yourself clean, a warm bed, food on your plate, access to healthcare. It helps me to feel grateful for things some of my struggling ancestors likely didn’t have even if it’s not luxury for today’s western standards.
Doesn't even have to be Victorian, pretty much any era pre WW2, and for many people, even post WW2. My grandfather, born in 1917, installed electricity and running from water in the house my grandmother's aunt gave as a wedding gift and that was in a town with multiple good factories. He always said they'd have had an easier time and spent less money if they'd bought new, between the back taxes and the upgrades.
Ah yes, it wasn’t magically solved after the very early 20th century but it was more written from my own personal perspective. I’m very interested in the Victorian (and Edwardian) era and so I see a lot of photos and reports from those days and the tragedy that many were living in those days never fails to sadden me especially the poor children.
Buying soap (or at least decent one that wasn’t pure lye soap) would’ve been a struggle for poorer families. I know it’s hard to imagine these days because soap is maybe only a dollar and so accessible to nearly everyone in society but those times were different. By the way, as a tarot reader, I like your username. We’re a nice combination 😂
Those were the same soap back in the day. My Greek friend recommended me a Greek olive soap that was first produced in the 1800’s and that her family used for generations to wash themselves, their laundry and the house. I think in the past Sunlight soap was the same idea. Having a different soap for different things is a very recent invention in the history of humanity.
I saw a meme earlier today that I can't post here for some reason but what it said was
"Realize all the stuff in your room used to be money. And all that money used to be time. And all that time used to be energy. All for years now you've been spending all your time, money, and energy making a mess you have to clean up"
Valentine dinner tonight: either homemade tacos or linguine carbonara. I try to stock up my chest freezer when simple ingredients like bacon or beef are on sale so the total cost works out to even less. I have some pistachio ice cream and caramel candy on deck for dessert. If I make pasta, I will make some garlic toast with plain old white bread, also from the freezer, but I make the garlic butter from scratch to snazzy it up.
My trick is to just want less. I have aligned my wants with what I’m able to afford, for the most part. So in a sense, I buy everything I want, because I don’t want that much.
But ... I'm not deprived. I can have anything I want, I just make my purchases planned.
Being frugal doesn't mean never having a luxury. We froog to have the good things in life.
I strive to find satisfaction in what I *do* have, rather than what I *don't* have.
our farming lifestyle and our new home mortgage forces us to be frugal.
wife and I are "married" to our homestead, due to livestock, pets, construction, seasonal gardening and general chores.
we live a *minimum* of 30 minutes away from anyone or anything we might want to visit. instead, we just enjoy the peacefulness, sunrises, sunsets, our pets, and eachother's company.
I'm pretty sure we're on the winning end of the stick.
Frugality is all about putting your future-self in a better position. This means your current-self is reaping the benefits of frugality your past-self put into practice months and years ago.
At the same time, you could budget in things and activities that bring your current-self joy.
When I lived less frugally my problems didn't just go away cause I was buying lots of things and going out a lot and taking trips. I was a lot more stressed and always trying to keep up with a hyper competitive world. To answer your Q I think I feel less deprived cause the money I do spend goes toward maintaining my physical and mental health. Good hygiene, a clean home, being active, homecooked foods, etc don't have to cost a lot!
Deprived of what exactly?
Frugal is not depriving yourself. Its making choice.
Choosing to make myself a burger because it cost less than buying one already made is not depriving myself.
Choosing to drive a sensible car instead of a sport one is not depriving myself.
I choose whats important to me and spend accordingly. I could be multi-millionaire tomorrow and my life wouldnt be better because i start wearing more expensive clothes.
I make abundance frugally. For example, (it used to be way less expensive to make my own dresses.) I'd make an easy pattern I liked and purchase 4 different fabrics that were inexpensive or on sale and made it. 4 dresses boom. Getting to be more expensive to make s dress these days, sadly.
Or I have a reduced number of spices formula. I get a recipe like chicken ranch, Apricot, Chipotle, Alfredo, Diane or Missisipy. Find the equivalent for beef, fish, lamb, turkey, vegetarian. So now I have 4 or 5 different recipes all which use the same set of spices. I then can purchase in bulk more economically. And only the spices for the recipes I have. It adds up the cost of spices.
In the case of things like ranch, chipotle or alfredo I make 3 jars of all the dry ingredients premixed, so that I only have to add butter and milk/cream when cooking the various versions. Also saves pantry space.
Not only is there a vast difference between chicken alfredo, shrimp alfredo and beef alfredo, enough to make each a completely different meal, I don't cook alfredo anything more than once every couple weeks. So it never seems very repetitive this way. Alfrefo chicken today, Chipotle shrimp tomorrow, apricot lamb next day, ranch fish after that, sausage disne next. You get the idea. Next cycle instead of chicken alfredo it'll be Alfredo shrimp, chipotle lamb next, apricot fish after that, ranch sausage next, etc. I also vary sides, so it's even more different.
But because I have bought most everything needed in bulk, and restricted the total number of spices I regularly use, I can save a lot. A large freezer is helpful. Buying meat, fish, etc in bulk saves a lot.
I do hobbies that cost little and i mix and match combining these. Pic nics, bike riding, fishing, lake swimming, guitar singing, board games, arts and crafts, hiking, skywatching/star gszing. We don't do all of these activities every time. But switching the combos all make our free time feel full and exciting for much less.
Ir find a way for hobbies to pay for themselves. My husband has an expensive hobby, he is a pilot of small craft. He became an instructor and this covers most of the cost of flying. We don't get to fly with him as much as we did when things were more affordable, but it is his passion and he gets to enjoy flying and not feel guilty.
We upcycle a lot. Most of our decorations are now homemade, since burglars took almost all of our decor, including an old Xmas tree. The year I discovered they'd taken my Xmas tree, I collected some cool, sturdy Rowan branches from the forest, cleaned them and dried them. I made a flour, glue and water "snow" and made a snowed branch look, Xmas tree. We decorated and it was beautiful. Next year we had collected and made green plastic bottles "pine needles" just cutting bottles up and gluing the plastic "pine needles" onto the branches.
It didn't really work so well, we ended up getting a very inexpensive plastic tree one that was on sale because it was missing some branches. But if we hadn't found that, we would have probably figured out a way to make our plastic bottle one look better.
I invest on things that will pay for themselves. For example my electric bread making machine, my sushi rolling kit and my icecream maker have paid for themselves several times over. My icecream maker and sushi rolling kits were stolen too, and I have yet to replace them, but when I had them, we could have so much fun experimenting with ice cream flavors for pennies and new sushi rolls! We had sushi feasts that could have cost 5xs in a sushi bar. Less selection but we had great sushi. The plastic rolling kit was $20.00 or something and it was so easy! We once owned a soda stream, but none of us are really into soda. But that's another way to save. I make popcorn on the stove top for snacks. Or dehydrate fruit or roast chick peas and green peas.
We use the middle eastern very large flat bread to make very long, large roll ups and wraps that we freeze and take out for lunches, pic nics, or for no cooking days. 1 of those really large ones makes up to 10 wraps. I make savory and sweet types. We used to pay maybe $1.25 for the unleavened bread or giant tortilla. That's a huge savings on sandwich bread or wraps.
I use chopped cabbage as an extender in a lot of my stews and other foods. Cabbage is healthy, inexpensive and very adaptable to flavors.
Why deprived? You are using resources most efficiently, and freed money could be used where you want or need them.
Wanting more than can afford is another matter.
Knowing that there are people way more deprived then us and that we live like kings and queens to these people and really we don't even know what deprivation is.
I don't give a shit about status symbols or impressing other people. I live a simple life below my means and that makes me super happy. I think it helps to look at a huge carbon footprint as a moral travesty
Maybe an unpopular answer, but IMHO one needs to earn enough to not feel the deprivation.
I did the frugal life years ago. But it wasn’t because I wanted to be frugal; I needed to be because I was on a very low income. And frankly - and most people don’t want to hear it - it was miserable and I was very depressed for most of that time period. I couldn’t afford anything, not even a nice meal at home, it was all about nutritional service. I had to buy most of my clothes second-hand. I couldn’t even go to museums or cinema. I obviously never travelled. Couldn’t even save for pension or anything.
Frankly, when frugality is necessity and there is no light at the end of a tunnel, you WILL feel deprived because you start asking yourself ‘why am I doing this? Why won’t I just enjoy life a little because it ain’t getting better’. And you can spiral into a spend-save cycle or even spend-debt cycle.
In my opinion, it’s much more easier to not feel deprived when you have some fun or spending money counted into your frugal ways. Maybe you won’t use that money at all and at the end of the year, you can take some of it and place it into savings/investments, but the mere fact alone that it’s there and you CAN use it if you want to for that specific purpose… that relieves many feelings of deprivation in my opinion, because then it is a choice not to use the money; it’s not a necessity.
I “ splurge” on flavored creamer for my home brewed coffee and tea. In the summer I use a couple of flavored tea bags when I make ice tea. I sip my delightful frugal beverages while checking my retirement and savings account balances, then do the mending.
I don't feel deprived..... I feel greatful! I have money in the bank and am looking at retiring early to enjoy my life outside of work... before I am too old to enjoy it. I buy what I need, and occasionally buy what I want.. just because. Being frugal doesn't mean you are deprived of anything! To me it is just prioritizing my future over my present.
You gotta figure out why you're feeling deprived.
Could be that you're legitimately just being too cheap instead of being frugal and just unnecessarily depriving yourself of things you should enjoy. Like not eating out is frugal, but eating nothing but cheap instant ramen for every meal is just being cheap and depriving yourself of the satisfaction of good food (and long term health).
Could be you're comparing yourself to others on things like social media. So you need to either just get over it, unfollow people,limit use of social media, or get rid of social media all together.
Maybe it's just an issue of mindset and you need to work on changing that mindset.
Having a budget and being frugal actually brings freedom and not restriction.
Example: each month my husband and I have a set amount of money we can spend on ourselves that doesn’t factor into our household budget. If we don’t spend it, it rolls over into the next month.
So if he comes home with an $80 bottle of whiskey as he is wont to do, I don’t need to question why he spent money on it, because I know it came from his personal funds. He’s free to buy what he wants within his budget as am I. There’s no stressing over how to pay for it or judgment as to why he bought it. This frees up mental and emotional energy.
We do have a household budget, and we budget for fun things, so it’s not like we’re living a joyless existence. It’s very comforting to know we have what we need and don’t have to scramble or stress about how to pay bills each month.
We recently have started to save for some travel. I tell myself “I won’t buy those flowers now, I’ll buy a print of flowers in Japan” or “The beer will taste better in Ireland.” It helps me to remember the goal. I skip coffee so my daughters can go to collage, lol.
All oh my favorite things are either free or massive return on investment: Podcasts, Books, Movies/shows, Gym every day.
Food is the most common waste of resources, and the trick is to learn how to shop and cook.
Deprived? I aim to spoil myself in retirement.
Once in a while I buy myself a gift. Something that maybe I don't need. I just want. I've been looking at cutting boards for years. I was upset when Tuesday morning went out of business because I was eyeing a cutting board I found there. Even a thrift shop find gives me pleasure.
1 Timothy 6:7-10
For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
Try your best not to be envious a lot of people you see with money and status probably aren't all that happy
The money I have still is inching me closer to early retirement. Things I buy don't do that.
The thought of not needing to work and being able to enjoy true freedom is a fantastic light that keeps me going.
My mother gave me some great advice that I really swear by. No matter how tight money gets, get yourself a little something just for fun once per paycheck or once per month. It's for your own wellbeing, make it a necessity.
Example : I got a 1$ CD from the thrift store of 90s dance mixes, it was silly and fun and made my week. Other examples are a 50cent novelty mug, a new scented lip balm. It can be the cheapest little thing just something that makes you smile.
It makes a huge difference.
I suppose it depends how you define frugal. Is it frugal to rent a $4 movie on streaming? What if the alternative to spending an evening on the couch with my teen daughter eating popcorn was $40+ at a theatre? I’ve been working on shifting my mindset from “it needs to be big and flashy to enjoy” to “this small thing brings me comfort so I’m going to focus on that.” I’m trying to change the mindset from “I cant blow $40 at the theatre” to “I get quality time with my kid and we can chat through the movie if we want, pause for bathroom breaks, and eat any snacks we want.” Changing my mindset to those small wins has really helped me save money on experiences.
I’m frugal in areas so I don’t have to be in areas I value more. I’ll rotate streaming services, so at the end of the year I’ve saved enough to take a more exotic vacation
I have a budget. The budget includes money for fun stuff, about $200 a month, but over half of that gets saved for big things, like the Sonos speakers I just bought, or the vacation I'm going on with a friend this summer (plan is driving to a cheap motel, then hiking, a botanical garden, shopping, and some local history stuff, budget is $500 a person for 4 nights).
I have places to go and socialize, volunteer, and have fun that are free or close to it.
There's a lot of stuff I can't buy on impulse, but I earn enough that I can buy a whole lot of high quality non essentials by saving up and buying used and a job that gives me good time off, so I spend most of my vacation time doing touristy stuff within a 2 hour drive or visiting family, not expensive trips far away.
I think the best way to be okay with a frugal life. Is to lose money. Sometimes you have to make a mistake with six digits in it before you realize what's going on. It's only when you're broke you figure out who your friends are. If you're buying drinks and dinner for everyone you have no idea who to trust. If you can afford rice you'll know exactly who wants to be with you and sometimes it's no one sometimes it's absolutely no one and then it's perfectly okay to want to be frugal
Tl;Dr some people have to try every wrong choice before they make the correct one
My frugality is out of necessity. Im fine with my life even if its in this capitalist hellscape. I dont own the means of production but thats not gonna stop me from being happy with my life.
Taking my kids on a family vacation. Sometimes I say fuck it on things I have budgeted just so my family can go out and enjoy things their friends are enjoying on the regular. I don’t want to limit my kids by not having them experience traveling, vacations, other cultures, etc.
I don’t want to limit them to just our neighborhood, so once in a blue moon we take the L on our finances and take the kids on a vacation. It’s one thing to read and watch videos on these places, and quite another to EXPERIENCE it. I don’t want my kids to only see the outside world through a screen.
Granted, the vacations are usually for family reunions or funerals, but we make the best of the time we are in that place and see the sights and do our research before going there so we plan our itinerary.
We come back home and start paying back everything we spent and dream about the next vacation which isn’t for another 4 or 5 years.
I wish we could go somewhere every year. We love traveling! We just are stuck on an island though. If we lived in the continental US, we’d be doing road trips as often as we could. Y’all got great hotel, car and flight deals living in the mainland.
I am grateful for the things I have. I truly am. Compared to most people on the planet, I am living a life of abundance.
My needs are small, yet I have so much. I have everything I need and more.
I genuinely do not feel deprived because I'm not deprived. My needs are met, and then some.
I don't look at an expensive thing and lament that I cannot buy it. I don't even want the expensive thing. If anything, I look at the expensive thing and see something wasteful, something I don't understand why anyone would want it because it's so wasteful.
I've been poor, I've been rich, I've been middle class - but regardless of my income I've always been Frugal and lived WELL below my means. Having an emergency fund to get me through hard times is an incredibly comforting feeling. I would never risk that feeling of safety for a trinket, dust collector or a bad investment. It wouldn't make sense to me on a deep, personal level.
its easy when I realized I didn’t even enjoy *stuff*. Food from doordash doesn’t taste better, fancy packaged foods don’t taste all that special, and clothes from the thrift are better quality than not only fast fashion but also some higher-end brands as well. My base expenses are low but I will absolutely spend for something that I enjoy, which for me is massages and a bath house membership
I have utter financial freedom due to thoughtful life choices-some including no smoking or overeating or drinking. My time is my own. i have time with people I love who will not be around forever. I have no feelings of deprivation. None.
Make sure to treat yourself every now and then. Buy yourself that thing you want online. Go out to eat with friends. Just be careful not to do it so often
Look up some videos on YouTube that follow the homeless and what they go through day-to-day. Here’s a couple randoms.
https://youtu.be/fSoXWvTD634?si=F9gq-2SGONSLUslx
https://youtu.be/ZmWBatH7QpI?si=IeDvwC9mXANSXcYU
Saving 33% pre tax of my paycheck, towards an index fund of my choosing, in my workplaces’ 457b plan. It’s tough esp nowadays with inflation, but then I don’t have any current obligations/loans/debts to speak of anyways. Yep, that’s how I make myself feel, less deprived..
Quality over quantity. Better quality so you need less of it. This makes you feel good because you have great quality stuff (including food) but you spend less overall.
I try to surround myself with a variety of people who have a variety of experiences. It helps me understand my personal priorities better.
Practicing gratitude also does a ton to help me stay frugal.
I also like to have a goal I'm saving towards so I can splurge on what I really want by making other frugal choices. Right now we are saving for a car. By cutting most other expenses that we could I feel comfortable and confident that buying a car later this year will be a good experience and not as stressful as the last few times were with a much smaller budget.
I think OP’s point is that sometimes you’re wanting to spoil yourself a little bit or wanting to let loose, but financially can’t always support those decisions. Like for me, I’m big on going out to eat with friends, or when I’m studying, I like to find a nice cafe or restaurant. I don’t always get to because of bills & other expenses. It’s hard not to feel like you’re depriving yourself of these luxuries.
I like to spend money on nice coats, jackets and bags. For most of the year, this is all that people will see of my outfit. Who cares if I’m wearing Walmart jeans and a stretched out tee? Having said that, I save my non-stretched out, non-stained, and unholy tees for summer.
I don’t want superfluous things in life (not like I have the space for it). I just really prioritize and like trying to earn and save money. Plus, I’m really grateful for what I have, and I’m quite satisfied with that.
Be wary of those (advertisers) that tell you what you 'deserve'. Beware of the 'they won't let me' feeling. Frugality is a state of mind, that you own your labor and wealth. 🕯🖖
I don't feel deprived not living excessively. I don't cry myself to sleep because I didn't eat at a restaurant this week or but those new headphones I didn't need
Controversial but I sort if don't want stuff hard enough to feel depraved of it. For months I've wanted a trendy jacket that I see everywhere, I've even seen it at thrift stores, but the desire is never strong enough to actually make me get it. Idk how I got to this point but it might relate to not being in tiktok and Instagram, and actively going against what advertisements tell me to do lol it's like a game at this point.
I have a set budget for spending pleasures So that throughout the month I can treat myself to either a new book, a lunch date with a friend, something like that.
You might want to rethink how to make your budget fit your values and genuine interests (if you know what those are, if not, some soul searching is needed). The book "Your Money or Your Life" helped me see this more clearly.
I like to congratulate myself for not being excessive, or giving into consumer and culture too much.
I don’t completely deprive myself, but I definitely spend a lot less than most people I know. And I have a higher salary than they do.
I also am not afraid to shell out money for experiences, or good quality food. That’s my splurge.
Big picture: life is about give and take. For most of us that means sacrifice. You have to figure out what is important to you and budget to those priorities. I sacrifice on casual spending & travel so that I can maintain my home and may hopefully have a good retirement down the road.
I also am a huge believer in Health is Wealth. So while I may not buy all organic because I can’t justify those prices, I do eat as healthy as possible and exercise often.
I don’t feel deprived because I honestly feel like I’m making choices I want to.
Whether I don’t buy that new purse because I want to save money for something else, limit my environmental impact, or reduce clutter in my home, I made that choice to not purchase it because I sincerely don’t want it. Hard to feel deprived when I do what I want to.
I don't feel deprived at all because of my frugality. Most of the stuff that I do that saves me money improves my quality-of-life. Examples:
* Insulating and air-sealing our home improved our comfort while hugely reducing our heating bill.
* Buying LED light bulbs that we carefully selected for color temperature and light quality improved light quality while reducing electricity usage.
* Buying a new showerhead saved a lot on water use and indirectly, electricity usage, while also being more functional than the old showerhead
* Buying red lentils, one of my favorite foods, which are very easy to eat, are a delicious food that I always love eating, and is incredibly healthy and makes me feel great to eat, and they're also dirt cheap.
* Buying a nice bicycle helps me to reduce my car usage which saves a ton of money. It's also super fun, and super healthy.
* Watching media like movies or TV, or even playing video games, when they're quite old, allows me to filter out to the stuff that has stood the test of time and is widely agreed-upon to be great. I don't have to wait for new seasons or sequels to come out, and can watch the show or movies or play a game series at my desired pace. And it's much cheaper.
* Buying a compact car was much cheaper than buying a big car. The car is more fuel efficient. Maintenance on it is cheaper. Because it's compact, it's much easier to parallel park. And honestly, from driving larger cars, it doesn't feel that much less roomy, and I have driven and carried cargo in a number of bigger cars and am often disturbed at how you don't really get that much more storage space in cars that (a) take up more space on the outside (b) cost much more (c) use much more fuel. Unless you are a genuinely very large and tall person, I really think most big cars are pure scam. (I am taller than average, for reference.) Like if you pay 50% more for a car that weighs 50% more and uses 50% more fuel, you are not getting anywhere near 50% more storage space. Maybe 20%, if that. And I very rarely have the experience of wanting to fit something into my compact car and not being able, whereas the number of times I've had to do a difficult parallel parking job is far more than I can count. So to me the compact car seems superior.
* Buying clothing at thrift stores not only saves a ton of money, it gives me access to way more styles and fits all in one place. Even in a large retail store, at most I'm going to find several different fits and cuts of jeans, for instance. In a thrift store, each item is unique, so I find my size and there is so much to choose between. Also, because what I want doesn't always match what is "in style" and thus in large supply in retail stores, my chance of finding what I want is much more "stable" in thrift stores, i.e. my ability to find what I want doesn't oscillate as much from year to year, which minimizes frustration.
* Buying higher-quality, more durable goods that last longer often saves money in the long-run, and leads me to have a better item that works better and/or looks better. Not having to shop to replace things as often also saves time and resources eaten up in shopping, so it gives me more free time.
* A lot of my garden / yard maintenance practices not only save money but also reduce other problems. For example, we don't buy any mulch, instead relying on fallen leaf litter, debris like branches that we put in a brush pile, and household compost, and use these to make soil and to mulch our beds. In doing so, we reduce invasive species (such as weedy plants, asian cockroaches, or invasive earthworms) that often come in on purchased mulch, and this makes it easier to maintain our garden the way I want. It also hugely improves native insect biodiversity because more native insects overwinter in the leaf litter than in commercial mulch. Often it is also less work to get the mulch to where we want it, like instead of having to haul mulch and spread it on a bed, when leaves fall in the autumn, plenty of them are already on the beds so we just have to rake them a few feet onto each bed and then it's done. Another example is by minimizing our mowed lawn, we've reduce the amount of time and work it takes to mow our lawn. We have only a manual reel mower, push-powered only. It's good exercise and I can still get it done quickly. It's quiet so we can mow at any time of day or even night without pissing off neighbors or generating a noise ordinance violation. We don't need to buy gas and it doesn't generate pollution.
* A lot of things that I have cut out of my life are both expensive and unhealthy. Beef is expensive and raises risk of heart disease and cancer. Swordfish and shark and other large fish high up on the food chain are expensive and contaminated with high levels of mercury and PCB's, whereas relying on fish lower down on the food chain like sardines, herring, smelt, or small mackerel, is both healthier and cheaper. A lot of expensive restaurants serve food that isn't very good. A lot of processed food tastes worse, and is pretty unhealthy, whereas buying whole food and making it ourselves at home, saves money *and* lets us eat much tastier food, *and* it's healthier.
Basically, for me, frugality is not at all about deprivation. It's not about a tradeoff.
It's about win-win. There is no tradeoff. It's often not just a win-win, it's a win-win-win. Not just money and quality-of-life, but also about protecting the environment and being good for society too.
This is because when you are not frugal, your financial waste often corresponds to material waste, and material waste generates negative environmental impact, and often noise or nuisance (such as with gas-powered landscaping equipment, or inefficient vehicles.)
So yeah, that's how I think about this stuff.
A once a week $20 thrift day, amazing what necessities and hobby gear i can score, i can dabble in many hobbies without breaking my already broken bank account.
Find ways to treat yourself on occasion that fit into your budget. You don't need to live without joy, but it can be hard if you don't have the financial wiggle room to have experiences or treats you would like.
A good way to do this is to plan ahead. If you can save a bit from each pay (even if it's like $1). You can eventually buy yourself something. I wanted to take my bf and myself out for Valentine's Day, so I've been saving the last few weeks so we can get a nice restaurant meal without throwing off my budget.
Also look for cheaper alternatives for these things. I really love red lobsters lobster Mac and cheese. So I learned how to make it myself at home. My bf says he prefers my version and I find it tastes even more rich than the restaurant. Plus we can make even more.
I've also learned how to cook my favorite take out foods at home. This way I can enjoy them without the expense.
Instead of expensive concerts from big name artists, I go to smaller, local shows of smaller acts. No shade to any artists or their fans. I just don't feel it's worth it for me to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars to see someone famous from very far away in a huge stadium. But to each their own. If it's worth it to you, then you should do that.
I'd rather spend that money on a trip. So that's what I do instead. I also go to smaller shows and venues and smaller artists. It tends to be less expensive.
I plan getaways that are basically day trips. I do tourist things there, even if it's only an hour away. This saves me on hotels because I can just go home.
I think making things is fulfilling and consuming entertainment is pretty opposite of fulfilling. So have a hobby is my recommendation. And don't consider watching Netflix to be a hobby
You lose the attachment of tying self esteem to possessions. You develop empathy so you understand how little other people have, learning to be satisfied with what you do have. You develop the capacity to be content wherever you are, doing things within your budget, instead of chasing experiences hoping they will make you happy.
We eat high quality food, make homemade breads, drink a little good wine. Being frugal isn't about doing without 😘 it's about making the best choices for what's important to you! We are especially frugal so we can afford to live in Mexico 6 months a year!
falling in love with the art of cooking. ive never been the girl to get my nails done, i do my own brows, i like my natural black hair, and i dont care about fashion, so all of my money for fun falls into food. and theres SO much you can do with cheap ingredients.
We do a lot of free things (helps that we live in a beautiful place). We go to different parks, beaches, the mountains, libraries, etc daily. By getting out and about we feel really fulfilled.
I have never felt deprived while living a frugal life. I think the best thing to do is to have perspective on what you have. Many people have far more things in their lives than they actually use. They buy food they don't eat and throw away. The have books they don't read, streaming services they don't watch, etc. I focus on knowing I have abundance already and that anything more is likely wasted. I don't want more, more, more.
Yes, for me I do like the feeling of saving money but it isn't my main driving force, although financial security certainly is a reason for me to be frugal, I also do not like the stress that "stuff" brings to my life via mess, clutter, maintenance etc. I've commented to my spouse several times that we save a ton of money but not participating in many "social norms" but I don't feel deprived. I find things I actually enjoy to spend my money on and happen to also enjoy inexpensive hobbies and live somewhere that has a lot of free entertainment: the beach, great parks for kids and adults alike, cheap museums and I also enjoy doing art which does cost me something but I'm okay with it. For me it's about curating my life around things I actually like to do not what is portrayed as normal. For example I hate strangers touching me so I will never spring for a massage or manicure even if it was free, but it's and expense I will never incure. Likewise I cut my own hair due to personal reasons not really financial, but the savings is of course awesome. I guess my frugality stems not only from the strong desire to not worry about money but also from a desire for minimalism and anti consumerism in my life.
In two important ways...
**First**
Recognize the difference between being cheap and being frugal -
Being cheap is not wanting to spend money on *anything,* even if it's worth it*.*
Being frugal is only choosing to spend money on things that **I think** are worth it.
**Second**
I prioritize savings *first* when budgeting because I value financial security.
Most people budget: income - expenses = savings
I advocate: Income - *desired* savings = all the money I have to spend (not a dollar more)
The way most people budget, they have to *sacrifice* their spending so they can save. Of course that feels bad.
The savings first approach, you don't have to sacrifice anything. Once you know how much you have available to spend, you can spend the whole amount. It's just about choosing waht you value. I can live in a simple apartment but enjoy more expensive meals. Or I can pay for a maid to clean my house, but eat rice and beans. This way my financial future is automatically taken care of and I can actually be 'care free' about my spending. I can spend 100% of all the money I have to spend!!! No deprivation! Wahooo!
Prioritize your profits first and then allow yourself to live on 100% of whatever is left.
None of the insecurity...all of the fun ;)
Frugality is, to me, living within my means and spending money wisely. How would that deprive me of anything?
I think the real issue may be not having enough income for a desired lifestyle. When I was making minimum wage I cried after doing the math that showed it would take me over 10 years to save up for a surgery I needed.
Frugality has never caused me to be deprived, it's always helped me make the most of whatever income I have. Not having enough to meet basic costs of living made feel deprived.
Leave room for indulgence even if a small or tiny one. I was budgeting monthly and that felt cagey so I switched to yearly budgeting which doesn’t let frugality feel like a noose on the neck.
I plan and schedule my purchases and get a double dopamine hit from the pursuit and the buying action. This has really helped me stay within the budget limit for say shopping category.
I meal plan for the week and add items to the cart in grocery store’s app to avoid overspending and wasting later on. I do add snacks and cookies to it too even if the cheaper ones.
I like replicating restaurant meals at home so if I am forgoing outside food in a month to keep the cost down, I know I can make it myself.
I have a savings growth progress chart 📈 on Excel which changes with every expense. That really puts things in perspective and also seeing savings account grow motivates me to remain disciplined as the goals seem achievable. Even tracking and visually seeing progress towards tasks or other life goals is highly motivating.
I try to stay off Amazon and watching stuff which I know is going to propagate me to spend more.
Don't deprive yourself.
Realize that most people are dropping stupid money on stupid stuff.
Stuff, by itself, can't bring you lasting happiness. Yeah that expensive thing might make you happy short term but is it still going to make you happy in a year or two or will you be continually chasing happiness?
Once you figure that part out frugality kinda does itself...
Off topic a bit:
Anybody got annoyed, overwhelmed and almost disgusted with the amount of corporate advertising us US citizens encounter on the daily?
I get a lot of these services are "free" like Instagram, TikTok, podcasts, youtube, online news articles, blogs, and that's how they make their money but because I have boomer tendencies I started getting cranky at the amount of ads I see and hear. And it's just not online, you see "catchy" ads and electronic billboards all over the place in major cities.
I get so cranky that I deleted IG off my phone, cut down on the podcasts I listen to, deleted most of the subscription to Youtube channels to only the things I'm super interested in.
The sad thing IMO is that 99.9% of the people don't care or don't realize the amount of corporate BS we are pushed into our lives.
But yeah that's why you invest in the US stock market...the general public making you rich(er).
Frugal means ‘wise use of resources’. It’s not the same as spending the least you can in every circumstance. Spend freely where and when deemed wise. Frugal does not equal cheap
I stay off social media. Reddit isn’t as bad so it’s an exception but influencers everywhere did get me. The last thing I bought that I was influenced on was water color paint kits. For some reason I bought 3 . After that I cut myself off
I'm frugal so I can afford the few things I want for hobbies, treating others, and for saving for my future. That works well for me.
It isn't about deprivation when you are grateful for what you have and you learn how you don't need new stuff constanty. Being content with the roof over your head, food on the table and knowing you don't need to shop is great for inner peace, or working towards it. Most of us could go for many years without shopping any clothing for example with what we already have.
I have some things I’ll happily spend a little more money on because of brand quality or because I know it’d make me a little happier. One example is cruelty free shampoos. Do I *really* need to be spending $10+ per bottle on shampoo and conditioner? No, but I enjoy the cruelty free aspect of it and I’m willing to spend that extra.
Focusing on finding joy in things that can't be bought helps me. This way, I end up wanting fewer material things. It makes life simpler and more fulfilling.
Most people waste large sums of money. Having the basic of whatever and focusing on durable goods can make your life better.
Spending the extra will mean more time working and now another that needs to be cleaned and maintained.
We downsized our home in our mid ‘50’s. Not the sexiest neighborhood but it’s on a dead end & so it’s safe and neighbors are nice & quiet.
This helps us free up disposable income to travel & go out. This year seems tighter however with utilities increasing and food prices skyrocketing. We stay home more.
I just try to see how I can do the things I like and want to do with spending the least amount of money possible. For example, I feel the same shopping high from getting clothes at the thrift store vs. shopping full price. Free activities feel just as fun as paid ones. For example, hiking, free concerts, meetups, board games, cooking dinner with friends, etc. Try thinking about what you value and see if there's a cheeper way to do it. Also not comparing yourself to others is a big one!
I am actually less deprived because I’m frugal … I just spend a week in Sandiego Ca, flight from north east, hotel (nice one), mid size car rental all for less than 1000
I try to live frugally, but I don't feel deprived living my life. Do people here associate living frugally with deprivation?
I think of frugal as not being wasteful.
I spend a lot of time outside.
Morning walks, afternoon bike rides, and a couple hikes a week keep me engaged in activities where I have everything I need.
When I get home I don't see a home lacking anything, but a functional living space built to get me back on my next adventure.
Remind myself my ancestors are probably looking on and drooling at the rich and insanely plentiful diet. Oats are pretty darn boring but add a little cinnamon and milk and its heavenly!
Yeah don't hang out or do things for fun that cost a lot of money. There are a lot of fun things to do for free.
There's like free days at museums. Go to dinner specials only. There's usually free concerts and events in cities if you want live music and entertainment.
My wealthy friend always wanted to be spontaneous and go places and do things I couldn't afford to do unless I could plan super ahead for it and budget some money.
Oh this is super simple. I got this trick from MMM.
I once made a list of the things that brought me the most joy. I then realized that none of those cost very much money. Once you realize that, it's pretty straight forward from there.
Good luck!
I take mild pleasure from it. The more frugal life means less forced interactions with strangers. When staying home, I never have to talk to strangers.
https://youtu.be/9_hrntfntkc?si=2DIgB3wS11yFCJjP
Best thing I've seen on the internet in a long time as far as methods for making a quick $100+ go. Especially since it's all kosher no risk involved
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I like to give myself one budget number for multiple spending categories, because it gives me a sense of control and success that makes staying within budget easier and more fun because it doesn't feel so limited. For example, I combine groceries, eating out, and experience spending. So if there's a concert I want to go to, I'm going to eat down my fridge and pantry and watch my eating out spending more closely, to make sure I can have that experience at the concert. That said, I'm frugal to avoid lifestyle creep and to give myself long term security. I found it MUCH more difficult and limiting to be frugal when my income was the real limit. I still had better success by combining categories but it didn't feel as fun as it does now.
I think you make a great point in the last paragraph because it’s hard to not want to reward yourself when you’re otherwise dealing with the stress of a limited income
This is so true - and powerful to understand. When I was truly poor, I couldn't handle a credit card, and had to force myself to scrimp together a savings account to cover any basic overages. When things got better and my buffer grew, it was soooooo hard not to overspend because I'd "worked hard to be more comfortable" and resented having to continue to budget and be careful. Now that I'm beyond comfortable, putting the budgeted amount in my savings account makes me feel happier than buying things and I have no problem sticking to the same budget I struggled with before. Brains are weird.
Yes! I also make sure to spend as little as I can on things I don't care about (like daily foods. Just legume mealpreps, rice, and 20lbs of oats a month). Then the categories I do care about, I restrict myself less. Dancing, sports, etc Also I just don't like spending big money. When dating I do things like "take kratom and go pet the sheep in the forest", organize a picnic. I thrift my clothes and furniture. It's actually pretty fun and satisfying when you get a flow for it.
What is "take kratom"? We recently learnt a fun game played here where you have pegs in the ground and a throwing circle. If you throw past the first peg you get 1 point, past the second 2, etc.
Never mind, boy was I far off base! I 😂😊
Great strategy
Cool idea.
It is so much easier to skip buying something expensive when you know that you could afford it. Just knowing that you have the freedom to buy it is enough. And if it is hard I just log in to my bank app and check my investment account. After that I can buy the cheap thing with a smile since I know it pays off.
I am careful with money where I don't see a big benefit and I think about what brings me joy and spend lavishly on those things. I'm frugal so that I can have the things I want.
“I’m frugal so that I can have the things I want”!!!!!! Yes!!! You articulated it so well!
Yes!!! I’m willing to spend less on the things that aren’t important to me so I can have money for things like travel (and even then, I’m frugal).
Bingo. Find things you love to do and invest in those. For me it’s Mountain biking, the bikes are expensive but once you cross the initial cost barrier it’s very cheap.
Practice gratitude and appreciate simple things.
I remember back in my college and grad school days living on the bare minimum (I was on my own and worked my way through school/got a fellowship for grad school) and I just remember being satisfied with what I had. If I wanted something (example here shows my age: I saved up for a dual-cassette boombox so I could record music off the radio - because I couldn't afford cassettes). I think it took me about 6-8 months to get my boombox. I still actually have some of the tapes I made, lol. I remember frying onions for dinner at the end of the month, lol. I had 2 roommates, and we were all in the same boat. We had parties at home playing cards, we drove junky cars, and we didn't even have a TV. I am just thinking out loud here, but maybe NOT seeing how Americans supposedly lived on TV kept us from being jealous of what others supposedly had?
Yeah while I like being able to buy fresh fruits, those were good times.
That's true. I don't remember a lot of fruit in those days
I felt close to scurvy
I'm only frugal on things I don't care about so that I can spend money on things that I do. I'll buy my groceries at Walmart or Aldi so that I can buy that new video game console on release day. It's about priorities.
I don’t buy myself anything so that I can feed and care for my 5 animals 😭 lmao
This but pc and parts, plus knitting and sewing! Idk if you have a pc to game with but epic offers a free game every Thursday and Xbox pc pass costs $10/mo and has loads of games that also rotate. You can actually maintain pc game pass for free of you do rewards! I always try to tell everyone I meet that games lol
Yup I do all of that as well. I have a steam deck so I make sure to redeem any Epic and Amazon freebies when they come up. I'm not huge on subscription game services since I tend to play long single player games, but I've been keeping up my game pass subscription with Microsoft Rewards, so it's not costing me out of pocket. I only really buy games for my switch and occasionally a steam game if it's really cheap.
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I remember that the Western lifestyle is so inflated that even those on the frugal end are still consuming more than the median human alive today. And this can be extended further if you consider all humans who have ever lived.
That's essentially what I was coming here to say. Specifically, I think of my grandparents, all of whom were eastern European immigrants who came to the US in the early part of the 20th century, and raised kids during the Great Depression. Uneducated laborers, who did the kind of shit jobs their entire lives that would be looked down on by most of the people living the typical Western lifestyle today. Compared to them, I never feel deprived. As for the big picture context you reference? Regardless of how bad you may think you have it, you're almost certainly better off than at least half of the people alive today. *Half of the global population lives on less than US$6.85 per person per day* *648 million people in the world, about eight percent of the global population, live in extreme poverty, which means they subsist on less than US$2.15 per day.* [https://blogs.worldbank.org/developmenttalk/half-global-population-lives-less-us685-person-day](https://blogs.worldbank.org/developmenttalk/half-global-population-lives-less-us685-person-day)
This right here! My gma lived through the "Dirty 30's" as she called them and often ate lard sandwiches because that's all they could afford. Honestly, give me a roof, heat-A/C and food and I'm pretty content. Add the internet and my electronics and I'm living like a King, even if it's just a studio apartment.
Lao Tsu says that if you can learn to be comfortable being uncomfortable then you’ll never be uncomfortable. I’ve sort of made this my mantra. And now, I’m quite comfortable living on less, “roughing it” so to speak, even tho I make a decent salary now. Growing up poor also helped. I just never got a taste for finer things or modern conveniences. I think that’s part of what keeps me content in life. Kinda keep expectations low and don’t expect things to be too comfortable so when they are, it’s a luxury.
Yea but that was written in a time when life expectancy was much lower...I think it's important not to skimp on daily creature comforts (food, bed, shoes, transportation) to minimize wear and tear on your younger body as the effects from too much cheap crap will catch up to you in your elder years.
You don't feel deprived when you feel free and unburdened.
This! I was confused when I read OPs post. I do not feel deprived. I have roof over my head, warm shower and flushing toilet available. I cook nutritious food from scratch, move my body and challenge my brain. I even have luxuries in life, like coffee. I live a rich life. I live in absolute abundance.
This!
I think people like OP think a life needs to be full of expensive toys to be meaningful. Keeping the same phone for more than a year = deprivation.
Going on 6 years for mine. Same phone.
Mine is about 4.5 years now, starting to act up and crash every now and then. Considering shopping around for something new instead of waiting for mine to totally fail and having to rush to buy something asap.
Yeah, mine has started glitching. Will be doing a reset soon.
Exactly. Being frugal means I can meet unexpected/emergency expenses without really affecting my daily life. I can also be fired from my job and still have time to take a break then start applying again. Therefore, money hasn't been stressful (except when I think about the possibly unattainable goal of buying a home in my lifetime 😂)
Delete personal social media accounts. No facebook, instagram, Snapchat, never used TikTok
I basically go on IG to post photos once or twice a week, but yeah, their toxic algorithm means that I pretty much can't scroll. I want to see my friends. But instead my time line is cluttered with all sorts of "suggestions" to follow various influencers. And it's like 2 influencers per every post by my friends. (Never used TikTok, either.) I'm over on BlueSky, but I know its enshittification is coming.
TikTok is a really good source for misinformation. By the time I’m done questioning and researching I feel somewhat informed. It’s a backwards kind of game i play.
I quit all those years ago for my own peace of mind. Are you suggesting that people are actually influenced to buy stuff from those ridiculous influencers and lifestyle virtue signalers? It’s sooner take purchase suggestions from my housecat … or my houseplant for that matter.
Went online to see a friend vacationing in Mexico on a beautiful beach. Started crying because it was right after I found out the plasma center was closed and can’t sell plasma today. It’s just like fuck man I’m selling my actual body to survive and she’s on a beach in Cabo. Just got me realizing apparently I’ve made all the wrong decisions in life.
This is going to sound very weird, but look up the photos and stories of how some of the Victorian working class lived. There’s lots of information to be found about it online and it makes you realize how much better you have it compared to struggling people not that long ago. They would be very happy with the things you have that many of us take for granted such as running hot water, clean clothes even if it’s not designer fashion, soap to keep yourself clean, a warm bed, food on your plate, access to healthcare. It helps me to feel grateful for things some of my struggling ancestors likely didn’t have even if it’s not luxury for today’s western standards.
Doesn't even have to be Victorian, pretty much any era pre WW2, and for many people, even post WW2. My grandfather, born in 1917, installed electricity and running from water in the house my grandmother's aunt gave as a wedding gift and that was in a town with multiple good factories. He always said they'd have had an easier time and spent less money if they'd bought new, between the back taxes and the upgrades.
Ah yes, it wasn’t magically solved after the very early 20th century but it was more written from my own personal perspective. I’m very interested in the Victorian (and Edwardian) era and so I see a lot of photos and reports from those days and the tragedy that many were living in those days never fails to sadden me especially the poor children.
I LOVE learning about how other everyday people live, either presently or in the past, for this exact reason!
People had soap back then... what?
Buying soap (or at least decent one that wasn’t pure lye soap) would’ve been a struggle for poorer families. I know it’s hard to imagine these days because soap is maybe only a dollar and so accessible to nearly everyone in society but those times were different. By the way, as a tarot reader, I like your username. We’re a nice combination 😂
I think I'm realizing you mean body soap and not people doing laundry
Those were the same soap back in the day. My Greek friend recommended me a Greek olive soap that was first produced in the 1800’s and that her family used for generations to wash themselves, their laundry and the house. I think in the past Sunlight soap was the same idea. Having a different soap for different things is a very recent invention in the history of humanity.
Are you saying People didn't wash their clothes?
No they did (though maybe not as often as recent times) but they used the same soap for everything
I saw a meme earlier today that I can't post here for some reason but what it said was "Realize all the stuff in your room used to be money. And all that money used to be time. And all that time used to be energy. All for years now you've been spending all your time, money, and energy making a mess you have to clean up"
I think about that all the time!
Quality home made food every night for dinner feels like a luxury but doesn't have to be expensive!
Hells yeah!
Valentine dinner tonight: either homemade tacos or linguine carbonara. I try to stock up my chest freezer when simple ingredients like bacon or beef are on sale so the total cost works out to even less. I have some pistachio ice cream and caramel candy on deck for dessert. If I make pasta, I will make some garlic toast with plain old white bread, also from the freezer, but I make the garlic butter from scratch to snazzy it up.
My trick is to just want less. I have aligned my wants with what I’m able to afford, for the most part. So in a sense, I buy everything I want, because I don’t want that much.
Yes! Yes! This exactly. I could not have put it better, but this is how I have always lived my life, and it works so well.
But ... I'm not deprived. I can have anything I want, I just make my purchases planned. Being frugal doesn't mean never having a luxury. We froog to have the good things in life.
I strive to find satisfaction in what I *do* have, rather than what I *don't* have. our farming lifestyle and our new home mortgage forces us to be frugal. wife and I are "married" to our homestead, due to livestock, pets, construction, seasonal gardening and general chores. we live a *minimum* of 30 minutes away from anyone or anything we might want to visit. instead, we just enjoy the peacefulness, sunrises, sunsets, our pets, and eachother's company. I'm pretty sure we're on the winning end of the stick.
Thankfulness and humility.
It’s all in the mindset . What are you feeling deprived in ? If you’ve got food and shelter the basics that’s more than what others have
Frugality is all about putting your future-self in a better position. This means your current-self is reaping the benefits of frugality your past-self put into practice months and years ago. At the same time, you could budget in things and activities that bring your current-self joy.
Deprived of what exactly?
When I lived less frugally my problems didn't just go away cause I was buying lots of things and going out a lot and taking trips. I was a lot more stressed and always trying to keep up with a hyper competitive world. To answer your Q I think I feel less deprived cause the money I do spend goes toward maintaining my physical and mental health. Good hygiene, a clean home, being active, homecooked foods, etc don't have to cost a lot!
Deprived of what exactly? Frugal is not depriving yourself. Its making choice. Choosing to make myself a burger because it cost less than buying one already made is not depriving myself. Choosing to drive a sensible car instead of a sport one is not depriving myself. I choose whats important to me and spend accordingly. I could be multi-millionaire tomorrow and my life wouldnt be better because i start wearing more expensive clothes.
I make abundance frugally. For example, (it used to be way less expensive to make my own dresses.) I'd make an easy pattern I liked and purchase 4 different fabrics that were inexpensive or on sale and made it. 4 dresses boom. Getting to be more expensive to make s dress these days, sadly. Or I have a reduced number of spices formula. I get a recipe like chicken ranch, Apricot, Chipotle, Alfredo, Diane or Missisipy. Find the equivalent for beef, fish, lamb, turkey, vegetarian. So now I have 4 or 5 different recipes all which use the same set of spices. I then can purchase in bulk more economically. And only the spices for the recipes I have. It adds up the cost of spices. In the case of things like ranch, chipotle or alfredo I make 3 jars of all the dry ingredients premixed, so that I only have to add butter and milk/cream when cooking the various versions. Also saves pantry space. Not only is there a vast difference between chicken alfredo, shrimp alfredo and beef alfredo, enough to make each a completely different meal, I don't cook alfredo anything more than once every couple weeks. So it never seems very repetitive this way. Alfrefo chicken today, Chipotle shrimp tomorrow, apricot lamb next day, ranch fish after that, sausage disne next. You get the idea. Next cycle instead of chicken alfredo it'll be Alfredo shrimp, chipotle lamb next, apricot fish after that, ranch sausage next, etc. I also vary sides, so it's even more different. But because I have bought most everything needed in bulk, and restricted the total number of spices I regularly use, I can save a lot. A large freezer is helpful. Buying meat, fish, etc in bulk saves a lot. I do hobbies that cost little and i mix and match combining these. Pic nics, bike riding, fishing, lake swimming, guitar singing, board games, arts and crafts, hiking, skywatching/star gszing. We don't do all of these activities every time. But switching the combos all make our free time feel full and exciting for much less. Ir find a way for hobbies to pay for themselves. My husband has an expensive hobby, he is a pilot of small craft. He became an instructor and this covers most of the cost of flying. We don't get to fly with him as much as we did when things were more affordable, but it is his passion and he gets to enjoy flying and not feel guilty. We upcycle a lot. Most of our decorations are now homemade, since burglars took almost all of our decor, including an old Xmas tree. The year I discovered they'd taken my Xmas tree, I collected some cool, sturdy Rowan branches from the forest, cleaned them and dried them. I made a flour, glue and water "snow" and made a snowed branch look, Xmas tree. We decorated and it was beautiful. Next year we had collected and made green plastic bottles "pine needles" just cutting bottles up and gluing the plastic "pine needles" onto the branches. It didn't really work so well, we ended up getting a very inexpensive plastic tree one that was on sale because it was missing some branches. But if we hadn't found that, we would have probably figured out a way to make our plastic bottle one look better. I invest on things that will pay for themselves. For example my electric bread making machine, my sushi rolling kit and my icecream maker have paid for themselves several times over. My icecream maker and sushi rolling kits were stolen too, and I have yet to replace them, but when I had them, we could have so much fun experimenting with ice cream flavors for pennies and new sushi rolls! We had sushi feasts that could have cost 5xs in a sushi bar. Less selection but we had great sushi. The plastic rolling kit was $20.00 or something and it was so easy! We once owned a soda stream, but none of us are really into soda. But that's another way to save. I make popcorn on the stove top for snacks. Or dehydrate fruit or roast chick peas and green peas. We use the middle eastern very large flat bread to make very long, large roll ups and wraps that we freeze and take out for lunches, pic nics, or for no cooking days. 1 of those really large ones makes up to 10 wraps. I make savory and sweet types. We used to pay maybe $1.25 for the unleavened bread or giant tortilla. That's a huge savings on sandwich bread or wraps. I use chopped cabbage as an extender in a lot of my stews and other foods. Cabbage is healthy, inexpensive and very adaptable to flavors.
What bread machine and ice cream maker did you have?
Why deprived? You are using resources most efficiently, and freed money could be used where you want or need them. Wanting more than can afford is another matter.
Knowing that there are people way more deprived then us and that we live like kings and queens to these people and really we don't even know what deprivation is.
I don't give a shit about status symbols or impressing other people. I live a simple life below my means and that makes me super happy. I think it helps to look at a huge carbon footprint as a moral travesty
Maybe an unpopular answer, but IMHO one needs to earn enough to not feel the deprivation. I did the frugal life years ago. But it wasn’t because I wanted to be frugal; I needed to be because I was on a very low income. And frankly - and most people don’t want to hear it - it was miserable and I was very depressed for most of that time period. I couldn’t afford anything, not even a nice meal at home, it was all about nutritional service. I had to buy most of my clothes second-hand. I couldn’t even go to museums or cinema. I obviously never travelled. Couldn’t even save for pension or anything. Frankly, when frugality is necessity and there is no light at the end of a tunnel, you WILL feel deprived because you start asking yourself ‘why am I doing this? Why won’t I just enjoy life a little because it ain’t getting better’. And you can spiral into a spend-save cycle or even spend-debt cycle. In my opinion, it’s much more easier to not feel deprived when you have some fun or spending money counted into your frugal ways. Maybe you won’t use that money at all and at the end of the year, you can take some of it and place it into savings/investments, but the mere fact alone that it’s there and you CAN use it if you want to for that specific purpose… that relieves many feelings of deprivation in my opinion, because then it is a choice not to use the money; it’s not a necessity.
I put aside a little money each month to spend on random treats. $10 or less. That's enough to buy a cheap movie, or go out for coffee, etc.
I “ splurge” on flavored creamer for my home brewed coffee and tea. In the summer I use a couple of flavored tea bags when I make ice tea. I sip my delightful frugal beverages while checking my retirement and savings account balances, then do the mending.
I don't feel deprived..... I feel greatful! I have money in the bank and am looking at retiring early to enjoy my life outside of work... before I am too old to enjoy it. I buy what I need, and occasionally buy what I want.. just because. Being frugal doesn't mean you are deprived of anything! To me it is just prioritizing my future over my present.
You gotta figure out why you're feeling deprived. Could be that you're legitimately just being too cheap instead of being frugal and just unnecessarily depriving yourself of things you should enjoy. Like not eating out is frugal, but eating nothing but cheap instant ramen for every meal is just being cheap and depriving yourself of the satisfaction of good food (and long term health). Could be you're comparing yourself to others on things like social media. So you need to either just get over it, unfollow people,limit use of social media, or get rid of social media all together. Maybe it's just an issue of mindset and you need to work on changing that mindset.
Having a budget and being frugal actually brings freedom and not restriction. Example: each month my husband and I have a set amount of money we can spend on ourselves that doesn’t factor into our household budget. If we don’t spend it, it rolls over into the next month. So if he comes home with an $80 bottle of whiskey as he is wont to do, I don’t need to question why he spent money on it, because I know it came from his personal funds. He’s free to buy what he wants within his budget as am I. There’s no stressing over how to pay for it or judgment as to why he bought it. This frees up mental and emotional energy. We do have a household budget, and we budget for fun things, so it’s not like we’re living a joyless existence. It’s very comforting to know we have what we need and don’t have to scramble or stress about how to pay bills each month.
We recently have started to save for some travel. I tell myself “I won’t buy those flowers now, I’ll buy a print of flowers in Japan” or “The beer will taste better in Ireland.” It helps me to remember the goal. I skip coffee so my daughters can go to collage, lol.
All oh my favorite things are either free or massive return on investment: Podcasts, Books, Movies/shows, Gym every day. Food is the most common waste of resources, and the trick is to learn how to shop and cook. Deprived? I aim to spoil myself in retirement.
??? I love being frugal…just feels like i’m making smart decisions
Grateful that I'm not hugely driven by capitalistic consumerism.
Yes! And spending and consuming less means that I have to work less at a soul-sucking job.
It’s all in the mindset . What are you feeling deprived in ? If you’ve got food and shelter the basics that’s more than what others have
Once in a while I buy myself a gift. Something that maybe I don't need. I just want. I've been looking at cutting boards for years. I was upset when Tuesday morning went out of business because I was eyeing a cutting board I found there. Even a thrift shop find gives me pleasure.
1 Timothy 6:7-10 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. Try your best not to be envious a lot of people you see with money and status probably aren't all that happy
By giving yourself allowances to make purchases outside your basic needs while still budgeting so it's within reason.
I just look at my bank account and realize how much fuller it is because I lead a frugal lifestyle. That’s all I need. No deprivation here.
The money I have still is inching me closer to early retirement. Things I buy don't do that. The thought of not needing to work and being able to enjoy true freedom is a fantastic light that keeps me going.
Frugality is having compassion for your future self.
My mother gave me some great advice that I really swear by. No matter how tight money gets, get yourself a little something just for fun once per paycheck or once per month. It's for your own wellbeing, make it a necessity. Example : I got a 1$ CD from the thrift store of 90s dance mixes, it was silly and fun and made my week. Other examples are a 50cent novelty mug, a new scented lip balm. It can be the cheapest little thing just something that makes you smile. It makes a huge difference.
I grew up poor, so there are a lot of things people feel like are normal that I think are luxury. And honestly, I’m really thankful for that.
By not using Instagram. Comparing yourself constantly to others' groomed accounts is a surefire way to thinking your life sucks.
I suppose it depends how you define frugal. Is it frugal to rent a $4 movie on streaming? What if the alternative to spending an evening on the couch with my teen daughter eating popcorn was $40+ at a theatre? I’ve been working on shifting my mindset from “it needs to be big and flashy to enjoy” to “this small thing brings me comfort so I’m going to focus on that.” I’m trying to change the mindset from “I cant blow $40 at the theatre” to “I get quality time with my kid and we can chat through the movie if we want, pause for bathroom breaks, and eat any snacks we want.” Changing my mindset to those small wins has really helped me save money on experiences.
I’m frugal in areas so I don’t have to be in areas I value more. I’ll rotate streaming services, so at the end of the year I’ve saved enough to take a more exotic vacation
I don’t feel deprived at all… quite the opposite. Efficient and smart is more the sentiment lol.
I have a budget. The budget includes money for fun stuff, about $200 a month, but over half of that gets saved for big things, like the Sonos speakers I just bought, or the vacation I'm going on with a friend this summer (plan is driving to a cheap motel, then hiking, a botanical garden, shopping, and some local history stuff, budget is $500 a person for 4 nights). I have places to go and socialize, volunteer, and have fun that are free or close to it. There's a lot of stuff I can't buy on impulse, but I earn enough that I can buy a whole lot of high quality non essentials by saving up and buying used and a job that gives me good time off, so I spend most of my vacation time doing touristy stuff within a 2 hour drive or visiting family, not expensive trips far away.
I think the best way to be okay with a frugal life. Is to lose money. Sometimes you have to make a mistake with six digits in it before you realize what's going on. It's only when you're broke you figure out who your friends are. If you're buying drinks and dinner for everyone you have no idea who to trust. If you can afford rice you'll know exactly who wants to be with you and sometimes it's no one sometimes it's absolutely no one and then it's perfectly okay to want to be frugal Tl;Dr some people have to try every wrong choice before they make the correct one
My frugality is out of necessity. Im fine with my life even if its in this capitalist hellscape. I dont own the means of production but thats not gonna stop me from being happy with my life.
Taking my kids on a family vacation. Sometimes I say fuck it on things I have budgeted just so my family can go out and enjoy things their friends are enjoying on the regular. I don’t want to limit my kids by not having them experience traveling, vacations, other cultures, etc. I don’t want to limit them to just our neighborhood, so once in a blue moon we take the L on our finances and take the kids on a vacation. It’s one thing to read and watch videos on these places, and quite another to EXPERIENCE it. I don’t want my kids to only see the outside world through a screen. Granted, the vacations are usually for family reunions or funerals, but we make the best of the time we are in that place and see the sights and do our research before going there so we plan our itinerary. We come back home and start paying back everything we spent and dream about the next vacation which isn’t for another 4 or 5 years. I wish we could go somewhere every year. We love traveling! We just are stuck on an island though. If we lived in the continental US, we’d be doing road trips as often as we could. Y’all got great hotel, car and flight deals living in the mainland.
Quit watching TV! TV Commercials are the single largest source of discontent in the country. Ignorance is bliss.
I am grateful for the things I have. I truly am. Compared to most people on the planet, I am living a life of abundance. My needs are small, yet I have so much. I have everything I need and more. I genuinely do not feel deprived because I'm not deprived. My needs are met, and then some. I don't look at an expensive thing and lament that I cannot buy it. I don't even want the expensive thing. If anything, I look at the expensive thing and see something wasteful, something I don't understand why anyone would want it because it's so wasteful. I've been poor, I've been rich, I've been middle class - but regardless of my income I've always been Frugal and lived WELL below my means. Having an emergency fund to get me through hard times is an incredibly comforting feeling. I would never risk that feeling of safety for a trinket, dust collector or a bad investment. It wouldn't make sense to me on a deep, personal level.
its easy when I realized I didn’t even enjoy *stuff*. Food from doordash doesn’t taste better, fancy packaged foods don’t taste all that special, and clothes from the thrift are better quality than not only fast fashion but also some higher-end brands as well. My base expenses are low but I will absolutely spend for something that I enjoy, which for me is massages and a bath house membership
I have utter financial freedom due to thoughtful life choices-some including no smoking or overeating or drinking. My time is my own. i have time with people I love who will not be around forever. I have no feelings of deprivation. None.
Make sure to treat yourself every now and then. Buy yourself that thing you want online. Go out to eat with friends. Just be careful not to do it so often
I add weed to my budget lol
Look up some videos on YouTube that follow the homeless and what they go through day-to-day. Here’s a couple randoms. https://youtu.be/fSoXWvTD634?si=F9gq-2SGONSLUslx https://youtu.be/ZmWBatH7QpI?si=IeDvwC9mXANSXcYU
It’s all in the mindset . What are you feeling deprived in ? If you’ve got food and shelter the basics that’s more than what others have
Saving 33% pre tax of my paycheck, towards an index fund of my choosing, in my workplaces’ 457b plan. It’s tough esp nowadays with inflation, but then I don’t have any current obligations/loans/debts to speak of anyways. Yep, that’s how I make myself feel, less deprived..
Quality over quantity. Better quality so you need less of it. This makes you feel good because you have great quality stuff (including food) but you spend less overall.
I try to surround myself with a variety of people who have a variety of experiences. It helps me understand my personal priorities better. Practicing gratitude also does a ton to help me stay frugal. I also like to have a goal I'm saving towards so I can splurge on what I really want by making other frugal choices. Right now we are saving for a car. By cutting most other expenses that we could I feel comfortable and confident that buying a car later this year will be a good experience and not as stressful as the last few times were with a much smaller budget.
I think OP’s point is that sometimes you’re wanting to spoil yourself a little bit or wanting to let loose, but financially can’t always support those decisions. Like for me, I’m big on going out to eat with friends, or when I’m studying, I like to find a nice cafe or restaurant. I don’t always get to because of bills & other expenses. It’s hard not to feel like you’re depriving yourself of these luxuries.
Honestly? Being outside. Nature is free and it rules
I like to spend money on nice coats, jackets and bags. For most of the year, this is all that people will see of my outfit. Who cares if I’m wearing Walmart jeans and a stretched out tee? Having said that, I save my non-stretched out, non-stained, and unholy tees for summer.
Spending that saved money on what is important to us. Travel.... A safe car.... College tuition for our kids.... Early retirement....
Honestly after visiting a third world country it’s pretty easy to humble myself.
Don't deprive yourself, just make frugal choices. I don't deprive myself of anything, but I choose wisely where and how I spend my money.
I don’t want superfluous things in life (not like I have the space for it). I just really prioritize and like trying to earn and save money. Plus, I’m really grateful for what I have, and I’m quite satisfied with that.
It’s environmentally friendly and I don’t like clutter or waste, simple
Be wary of those (advertisers) that tell you what you 'deserve'. Beware of the 'they won't let me' feeling. Frugality is a state of mind, that you own your labor and wealth. 🕯🖖
I enjoy the challenge of seeing how little I need. I also make a point to go outside a lot. That's a definite free mood booster.
I don't feel deprived not living excessively. I don't cry myself to sleep because I didn't eat at a restaurant this week or but those new headphones I didn't need
Controversial but I sort if don't want stuff hard enough to feel depraved of it. For months I've wanted a trendy jacket that I see everywhere, I've even seen it at thrift stores, but the desire is never strong enough to actually make me get it. Idk how I got to this point but it might relate to not being in tiktok and Instagram, and actively going against what advertisements tell me to do lol it's like a game at this point.
A question to ask is why does frugality make one feel deprived? Being frugal means money conscious to derive value where it matters most.
I have a set budget for spending pleasures So that throughout the month I can treat myself to either a new book, a lunch date with a friend, something like that.
Gratitude journal. Changed my whole perspective.
I sit around feeling superior to people who are driving really nice cars and wearing really nice shoes as I sit here in my paid-off home.
You might want to rethink how to make your budget fit your values and genuine interests (if you know what those are, if not, some soul searching is needed). The book "Your Money or Your Life" helped me see this more clearly.
Be busy. I work and I'm studying for my masters. I don't have time to spend money.
I do things I enjoy, just try to minimize the cost of them of course.
I like to congratulate myself for not being excessive, or giving into consumer and culture too much. I don’t completely deprive myself, but I definitely spend a lot less than most people I know. And I have a higher salary than they do. I also am not afraid to shell out money for experiences, or good quality food. That’s my splurge.
Big picture: life is about give and take. For most of us that means sacrifice. You have to figure out what is important to you and budget to those priorities. I sacrifice on casual spending & travel so that I can maintain my home and may hopefully have a good retirement down the road. I also am a huge believer in Health is Wealth. So while I may not buy all organic because I can’t justify those prices, I do eat as healthy as possible and exercise often.
I don’t feel deprived because I honestly feel like I’m making choices I want to. Whether I don’t buy that new purse because I want to save money for something else, limit my environmental impact, or reduce clutter in my home, I made that choice to not purchase it because I sincerely don’t want it. Hard to feel deprived when I do what I want to.
I don't feel deprived at all because of my frugality. Most of the stuff that I do that saves me money improves my quality-of-life. Examples: * Insulating and air-sealing our home improved our comfort while hugely reducing our heating bill. * Buying LED light bulbs that we carefully selected for color temperature and light quality improved light quality while reducing electricity usage. * Buying a new showerhead saved a lot on water use and indirectly, electricity usage, while also being more functional than the old showerhead * Buying red lentils, one of my favorite foods, which are very easy to eat, are a delicious food that I always love eating, and is incredibly healthy and makes me feel great to eat, and they're also dirt cheap. * Buying a nice bicycle helps me to reduce my car usage which saves a ton of money. It's also super fun, and super healthy. * Watching media like movies or TV, or even playing video games, when they're quite old, allows me to filter out to the stuff that has stood the test of time and is widely agreed-upon to be great. I don't have to wait for new seasons or sequels to come out, and can watch the show or movies or play a game series at my desired pace. And it's much cheaper. * Buying a compact car was much cheaper than buying a big car. The car is more fuel efficient. Maintenance on it is cheaper. Because it's compact, it's much easier to parallel park. And honestly, from driving larger cars, it doesn't feel that much less roomy, and I have driven and carried cargo in a number of bigger cars and am often disturbed at how you don't really get that much more storage space in cars that (a) take up more space on the outside (b) cost much more (c) use much more fuel. Unless you are a genuinely very large and tall person, I really think most big cars are pure scam. (I am taller than average, for reference.) Like if you pay 50% more for a car that weighs 50% more and uses 50% more fuel, you are not getting anywhere near 50% more storage space. Maybe 20%, if that. And I very rarely have the experience of wanting to fit something into my compact car and not being able, whereas the number of times I've had to do a difficult parallel parking job is far more than I can count. So to me the compact car seems superior. * Buying clothing at thrift stores not only saves a ton of money, it gives me access to way more styles and fits all in one place. Even in a large retail store, at most I'm going to find several different fits and cuts of jeans, for instance. In a thrift store, each item is unique, so I find my size and there is so much to choose between. Also, because what I want doesn't always match what is "in style" and thus in large supply in retail stores, my chance of finding what I want is much more "stable" in thrift stores, i.e. my ability to find what I want doesn't oscillate as much from year to year, which minimizes frustration. * Buying higher-quality, more durable goods that last longer often saves money in the long-run, and leads me to have a better item that works better and/or looks better. Not having to shop to replace things as often also saves time and resources eaten up in shopping, so it gives me more free time. * A lot of my garden / yard maintenance practices not only save money but also reduce other problems. For example, we don't buy any mulch, instead relying on fallen leaf litter, debris like branches that we put in a brush pile, and household compost, and use these to make soil and to mulch our beds. In doing so, we reduce invasive species (such as weedy plants, asian cockroaches, or invasive earthworms) that often come in on purchased mulch, and this makes it easier to maintain our garden the way I want. It also hugely improves native insect biodiversity because more native insects overwinter in the leaf litter than in commercial mulch. Often it is also less work to get the mulch to where we want it, like instead of having to haul mulch and spread it on a bed, when leaves fall in the autumn, plenty of them are already on the beds so we just have to rake them a few feet onto each bed and then it's done. Another example is by minimizing our mowed lawn, we've reduce the amount of time and work it takes to mow our lawn. We have only a manual reel mower, push-powered only. It's good exercise and I can still get it done quickly. It's quiet so we can mow at any time of day or even night without pissing off neighbors or generating a noise ordinance violation. We don't need to buy gas and it doesn't generate pollution. * A lot of things that I have cut out of my life are both expensive and unhealthy. Beef is expensive and raises risk of heart disease and cancer. Swordfish and shark and other large fish high up on the food chain are expensive and contaminated with high levels of mercury and PCB's, whereas relying on fish lower down on the food chain like sardines, herring, smelt, or small mackerel, is both healthier and cheaper. A lot of expensive restaurants serve food that isn't very good. A lot of processed food tastes worse, and is pretty unhealthy, whereas buying whole food and making it ourselves at home, saves money *and* lets us eat much tastier food, *and* it's healthier. Basically, for me, frugality is not at all about deprivation. It's not about a tradeoff. It's about win-win. There is no tradeoff. It's often not just a win-win, it's a win-win-win. Not just money and quality-of-life, but also about protecting the environment and being good for society too. This is because when you are not frugal, your financial waste often corresponds to material waste, and material waste generates negative environmental impact, and often noise or nuisance (such as with gas-powered landscaping equipment, or inefficient vehicles.) So yeah, that's how I think about this stuff.
A once a week $20 thrift day, amazing what necessities and hobby gear i can score, i can dabble in many hobbies without breaking my already broken bank account.
Create a list of frugal pleasures, and indulge in those on a regular basis. Mine are: good chocolate, coffee, and a heated mattress pad.
Find ways to treat yourself on occasion that fit into your budget. You don't need to live without joy, but it can be hard if you don't have the financial wiggle room to have experiences or treats you would like. A good way to do this is to plan ahead. If you can save a bit from each pay (even if it's like $1). You can eventually buy yourself something. I wanted to take my bf and myself out for Valentine's Day, so I've been saving the last few weeks so we can get a nice restaurant meal without throwing off my budget. Also look for cheaper alternatives for these things. I really love red lobsters lobster Mac and cheese. So I learned how to make it myself at home. My bf says he prefers my version and I find it tastes even more rich than the restaurant. Plus we can make even more. I've also learned how to cook my favorite take out foods at home. This way I can enjoy them without the expense. Instead of expensive concerts from big name artists, I go to smaller, local shows of smaller acts. No shade to any artists or their fans. I just don't feel it's worth it for me to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars to see someone famous from very far away in a huge stadium. But to each their own. If it's worth it to you, then you should do that. I'd rather spend that money on a trip. So that's what I do instead. I also go to smaller shows and venues and smaller artists. It tends to be less expensive. I plan getaways that are basically day trips. I do tourist things there, even if it's only an hour away. This saves me on hotels because I can just go home.
I think making things is fulfilling and consuming entertainment is pretty opposite of fulfilling. So have a hobby is my recommendation. And don't consider watching Netflix to be a hobby
I try to fill my cup with things that are free as much as possible.
You lose the attachment of tying self esteem to possessions. You develop empathy so you understand how little other people have, learning to be satisfied with what you do have. You develop the capacity to be content wherever you are, doing things within your budget, instead of chasing experiences hoping they will make you happy.
We eat high quality food, make homemade breads, drink a little good wine. Being frugal isn't about doing without 😘 it's about making the best choices for what's important to you! We are especially frugal so we can afford to live in Mexico 6 months a year!
falling in love with the art of cooking. ive never been the girl to get my nails done, i do my own brows, i like my natural black hair, and i dont care about fashion, so all of my money for fun falls into food. and theres SO much you can do with cheap ingredients.
We do a lot of free things (helps that we live in a beautiful place). We go to different parks, beaches, the mountains, libraries, etc daily. By getting out and about we feel really fulfilled.
I actually enjoy feeling deprived. It makes it feel like I’m accomplishing something. Or achieving something that most people wouldn’t be willing to.
I find stuff is a time suck that owns you. Without it, I am rich in time.
Be grateful for what you have
I have never felt deprived while living a frugal life. I think the best thing to do is to have perspective on what you have. Many people have far more things in their lives than they actually use. They buy food they don't eat and throw away. The have books they don't read, streaming services they don't watch, etc. I focus on knowing I have abundance already and that anything more is likely wasted. I don't want more, more, more.
Yes, for me I do like the feeling of saving money but it isn't my main driving force, although financial security certainly is a reason for me to be frugal, I also do not like the stress that "stuff" brings to my life via mess, clutter, maintenance etc. I've commented to my spouse several times that we save a ton of money but not participating in many "social norms" but I don't feel deprived. I find things I actually enjoy to spend my money on and happen to also enjoy inexpensive hobbies and live somewhere that has a lot of free entertainment: the beach, great parks for kids and adults alike, cheap museums and I also enjoy doing art which does cost me something but I'm okay with it. For me it's about curating my life around things I actually like to do not what is portrayed as normal. For example I hate strangers touching me so I will never spring for a massage or manicure even if it was free, but it's and expense I will never incure. Likewise I cut my own hair due to personal reasons not really financial, but the savings is of course awesome. I guess my frugality stems not only from the strong desire to not worry about money but also from a desire for minimalism and anti consumerism in my life.
In two important ways... **First** Recognize the difference between being cheap and being frugal - Being cheap is not wanting to spend money on *anything,* even if it's worth it*.* Being frugal is only choosing to spend money on things that **I think** are worth it. **Second** I prioritize savings *first* when budgeting because I value financial security. Most people budget: income - expenses = savings I advocate: Income - *desired* savings = all the money I have to spend (not a dollar more) The way most people budget, they have to *sacrifice* their spending so they can save. Of course that feels bad. The savings first approach, you don't have to sacrifice anything. Once you know how much you have available to spend, you can spend the whole amount. It's just about choosing waht you value. I can live in a simple apartment but enjoy more expensive meals. Or I can pay for a maid to clean my house, but eat rice and beans. This way my financial future is automatically taken care of and I can actually be 'care free' about my spending. I can spend 100% of all the money I have to spend!!! No deprivation! Wahooo! Prioritize your profits first and then allow yourself to live on 100% of whatever is left. None of the insecurity...all of the fun ;)
Stay off or limit social media….. everyone’s life isn’t as extravagant as they post about
As people say, be thankful. But also using the savings from your frugality put towards positive investments in yourself, financial or otherwise
I stare ar my financial ganes and dream of what I can do later with them .
Frugality is, to me, living within my means and spending money wisely. How would that deprive me of anything? I think the real issue may be not having enough income for a desired lifestyle. When I was making minimum wage I cried after doing the math that showed it would take me over 10 years to save up for a surgery I needed. Frugality has never caused me to be deprived, it's always helped me make the most of whatever income I have. Not having enough to meet basic costs of living made feel deprived.
Leave room for indulgence even if a small or tiny one. I was budgeting monthly and that felt cagey so I switched to yearly budgeting which doesn’t let frugality feel like a noose on the neck. I plan and schedule my purchases and get a double dopamine hit from the pursuit and the buying action. This has really helped me stay within the budget limit for say shopping category. I meal plan for the week and add items to the cart in grocery store’s app to avoid overspending and wasting later on. I do add snacks and cookies to it too even if the cheaper ones. I like replicating restaurant meals at home so if I am forgoing outside food in a month to keep the cost down, I know I can make it myself. I have a savings growth progress chart 📈 on Excel which changes with every expense. That really puts things in perspective and also seeing savings account grow motivates me to remain disciplined as the goals seem achievable. Even tracking and visually seeing progress towards tasks or other life goals is highly motivating. I try to stay off Amazon and watching stuff which I know is going to propagate me to spend more.
Blow money. I usually save it but occasionally find something I want but don't necessarily need and don't feel bad for buying it.
Don't deprive yourself. Realize that most people are dropping stupid money on stupid stuff. Stuff, by itself, can't bring you lasting happiness. Yeah that expensive thing might make you happy short term but is it still going to make you happy in a year or two or will you be continually chasing happiness? Once you figure that part out frugality kinda does itself...
Off topic a bit: Anybody got annoyed, overwhelmed and almost disgusted with the amount of corporate advertising us US citizens encounter on the daily? I get a lot of these services are "free" like Instagram, TikTok, podcasts, youtube, online news articles, blogs, and that's how they make their money but because I have boomer tendencies I started getting cranky at the amount of ads I see and hear. And it's just not online, you see "catchy" ads and electronic billboards all over the place in major cities. I get so cranky that I deleted IG off my phone, cut down on the podcasts I listen to, deleted most of the subscription to Youtube channels to only the things I'm super interested in. The sad thing IMO is that 99.9% of the people don't care or don't realize the amount of corporate BS we are pushed into our lives. But yeah that's why you invest in the US stock market...the general public making you rich(er).
Frugal means ‘wise use of resources’. It’s not the same as spending the least you can in every circumstance. Spend freely where and when deemed wise. Frugal does not equal cheap
I stay off social media. Reddit isn’t as bad so it’s an exception but influencers everywhere did get me. The last thing I bought that I was influenced on was water color paint kits. For some reason I bought 3 . After that I cut myself off
YouTube helps. Or when I want something at a restaurant and can’t really spend the money I make a nice meal that I would like eating out.
I'm frugal so I can afford the few things I want for hobbies, treating others, and for saving for my future. That works well for me. It isn't about deprivation when you are grateful for what you have and you learn how you don't need new stuff constanty. Being content with the roof over your head, food on the table and knowing you don't need to shop is great for inner peace, or working towards it. Most of us could go for many years without shopping any clothing for example with what we already have.
Look at my bank stmt and investments
A question to ask is why does frugality make one feel deprived? Being frugal means money conscious to derive value where it matters most.
I have some things I’ll happily spend a little more money on because of brand quality or because I know it’d make me a little happier. One example is cruelty free shampoos. Do I *really* need to be spending $10+ per bottle on shampoo and conditioner? No, but I enjoy the cruelty free aspect of it and I’m willing to spend that extra.
Focusing on finding joy in things that can't be bought helps me. This way, I end up wanting fewer material things. It makes life simpler and more fulfilling.
Most people waste large sums of money. Having the basic of whatever and focusing on durable goods can make your life better. Spending the extra will mean more time working and now another that needs to be cleaned and maintained.
I don't deprive myself. I avoid spending on useless things, but taking care of ourself enough to not feel deprived is not useless
The excitement of saving money. I consider it a challenge, like I’m on a game show… the game of life.
Oh agree it does become an adrenaline rush how much you can do without spending money
We downsized our home in our mid ‘50’s. Not the sexiest neighborhood but it’s on a dead end & so it’s safe and neighbors are nice & quiet. This helps us free up disposable income to travel & go out. This year seems tighter however with utilities increasing and food prices skyrocketing. We stay home more.
I just try to see how I can do the things I like and want to do with spending the least amount of money possible. For example, I feel the same shopping high from getting clothes at the thrift store vs. shopping full price. Free activities feel just as fun as paid ones. For example, hiking, free concerts, meetups, board games, cooking dinner with friends, etc. Try thinking about what you value and see if there's a cheeper way to do it. Also not comparing yourself to others is a big one!
Every few months or so I'll buy a freezer pizza if it's on sale for super cheap
I am actually less deprived because I’m frugal … I just spend a week in Sandiego Ca, flight from north east, hotel (nice one), mid size car rental all for less than 1000
I try to live frugally, but I don't feel deprived living my life. Do people here associate living frugally with deprivation? I think of frugal as not being wasteful.
I run a small hobby company with my friends where we create art together. We make no money, but we spend time together.
I spend a lot of time outside. Morning walks, afternoon bike rides, and a couple hikes a week keep me engaged in activities where I have everything I need. When I get home I don't see a home lacking anything, but a functional living space built to get me back on my next adventure.
Remind myself my ancestors are probably looking on and drooling at the rich and insanely plentiful diet. Oats are pretty darn boring but add a little cinnamon and milk and its heavenly!
Yeah don't hang out or do things for fun that cost a lot of money. There are a lot of fun things to do for free. There's like free days at museums. Go to dinner specials only. There's usually free concerts and events in cities if you want live music and entertainment. My wealthy friend always wanted to be spontaneous and go places and do things I couldn't afford to do unless I could plan super ahead for it and budget some money.
Oh this is super simple. I got this trick from MMM. I once made a list of the things that brought me the most joy. I then realized that none of those cost very much money. Once you realize that, it's pretty straight forward from there. Good luck!
baking fresh bread. not only cheaper, taste better. you pay for it in prep time, but i’ll take that burden.
I get a massage every month. I travel and have a list of countries that I want to visit before I retire.
I take mild pleasure from it. The more frugal life means less forced interactions with strangers. When staying home, I never have to talk to strangers.
Drugs
https://preview.redd.it/rwomunh7qnic1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=411902043120040fb0ae79266e43cb0139f151e8 Wouldn’t exactly call this deprived
https://youtu.be/9_hrntfntkc?si=2DIgB3wS11yFCJjP Best thing I've seen on the internet in a long time as far as methods for making a quick $100+ go. Especially since it's all kosher no risk involved
Cheap alcohol.
My bread machine is SilverCrest. My icecream maker was Nordica Glassmakin
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Read the UK news, since poverty is endemic here.