Money Management

The first step in striving to be frugal is changing your mindset.  As you learn to develop a frugal mindset, making frugal decisions will become a natural way of life.

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1. Be grateful for what you have.

Part of frugal living for us is striving to be debt free and live on less than we make.  Often this requires us to make small sacrifices.  If we focus on all of the things we don’t have, we never see how blessed we really are. (Instead of wishing we had a dishwasher, we can be grateful that we have clean running water to wash our dishes with.)

This concept can be applied at all stages of life and wealth.  I agree with Dave Ramsey, “You can always spend more than you make.”   If you live your life with an attitude of gratitude, you will always be happy. I would apply this quote from the movie Cool Runnings,  “If you are not enough without it, you will never be enough with it.”

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2. Don’t give up what you want most for what you want now.

If our decisions were based on our current wants instead of our long term goals, Daniel would still have his truck, and we would be making a monthly car payment instead of saving towards our goals.  When we focus on our long term goal of being debt free and self reliant,  we are able to make the best decision instead of the most convenient decision.

Sometimes the answer is to simplify, or learn to do with out.   As we focus on what matters most and set long term goals, we can enjoy the journey without being side tracked by something that merely seems important now but distracts from our desired destination.

3. Control your finances

Having a written budget is not just about saving money, though it helps with that too.  Having a budget helps you to be more prepared and self reliant.  Many people cringe at the mention of a budget, but having a budget can be fun.  If you are new to budgeting,  keep it simple.  Try out different budgeting techniques until you find something that works for you.

Remember, having a budget does not mean that you can’t spend any money.  It means you know where and how much of your money you are spending.

Being aware of our finances helps us to make wiser decisions.  We know what we can and cannot afford.  We know how much income we need to cover our basic bills.  We know what savings goals the extra income will go towards.

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“It is not the man who has little, but he who desires more, that is poor.”

-Seneca A.D. 40 (Eric Tyson)

Last weekend I excitedly scanned a few of the books I “bought” for free from the Amazon Kindle store (I don’t have a kindle, but I downloaded the free app for PCs).  This quote jumped out at me.

It is easy to get stuck in a mental rut and focus on everything we don’t have.  It is refreshing to take a step back and realize how blessed we really are.  It is contentment with what we have not a collection of stuff that brings real happiness.

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Daniel and I had a little purple spatula we received for a wedding present.  We used it pretty much every day for two years until it finally broke. (I looked all over the internet, but I could not find a picture of the spatula in the correct color.  It was like the one above, but purple.)

Our next shopping trip we stopped at Bed Bath and Beyond to get a new one. We found the exact same spatula would cost us $8. That seemed like a lot for a small convenience.

We decided that we did not need that exact spatula; we could probably get one like it at the dollar store and save $7. On the way to the dollar store we had the real epiphany. Though we had lived our whole married life with the spatula- we really did not need it. We had other spatulas that would work just fine.

As we reached this conclusion, Daniel said, “That’s the best coupon- just don’t buy it.”

Before you buy something, take a minute and evaluate your purchase.  Do you really need or want it?  Will the purchase fit in your monthly budget and savings goals?  Is there a better place that money could be spent?

You may find that your greatest savings come from simply not purchasing items that you really don’t need.

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One day I was listening to Disney songs and I heard Baloo’s song from the movie The Jungle Book.  I realized that his silly song was based on a very true principle.

“When you go on not thinkin’ about it and realize you can live without it… the bear necessities of life will come to you”

Baloo really had a good point.  Simplify.

There are so many things that we often classify as needs that are really conveniences or wants.   You can live on less.  You can learn to do without to stick to your budget. You don’t need to have all the latest gadgets.

This is not a principle you hear a lot in today’s materialistic world.  It may seam difficult to simplify.  You might be used to having a lot of stuff.  When you take a moment and look back and evaluate your simplified life, you might be surprised to realize that you can live a simple, frugal life and be perfectly happy.

For more frugal living ideas, visit Frugal Friday.

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