How long have you been living simply?

**Simple Living Mom** · 06-19-2007, 07:13 PM

Hope it's ok to start a new thread. This is only my second post.

How long have you all been living simply? What made you change? Did you go cold turkey or make changes slowly over time?

I've been living simply for 10 years now because I married my dh who grew up in a simple home and it was a real value to him. We choose early on to work part time, to live in a small, clutter free house, to celebrate life and live with gratitude rather than desire. I love my life but I confess sometimes I feel really different from my friends and family. It would be nice to chat with others who are on the simple living journey too.

**Its_Donna** · 06-19-2007, 07:46 PM

I was raised in a simple and frugal home. My mom raised 5 kids all by her self...my dad left us when I was about 7. So things were always tight but my mom made due.

My husband grew up 3 blocks from me and was my oldest brothers' runnin buddy...I have known my DH literally all my life. He grew up the same way...they had 6 kids in his household but when DH was about 13...he got a step-dad..who was mean and a drunk. DH left home when he was 15.

We both are used to being frugal. We got a little carried away with our finances and lived high on the hog for about 5 years...we decided the 1st of this year to get back to basics and live simply...now and forever. We have a nice home, have good jobs and are now planning to grow old together..stress-free and debt-free. I LUV the Simple Life

**Edna_E** · 06-19-2007, 10:05 PM

I grew up in a totally stressed out home with much focus on appearances and competition. Then, in my 20's, I married a man who was very much into display of wealth (twice - 2 different men). Then I thought about what was important to me, and that just isn't it. I am living on less than half what my job a decade ago is paying (and they keep asking me to come back) but am not catching red-eye flights and don't have to dress up for work and work fewer hours and eat what/when I want and am just more relaxed. I also think it was important to me to show my son that life can be enjoyable without having to spend a lot of money. He told me that some of his favorite HS memories are of times that we went down to the Beach and threw a football together - Hearing that is one of MY favorite memories. In all fairness, living simply is a progressive thing with me - I keep giving up something new, and liking it, and then looking for something else to give up.

**flowergirl** · 06-20-2007, 12:26 AM

I grew up in house with 4 kids we were not poor but my parents with frugal dad saved enough to live well for over 20 years retired they still have money not rich but enough there health is not good so if they have to go in a nursing home this may change fast but they saved and we took vacations but my dad fixed everything we had the same couch for years we did not have lots of fancy stuff but enough . I have not always been good with money my first hd was not good with it either and we did not do well thank god my present hd is good with money we stuggle at times cause of things beyond our control but with his help I have learned to live frugal and simple I have had tightwade gazette for years but now I take notes and do alot of the things in it I don't try to keep up with jones they are all in dept up to there suvs . We plan to move to the country someday and live simple there .

**bumplett** · 06-20-2007, 01:56 AM

oh wow - this is harder than I thought -

with all of the stories of growing up in a frugal household - ugg, I didn't - I'm the complete opposite of my parents ~ every time my mom "remodels" a room, I'm first in line for the hand-me-downs

so - I don't know what led me here, but I like where I am ~ and I don't want to want anymore than I have - if that makes sense??

**BeyondFrugal** · 06-21-2007, 07:08 PM

I learned some frugality growing up, although it was just how people did things back then.

I worked off and on during my marriage. Always low paying jobs. I have no skills. And I made lousy grades through school, so college and higher paying jobs was not in the cards for me. My small paychecks put us in a higher tax bracket, required two vehicles, double insurance, and costlier food. There really wasn't much left over.

The last job I had was at a nursing home laundry and I kept getting sick. They fired me. That was over three years ago. After that I started using the frugal skills I had, learned more, and I am so much happier now.

I am on a much better diet, for one thing. I think that's what was making me sick. I used to come home from work exhausted and just eat junk for dinner, or take out.

The down side to staying home is I don't see or hear from many people. Old friends are living in a different world to me. I think they think I'm from Mars anymore.

One interesting thing I've discovered in the last three years of being "away from it all" is that something in my brain has stirred and kicked in a sort of primitive thinking. For example- I needed more fence last year to keep the chickens out of the garden. With no money for fence I mulled on it for a few days then decided I could pile up downfall and branches and call it a fence. It doesn't look nice to some, but it's a fence and it works. Plus I got a lot of exercise. I'm proud of my fence, it didn't cost a thing.

I guess what I'm trying to say is this- the journey of frugality is an adventure. It has it's ups and downs, like anything, but there's just something about it that I can't put into words. Whatever it is, I like it

-Elaine

**FrugalMomof3** · 06-21-2007, 07:31 PM

Well for me, I actually only became frugal about a year or 2 ago, but growing up my mom raised me as a single parent and times were hard... my father paid child support for me, which wasn't much but we made do, I too always got hand me downs, I dont remember ever getting anything new unless my dad bought it for me.

Then I got married at 17 and while money was ok life wasnt, long story.

I met my current DH who well wasnt rich or even middle class growing up but always had what he needed, now years ago we got ourselfs into MAJOR debt and worked sooooo hard to pay things off, for about 2 years now, we've learned to cut costs and still have what we need and sometimes what we want.

Now that DH is unemployed and collecting unemployment we are living on even less but I KNOW we can do it and it doesnt bother me at all, as long as the bills are paid, I am happy.

I will continue to be frugal but I wont be able to put anything into an EF or anything else like that for a while but like I said if bills are paid I am happy.