What made You decide on frugal living?

[Sophiasmama]

I was thinking of this yesterday on the stairclimber...yes to take my mind off browsing ebay and other sites that like my money...I've taken up working out. But my mind wanders as I climber nowhere lol...and wondered your reasons on the frugal life...My was...we make 150,000+ a year...and we were putting away just 9000.00 into savings for retirement...especially since we do not have a huge mortgage or car payments...I used to spend 1000.00 a month on my DD's clothes...no joking...for 2 years I did this...and then the reason I'd give myself was...well I resell them...and make the money to rebuy again...no I just bought more...so I started buying more used...off ebay...you can get a 'lot' of clothing...like 35 pieces...for 80-100 bucks...i was changed right there...started Dave Ramsy...and have not looked back. We are so thankful we got a wakeup call...before it was too late to save. In 25 years...because we lived like no one else,we WILL live like noone else. Sorry to be long winded. Janine

[NikoSan999]

In Oct 08' we crashed financially along with most of the world. Self employed and bout lost it all. Lost 2 houses, still living in one for now, about 2900 square feet...moving into a 40 year old trailer when we move that we are redoing as we can about 672 square ft.

We had been making around 170,000 a year and had savings etc. When Oct 08' hit all that ended. We even still tried to make both house payments but one ended Jan 09' when we couldn't do it anymore. We lost our car in Feb. We used all our savings and everything else we had to keep from the inevitable. Kept paying the bills, all of them. I would NEVER do that again tho, you can't bring a dead horse back to life So when we finally filed bankruptcy in April 10' we were dead butt broke trying to satisfy creditors...business and personal. This wasn't all credit cards. Both houses were over $4500 a month alone and I was jobless. I went from $69,000 a year myself to less than a $1000 month.
His not much better. This plus health insurance alone is $957 a month..

We gave up on the house Feb of 10'. Both went into bankruptcy with a Chapter 13 payback which we're doing. Only thing we kept was the business and business debt we affirmed.
I went back to work with a paycheck November with pay one third of what I was making before.

That was Oct 08' and I found this place I call home in Feb 09' and it was a lifesaver. I knew how to be frugal on my own from the past...just didn't practice it....but oh my, how much easier it was to do when you're with friends. And I learned how to be even more so. How to tweak it. I dropped my electric bill alone close to $175 a month.

So, what made me decide to be frugal? Stupidity, greed, finances, loss of everything we owned with exception of the business. The decision that this was NEVER going to happen again if it was something I could have some control over.

I quit posting on here for awhile out of depression but still lurked and read posts. I kept in contact with a few people. I finally decided it was time to kick depression to the curb and get on with life with friends who care and keep me grounded.

And I will NOT go back to being like we were no matter how much money...it can all disappear in a day.

[peanut]

I decided on frugal living to prove a point to my bean counter DH. He insisted I spent all the money in the family. I told him as I was responsible for running the household that would naturally be so. But it didn't sink in. He was not very nice about it. I actually avoided frugal living originally because he was a big turn off about it.

But then I discovered "The Complete Tightwad Gazette" and my life changed! Suddenly being frugal was a game! And one with rules I could understand! Amy D. introduced me to baby steps, and they made all the difference in the world.

That would be over 15 years ago now. We carry no debt, we own our house free and clear, we live on one income (which is not a high one), save for retirement, and we are able to do our hobbies and travel. Plus we eat a healthy diet. Not too shabby for DH's wage at all.

[frugalfranny]

It became mandatory when I was a single parent and I just have
not changed the lifestyle. A habit....easy to do now.

The lifestyle afforded me the opportunity to travel, buy homes, cars, etc. Very little sacrifice for many wonderful memories.

Give the credit 'for the knowledge' to my mother........she was
a frugal farm wife, so I knew what to do when the time came and I needed to do it.

[itsahumanzoo]

I did it so that I could be a mostly stay at home mom. I'm not college educated unfortunately, so my job options are limited and after paying child care I wouldn't have much leftover. I'm much less stressed the way things are now. I still work occasionally, but only on nights or weekends. And I make sure to plan ahead when I'm working so we have a dinner made instead of grabbing take out.

[Ceashels]

I grew up with it and never let it go. I've been poor due to a broken relationship but have always lived within my means. I am not a spender by nature (thankfully) and have always saved up for my wants.

[IntlMom]

I wasn't raised with it, and we don't NEED to be frugal...... but to me, it's just common sense. I have been a couponer since I was in high school... 25 yrs ago. It's just a part of who I am, and I like it that way. Hubby's the same way.

[shoiji]

I am on a very limited budget. By being frugal I can afford my rent, bills, and food. Keeping track lets me save up for the little extras I might want.

[Inkstain82]

2006 - a few years out of college, bills months overdue and barely keeping things from being shut off, appearing in court over non-payment of old debts. Just trying to scrape by on a lower-middle class income and failing utterly. Realize that two people who grew up poor have no idea what it means to manage your personal finances. We educated ourselves, and the difference was amazing.

[AliMac]

During my younger years I was always a good saver, but when I hit college I went on a spending spree. A boyfriend showed me how to use my debit card like a credit card and it was all downhill from there. Then I had my daughter and I felt that I had to buy her a bunch of stuff to show her how much she was loved because her father left us. I was spending more than I made every month and eating up all the savings I had accumulated. It was bad. When I realized I was too scared to access my bank accounts online because I didn't want to see the numbers I decided I needed to make a big change so I started looking online for ideas. The first several months were up and down, but the last three months have been really good (when I compare it to the "before" picture). I hope to keep getting better without going overboard and burning out. It really helps being able to read what everyone else is doing and how you guys have hard days too :-)

[joyofsix]

I grew up with it and never let it go. I've been poor due to a broken relationship but have always lived within my means. I am not a spender by nature (thankfully) and have always saved up for my wants.

Well that pretty much domes it up for me
too.

[BeachBaby]

We've raised a large family (7 kids) on less than $35,000 for years. We've not been on any assistance (not that it's bad if you really need it) - but because we were frugal we didn't need it.

We've never done credit cards, if we couldn't pay cash we just didn't get it. We've had some medical debt but that's it.

We've paid for the last 4 cars we've had with cash that we saved up. We've only had one car payment in the 21 years we have been married.

Following Dave Ramsey partly we're now on baby step 6. We also underbought on our house - smaller than most people would of settled on but $$ amount of what we were comfortable with.

[ravenmaniac]

I found FV googling frugal websites. Being on FV has been, for the most part, an enjoyable experience. I have learned a lot from others and like hearing their experiences and sharing mine.

I was frugal off an on after seeing Amy D. on Donahue. I was amazed at the way her family lived and how happy they were with their frugal lifestyle.

I was not raised frugal or taught how to manage money, but converting to frugality was kind of natural for me. The process was slow at first but it is very empowering to have control over your money and actually save.

Being frugal is fun. Finding good deals, making something from nothing, taking pride in seeing how long you can make something last, etc. are all part of my frugal game.

We will hopefully reach our goals and continue to live a good life.

[frugalfriend]

I don't know if I ever decided on it, or it was just ingrained in me. It always just seemed like common sense. My parents never had a lot, but we had a lot of love and happiness and everything we needed. I learned at a very young age to appreciate what I did have. I started making my own money when I was very young, babysitting, then first job at 15. I bought most of my own clothes, paid cash for my first car (a real beater!), and paid my way through college (tuition, books, car related expenses). It took 7 years because I worked full time for most of it, and went to school, but I had no debt when I graduated. I moved out at 21 and lived in an apartment with a roommate, and lived frugally to make it. All these experiences taught me to be responsible at a young age and shaped who I am today. We live debt free and with God's grace hope to keep it that way. It's all I've ever known.

[The Muse]

I've always been frugal. First in college because I was supporting myself and studying on scholarships, then after because then-DH was in grad school and things were tight. It's just how I've always done it. As our salaries increased, we didn't fall into the trap of upgrading our lifestyle to match.

We did splurge occassionally, we renovated the kitchen, we both drove Audis, I had nice jewelry, he had nice guitars and we both had nice computers and camera equipment, but we paid cash, didn't splurge often, and enjoyed the heck out of our few luxuries.

Now that I'm on my own again, I have a high net worth, but I still shop the cheapest places in town and buy my furniture, clothes, and housewares secondhand as much as possible. That's what I like, so that's what I do. He for the most part does the same.