Ladies I need your help! I have fell off the frugal wagon and can't get up! LOL! I thought that once I was home it would be easier to be frugal but I am having a hard time sorting everything out! I think that I need to focus on one thing at a time instead of doing everything at once. What is the one frugal thing that you start with? Do you try new frugal things once a month or are you just naturally frugal? I'd love to hear your tips. I feel like I need to get the The Tightwad Gazette and brush up on some of the basics again. It always puts me in a good mindset when I read that book.,
June 20, 2008
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
I think that the key to staying on the Frugal Wagon is thinking of it as a lifestyle. Much like an alcoholic will avoid places and people that will influence them to drink, we have to find a way to avoid the places and people that will influence us to spend more.
ReplyDeleteI was looking through Living Magazine today (on loan from the library of course), and overcome with a desire for the Martha Stewart china line that was in one of the ads. It was amazing how strong the pull was, and because I have extricated most commercial advertising from my life, I was able to see how irrational my desire was, and remind myself that I am happy with what I have.
Things that help me: going to the library instead of a bookstore, going to Goodwill instead of a Department store, no TV, magazines with more articles than ads or small ads, not going down aisles at the grocery store that I know will tempt me.
These things are challenging to do at first, but you get used to it and it becomes a way of life.
I was blessed to be raised in a frugal home so that as helped a ton however there have still been many ways that I have worked to become even more that way.
ReplyDeleteReading whether it be books like the "tightwad gazette" or "Living on a shoestring" (which is one I recently checked out from the library) or some of the many frugal blogs or many other books that can be found at the library.
Also I think it helps if you work on something (maybe frugal cooking/ not going out to eat) for a while until it is basically a habit and then go on to something else and try to make it become a habit as well. If you attempt to much at once it can become overwhelming.
Something that has helped me to save money is to look at what I have around me and realize that I truly don't need anything else. I have been challanging myself to use up what I have rather than buy anything new. Simplifing our lives helps us to stay frugal.
I hope living frugally goes well for you!
I totally agree with the first comment made. I am not sure I'm the greatest example of a frugal person--I read so many blogs of people who do it all wonderfully while I struggle to figure it out. But, I have to say that thinking about frugal living as a lifestyle choice instead of something you have to do for a while when you're poor helps you to keep trying and working at it. I think shopping at thrift stores instead of department stores and avoiding the mall are key to staying frugal. I know some people can go to the mall and not fall of the frugal wagon, but it sure is hard when you're surrounded by so many shiny new things and tons of people buying them.
ReplyDeleteI'm not frugal at everything in my life, so one reason I started my blog was to help myself focus on learning how to be frugal in the ways that were unfamiliar to me. For example, not eating fast foods is not a difficult thing for me to do, but refashioning clothes was something I would never have seriously considered until I started reading about other people that were doing it. So, for me, I tend to focus on a few things at a time until they become second-nature. Then I move on to something else.