photo by wheany
Frugal living can help you ride out the storm. But it’s a lifestyle that’s practical in high and low times. After a few months to a year of frugality, you’ll look back and be amazed by what you’ve accomplished. Time and time again, readers have shared what a difference frugality has made in their lives. It has taken years to become conditioned to the mindset of what we want and need as consumers and as individuals. But when hard-pressed, some people come to understand that they’ve been incredibly wasteful and realize they’ve paid for a dead duck much too often — sometimes just from habit. People who are old hats to being thrifty have been wise all along. For those who haven’t, many frugal practices are no longer laughable.

Here’s just a sampling of before-and-after frugality scenarios.

BEFORE: You never had a real budget. You have an idea of what amount of money comes in and goes out. But you haven’t paid close daily attention. You’re not prepared with an emergency fund. You’re “happy” overextending yourself to get the things you want. After all, that’s how everyone is living.

AFTER: You have exact numbers. You hold yourself accountable. You know where to make necessary changes. You’re able to live on much less money because you’ve pinpointed areas in which you’re wasteful. You’ve talked about your finances openly with your spouse, and your family is on the same page. You begin to value and respect your hard-earned money, so you look for more ways to hold onto it. You begin to look at your priorities with newfound empowerment. You realize that less debt means greater freedom of choice — and that many items and activities have “happy factors” equal to those of their more costly alternatives. Once you’ve proclaimed your thrifty ways, others take notice and admit they are — or want to be — thrifty, too. Suddenly you realize you’re not alone. No one can afford to live above their means! You redefine wealth. Overconsumption is unappealing.

BEFORE: Grocery shopping and eating out are costly. Each day, you make a meal that you decided on 10 minutes beforehand. You turn to takeout and convenience foods to save time.

AFTER: You plan your shopping to coincide with sales as often as possible. You stock up on sale-price items. You plan your meals up to a month in advance. Your menu plan includes using up any leftovers. You know exactly what food you have and need, so you waste far less food. You have meals made ahead and frozen, so cooking at home on a busy night is faster, healthier and more appealing than takeout.

BEFORE: You bought products and never thought about cheaper options such as making it yourself, buying secondhand or researching your purchases. Higher price always meant better quality. You never considered the marketing games that are played to get you to part with your money. You never thought about tomorrow.

AFTER: You realize you can make and do many things yourself that are cheaper and often safer for the environment. You begin to see how much simpler life is with less trash, less packaging and less waste. You look for new areas to be more simple. It might be gardening, reducing, recycling, reusing or looking for the best value for your money. You calculate the savings from your decisions. You learn that making do is smart, and many goals that you thought weren’t possible are within your reach and are far more important than the latest and greatest thing. You know the trade-off for the decisions you used to make. You’re no longer willing to be a part of it. Game over. You have a priority-based life to live. You know frugal living isn’t about not spending. It’s about spending wisely. It’s not a temporary reaction. It’s a consistent and long-term choice.

What differences have you experienced since becoming frugal?

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