How did you become frugal?

**Shell** · 09-19-2003, 12:13 AM

We didn't have a lot of money growing up and my Mom had to rent out our basement to make ends meet. Later on when our business was doing well, I think we became shop-o-holics.

After taking a close look at my credit cards I had enough. I think it was the Tightwad Gazette that made me start to question how I was spending my money. I still struggle with it but I am far more responsible with money now and even have some saved.

You were always a frugal diva or did you have to become frugal?
Did you learn this at home or struggle with being frugal?

**graci42** · 09-19-2003, 07:52 AM

I was raised by a woman who was frugal out of necessity. However, I have struggled with frugality. I want more for my family and being frugal is the tool that will help me achieve this goal.

**captclearance** · 09-19-2003, 09:38 AM

My Mother was frugal and she and my Dad really knew how to put away money...... I became frugal out of necessity also......

**PrairieRose** · 09-19-2003, 09:48 AM

My parents were frugal, so I think I am frugal because of that but necessity has prompted me on several occaissions. I've tried to really educate my kids (especially when they were college students....by making them do without lots of things) on frugality because I truly believe it's a skill that can carry you through some of the roughest times of your life.

**guest2** · 09-19-2003, 05:08 PM

When I was little, my family was struggling just to make ends meet. Over the years, my father worked very hard and so did my mother and became financially well off. However, those lessons learned as a young child have served me well since I need to be frugal now in order to stay home with my children. My mother is still a great bargain hunter and doesn't like to pay full price for anything! Go MOM!!!!

**slowtypinwoman** · 09-19-2003, 05:12 PM

Like a lot of people,I saw Amy D on 60 Minutes. I thought wow, if she can do it for a family of 8, certainly I can do it for a family of 3. I try but I'm nowhere near as frugal as she was! lol

**Jeanna** · 09-19-2003, 06:32 PM

For me life happened. My husband and I started out with good pay for this neck of the woods and as young as we were. At first we were frugal but as more money came in we thought we needed more and more things. So a house was built, new cars bought and traded every 12 months, kids came and we thought they needed everything because we had not had alot while we were growing up. Then reality came--My husband was working at a job that at 32 had put him on the verge of a heart attack, the drs had him on strong medicine and it was not working, so he quit the job. So we went from making about 65000.00 a year (hadn't saved anything) to about 20,000 and then I became sick. So here we were he had opened his own business and now I couldn't work so we had no money coming in. The cc's got used to keep our heads about water and my husband went to work at the job he has now so that we could have a steady income, although no insurance. So things went on and on and I learned to save where I could, cook from scratch, I had always gardened, learned to say no to the kids etc. But it was too late. We ended up filing Chapter 13 (which we are still paying) and as of recently we gave our house up for sale or forclosure--whichever comes first. After all of this I have learned, gotten better and now hold a job. I will have insurance for the whole family as of Nov. 1 (company pays). I still feel strongly about a woman staying at home, but this is my life and that just isn't in the cards for me right now.
So how did I become frugal--by living.

**Lori Biever-Launder** · 09-19-2003, 08:13 PM

I grew up on welfare, but I can hoestly say I live a Depression-era lifestyle in the 1970s. We had no phone, no TV and ne newspaper. We had a huge gardena nd we canned and froze everything. My dad hunted and my sister and I were master gleaners of fruits and nuts all over town. How many 15 YO do you know who got excited about picking blackberries?

Any way, once DH and I were married, we practiced frugaglity. When we both had great full time jobs, we spent money quickly. When I became pregnant after eleven years of infertility, we knew that we wanted me to be home with our child(ren). Once DS#1 was born, I worked part time for my f-i-l . Six weeks after DS#1 was born, we had to replace one of our cars and, betweent hat and my lower income, our $ dropped by forty percent! Things were very, very tight for awhile. I am proud to say that we made it and, because of my frugal spending (or NOT spending), we are doing well now financially. For our area of town, our income is failry high. However, I know of people who make A LOT more $ than we do and have NOTHING to show for it.

**sherriew** · 09-20-2003, 07:10 PM

How and why am I trying to become frugal? From Guilt! My dh is military and works long hours, sometimes, needless hours, to me. I felt guilty always spending on the kids. I realized he gets nothing works and gets nothing. Things are tight because of debt and having the kids in all sorts of activities. After bills, tithes, and activities we have not much. So now I am trying to be more frugal out of neccessity.

I didn't have frugal parents to teach me. So I search the net and read books to learn. I am far from where I need to be and lack the will power to get there. I just pray that all of you ladies have lots of good advice to get me closer to the goal.

**summercat** · 09-22-2003, 01:49 PM

For me it was the fact that the money I was getting from Disability wasn't enough for me & my DD to live on. I was getting further in debt & paying too much rent for where we were living but had no choice because of where we live. I learned a lot from my Grandma & mom who were in a sence frugal.
Now I am debt FREE

& have a little money I save & can afford to buy what I need plus help out my DD a little bit & I'm making even less money now that DD is on her own.

**MANDERS** · 09-22-2003, 02:24 PM

I learned to be frugal.And it was by choice.I figured if I was staying home and dh was working the least I could do was learn to save money,so now it has really becom a second income,its not coming in ,but it goes out a lot slower and wiser.

**rebecca** · 11-20-2004, 07:14 AM

I have been frugal most of my life, but not to the extent I am now. I guess with getting older and with my child support going to end in a couple of years, I realize that I have to be saving more and watching my pennies. Never really had alot of debt. Since the beginning of the year I either pay cash or use my checking acct. to pay for something I need. If I don't have the money I wait tell I have the cash. Renee

**DaisyLady** · 11-20-2004, 07:26 AM

Grew up in a frugal household,as did both of my parents. My DH however grew up in a wealthy household and our spending got out of control after our first son was born. He was born with many medical problems and I needed to stay home to look after him. DH decided to change jobs and it ended up with him gettin virtually no pay. After pulling ourselves out of that we managed to do well for a few years but then both lost our jobs at the same time. Instead of cutting back we tried to maintain our "lifestyle" thinking the jobs would be back soon. Only that didn't happen and here we are in debt again. This time DH is on the frugal bandwagon with me.

**sunshine** · 11-20-2004, 07:57 AM

I grew up dirt poor (but my parents were so good at frugality, that I didn't realize how poor we were until I went to college). We gardened, raised chickens, rabbits, pheasants, pigs and a cow for meat, foraged for wild foods, etc.

Most of the frugal things come second nature to me as that was how I was raised, but I still managed to waste an incredible amount of money.

When dh got sick, we lost his income and were doing lots of things to make memories (meaning we were incurring more debt from traveling, going out, etc) So, we kicked our lifestyle into high frugality and slowly working our way out of debt while still making memories.

**marietjie** · 11-20-2004, 11:56 AM

My Mother was frugal so I grew up knowing how to be frugal. I guess I actually started living frugally out of neccessity. After reading the TWG by Amy D, I really started to practice what I was reading. It was like a light finally went off in my head and I realized that by being frugal we did NOT have to live pay check to pay check. We could get ahead in life and realize our dreams.

Having a frugal DH has really helped also. He grew up in an extreemly frugal home because of poverty. I have learned so much from DH`s grandmother.