I am frugal?
I am frugal.
When I was unsure of myself when I was little, my dad would always comment, “Are you asking me or are you telling me?” I’ve become much more clear on a lot of things since then. I do love the Cubs. I did work hard and get everything done before I went over to my friend’s. Oh, and I’m definitely going to ace my spelling test tomorrow.
But until recently, I think I would have ended statements about my frugality with a question mark. I might have also whispered them. ::I am frugal?::
Now, though, I feel a lot more emphatic.
And it’s not just because I’ve been blogging for three years, and I’ve been nominated for the second year in a row for Best Frugality blog.(If I’m being totally honest, though, exuberant is a better word than emphatic when it comes to those Plutus nominations!) But I think the emphasis actually comes from the fact that I’ve had the chance to stop and think about how I have changed on this journey to more purposeful living and intentional spending.
Here are my top five favorite posts that I’ve written about frugality:
Frugally Awesome…or Awkward
I have so much fun sharing all of my awkward adventures in frugality. While I’d like to be the whole series, I think the one that started it all is a keeper. And yes, I still buy my vegetables from the “bad food” shelf. Don’t hate on my 29-cent green peppers, Granny.
How Frugality Doesn’t Paint the Whole Picture
As much as I am learning to adopt and embrace a more frugal lifestyle, I must insist that frugality isn’t the panacea it is painted as. Being frugal gets you a lot of things. But let’s be real. When your earnings put you in the upper middle class lower upper class you make bank, that’s worth talking about too.
The F Word: Is There a Difference Between Frugal and Cheap?
Perhaps why I balked so hard at being call frugal is because it is often used synonymously with cheap. It is not the same. I would never ever return used towels, Giuliana Rancic.
When You Get More Than You Give (Up)
People who are on the fence about frugality talk about it like it’s a sacrifice. Or an extraterrestrial lifeform. Or Crossfit. Assuming the first rule of Crossfit is actually tell everyone you do Crossfit (that’s only what I can infer based on literally every interaction I’ve had with someone who works out at The Box), then I suppose frugality is exactly like this particular form of fitness. It’s a sacrifice but you get so much from it. #worthit
What is Frugality? No, Really.
Like most things people fight over, I’m not actually sure if we have a difference of opinion or if we are just working from different definitions. It seems to me that if we are going to quibble about frugality, we should actually define it, no?
Final Thoughts on Frugality
There’s so much more to frugality than coupons and cheap meal plans. But let me be clear. There’s also nothing wrong with coupons or dining on a budget. Frugality is definitely still misunderstood, sometimes even by the people who practice it (hello!). But the benefits are profound, so let’s keep the conversation going, shall we?
So Tell Me…How do you define frugality? Do you consider your frugal? Do you have any frugally awkward stories to share?
To me, “cheap” means that a person is willing to negatively affect others with their money-saving efforts. By being deceitful, selfish, petty, aggressive, etc. A frugal person finds honest ways to avoid spending money/spending more money.
I worked at one place where a person returned a garden hose that they had used for ten years. The manager gave them cash for the cost of a new hose.
Not to mention things that I’ve seen extreme couponers do.
To me, frugality is the art of living well cheaply. In other words, if you do frugality right, you sacrifice nothing. And I say your sight is a prime example of my understanding of frugality. You are frugal, madam. Those people over at the Plutus Awards know what the hell they’re doing. Cheers.
Congratulations! I love your frugal blog :).
“Frugal” is a weird identity to embrace, as it conjures images of eating beans under a burlap blanket. I’m a minimalist and a frugalist, and it’s not something I lead with when I meet new people… but it does tend to come out when they’re drinking bucket wine in my micro-home.
It is a hard opener. In fact, it’s not always something I claim because it’s so misunderstood. Post coming soon 😉
“…it does tend to come out when they’re drinking bucket wine in my micro-home.” This is sheer gold, friend!
Congrats!!! Totally agree that frugal and cheap are NOT. THE. SAME. I define frugality as living below my means and being aware of and comfortable with less expensive options and challenging the status quo. Also quick frugally awkward story – drinking water at the bar while my friends crush fancy cocktails and asking me 6 times if I want another drink! Another one similar to your bad food shelf peppers is my boyfriend catching me staring at the clearance rack at the grocery store for 20 minutes!
Oh, yes! Going out to drinks is so tricky. Every dang time.
Your awksome series reminds me of several stories. We are a DIY family, and as we have lived in nicer neighborhoods over the years, our neighbors often question why we “don’t just hire someone to do that?”
When we lived in the Deep South, I was in the front yard doing yard work when an elderly lady stopped and asked “Do you enjoy doing gardening?” When I said “Not particularly,” she asked why we didn’t have a gardener. Since she was a complete stranger, I didn’t want to get into the particulars of our finances and our values, so I mumbled something and she kept walking. Years later, when we moved into our dream house, I thought about that incident and “answered” her in my mind – “THAT’s why we did our own yard work!” Our frugality made it possible for us to buy our dream house.
Of course, *now* we’re the weirdos who DIY in our new neighborhood. The neighbor across the street doesn’t understand why we patched the hole in our vehicle tire ourselves, rather than calling AAA (like he did when he got a flat tire) to come tow the vehicle to a garage so they could change the tire. We paid a few bucks for a patch kit – he paid $500.
After several more major DIY projects, one day the neighbor came over and said, “You’re not replacing your roof by *yourself,* are you?!?” 😀 😀 😀 “No, we actually hired a roofer for that. But we *are* installing the gutters ourselves.”
I’m sure they think we can barely afford to live in our neighborhood. But DIY made it possible for us to fully FIRE seven years ago. Meanwhile, our neighbors are all still working.
I love this so much! It’s amazing what being willing and able to stand out from the crowd a bit does, isn’t it? I’m so glad you shared!