Dennis and I are not what I would call "frugal" people. Not at all, really. We like getting a deal on something as much as most folks, but I would not say we have a frugal mindset.
Or, rather, we haven't.
In the past few months, I've been taking notice of the expendable and disposable nature of many of our daily choices in our lives. We have not been deliberate in using our resources, I'm ashamed to admit. And it is something we are working on changing. Our goal is to learn how to live on less than one income and it has been, rather abstractly, for some time. Now we are taking concrete steps towards that goal. Baby steps, but actual movement, nonetheless.
I've found a lot of inspiration from several places recently: Like Merchant Ships, Money Saving Mom, Frugal Hacks and Frugal Abundance. Most of the women who write at these sites are motivated to frugality less out of absolute necessity and more because of their personal philosophies and especially, their faith.
I am very appreciative of these people who challenge me to put faith into action in ways I've not considered, or have been lax in enacting. I'm realizing that the way I treat my resources -- and not just the money we earn -- but also my time and my talents and the treasure I have in possessions and, most importantly, people -- speaks volumes to the extent of my desire to follow Jesus with my whole self.
So I'm working on becoming a "frugal person" with a frugal mindset. I'll be letting you know how it goes.
3 comments:
this is interesting in light of the fact that my reiki practitioner recently told me that she thinks i have been granted fellowships because the school can tell i'm a frugal person who will make good use of their money. when i see all the water bottles and other junk lying around and know how poorly i care for some of my possessions... i can't apply this label to myself. or even when i think about how much money we've spent on chiropractic care, acupuncture, and reiki in the last year (though the reiki i've mostly paid for with extra money- like weddings, funerals, etc.) this too challenges my ability to conceive of myself as frugal.
i think i value frugality though. maybe that's what she perceived. maybe it is like the the MBTI- it is about preference more than behavior- like I have "J" impulses, but "P" behaviors.
sorry to run away with your comments, but i look forward to hearing how this journey unfolds for you and i should check out some of your links.
Sounds great April. I can't wait to "hear" what you've learned. :)
I'm looking forward to it too. You know we recently went down to 1-1/4 incomes (grin) and I've been doing well with being frugal on purpose. It's just a different mindset, I guess, and it takes time. One of my best tools in doing this is Quicken (any of those-type programs would work) because I assign categories for things, so I see at the end of the month how much I"ve spent on XYZ. Also, because I know if I write a check or use a debit/CC for it, I'll have to enter it, it makes me more accountable :)
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