Boredom and Frugality

[forHISglory]

I've been pondering something and wonder what you think. Does a person who is easily bored tend to be less frugal?

When I was teaching, I often asked my high school students to write about boredom. I found their responses to be interesting. They said they were bored when someone didn't entertain them or provide entertainment for them. I suggested that they should be able to entertain themselves. Most did not want to do this, or did not know how. And most of what they wanted for entertainment was expensive.

Does this attitude go beyond high school students? Do you entertain yourself without having to spend money? Do you find a part of your budget goes for banishing boredom?

How do you define boredom? That might be an important part of this discussion. Is it just having extra time on your hands? Not knowing what to do with your time? Not being satisfied with what you have to do?

I don't get bored. Period. I always figured that there were too many interesting people all around me, too many interesting things and places, too many great books....... I keep myself very busy with reading, trying new recipes, taking walks, gardening, gathering with family and friends and more. I have activities that are so satisfying. Some cost money: scrapbooking, travel, ingredients for that new recipe, the second hand or yard sale books. Some cost nothing.

My son is easily bored (how he grew up in our family and got that way is beyond me!). He spends money that he can't afford to spend on things to entertain himself: TV/DVR/movies, sports equipment, eating out, and so forth. Despite all the money he spends (and the problems it causes him), he is still bored when the movie is over, or the equipment has been used.

So..... does a person who is bored or tends to be easily bored have a harder time with frugality? I'd be interested in your thoughts, theories, observations, and experience.

[Athena31]

Interesting question, hard for me to answer though because I ,like you don't get bored. I always find some thing to do. Maybe it is more of a generational thing? The younger generations have been stimulated more by "things" or electronics than people. As a kid we were always playing out side and hated when we had to come in. Not so much now adays from what I can see. Kids are bust playing video games, watching tv or using the computers. My goodness what is there to do without those things?! I have heard these very words from many kids.

[CristiK]

Interesting question. I think that you may have something here. I LIKE to be at home doing things around the house. I hate shopping (except for the occasional estate sale). I enjoy free nature walks. My hubby and I LOVE to go to the mountains and spend the days hunting down waterfalls and such. I enjoy the quieter things in life alot more then the crowds involved in more expensive things to do. We do those too occasionally but I am very happy to just enjoy nature or my home.
Contrast that to some people we know. We were telling them about how beautiful and fun it is to go to the mountains. They asked what was there for the kids to do? Apparently, there must be some whirling bit of chaos involved or the kids just wouldn't have any fun at all. I think that is sad. Those people are in debt up to their eyeballs, btw.

[peanut]

I too have problems answering that because I'm rarely bored. I mean, that's what hobbies are all about for me. My goal is to find ways to do them frugally or for free. So far I've done pretty good.

But I think it can be a problem for the younger generation. I look at DD#2, and she is frugal to a point. She is frugal to afford the things that entertain her. But even she has learned how to entertain herself without spending much money...as long as she has an Internet connection!

Jean

[monkeywrangler71]

This is a really interesting question.

I consider boredom a state of mind that some people are more prone to than others. It typically isn't really related to the amount of time on your hands or lack of things to do. It's really not hard to fill time.

I am bored a lot. I'm not a high energy person, I feel lethargic a lot of the time, and I lose interest in things quickly. When I'm bored, I do nothing. So it can impact my frugality in as far as not getting things done that could save money (esp. supper not getting made), but I don't go out and spend money to alleviate my boredom. I have lots of things I could be doing, I just don't want to be doing any of them. Going out and buying more stuff wouldn't help, since it would just give me more things I don't want to do.

I'm not a spendy person though, and never have been. I also know that my boredom is caused by a lack of ambition, not a lack of available activities. I'll be just as bored at the movies as I will be laying on my couch in my pyjamas.

As far as the kids and the expensive toys go, I'm not sure if that is a result of actual boredom, or just of growing up in an overstimulated environment and never learning how to be still. Plus I think teenagers are naturally restless anyway.

[knotme]

When my kids were little and they said they were bored, the list of things to do came out of my mouth.....

You can clean your room
you can read a book
you can pull weeds
you can mow the grass
you can pull rocks out of the garden

etc.. etc....

They learned really fast to not say they were bored as I found them something to do really fast.

I think that is why I have a bunch of book readers in my family and the library is their home away from home

[IntlMom]

Me? I do tend to get bored easily. My house is always picked up, my dinner plans are made days in advance, I don't have any friends nearby, and on, and on, and on...... When I get bored, I tend to lean towards depressed, and I don;t like it when I get that way, so I try to keep myself busy. I vacumn my house more than most ppl, I mop my floors way before I probably need to....... We don;t "do" alot in our home. Kids don;t play much sports, my older son does some, but my younger one is SN, so it's kinda hard. I do stuff with my daughter thru the day: colour, read, puzzles, etc....and I teach at the moms group that meets once a week during the school year.....but I find that I have hours in the day that I don;t really "do" alot. I go into my scrapbook room when she is napping and spend time doing that, since I love to do that. But even that can be depressing, cause I miss my friends that I used to scrapbook with.
Not sure if I addressed your post, except to say how it is with me.

[elphie]

I don't generally tell my kids to do chores as a cure for boredom because I remember telling my mom that what she was suggesting was even more boring than what I was already doing... not to be sarcastic but because it was true. Instead I teach my kids that there's no such thing as bored... only lack of imagination. I have more than once been met w/ rolled eyes when I say this to other people but my kids have pretty much embraced the idea that they are responsible for their own pleasure. Or at least they know better than to use the "B" word in front of me.

That being said I do have dip into my own creativity quite a bit to keep myself stimulated (and practice what I preach!). I am generally reading 2-3 books at the same time, have many projects going at once, and avoid as much as possible activities that don't keep my mind as well as my hands engaged (one reason I HATE doing dishes but find it more tolerable if I am chatting on the phone or listening to music or a book on tape).

In my old life I used to buy a lot of new books because I didn't have time to browse through the library or used book stores. That was really my most unfrugal indulgance. On the up side I took a bunch of books into the used book store a few months ago and I still haven't spent all the credit I've earned from them. And that wasn't even 1/2 of the books I'm taking in. I consider it a gift from my old unfrugal self to my new self.

[JanieD]

I think it has a lot to do with your personality. Some of us are more laid back & enjoy downtime. Others feel they need some type of activity or event to keep them occupied. Not sure how to define boredom since I'm content sitting on the porch watching the laundry dry. Of course, this can also be a problem like moneywrangler said. Instead of doing stuff that needs to be done, I'm happy wasting time.

Not sure about boredom being a generational thing. I love spending vacation time in the mountains & doing the waterfall thing. However, when I told several about our trips I get mixed responses. One friend (20 years older than me) asked what do you do since the area we visit has no theme park & limited resturants & shopping? We are walking/hiking to waterfalls & enjoy simple cafes. I really couldn't explain what was so great about it to her, but we love it.

[itsahumanzoo]

For me, I think it's more about redundancy. Sometimes, the same old things we do for entertainment start to get old. I try to keep it as frugal as possible, and not spend gobs of money to keep us happy. My DH and I both feel the same way the money does not = happiness. We are content going to the playground with DS or having a picnic.

I think a lot (not all) teenagers are used to there parents giving them $20 and telling them to go do something. At least it's like that where I live. I think that's a horrible thing to teach a kid. When I was younger, I had to entertain myself every single day, and the only money I had was from my babysitting jobs. I'm not saying that all kids are spoiled these days, but I do tend to see it very often.

[pinkdaisy]

I think it has a lot to do with your interests and it may also be a generational thing to some degree. Let me preface this by saying I am single if that matters. I don't get bored very much however, I am very technology-oriented. I think I would literally lose my mind without my computer and cell phone, and I am not kidding. I am at the computer all day at work, get text messages, IM and email on my cell and always turn on the computer 1st thing when I get home. Hey, at least I turn it off when I am gone! lol! My interests are in digital photography, video editing, graphics & design, planning & organization, etc. Everything I do is electronic from budgets & grocery lists to photos, movies and music. I conserve energy and recycle, clip coupons & search for deals, plan meals and don't eat out much, but I also keep my computers and software up to date and budget a gadget or two each year. Its what's important to me. Things that others find interesting like say gardening or sewing would bore me and I wouldn't really enjoy the ocean or mountains unless I had my camera with me to photograph it. Take away my toys and I wouldn't so much be bored, but I would be lost because its so much a part of who I am.

[katybug]

When my kids were little and they said they were bored, the list of things to do came out of my mouth.....

You can clean your room
you can read a book
you can pull weeds
you can mow the grass
you can pull rocks out of the garden

etc.. etc....

They learned really fast to not say they were bored as I found them something to do really fast.

I think that is why I have a bunch of book readers in my family and the library is their home away from home

This is exactly what my parents did! I, too, learned really quick not to ever mention I was bored. I have the opposite problem, I have too much I like to do, too much I want to do and too much I need to do. I can get bored with certain things (like having to clean, or taking a walk) but if I can distract myself a little (with music) I can get through it.

I understand about being frugal up to a point. I'll be frugal with everything except my music, which is one of my passions (listening to it, I have no talent ) It just happens to also be entertaining, but my hobby just as much as knitting or scrapbooking or fishing.

I think my personal frugalness comes from the fact I was raised that way, that I don't get bored easy and I don't give a damn what people think about me. That combination works for me.

[forHISglory]

Hey! Good discussion! I found good food for thought in the posts that mentioned CHOOSING to spend on hobbies or travels. Although that is spending to do something that you enjoy (which negates boredom), it is a reasoned, measured, logical expenditure. That's how I am with my travels and hobbies.

My concern comes with those who are "bored" and so go shopping for things that they had not contemplated, did not need, and perhaps could not afford. I've seen this get folks into trouble.

Anymore thoughts?

[angelbumpkin]

I may think I'm bored but I know there is always something to do. Its actually mustering the energy to do it.

[PrairieRose]

I used to be a retail therapy shopper (which was mostly therapy for boredom). I still find myself having the urge to shop when I feel very bored. I don't give in to it like I used to but I do have the urge to go thrifting every now and again and it could be from putting off going out of boredom, who knows. But yes I see lots of people who get bored with day to day life so easily....they need lots of outward stimulation or so they think. I think that it is very detrimental to your finances to constantly give into this 'urge' just like it generally is so in life with too much of anything..... It's much easier to be frugal if you train yourself to be more satisfied with staying at home, cooking/eating at home, reading, spending time with your family and not jumping and running about town just for something to do........I don't know if I've even remotely answered your question....

I remember my dad saying something about when he was a kid (small kid like 6-10 or so). He said that on the off moment when they weren't in the fields picking cotton or milking the cows or any other number of manual jobs....that if they didn't pile under a tree and take a nap in the shade that they would never ever mention the word boredom. If they ever did....it was Katy bar the door. Their daddy would find the most labor intensive job for them to do like shovelling out all the horse pens, etc....... . I swear it sounds like a great idea to me. I even used 'labor therapy' on my own kids.....they survived...