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Home > The Opposite of Frugal .......My House????

The Opposite of Frugal .......My House????

February 11th, 2007 at 06:02 am

I have always been frugal.....raised in a frugal home with 2 parents who were both raised the same way. If you needed something, you figured out how to make it. If you wanted something, you waited.....sometimes for years. You used all of everything, didn't throw much away, but recycled.......before it was a word and gave most old things new life as something else.

Spending time here at my house this week; it has really hit me. No one else in this place has an ounce of frugality in them. People use paper towels like they just magically appear on the holder (no, I'm not buying these.....but others here do). Food is bought, not always even cooked......and tossed out without a thought. Things break and no one even thinks about fixing them; it's one quick toss into the trash. (and no, we don't have trash pick up either!)

I'm still frugal......because I don't think I could sleep at night if I wasn't.
Seeing the opposite types of choices played out in front of me by so many people has me befuddled. Besides the navy gentleman, I'm the only one here that owns anything valued over a few hundred dollars. They are the ones purchasing multiple meat entrees for ONE meal. I'm the only one with en emergency fund. No one here has enough money to buy gas at the end of their pay period.

How is it that frugal is hard to learn, even when people don't have the basics? I'm so stumped. Beyond stumped.

I am getting better about keeping my mouth shut. I still FEEL like handing out free advice about a frugal lifestyle, but I don't. (that's pretty amazing all by itself, now that I think about it!)

I'll just continue opting for my re usable rags instead of paper towels, stick to my soup for dinner at least weekly and keep working on stacking up the firewood so I can be assured of a cozy home next winter. Hopefully, examples will do what lectures can't.

Posted in no $pending day, lifes' rules | 5 Comments »

5 Responses to “The Opposite of Frugal .......My House????”

  1. boomeyers Says:
    February 11th, 2007 at 06:23 am 1171174985
    1171174985

    Your right, set a good example and maybe something will come out of it! Good luck!

  2. baselle Says:
    February 11th, 2007 at 06:54 am 1171176893
    1171176893

    Do any of your tenants have children? They will be more impressionable. I sometimes think that I'm such a careful spender because of my grandfather. He was a salesman, never spending very much, but he always bought stock which earned dividends. I remember it to this day, thinking that was pretty neat ... if you splurged, buy stuff that gave you money.

  3. nance Says:
    February 11th, 2007 at 02:58 pm 1171205909
    1171205909

    Many people won't become frugal unless they get frightened
    enough, by their circumstances, to become motivated. Some will never get motivated. It has been too easy to file bankruptcy, or be taken care of by someone else.
    Many people live in the here and now, and don't seem to look ahead to the future. Some where, some how, personal responsibility has become a lost value.

  4. living_in_oz Says:
    February 11th, 2007 at 06:55 pm 1171220122
    1171220122

    I really think that most people think this is the way that they are SUPPOSED to live. It seems "normal" anymore for people to spend every dime they earn on comforts and rewards for themselves and then complain when there is nothing left over. Most people believe that money is more scarce now then in the past. They are wrong, of course. People in most industrialized nations are making more money now than all the generations before them. However, the generations before then had more money in the bank because they spent less on themselves. However, we can talk and talk and tell them this stuff until we're blue in the face and they never get it. Keep on living your life the way you live and maybe they'll be curious enough to ask your for you opinion or help....

  5. kylieb266 Says:
    February 11th, 2007 at 10:25 pm 1171232722
    1171232722

    it is this 'plastic society' that does it. The convenience of credit, debit and savings acct cards makes it so much easier to spend little bits and lots of money at a time, and to justify it by saying "It's my money I should be able to spend it any way I want to," or "The banks wouldn't have let me have a credit card if they think I can't pay it back." both comments are going to get ppl into trouble financially and often do..

    I believe that going back to that old fashioned, saving up for things you want but can't afford to have right now is a good philosophy.

    Just remember to spend less than you earn, and to put money away for savings every pay, and you will slowly drag yourself out of debt, or begin to build a savings nestegg.

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