Why are you trying to save money?
Yesterday, reader Anne left this comment:
Kristen, I think I just got a fun idea for a post. I was reading through the frugal hacks and wondering for what reason people were saving money. Some, of course, because this is a difficult season, financially, in their life. But others might be saving for a home down payment, a fabulous vacation, to quit an oppressive job, to go back to school, to have another baby, etc.
It would be so nice to get an idea what everyone’s dreams/goals are. What do you think?
I think this is a great idea! Some of you are probably really clear on your "why", but for others of you, maybe it'll be a good exercise to really figure out what the "why" is behind your savings efforts.
I'll go first, and then I'll turn the floor over to you.
So. Why do I try to save money?
Let's start with the past.
Then: Saving money was absolutely essential
In the first ten years of our marriage, we really did not have a lot of money. One could say that we had no choice but to be frugal, but in a sense that's not true.
We always have choices; it's just that if we hadn't made frugal choices, we would have paid dearly for it.
On a high income, you can make poor spending choices and still be ok.
But if we had been stupid with our finances, we would have ended up in a pile of debt in about two minutes.
Careful spending really kept us from going into the red, and it gave us just enough of a savings cushion to help us weather emergencies.
A sub-point here:
If you want to live well on a low income, creative frugality is super important
Most people aren't really too enthused about a life of deprivation, so frugality is partly about staying out of debt, and partly about trying to experience the pleasures of life for less.
Want to eat fancy bread? Bake it yourself.
Want to vacation at the beach? Go in September, bring your own linens, cook in the condo, and do your own departure cleaning.
Want to dress your kids well? You've got to shop clearances off-season and pick through loads of hand-me-downs.
Want your kids' rooms to look nice? Paint the walls yourself, and then get free furniture and paint it yourself.
Want a hotel night with your spouse? Apply for a credit card ahead of time, get the free night sign-up bonus, and then book your overnight.
Anyway. In the past, I was being frugal to:
a) Keep us out of debt
and
b) Make our lives as nice as possible on a small income
Now: Saving money is more of a choice
In mid-2006, Mr. FG made the switch from the warehousing industry to the IT industry. From that point on, we've steadily been getting more and more breathing room in our finances.
However, this increase in income has been slightly less, "Whee, now we've got tons of money!" and more like, "Whoa, we've got a lot we need to spend money on right now. Good thing our income went up."
This is partly because our kids got older and entered a more expensive stage of life (16 year olds are more expensive than 6 year olds, in my experience*) and partly because after a decade of lower-income living, we have some things to catch up on.
*6 year olds do not need things like braces, wisdom-teeth removal, car insurance, or college classes!
For instance, we did not start our retirement savings nearly as early as recommended. We were so busy just trying to stay out of debt, we had nothing to throw at retirement.
And until recently, Mr. FG had never had a 401(k) match at work.
So, why specifically do I pursue frugality now?
I am not as uptight about spending as I used to be, since we have more breathing room. But I do still try to keep expenses down.
Why?
We still have unmet financial goals
Here's a sampling! We want to:
- pay off our house
- give to others
- save for retirement
- help our kids with college expenses
- pay for college for me if I decide to go back
Smart spending can help us meet those goals.
So, it's less about staying out of debt now, and more about reaching toward goals.
And that is definitely way more fun.
It seems not-smart to pay more than necessary
Why would I buy food at Safeway rather than Aldi, when what I get at Aldi is perfectly acceptable to us?
Why would I not look for a coupon code?
Why would I not buy the refurbished model, or a barely-used item from Facebook Marketplace or eBay?
If I can get something perfectly good for less money and not much effort, that just makes common sense to me.
Get something for less, and then you have more to save or to spend on something else.
I am already pretty good at saving money
Years and years of practice at frugal living have given me some pretty good skills.
This means that many frugal things are just second nature to me now, and that makes it pretty easy to save.
Lots of frugal activities have other benefits
I would keep some of my frugal habits even if I had five million dollars, just because they are overall good things to do.
- Reusable items reduce trash output.
- Cooking at home instead of getting takeout is almost always healthier.
- Some homemade items just taste better (like applesauce!)
- Buying items that will last reduces the need for manufacturing and also reduces waste.
- Avoiding food waste helps reduce landfill methane.
- Using the library means I don't have to store all the books we read.
- Selling our gently-used items ensures that they go to a home where they will be used (rather than in the trash)
I think that's probably enough about me. I'd like to hear from you!
I try to save money because I have to in order not to get into financial trouble due to a low income.
What I can't figure out is why some famous (to me, at least LOL) frugal/financial bloggers are trying to save money. I don't want to name names but there are some who are very frugal even though their income is very large. It's like they're hoarding money. Top 1 percent picking clothing out of the trash. It's a mystery!
I wonder if it's partly because it's just ingrained in their personality to save! Or maybe they are working to create fodder for their blog?
I'm not sure.
If I ever get to the top 1%, I'll let you know how it is. Ha.
I wonder that sometimes as well, Not Beehive. I expect (hope?) it's a combination of:
1. It's their preference.
2. It's their brand and lifestyle, and it would look bad to live extravagently while telling others how to live cheaply.
3. They're doing it for nonfinancial reasons, such as creating less trash.
4. They may have financial needs that they haven't shared with us.
5. They're not telling us the truth, I hope not but I recognize this is a possibility.
But yes, when someone is doing so well with their business that it's now the family business and they're clearly making a lot of money - go them! hard work rewarded! - it's startling to see them eating on $50/week or buying second-hand socks.
My husband gets frustrated with me sometimes, because he says I'm too cheap/frugal, and we can afford to "live a little" in this season of our lives. We are far, FAR from 1% 'ers, but I tell him all the time, that I think about money all the time, so when the time comes--I don't have to think about money.
For example, when our son was born--he ended up spending several weeks in the NICU. The anxiety about how we were going to pay our medical bills could've been crippling--and I heard other parents stressing about that very thing. I knew that I had money saved in my HSA to pay my out of pocket max for the year, and that I could put gas in my car to drive back and forth to see him every day, or grab dinner from a drive through on the way home because I was too tired to grocery shop.
Maybe those frugal bloggers are thinking the same way? If you're mindful about spending money when things are going okay in life--then when life gets rough, money is one thing you can suspend worrying about.
Fun question! I grew up in a frugal family so much is habit. During my early adult years, I earned very little at first. Then I began earning more, but it was highly variable - so I felt there was wisdom in building up a cushion. Now I try to curb my worst “cheap” impulses. But ultimately to me living below my means is about freedom. As the cushion grows, the choices expand. That feels a lot better than overpaying for stuff!
We live the way we do so we don't have to work so much to earn money. I guess that's the simplest answer. We moved to where we are and live the way we do so that we--most especially my husband, who has been the main earner since we started having children a decade ago--have more time for our family and can enjoy life more. For us, all the frugal choices are a good trade-off for a life in which my husband and I are home most days, and we don't have any significant work-related stress that impacts our family life.
Amen, kristin! You reminded me of one of our biggest motivators (pre-coffee brain fog is real!). Me being home with our munchkins to teach and raise them was a priority even before we married. We've always aligned our financial habits to that goal, so that whatever it took, I could be at home with them. For us, that took the form of buying a fixer upper and doing the work ourselves, older cars, thrift stores, hubby working a side job with his full time one.... all the things.
100% echo your thoughts; our story and motivation is very similar. There is more wiggle room now in our budget and the need for the extra hustle isn't as crucial as it was even 5 years ago. However, some further reasons we continue to be frugal are to that we believe we'll be helping to care for aging parents (that taught us about the need to save by being the NOT example, unfortunately) and they will probably not be able to contribute much to the process financially.
Also, we want to lead by example in helping our kids learn how to be wise and maybe help them set good patterns for their own habits. There are so many great life lessons attached to finances - delayed gratification, discerning true vs perceived need, standing to peer pressure, comparing the worth of an item to the energy it takes to procure it, stewardship.... the list is endless! We hope to help them maybe avoid some of the life/marriage/relationship stressors that poor money choices can cause by encouraging thru example and training.
It's actually less stressful in making choices, as weird as that sounds. I get overwhelmed when there are a kazillion options available. When I chose to buy something pre-loved, it often narrows the choices a bit so I don't have to sort thru EVERYTHING! Conversely, I've found I can often find better quality or more variety on some options, for instance in kitchen gadgets with wooden handles vs newer plastic ones, or clothing fashions. Secondhand stores aren't limited to what's currently in style. The current revisit of the 80's trends comes to mind; that look wasn't my best, not ready to do it again! 🙂
I enjoy being able to reinvent things that weren't as pretty and useful before and it's fun to personalize things like furniture. It's a great creative outlet, and again, great training tool for my kids!
Finally, but most important for our family, it reminds me that I've been given all that I have from a gracious Father and it's truly His. I want to use it wisely in ways that bring honor to Him and further His kingdom. When we're careful, we're able to have more to bless others in truly tangible ways and show His love. What a joy!
So appreciate the daily joyful reminders through your blog, thank you for encouraging this beautifully far-flung group of readers so faithfully!
This is so true! If we take a bigger piece of the pie, there will be less pie for others. Well put!
I could echo most of the comments so far-- especially ones concerning frugality being a way of life and teaching my children.
However, my husband is a pastor. We live in a parsonage. If he would retire, we would both have to get full-time jobs just to be able to make mortgage payments. We currently have almost enough to make a down payment on a house. So. Our retirement is pretty scary. And we're currently homeschooling our 7 children. The joke is that at least one of our children will have to take care of us. . . except it's probably more reality than joke.
One thing we would like to do (but may never have the opportunity to do) is buy a few acres of land that we could enjoy now (camping, hunting) and also reap the benefits of later (selling for profit or putting a home on).
And while I have recently just exited the baby years, I can't even think about making a little more income until we get my father moved in with us. My Etsy shop has been neglected as most of my "spare" time has been spent driving to his house to help him and go through my mother's things and pack things up for his move to our house. I am thankful he has enough money to take care of his own expenses, but I will be more thankful when he is in my home and I will know he is not so alone.
The parsonage situation is so tough! It's a blessing in the moment, but boy, it does make things hard when you think about retiring.
Yes, but it's far preferable (in our situation) than buying our home. . . because I wouldn't be able to "not work" if we had to pay for our own home where we live. It is also a much better situation for the very small congregation financially. I just don't think they could afford a pastor if they had to pay for housing, too.
Also, what a blessing to live on several acres out in the middle of nowhere! Every day my spirits are lifted by the gorgeous view we have. . . my children can run around and be in nature. I feel very rich in more than the money way by living where we do (which, by the way, we had almost zero choice in where in the whole country we would live so many years ago when my husband got his first call). I would have to think a very long and hard time before exchanging the life we've lived for a more financially secure one.
My hubby and I come from two pretty frugal families. Its funny, we actual compare whose parent is the cheapest. My dad and his mom are neck and neck sometimes with who would win that competition!!! We all camp together so we get to see them in true action and sometimes laugh when one thinks the other is cheap!!!
But back to our current situation of why I need to save money, which I haven't been quiet about on here. We are living very close to: "look middle class, but are one paycheck away from a disaster." We have two young kids and work jobs that don't pay amazingly well OR give raises often. Higher education (non-faculty that is) does NOT pay well at all. But we love what we do and feel that we make differences in young people's lives. We did make some poor credit card decisions when we were younger and are dealing with those issues.
My hope is that one day we will also change gears into "saving for our future" mode like many of you. I don't think years of "frugalness" will change how I do things if and when our financial situation changes.
I’ve been budgeting for years, but still using credit cards and taking out loans. So not a good combo when you are getting older.
1. I want my bills paid off so my husband can retire in 2 years from his very physical and stressful job. Yes, he is making the majority of our income, but at a cost and I want him to enjoy life more. In 2 years he is eligible for full SS and can work a different job and not get penalized from the government. I still have 8 years to go.
2. Just don’t want these numbers hanging over my head any more!!!
I don't think that being frugal is for a goal. It's a sensible way of life. My late husband and I were always frugal because why not? Sometimes we had goals and other times we were just living our life. What is the alternative? Spending frivolously and carelessly? That seems like a silly thing to do. When living this way, we were always prepared for what ever came along--good or bad.
I've always been interested in building up a savings account, even when I was a kid. When I got my first job I was excited to start an IRA. I've kept a quarterly money chart since my 20s (um, a long time ago). And I love store brands and Goodwill, and am happy when I find a penny on the ground.
The "why" of it is hard to answer, though! I guess it's just part of my nature.
Love this question. For 18 years my husband worked a 15-hour day, 6 days per week. I earned part time income from home. Our children have been home/public school blend for 8 of those years.
Two years ago we finally made the threshold--we sold our house, moved to a different state, and paid for our new house fully, just before our oldest began high school.
My husband took a job with significantly less pay, but also only 40 hours/week. I am able to work more hours from home and still school our children in the ways that I wish.
We worked, skimped and really hustled so that we could both be present for our kids during their teen years. Our income is at poverty level, but we have no debt. In reality, we have the skills to manage our lifestyle with cushion. Being frugal for years means we are now reaping the benefits that are important to us: less working hours, more time with our children.
When our youngest, grade 4, graduates, if we wish, we can pick up the pace again with income/careers, but for now, we are grateful for the time to spend with our kids.
Oh, my goodness, I LOVE this.
My mom sort of accidentally was around more during my teen years vs. my early years, and it was absolutely critical for me and my sister making it through some pretty tough school-related times. I don't think it was completely intentional - her job when I was little was teaching at a college that was just a long train ride away, while my dad was in grad school, and then my cousin came to live with us when I was in late high school, so she took a sabbatical to stay home and be more available (his parents were divorcing, the whole situation was just messy).
So many parents I know focus really hard on at least one partner staying home when the kids are young, then start working again when they get to school-age, so by the time they're in middle or high school, both parents are working full-time and less available. I'm in the middle of that right now, and really struggling with whether to continue working.
Your perspective, of intentionally becoming more available for the teen years, has given me a lot to think about, thank you!
My husband and I both have advanced degrees in STEM fields and we both have good jobs that pay well. When we were in graduate school, we had little money so frugality was necessary. Fortunately, we've never had to worry about not having enough to eat or how to pay for a roof over our heads.
My husband's family is extremely frugal so it comes naturally to him. My family on the other hand has never been good with money, even though my parents both had good jobs. My mom is 86 and still owes on properties she bought. My "why" is to not be in that position in retirement. I want to have peace of mind going into retirement knowing that we don't have outstanding debt. Our house will be paid off next year (WOOT) and that money will be added to our retirement savings. After looking at assisted living facilities for my mom, I realized how expensive they are and that we need to be prepared for that now.
I have made our kids sit with me as I paid bills and put money into savings each pay check. I have stressed with them to put aside money as soon as you get paid until of waiting until all the bills are paid. I find it easier to "pay myself" first, then manage the budget with what is leftover. Our daughter married last year and she has asked us a lot of questions about how to save money and build an outstanding credit store. Makes momma so proud.
THANK YOU for letting your kids in on the household budget and the workings thereof. Mine did not—they were embarrassed about how much there wasn’t—and I dearly wish they had. I think it would have benefited everyone, just like it sounds like it’s benefited your family!
We were like you, Kristen -- for a long, long time, there was no choice but to be frugal or sink. We also made money mistakes and gave in to impulse too many times before learning our lessons. We finally got more comfortable with my husband's better job, just as our kids moved out, but then after a few years my husband's health failed, and that's put us in the tight spot again. So I am frugal because:
1. We have to be, again
2. I'm trying to save as much of our modest retirement as I can and I'm still contributing to it. Like Kristen, we found it almost impossible to save for retirement for too many years, so we don't have a ton put aside. No one knows the future, but I have many relatives on both sides who lived to be over 90 - one is 100 right now- so my 60's is not the time to carelessly dig into my retirement, even though I can do so without penalty now. My husband's health means he probably won't live as long as me, but again, one never knows the future.
3. We built our house 21 years ago, and the replacement and repair phase has now started. We need to have cash available for that.
We save, hokey as it sounds, for freedom.
Over ten years ago, we built up from literal zero after a cross-country move where everything that could possibly go wrong, did. We dug out of that hole in fits and starts--for a long time, it felt like we'd get ahead just for one of life's expensive surprises to come along. At last, we got to where we were able to consistently save and build a buffer.
Along came my husband's medical adventures and associated hospital bills. He thankfully had insurance through his job at the time, but our tally was still far more than our meager savings. We powered through paying it off in six months by cutting expenses down to the bone; once the other side, we realized just how much we didn't miss what we cut. We added a little financial breathing room back in but kept that baseline as our guide.
While paying off the first hospital stay, I just got so *mad* that I still had to budget for my student loan payments. I decided then that, once the medical bills were gone, our goal was becoming completely debt free. In addition to my freelance business, I also took a part-time job, with all my earnings going directly to debt. In six months, I'd conquered my student loans and a second hospital stay for my husband. We were debt free, but that wasn't enough. Now the goal became getting him out of a stressful job that he felt locked into for the insurance. Staying for the benefits doesn't matter if said job is why you're having to use them!
We saved everything I made, plus 1/3 of his checks, for two years. When what had been a fun part-time position wasn't any longer, I went back to full-time freelancing at my husband's urging. He simultaneously left the stressful job he hated and moved onto one that paid less but left him happy at the end of the day. His health improved remarkably--I only wish we had managed it sooner!!!
We're not well-to-do by any means, but we can easily weather storms that would have had us in a panic not so long ago. My husband refers to it as our "F*** you" money, as our choices are no longer limited by *having* to do something or be somewhere we don't want to. This year, we've been paying it forward by helping friends here and there (secretly when able--we don't want a fuss, just to help).
We are debt free, and we continue to save to maintain that freedom. Name brands, new cars, and home ownership (we rent, with no plans to buy) do not matter to us. What does matter is healthy food for my husband's doctor-dictated diet; knowing we've money for his medications and said doctor if insurance throws us for a loop; having the power to walk away from a job; and having a car repair just be an annoyance vs. catastrophe. Having more time together matters most of all. I'll gladly rock my second-hand wardrobe and a car that's nearly as old as I am to maintain that. 🙂
My story is very different that most of your readers. I grew up with parents who liked to spend, my Dad earned a very healthy living so we had the 'best of the best'. My husband grew up with a very frugal step mother (cheap to the point of feeding the family long expired food), which drove him to be a spender.
We spent our early married years earning very good salaries and spending money as fast as it came through the door. 2009 slapped us hard. Our business closed because the economy had collapsed. We had to short sell our house and file for bankruptcy. We were living in an expensive coastal city, and our bankruptcy attorney advised us to start again financially somewhere less expensive.
We moved to another state because the cost of living was about 1/3 of where we were living. Starting again financially in our mid-40s with two teenagers was the most stressful and frightening thing I've ever been through. Luckily I work at home and was able to keep my job. My salary was enough to sustain the family, barely. My husband tried to open the business in our new state, but the economy wasn't strong enough to support it. Living off one salary forced us to start budgeting and adopting frugal habits.
Food waste was the first hurdle. I took photos every week of what was being thrown away. This forced us to rethink the way we grocery shopped, and we started shopping with a menu in mind.
Thankfully my husband found a really good job about three years ago, I have a new job (that pays better than my last one) and we are in a much better place financially. Budgeting, food waste and frugal living are now part of our habits. We don't ever want to be in trouble financially again....EVER!
I sometimes feel like a fraud on this site because I didn't grow up with the need to be frugal[1] and I make a good living now so my frugality is voluntary (the conversations my mother insists on having when I buy second-hand furniture![2]). I do it for Reasons but necessity is rarely one of them. Here are some of my reasons:
1. Self control and discipline. One is a better person, including being a better person to be around, if one is not self-indulgent or entitled. I don't want to be an entitled jerk.
2. To make my friends comfortable. Especially when I was younger, most notably college and young adulthood, few of my friends were comfortably off.
3. To create less waste and have a lighter footprint on this poor world of ours. As Kirsten says, some frugal measures are conservation-minded as well.
4. I get pleasure from learning how to do things myself. I grew up in a household where you picked up a telephone not a tool so every new skill is a small triumph.
5. Habit.
6. Why pay more than I have to? I'll buy the brand-name cereal when I like it better, but I'll stock up with coupons and sales.
[1] Although maybe we should have. My father took a huge risk when I was a toddler by starting a business. He was always confident that it would work out, and spent as if it would, but most businesses are not such a big success. On top of that, just a few years after he founded the company, we had back-to-back ~major~ medical disasters. Everyone is fine now and medical bills were less of a hit then, but still!
[2] My mother did grow up poor, albeit in a professional, educated, and sophisticated family. To her, buying second-hand furniture is a marker of bad times. For me, it is a marker of cleverness.
I sometimes feel like a fraud on this site, too. A welcome one, at least. 🙂
I grew up in a home that chose frugality to send all 6 of us kids to private school and college. I think there were very lean years early on, seeing as their spending habits relaxed quite a bit when I hit high school. That said, even if they didn't need to be frugal they still would be. My mom doesn't cross out the price on tags of gifts because she takes delight in never paying what the tag reads.
My husband makes enough money for us to live comfortably, and any frugality we practice is truly a choice and not a necessity. I realize how priviliged I am to say that, and I don't want to become entitled about it.
I practice frugality for the following reason:
1) I want to have the flexibility to generous with people who are in need (and they are everywhere--goodness, we've been in need to!) so that we can run meals to people or help with other needs at a moment's notice.
2) We have a child with extensive physical impairments. We want to give him every opportunity to access health and development, and medical devices and treatment (and flights to specialists willing to treat) are outrageously expensive.
3) I, too, don't want to make people who have smaller financial resources feel small or insignificant. I have felt uncomfortable by wealth before, and I don't want that for anyone who hangs out with us. (Not that wealth always makes people uncomfortable. I have also felt very comfortable in homes of wealthy individuals. Attitude makes a huge difference.)
4) I want to take care of our environment.
5) I'd rather spend my money on quilting fabric than napkins or papertowels.
"I want to have the flexibility to generous with people who are in need"
This is so true. I get a great deal of satisfaction from tipping the for-tips-only baggers $10-15, and buying the cash register person a snack or drink.
Neither my husband or I come from parents who were positive financial examples. We both made some mistakes in our youth which we are paying for. So now that we have a young child we are trying to make wiser financial decisions and work to plan for our future.
Most of our frugal living decisions are made because why would we pay more for something simply to be paying more? Sounds simple and it is. We don't believe in just blowing money simply because we have it. It is nice to live in such a way that when the washer breaks you have cash on hand to buy a new one. Of course a large expense out of the budget all of a sudden stings but not as much as a large expense plus 21% interest over time.
Our son will likely go to a local charter school which will be free but provide him with a much smaller class body and more individualized instruction. My husband has many health issues and it is best that he work close to home which means a smaller income. We will be working in the next year or two to hopefully buy a home of our own. We want to live in such a way that we can truly afford our home, vehicles and a lifestyle of simple pleasures like a garden, family vacations, and time with each other. We also have a bit of catch up to do on the retirement income front. All of that said we will continue to squeeze each dollar we make and look for the absolute best deals on the things we need in life. Wisdom. Stewardship. Happiness.
To pay off our mortgage
To financially help our children
To maintain our emergency fund
From the time my kids were born, I worked part time in the office and then part time from home with gradually increasing hours as they grew up. The cost of living where we live is high, so to make due with less than 2 full incomes, we saved money where we could - drove our cars a long time, hand me downs, rarely paying for babysitters, etc. When kid #2 went to college, I went back to work full time. Now I'm working full time but expect it will be 90% from home even after the pandemic. We are saving for a good retirement and to cover most of the college costs for our kids. We are hoping they all graduate with less than $20k in loans and that we can help them pay those off quickly so they aren't a lasting burden in their lives like so many of their generation are facing.
My husband and I are closing in on retirement and racing to pay off our mortgage (one more year) and some debt, which is mostly medical: four more monthly payments of $288 to the hospital and we'll own his right pinky toe again. 😀 I laugh, but medical debt that exceeded what our insurance would cover has dogged us our entire marriage. We were both raised by frugal people, but it's the fear of the unexpected related largely to health or household disaster that keeps us very frugal. Household disaster has been mostly mitigated by a really good home warranty, but health care is one scary wild card.
When I was young my family had to be frugal - my dad did not make a high salary and we lived in a very expensive area (Southern Connecticut, 40 miles from NY City. During graduate school and as a young adult I moved to Boston and as a trainee scientist I made very little, so in those days I was frugal by necessity. I always had a credit card, however I was raised to pay it off every month and I did (I am 61 years old and have never paid a cent of credit card interest). Now as an upper-middle age adult I save so that I will be comfortable in retirement and to continue to help my kids pay for higher education (I have one who is college junior who is ROTC so no college money necessary, and one who is a high school senior) and for my kids futures. I am lucky because I do have enough to retire now and be all set, but I like my work and have no plans of stopping. I do hope to be able to keep working remotely and travel (staying for months at a time in different cities around the world in Airbnb wherever I have friends) once my younger is in college and we have a covid vaccine, so having more funds for that built into my retirement is one reason for saving!
I learned from my parents. They were immigrants and had a fire in their belly to "make it" so they did whatever they could to save so that we could live a good life. This meant taking night shift jobs, washing clothes in the bath tub and then hanging them up to dry to cut back on laundromat costs, buying second hand, and being smart about grocery purchases. They (mostly my mom) taught me that every penny counts and none should be wasted, even when you have many pennies. Their hard work set us up for success so we haven't had the same struggles but I learned the lessons. And always in the back of my mind is - you never know what can happen - save up *just in case*.
As far as goals go, I think it's always been our goal to have options. We saved and worked hard in the early years of our marriage and by the time we had kids, we had set ourselves up to have the option to live on one income so I could be home with them. We are saving up now so that we can have the option to support our kids with what's best for them academically (private schools or colleges if that makes the most sense). When we've hated our jobs, we wanted to the option to find another. Not 100% in our hands but upskilling and educating ourselves has helped.
Great topic. Both my husband and I are naturally frugal but in our early married years, we had to be. Our oldest daughter was born disabled and in NICU for 3 months. I5 took us 8 years to pay our portion of that bill and her continuing medical needs off. Then we adopted our other 3 kids (one at a time) over the course of the next 10 years. All on one modest income or with me working no more than 10 hours a week. Lean years but oh so worth it. My parents did help with the adoption expenses but we could not have survived day to day if we weren't frugal. Now we are about 2 years away from retirement, debt free, and able to move to an area we want to spend our later years in. I am not only frugal by choice these days, but also because I believe that we are to care for the earth. The impact of consumerism on the planet greatly concerns me.
I love this post.
My reasons for being frugal from top to bottom:
1. We want to retire early- goal is to retire in our 40's at least part time
2. My parents were frugal, so it is what I know. I want my children to learn these skills/values too. I want then to be independent and self-sufficient. I want my children to not only learn about saving, but about the impact of materialism on who we are as people and as a society.
3. Environmental impact
4. Healthier for our bodies (and minds!!)
What a fun post!
Let's see... Well, the season of life we have been in has determined where our savings are distributed to. Before kids, our big focus was on vacations, staying out of debt (just a mortgage) and starting retirement. After our son was born, it has been building the college 529 fund, continuing our annual big summer vacation debt-free and building retirement (raising % to 401k as our income has increased). We have remained debt-free other than our mortgage and just 1 car payment. Throughout our seasons, we have made our emergency savings fund a priority as well.
I was raised by a single mom and she taught me to budget, plan, prioritize, evaluate future purchases and save, save, save. We always want to be prepared for emergencies, too. My husband and I have instilled those same principles in our son. At 17, he has has own business, a personal savings, a business account and a CD (for long-term savings). He is opening his own vacation savings account by the end of the year as well.
Seasons and cycles of life come and go, but you'll never regret making savings a priority (whether it be emergencies, college, vacations, retirement, big giving, etc.).
I look forward to reading everyone's reasons as well!
1. Retirement
2. Moving
My job has become super stressful, luckily I am mostly working from home but once we go back I am not certain I want to stay.
I would retire tomorrow if it was not for health insurance.
I would like to move farther south for a shorter winter.
I am frugal because I want to be, I don't need to be.
Grandma before she died gave away all her belongings, my sister when mom died took most her stuff to Goodwill. I realize for the most part no one wants your stuff so why have it unless 1. you use it 2. It makes your life better.
A large part of us being able to save money was due to not eating out. That was the largest part of our budget. Another is being mindful of leftovers. Food waste is a budget killer!
First, kudos to Anne for proposing this topic, and to Kristen for going with it. I've benefited from reading all the comments thus far.
In DH's and my case, we have lived frugally for our entire marriage (often to the bewilderment of his family of origin), to accomplish various goals en route. I'm proud to say that when I retired this August, we had no debt of any kind, and a reasonable though certainly not huge nest egg. But now that we are both retired and DH has Alzheimer's, I'm working on practicing black-belt frugality to get both of us through the institutional care he will need sooner rather than later. Even the long-term care insurance we were fortunate to buy back when we were in our 50s and still reasonably healthy won't cover everything.
And let me just say in concluding that the U.S. health care situation in general, and the situation for frail elders in particular, absolutely STINKS. (I'd use a stronger word, but I know I'm among ladies and gentlemen here.)
I am seriously waiting for single payer care. Why does anyone fight this?? Blows my mind that it's not part of the norm to just care for EVERYONE.
I so agree. I'm now 75 and get headaches trying to keep on top of our system. I don't know how older folks do it; I guess they have to depend on someone to do it for them!
We also went through a period of life where frugality was a necessity. Then my spouse also changed to IT and income went up so saving became possible. Now we are retired and living on those savings while once again practicing frugality in the hope our savings will last long enough. Life is good.
Many years ago I was foolish with my money and ended up in a moderate amount of debt. It wasn't so much that I couldn't get out of it with effort, but it did cause me a lot of worry and sleepless nights. I also witnessed how similar debt hurt a close family member and kept snowballing until it was almost insurmountable. I didn't want to end up like them so I made a plan to change my path. In two years I had cleared the debt and also had a modest amount of savings. I have been adding to it over time and keep myself inspired with these goals:
1. To not live in fear of losing my job.
2. To be able to retire at an age where I can still enjoy my retirement.
3. To not have to worry about covering emergency expenses.
4. To be able to help others.
FIRE! We are not working once our son is done college, unless it's a job just for health insurance (which hopefully by that time, we have single payer health care).
We save money for peace of mind, first. We want to feel secure. We need to know that we have extra in the bank in case we need it quickly (example, a home repair. Or losing my job). I want myself and/or my husband to be able to handle expenses if something happens to one of us (death, sickness, etc). That is why paying off the house as quickly as possible has always been our #1 goal (and we just finished!).
We also want our kids to get extra. Extra activities, extra experiences. When I was young money was really tight. I always got the necessities, but my single mother could not afford many extras.
We don't gift a lot of material to the kids, but we always have money for classes, outings, artistic supplies, etc.
We also want to be able to retirer both at 55, and for me to be able to work only part time.
We don't want to be a financial burden for our kids later in life, and we want to be able to afford a place to live with assistance, if need be, when we get too old to live in our house.
So for all those reasons and more, we choose to be frugal where and when we can.
So great to have a paid-off house!
Honestly, it's even more great to have enough in investments that they earn more than you do! Knowing that you *could* pay off your house, but that your money is working even more efficiently is unbelievably powerful! I never anticipated how incredible that was going to feel, but it does.
When DH and I got married, we sold our houses and bought one together. We paid all-cash for the new house, eight years ago. When we see these crazy-low interest rates, and the market returns of the last eight years, we really second guess that decision. Fortunately, we didn't do it at the expense of other saving/investing, so we're fine. But still, sub 3% for thirty years is insane!
You are probably right, but I'm not into all savings/interests/investments stuff because...well... I don't understand it. We do have some savings/investments now (about 70 000$), no debts, and pension plans through our workplaces. Forr us it made sense to pay off the house quickly, then put more money aside now that the house is paid for. I'm 39, hubby is 35 so we still have 15-20 years before retiring to invest money.
Our savings goals: retirement in 9 yrs. (obviously we're near the end of our financial journey)
Basically that's it. We paid our mortgage off in 1999 & became debt-free in 2006. Since then we've been able to pay cash for a car & any major work done on our house. We still have some larger remodeling plans but we've already saved the money for them. We also hope to travel a little in the US but have saved for that as well.
I feel like we're reaping the rewards of the tight years. We've been able to live our dreams on one salary (a factory worker). We also were very lucky to marry with no debt & have never had credit card debt so I think that gave us a good start compared to many...even though we started with zero, it was negative numbers.
My husband is 58, I'm 54. He's going to have to work to 67 because of health insurance. He has very good insurance with his job & we just can't buy that if he retires any earlier. He has juvenile diabetes (well maintained) but it does cost a lot for supplies. And I have a few things that have to be maintained...have had a few surgeries, ect that affected our finances.
We started being frugal because we couldn't even cover the bare minimum of expenses each month. Through our first 15 years of marriage we were poor. My husband went to college for the first time when our kids were in elementary school. He graduated and got a teaching job the year our oldest was entering 7th grade. All our kids qualified for free school lunch. I worked part time off and on just to make ends meet. But we were committed to living on one income and me being home for the kids, especially through the high school years.
My dad, when asked his financial advice, says, "Save til it hurts." We have done that.
At this stage we are saving for retirement. Kid #3 is a senior in college. Other 2 have graduated debt free (thank you California State University system!!!) and are fully employed. We would like to have savings for our retirement, any medical bills that may crop up, and to help our kids if they would need it.
The balance for me is enjoying life in the present, as well as saving for the future. My tendency is to save too hard and it makes today a bit of a struggle sometimes.
This is a great post, so thank you both Kristin and Anne. My partner thinks that I am *sometimes* too frugal, so I will show him this, as I've never actually verbalized it to him.
1) I was raised in a frugal family (much like Kristin, it was necessary due to the career choice of my parents--going into teaching--when they made so little that we were eligible for food stamps.
2) I've always enjoyed traveling and being frugal in other areas of my life allows me to do what I really love.
3) Having a solid savings/retirement plan gives me GREAT peace of mind. I have a friend who lives paycheck to paycheck and that would keep me up at night, totally stressed.
4) Being frugal now buys me freedom. I work in another state from which I live, so every week, I live part-time elsewhere. I do not want to do this well into my 60s. The more I save now, the earlier I will have better options for work.
5) I backpacked through Europe for a year in the early 90s carrying all that I needed in a backpack. That really illustrated how few things one needs. I also hate the idea that I spent more than I have to, as I definitely see it as money thrown in the trash; money that I worked really hard for.
{Sorry - Kristen, not Kristin. One of my best friends is Kristin, so it is my automatic default}
I was not especially frugal until my husband had cancer and I had heart surgery for a birth defect and the insurance covered so little that we were left with tens of thousands in debt. I remember having to beg the hospital to give my husband the chemo even though our bill was already huge (it is still inconceivable to me that someone could be denied lifesaving meds due to a bill already owed to the hospital that performed five surgeries for the cancer and charged us premium prices for those). This happened in our 30s and I vowed to dig our way out of debt and not stop until we had so much money in the bank that we could pay for an organ transplant in cash if one of us needed it. But less dramatically, this morning provided the perfect example of why being frugal makes life easier: my husband pushed the button to open the garage door. It opened alright, by falling off the track and one side crashing to the ground. Since our furnace is in the garage and it was 13 below when he got up, we could not just leave it off the hinges...because we have a house fund it was not a crisis to call the garage guy and pay a premium price to get him to come right away (before our furnace decided to blow up from trying to keep up with the cold now billowing into the garage). I'd like to say it is to help the environment or give us more money for donating, but really being frugal gives me peace of mind that unless the economy entirely tanks, we can make it through whatever emergencies life throws at us. (The charity we give the most money to is https://www.ripmedicaldebt.org , a non-profit that uses donations to negotiate payment of medical bills for cents on the dollar, sparing millions from having to declare bankruptcy or live with the anxiety of being dunned for hospital and doctor bills they cannot afford to pay.)
Oh I am so sorry to hear that your garage door broke today. But yay for having the funds to get it fixed!
I totally understand what you mean about the security of knowing you can weather financial storms.
And I love the charity that you donate to.
I grew up in less than ideal financial situations so I'm actually pretty averse to spending money. My wife (who did not grow up with as many restrictions) actually has to get me to lighten up a bit on spending sometimes because I will do without when something is too pricey (e.g I've eaten the cheapest item on the menu with a glass of water when taken out to dinner with my more spendy in-laws before.) Sure I would've enjoyed that steak more than the sandwich but Paying more than $15 for a meal is out of the question for me.
I think I'm frugal now for the security. My house will be paid off in due time and then we'll be 100% debt free when that happens.
Sometimes Mr. FG has to nudge me to spend money too!
The funny thing is, I could spoil my wife rotten at times and to some extent my daughter as well (but I know that's bad from a parenting standpoint) but I so rarely buy anything for myself.
Yep. It's much easier for me to spend on other people.
Which is why the new window project in the dining room didn't happen until ten years after I got the idea. Ha.
We have always been on a tight budget. But we have debt, trying to pay that off. But we live simple.
1.We enjoy tv so we have cable
2. We do a lot of outside free activities like hike and fish
3. Enjoy our gardens ,can and hunt
4. Have no problem with second hand “ anything”
5. Have a Christmas club that covers gifts and lots of other needs.
Life is good.
I had cancer when I was 21-22. It was really scary. From them on, I wanted the things that represented financial security. First, it was a house, then it was a life well lived. I went to the weddings, and kissed all the babies, even though I didn't have any of my own. God had other ideas in that department...
I couldn't afford to buy a home in my HCOLA, so I bought one in the MCOLA where I grew up. I fixed it up on a dime and rented it out. Then I started saving for a home in the place where I lived. Eight years later, that happened.
I wanted to take a specific Outward Bound bucket list trip. My boss wouldn't give me the time off, so I quit and took a much lower paying part time job (at Nordstrom-hee!) so I could train for the adventure. It was amazing!
I always knew I didn't want to be at the mercy of an employer, so once I had a house, I started saving for retirement. I wanted FIRE long before the term was coined.
One of my sly goals was to never look like I was frugal. I also loved the winning-the-game aspect of it. Can I wear nice clothes, drive a nice enough car, live in my own place with comfortable furnishings, eat well, and give generously without appearing to be frugal, or worse, cheap?
It helps that I'm the oldest of six kids. I have known how to be frugal my whole life. Those skills, learned at my mother's knee, were then and continue to be incredibly useful, because I never had super high wages to boost me along.
Fast forward a whole lot of years. I finally met my prince when I was a dried-out spinster of 54. (Hee - no I'm not. I always took good care of myself and my health. See sentence #1.) My dear husband was a widower with two almost-grown kids. We just celebrated our eighth anniversary. We now have one grandbaby and another on the way. (Yippee!)
Incidentally, I was raised to appreciate volunteerism and giving back to my community. Now that I'm FIRE, I have both time and money to contribute to the causes I care about. It's awesomely fun to be able to do this whenever I please without a second thought.
Every single bit of scrimping and saving was 100% worth the effort. Start wherever you are and keep at it. You will get there!
Oh I love that - start wherever you are and keep at it. You will get there!
Gonna put that on my fridge 🙂
it's on 🙂
Yay! Good luck in your journey, Deidre!
Right now some specific things we are saving for are:
- vehicle
- House repairs
- next years school books
- vacation
We also like to have extra money when needs come up for friends. If we had nothing we needed to be frugal for, this we will always have.
My parents were frugal so I learned from them. I got married at 18 and became a mom at 19. Hubby worked 3 jobs so that I could stay home with our daughter. I am #4 of 5 girls so I grew up in hand me downs. My kids have no problem with thrifted clothes. They think it is crazy to pay full price for anything. We are currently paying for our youngest to get through college debt free. She does live at home and has a scholarship. Before Covid, she was working a regular part time job. Now she just tutors.
We have 9 years left on our mortgage. We are trying to have it done sooner. Right now the plan is for Hubby to retire at 62. He is currently 49. The years go by fast so if you aren't saving for your retirement yet, get on it.
I love this! For me its:
1) A way to show love and gratitude: love to the Earth (reduce, reuse, recycle, repair, hang out laundry, compost, etc), love to our neighbors/community (both giving and receiving unused items and therefor more $ to charities who need it/do great work), love to our family (I work a much lower paying job than I previously did- in order to be home more with more bandwidth by taking a much less paying, but equally satisfying/much less taxing job- we couldn't swing to live where we live if we weren't frugal), love to our future selves as we are looking to semi-retire (work for purpose/fun/fun money) in our 50's, love to the world at large (by reducing our spending/consumption, we limit our involvement in supporting companies who may exploit their workers and in doing so can spend more for local/homemade/quality made products), and love to ourselves (less products = less toxins/chemicals. I'd also like to say we eat at home more, grow our own veggies, etc for health but we aren't quite there yet! I will say that these last few weeks, what makes a meal has become a whole lot more flexible--- and I kind of like that so I guess that = less stress).
2) Fun! One of our family activities is "garage sale-ing" and I found that thrifting is so much more satisfying to me than going into most stores
3) Less stuff- I'm still constantly evaluating what brings me joy- sometimes that's bringing in the $3 garage sale find for a month or year, sometimes that's giving away last years snowboots because they take space which in turn will hopefully mean less space needed when we retire.
In order to pay off debt (student loans and credit card) my husband found a better job in IT 5 hours from where we lived. We sold our house that we were upside down on, packed everything up and moved. I quit my retail job and finally found a job where I could use my teaching degree. After 2 years we only have $10,000 left on my loans, paying off almost $60,000 in debt. But we got pregnant and I now have a 9 month old little girl and I am a stay at home mom now.
The reason we continue to be frugal is so that we can build up my husband’s retirement and create a college fund for our child. Who cares that our cars are 12-15 years old? They’re paid off and still run great. We rent because we can get a larger house and more yard for less money than a mortgage on a similar house in the area we want to live.
The most important thing I’ve learned in my 34 years is that there is no way for me to keep up with the Joneses and be truly happy and it took me years of trying to realize this. A brand new car might make me smile for a moment, but the payment will not.
The only thing I am saving for at this point in my life is retirement. My husband retired at 62 (health issues) and I am hoping to hang on for at least three more years. We have no debt, but nor will either of us get a pension (oh how I am jealous of those with a pension), so I feel like I have to save everything I can for the next few years. No one knows how long they will live so it's really hard to know how much you will need for the rest of your life.
For my husband and me, frugality (in the many little things) is about not needing money to be the deciding factor in the big important things.
Because we live well within our means, we were able to continue having children despite our first two children being half-a-million dollar babies (sticker price - insurance adjustments meant no one paid that much. We did, however, pay the full out of pocket maximum on our high deductible health insurance.)
Because we live well within our means, we could pay cash to finish our basement so we could have more bedrooms to continue fostering even when our biological children "filled up" the existing bedrooms. We could pay cash to buy a relatively new "big van" that enables us to tote our big brood in more safety than we could have if we'd have had to go with an old-school passenger van.
Because we live well within our means, when my husband needed to take a 20% pay cut for almost a year, we were able to continue giving to our church and supporting the missionaries we give to at our pre-pay cut levels.
I save when I can to alleviate anxiety. I also like the challenge of frugality. It is a fun challenge. I am a public school teacher so my income remains pretty stagnant.
I came from a pretty unhappy family of origin and rushed into a marriage with an older man who had really big problems and I was going to *save* him. Fast forward and I'm 26 and now a single parent of two. No degree and a low paying job, but I did love figuring out how to stretch the dollar until George Washington hollered and always looked at it like a game. I moved to a slightly cheaper area to live and we went to the dollar movie theatres and did other free and cheap stuff. We were always dressed nicely and I could just barely squeeze out the fees for soccer teams.
Fast forward again to age 34 and I married my current husband and we also had his children from a previous marriage to support. Fortunately we were always on the same page economically and were always looking for ways to do our family stuff a little cheaper. Hello, vacations spent sleeping in our camper or in a tent. We never felt poor or deprived. Again, frugality was a great game.
We're now in our 70s and comfortably retired. We downsized to a two bedroom retirement house and drove our cars for many years. With some of the money we had put away we traveled like crazy and saw most of the places that were important to us. We are even a bit tired of that now.
We still save a good portion of our monthly income, social security and a pension, in case bad times hit. Our Medicare HMO has treated us and our illnesses quite well. We have been lucky to have minimal medical bills. We are able to contribute to our favorite charities on a monthly basis, one for cats and another to take care of a girl in India. We are also here to be tapped by our grandchildren as they get older and their needs get more expensive. We just sent $500 to our 20 year old grandson to upgrade his beater of a car. My husband's son lives on a small disability check and has been nursing his really ancient truck along for many years. He will soon need help when it finally gives up the ghost.
So we still save 1. out of habit and why wouldn't you 2. to help our family when they need it and 3. to spread around the community because there will always be need.
Yes, I agree! There will always be people who need financial help, and it is a delight to be a position to offer that help.
Several years ago we did the math, it was cheaper to stay home vs daycare so for a few years I was blessed to stay home. We made it work but there was not a lot of wiggle room so being frugal was a necessity. The kids are older now and I am back to working full time- rebuilding savings, saving for retirement and colleges, home repairs we put off "for another day". Still watching the pennies and knowing I will be thankful for them in the future.
Boy, that is true when you have multiple children! It would have been so expensive to put ours in daycare; we'd have had three in at the same time for a lot of years.
I've been frugal from the time I got my first part-time job at age 14. I will be 64 in December and can't imagine living any other way. Even when frugality is not truly essential, I can't be frivolous with my money. I love the challenge of living a financially and socially responsible satisfying life.
I save so that I have a cushion for emergencies and so that I can do the things that are important to me. I want to take my two daughters and sons-in-law to Europe (this was supposed to happen next summer but is postponed for now). I also save so that I will never be a financial burden to my family. I save because it's fun for me!
When I was 54, my husband who was 57, was diagnosed with lung cancer and died 129 days later. What a life change! He held the insurance. He made more money. We were always pretty frugal from the very beginning of our relationship and thank heavens. It's saved me...and still is. I have to be careful with money, but I'm making it and I attribute that to knowing how to live on less and being careful in the beginning. If I had been strapped with credit card debt, big house payments, and big car payments, I wouldn't be making it now. Frugality has saved me from a bad situation being much worse. I will forever be thankful for the life we lived before so I can survive in this life now. It's hard enough to miss a spouse without being saddled with debt too.
Oh Jo, I am so sorry for your loss. Big hugs to you.
When my husband and I first got married we knew that someday we wanted me to be able to stay home with our kids, so our goal was to get used to living off one income so it wasn't a big lifestyle hit when the time came. That worked well, especially since at the beginning I was the breadwinner and he made a stipend. So we worked hard (hello, overtime!) to pay off my college debt and pay for his master's degree and live simply. For the couple of years we both had full-time paychecks we built up our savings and bought a car with cash (our babymobile). Now we have 3 kids and 2 of them are still little and home all day. As they grow and with each added child it gets a little harder to keep expenses down, but we're making it and I'm thankful.
Yep, that was our thought from the beginning too; I did work before we had kids, but we tried to treat my income as extra, and budget off of Mr. FG's income.
I have really enjoyed reading everyone's motivations for saving money/frugality here. For me, I guess it comes down to three reasons.
1) I enjoy the challenge and creative process of spending less, but living well.
2) I like the security and peace of mind of having a healthy savings and retirement account. While money is only one aspect of life, it is less stressful to have options and not have to live "paycheck to paycheck".
3) I would like to retire early. I work in the medical field and would like to use this training in other ways (medical missions, volunteering in the community) while I am still young enough to easily do these things.
I am frugal for a few reasons:
1. I was raised to be frugal, so it comes naturally.
2. My husband had his depression era grandmother's influence
3. It's pretty easy for us, and we get a great amount of joy from the successes from it (this new top was from a yard sale! I bought these on closeout! etc.)
4. It's wonderful to have money saved up and no debt to speak of (except my car loan)
5. I do constantly worry about being unemployed, as so many Americans do, and it's nice to know I won't starve to death for a while and can hopefully keep a roof over my head until we find new jobs.
6. Paying off our home before I turned 41 was the greatest gift I've ever been able to give to myself. I don't tell people that, but I can tell you readers because this is basically anonymous! I would never want to come off as braggy (and mind you, my home is small and meager). But if this can encourage anyone to be frugal and try to give that gift to themselves, then I'd hate not to share it.
That's awesome Sarah, I think people learn what's possible best from the modelling of others; I'm glad you shared.
We used to save money because we had kids with lots of activities, and we didn't want to be in debt. We paid off our original 30-year mortgage in 13 years, then added on to our house with a 15-year mortgage, which we paid off in 5 years.
Then we saved money so we could retire and live comfortably on our pensions and Social Security. I retired early, but with a full pension, and my husband just retired, and we're doing fine. When I start taking Social Security, it will be a nice raise, and when we have to start taking the mandatory distributions from our 401(k)s, that will be two more raises for us.
We're frugal now because it's a habit, and if we don't spend too much on some things, we can spend on extras, like travel and hobbies, and helping our children and grandchildren.
I’m excited to see everyone else’s reasons, and maybe get some inspiration, haha.
We are currently (trying to be!) frugal out of necessity. Our family of five is living off a small income and it’s a tight squeeze. Thankfully our kids are little (our oldest is 4) and have no idea! We are working on paying off debt and mostly just staying above water, which can feel frustrating a lot.
If anyone else has been in the same boat I would love advice on making life fun for free!
We use the term- cost avoidance.
Through the last 20+ years, my husband's income has roller coastered and, for a number of years, been non-existent. Looking back, his current income is the same as it was 20+ years ago, even with overtime. Cost avoidance is necessary, as our adult children live at home.. We don't ask for rent.
Fun post theme:
-I don't enjoy paying more, when I can find something for less, and enjoy saving money (even if it's just a few dollars).
-It can also have environmental benefits
-We want to spend in a way that's aligned with our priorities. Getting a good value is aligned with our values. Intentionally spending on categories & expenses that we care more about & is aligned with our values.
-We want to be fiscally responsible, for ourselves, our family & our community.
-We want to help others
-We want flexibility, and money gives you, frankly, a ton of flexibility in life.
We are really lucky & both make great salaries. That said, no matter what income level you're at, there is a level of "competition" or lifestyle inflation spending, and it's so easy to get caught up in that. It's important for us to continually be evaluating our spending to ensure it's still aligned with our values.
Frugality is not so much about saving money as it is about trying to stretch the money you have while still maintaining a sense of "not settling for second best". Here are a couple examples ...
I can go food shopping at a local well known supermarket and put a couple of bags of groceries in the back of my car ... OR .. I can shop at Aldi and have 4-5 bags of groceries in my car for the same amount of money.
I make my own yogurt. (Thank you Kristen ... I follow your method!) I buy a half gallon of non-homogenized super-slow pasteurized very rich whole milk which costs me $5! (It comes in a glass container where the cream rises to the top) BUT ... it yields a little under a half gallon of the best tasting, longest lasting, firmest yogurt money can buy. Of course if you don't want to take or have the time to make your own, I can guarantee 2 quarts of the soupy bland supermarket brand yogurt will end up costing you at least 3-4 dollars more.
You don't need an excuse to be frugal when frugality wins hands down every time!
I embrace a frugal lifestyle so I can do random acts of kindness.
I get more joy from funding an adoption, paying a college debt, helping with medical bills etc than a new car or pricey vacation could ever give me.
1. Money = possibilities; debt = stress & less life choices
2. I want to get the most out of what I earn - although I am a work in progress & don't always live up to this ideal
3. I really like having money in the bank to pay bills when they come
Having said this, I think time is as important as money to me so there a times I will be less frugal in order to get more out of life. I learnt this on an OS trip organised by friends. Someone arranged a fantastic flight deal & I decided after that trip I wish I'd spent more & got the 15 hour direct flight rather than the 37 hour trip including 5 hours at KL airport.
Amen, to spending more to make life easier. And this is particularly true in traveling. We are in our 70s and my husband has bad knees, even though both have been replaced. Not sure how that works.
We are now willing to pay more for a hotel on the beach in our favorite vacation spot in the entire world, Waikiki. He simply can't walk several blocks to the beach in any comfort. And 37 hours for an overseas flight? Yikes. We have a plan to fly to Scandinavia for a cruise when the world falls back in place and we would not be taking our life in our hands. Since we live on the west coast it's a looooooooong flight. Since we have all this extra time to save, we will be paying for business class, the only way we can now stand 10 hours in the air. It will probably be our last trip, anyway.
Also, home repairs. I no longer want him dangling from the top of a ladder, so sometimes we just pay for a repair.
We are in a similar life stage as you, Kristen. So, our lists are similar. We save money because we want to:
1. Pay off our house early-
2. Give generously to others
3. Save for retirement
4. Help our kids with college expenses
4. Enjoy more flexibility and options (such as a new job, or travel opportunity)
My current goal is mortgage payoff and has been for a few years - in doing so, I took a six month break from any paid work and then took a low paying job to try a different industry - both would be impossible without those savings! I continue to imagine paying off the mortgage would reduce my salary “needs” which gives me option to either do less hours in a higher paid stressful job or standard hours at a lower paid job...
I'm a little late to the game, but I wanted to throw in my two cents. I was raised in a very frugal household, out of necessity. Over the period of my adult life, we've been very fortunate, but had to pare back significantly during the Great Recession (which was also about the time we relocated and had kids). Now we are in the best place (financially) of our lives, and I still make efforts to be frugal. It's like a learned habit I can't turn off. Right now, I am working on giving myself grace. I have a demanding job that I enjoy, and I have to let myself off the hook when I end up making non-frugal choices to simplify life. For example -- grocery couponing is over for me. The time spent is just not worth the savings. If takeout makes life easier (even on night we meal planned for) we go for it. I'm working on showing myself grace, as I sometimes feel guilty for these decisions. But I try to stay grounded in a frugal life-style, buying second hand as much as possible and socking away for a rainy day/month/year. You never know when your circumstances will change and I think it's good modeling behavior for our kids.
It's terrible to me that so many of the comments are about debt from medical expenses or needing to keep a job for health insurance. There are issues with our health system (UK), and I pay quite a bit each month for some treatment that I wouldn't get on the NHS, or would have a long wait time, but that spend is £50-100 for services once a week. With my health issues in the US I think I would be poverty line or seriously ill through lack of treatment, and I really sympathise that so many of you are in that position.
My childhood didn't have a lot of money but no good examples either so I spent ridiculously (relatively speaking) when I was in my 20s and 30s. Significant increases in the value of property I owned is the reason I have some money now, although not enough to buy a house in our HCOLA. Or at least, not a house I would want to live in!
I'm trying to be frugal so I don't have to worry about retirement, bearing in mind that my health will likely continue to get worse as I age.
We are doing home improvements, getting out of debt, giving more to our church and of course savings for our later years. We are about to become empty nesters and really want to get things taken care of while we are still working age before we retire (in like 20 years) so we will be more comfortable then. Totally would prefer to pay cash for something than plastic. Usually we have found you get a better deal as well with cash plus we're also setting a price limit of $100 per child for Christmas. There is more important things than trying to top last years gift giving. Spend more time with family and remember the real reason during this upcoming season. Saving and not spending and trying to keep up with what society says is normal is a HUGE stress relief.