Being Frugal

A frugal life can be a full and fulfilling life.  Sometimes I go to the Frugal Forum on Craiglist.org which is full of it's characters, but overall, there is some good advice to be had.

When I was a child my parents once went on what I like to call a "frugal rampage".  We had been spoiled for a while, but my parents decided to change up the game some.  We changed from a very consumerist household to one that tried to live simply.  I think part of the reason was that we had moved from a medium sized city to a very small town of around 550 people.  My parents wanted a simpler life, and I hated that as a child. 

Now as an adult, I find myself sometimes craving that simple life.  Why spend so much money on things that just break or go out of style?  Why spend yourself into deeper debt (chances are you are already in debt)?  Do material items really satisfy a person, or do they make a person crave only more?  Does one need to have the things that their neighbors have?  I have found that excess material possessions only tie me down in life.  I am not against having some things.  For example, I love listening to my iPod while on the train on my way to school, and I believe I will always have one until a better device is invented.  However, if my iPod was destroyed, it would not destroy my life. 

I have lately been experimenting more and more with frugality and living a simpler life.  I have always spent a lot less money than most of my friends and classmates.  I have also found that I have enjoyed living a simpler life.  I enjoy taking the bus from place to place instead of the hassles of car ownership.  Even when I lived in a medium city a couple years ago and the bus system left a lot to be desired, I opted to use it instead of driving.  I figured the money I saved on buying a vehicle, insurance, and gasoline was worth it.  Also, I knew I would not be getting a parking ticket.  I had to do a lot of planning to go to certain places, as the buses sometimes only ran once an hour to places I frequented.  But, I made it work and did not worry financially.  And it didn't make my life horrible. 

When I started law school I thought I would probably be making $60-75k+ out the gate.  I was excited to have a lot of money, but I was used to living far under my means.  I did not think I would buy a car (I still planned on taking the bus and possibly renting a car when I had clients).  I figured I would still live in a small studio apartment, even if it was not here in New York.  I considered buying a small piece of land somewhere in which I could have some place in nature to build a small place (such as a cabin) and grow things and develop it myself.  Maybe I would prepare it for my retirement and rent it out until then?  I don't eat out very much, and when I do I don't spend much at all.  I figured that would be the same, even if I made a lot of money.  And I was fine with that. 

I have realized that much of what society tries to sell us is not a necessity to have a happy life.  I do not have cable and I don't watch the news or many shows.  What I do watch is via Netflix (Star Trek being my favorite lately).  I don't feel the pull of commercials telling me how I should live my life, or what I should be happy with.  I don't have the television news telling me how I should aspire to live, or how others my age are doing in life.  I don't have to feel negative about my life when I see a commercial of a professional younger than me driving a late model BMW!  In fact, giving television up has done me a lot of good.  Not only has it saved me money, but it has raised my self-esteem. 

I also don't pay a huge cell phone bill.  I have one of those pay-as-you-go phones and use free internet programs for other calls.  In fact, I rarely even take my cell phone out with me.  I don't see the point of paying for a data plan when I can do all that at home.  It has never hindered me, and not having to pay $50 a month has saved me a lot of money.  Maybe as a lawyer I would need that, but I don't as a student.

Some may think that my life sounds boring.  I enjoy it a lot.  It has provided me challenges, and I enjoy meeting those.  I know I can live pretty much anywhere with the strategies I use, and I know that if I find myself with extra income, I will be able to put it away instead of feel the need to spend it.  There is something nice about a simpler life.  I can't really explain it, but many of the people I have met who live simply are happy people.  Many even have a lot of money set aside. 

Click here to read about Little Darcy Hookhands

As far as the Craigslist forum I mentioned above.  There is a difference between living simply and denying yourself anything.  Some people try to not spend a dime, instead digging out of dumpsters and living in rags.  That is fine if that is one's only means of temporary survival.  However, time is a resource, and spending inordinate amounts of time to save a few dollars does not make much sense.  One thing about living frugally and ignoring much of the media is that you find out what you really want in life, and you find yourself not caring about what you don't want in life.  Life is quite amazing when one does not feel the need to be a mass consumer.