Why are you frugal?

[shepav]

THis is something that I've been thinking about lately. I think that I am naturally frugal, as I learned this growing up (we didn't have a lot of extra money). Now my dh works fulltime as mechanical engineer and I stay home with our dd. We have very cheap rent that includes all utilities, and our only debt is my student loans (I CANNOT wait to get rid of Sallie Mae!).

My frugal-ness to is to get out of debt and perhaps buy a house in the future, but it's also to give more. I feel like we've been blessed to have a decent income, and it'd be great to give to someone who isn't able to have the extra disposable income.

Does this make sense? To save money in order to give it away?

Why are you frugal?

[CityChic]

I am frugal because my mom was frugal. I was raised to be frugal and it isn't something I can "shake".

At this point in time I am frugal because we have a plan! We are planning to be 100% debt free by 2010. We have student loan debt from my husband and are working very hard to try and pay it off.

We are also frugal because we as a family have a goal to not be consumers. Our goal is to enjoy what we have but not be consumed by our goods. We will see how that goes as we grow!

[CrunchyDoula]

We are frugal because we have no other choice. I stay at home with our DD and my husband works, so therefore we don't have a lot of 'extra' money. Our goal is to be out of debt by the end of this year and then start saving 12 months of living expenses and then start saving for a home. I am very set on our goals and will do anything to accomplish them!

[Amys1st]

I and DH were both raised by frugal parents. His parents have 9 children, they had to be. My parents started their family young so they also were as well. My parents as we grew had more money but with 4 kids, they could not say yes to anything we wanted of course.

Now, we have 2 sets of healthy grandparents who are both retired because they had the foresight to save for retirement and do without so they could have it now in their 60s (mine) and 70s (dh's parents).

We learned from their example. We have a growing retirement, no debt (but our mortgage) and excellent credit.

I became more frugal as I have gotten older, mainly because we enjoy the more simple lifestyle. I enjoy being able to sleep at night, having a comfortable home and its also a huge creative outlet and learning experience.

[scrapadoozer]

Well, we have two reasons: 1) We have to be. DH makes a decent living but I stay at home. 2) My mom was very frugal and I've naturally just taken after her in that respect. DH is not at all frugal and his behavior can sometimes rub off on me but I feel the most comfortable and at peace when I am being my true frugal self.

[wendizbaby]

I'm frugal because: 1. I envy people who have savings and investments and not a lot of debt; 2. I worry too much about security for my family and I'm tired of worrying; 3. My mother does not have ONE CENT saved up for her retirement and now that she is in her 60's, I can see what kind of effect that has on someone; 4. I would like to give without worrying or stressing about how much I'm losing and needed to actually spend on my bills; and 5. I would like to feel like I really own my things.

Wendi

[mmace]

It started out as "I have to be!" - I became a single SAHM to three kids 4.5 years ago, and I was using every single penny to dig out of the debt my X left me in. I'm being totally serious when I say every. single. penny.

Now things are still tight - I'm still a single SAHM with three kids, but with child support, rental income and my part, part, part time job cleaning our church I'm bringing in $2k/month with a mortgage of just over $1k of that. So things are *obviously* still tight, but I've got more wiggle room than I have for years. But being frugal is a way of life for me now, I just can't see that changing!

[notwonamesalike]

We're the opposite. We're frugal because neither of our parent's were. We saw how difficult things were for them always trying to keep up with the Jones'. Taking out loans for Christmas, bouncing checks, trying to stay afloat until the next pay-day.

DH works full time, I stay home, we would, by the wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_middle_class definition be in the upper-middle class.

Yet we clip coupons, we try not to eat out, we thrift shop, we accept hand-be-downs. We line dry clothes. We use the library and net-flix for entertainment. We make our own baby food. My husband bikes to work. We have 6 -8 months worth of income in savings.

We're determined to avoid the pit-falls our parents faced - so we've been working very hard to save money and pay down debt. We want our son to understand the importance of living simply, to enjoy simply enjoy life - and not all the consumer entrapments society says we need to live with.

We do travel regularly - my husband and I pick a new country to visit all most every year - so much of our "mad" money gets squirreled away to use for vacation time. This past year, after the birth of our DS we stayed closer to home and took a ferry to visit British Columbia when he was 8 weeks old. It is worth it to me to live frugally most of the year so that we can continue to do the things we love, like exposing our child to different cultures and countries.

[notwonamesalike]

* oops double post.

[LilMama23]

We are frugal because we have no other choice. We make very little money and have a lot of debt.

[starling&diesel]

I grew up poor, envying my friends with 'plenty.'
Thankfully, I eventually realized 'plenty' didn't mean squat when it came to meaningful relationships or a blessed life.

Now, frugality is a way of honouring my upbringing with the respect it deserved all along. The resulting simplicity brings peace and calm to my life, when all around me I see people suffering in chaos and fear for their financial and spiritual lives.

[KariM]

1. Because we couldn't survive on DH's income if we weren't.

2. Because I want to be home with my children and also want to homeschool with them. (couldn't if I were out working - related to #1)

3. Because it's a fun challenge to see how much we can save and conserve.

4. Because it's often the "right" thing to do anyway. For my personal value system, using fewer resources, re-using items, buying second-hand, etc. is good stewardship anyway.

[jimblejamble]

Because I was raised this way and you never know what emergencies might pop up!

[doctormom]

1. Because I want to be debt-free, instead of feeling like we are living one crisis away from bankruptcy (our debt = huge student loans + mortgage)

2. Because I want the freedom to work because I WANT to, not because I HAVE to

3. Because I want to live according to my values - reducing waste and only buying what we need, living simply and mindfully

4. Because I would love to be in a position to give loads of money to organizations whose philanthropic missions I support

5. Because getting a great deal is TOTALLY exciting for me, I love finding bargains and saving money

[Ruthiegirl]

Originally Posted by KariM

1. Because we couldn't survive on DH's income if we weren't.

2. Because I want to be home with my children and also want to homeschool with them. (couldn't if I were out working - related to #1)

3. Because it's a fun challenge to see how much we can save and conserve.

4. Because it's often the "right" thing to do anyway. For my personal value system, using fewer resources, re-using items, buying second-hand, etc. is good stewardship anyway.

Well said. This describes our situation perfectly.

[SoHappy]

We're frugalistas, but it's basically because we don't believe in many of the things people spend their money on, and I don't believe in debt. I'm really uncomfortable with the rabid overconsumption that surrounds us. So I use homemade products, buy lots of used stuff, and save a lot of money.

[Smokering]

Broke.

[skai]

I grew up in a very poor household, so my frugality is kind of ingrained. For a while (before my going back to school) we were a double-income no-kids family and actually did quite well. What I noticed then was that I could not turn off my frugality. Which is kind of useful, since now we're one income again and it's best to be careful with money.

Also: I really dislike the blatant consumerism in today's (western) society.

[2babybees]

It started because my then dp was not frugal at all and our money seemed to just disappear. I still had to be responsible and make sure the power was on. I got pretty resourceful. Then I left him and became fulltime single mom. I have savings and make my bills but those years of creditors calling, checks bouncing and living on the brink have forever changed my perspective on spending. I want my kids to see responsible spending and living. I hate consumerism.

[noahandlinasmom]

I hate to waste! My dad is kinda frugal and simple, but does not ever accumulate money because he spends it on what he really wants. He is an inventor and contractor, and uses all his money on his projects. He never has a lot of stuff though, and likes living in a small travel trailer. His life has always been exciting and fun because he can just pack up and go whenever he wants, wherever he wants. Of course, he never raised a family though. My mom and step dad on the other hand were poor, not frugal. They were poor because of all their wastefulness. They would just buy dumb stuff, eat out, and were constantly in debt. My mother still has a very improvished mindset, in that money and stuff equal happiness, and when she can't afford her wants she becomes depressed and would rather go shopping than pay a utility bill. I don't like all the materialism in our country and too much stuff really overwhelms me. I like to shop occasionally, but if I get too much new stuff I get stressed. So mostly I am frugal, because of the simplicity of life, however, we also have had to learn to be frugal because of income, but I love it! What a fun challenge. My husband doesn't really like it, he thinks we would be happier if we had more money. I am mostly content with our budget right now, and am hoping that as our income continues to grow, that our budget will stay the same so that we can have a debt free life, a good savings, and fund the many adoptions we are hoping for in the future.