How old were you when you began to live frugal?

**thrifty gal** · 08-19-2007, 08:52 AM

And what made you turn to frugality??

**FrugalMomof3** · 08-19-2007, 08:57 AM

Well for me it would have been approx. 5 years ago but I started becoming super frugal about 2 years ago when I lost my job and we had to live off 1 income. Now to me, it's so easy and I enjoy it too!

**latierra84** · 08-19-2007, 10:39 AM

ummm about a year ago. i realized that dh had been working at his job for only a year and had nearly 10k in savings, while i had been at my job(s) for the same amount of time and had NOTHING in savings. thats what it hit me, i had nothing to show for all the months i had spent working. i quickly changed my lifestyle and opened a savings account and started keeping an excel spreadsheet of all my bills and monthly expenses.

**jamie79** · 08-19-2007, 11:26 AM

about 5 yrs ago due to debt. Which it was much sooner

**Jskell911** · 08-19-2007, 11:35 AM

According to my mom----ALWAYS! LOL

But really got super serious about 7 yrs ago after my divorce. I had a 3 yr old, no child support and was making about 9 buck and hr, so it was definately time!

**mickee311** · 08-19-2007, 11:41 AM

Literally about a month ago, due to just wanting to be able to shop smarter. I'm starting a stockpile so we can put the oney saved from groceries into savings to save for the baby.

**ilovechocolate** · 08-19-2007, 12:33 PM

I grew up with frugal parents, and learned very early about budgeting, etc., but got a little wild with money when I moved into my first apartment. After a couple of months of dreading opening up my charge card bills since I was putting so much on them, I decided that peace of mind was worth more than "stuff" I was buying.

The only thing I went into debt for that I don't regret was a trip to Europe in 1984. It was worth every penny of the finance charges I paid for all those months.

**miss_thrifty** · 08-19-2007, 01:00 PM

When i turned 20 and hubby 21 right after having our first son. I never looked back after quitting work. So I got use to making the most put of everything we had. reuse everything, always hand me downs for us and the kids. and second hand furniture till about 5 years ago.

**Michelle68** · 08-19-2007, 01:06 PM

A little over 10 years ago when my DS was just a baby. We had financed a car which was a piece of junk. The engine blew (right after the warranty was up, of course), we didn't have any money to fix it, plus we were having a difficult time making the payments. We did a voluntary repossession and it was then that I realized that I didn't want to live like that again, with creditors calling, etc. So we now live frugally, pay cash for our cars, don't do debt and keep an emergency fund.

--Michelle

**baxjul** · 08-19-2007, 01:52 PM

I would say around 5 years ago. I wanted to be able to live on one income, and not have to work. So I started while working, so that it wouldn't be a shock when I finally quit. Now, I don't have to work. I do cash jobs and bank the money into a savings account.

**amecoy75002** · 08-19-2007, 04:24 PM

I grew up in a very frugal family. When I got out on my own I went a bit crazy and then I married a spender!!! We have always lived simply, but not always frugaly - so I am back on course now.

**AmyBoz** · 08-19-2007, 04:43 PM

26 when I began frugality. DH and I were dating for quite some time and he expressed his concern over my debt and said that he wouldn't want to get engaged to someone who carried that kind of debt and then inherit it when we married. You've never seen someone pay off a debt so fast.

Then, when I was pregnant with dd, I kicked it into high gear, knowing that I was going on maternity leave. I've never looked back since then.

**cheappearls** · 08-19-2007, 05:22 PM

It started to show when I was 17, newly married and pregnant but really kicked in last year, around my 20th birthday mainly because I was just tired of worrying. So I'm hoping that by January we will be (mostly) worry free.

**cab54** · 08-19-2007, 05:31 PM

I grew up poor in a big family so we were always pinching. We had a big garden, dad got a a side of beef from someone he knew cheap each year, and some chickens and pork. We ate well, but simply, and mom and I canned vegetables and made jam.

Then I worked to put myself through nurses' training, and then paid for my own wedding (dh was still working his way through the last sem. of school). That required major frugality.

When dh started his own business a few years later, we were really living day to day for awhile, and so that entered in. Then his business took off and we learned to be pretty 'spendy'. Our kids got into a rather pricey college and I began to tighten the purse strings again. Now that dh will be retiring soon, I am determined to live as carefully as possible, even though it isn't truly a necessity, anymore. We found out in our more-money days that it doesn't buy happiness.

It buys a complicated life.