Comments on: Frugality and Feeling Deprived

By: John Miller

John Miller — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 21:47:03 +0000

Read The Affluent Society by John Kenneth Galbraith. Great insight into macroeconomic effects of “non”-frugality.

By: Maha

Maha — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 21:21:26 +0000

Living frugally and feeling deprived is a matter of perspective. As one commenter said, he’d rather take a taxi than a bus. I can afford a taxi, but I much prefer the bus. There’s just something giddy about it. My favorite bus rides have been in other countries, where I got the chance to meet the locals, so to speak. My other favorite bus rides are ones with my kids. They think it’s a hoot.

By: banking deal community

banking deal community — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 06:23:07 +0000

One of the first things most people discover when they try to live a frugal lifestyle is that extreme frugality is almost impossible to live with long term. It’s a lot like dieting. You can cut back on what you eat in a sensible way that you can live with happily for the rest of your life

By: EJ

EJ — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 16:58:26 +0000

All my life I have been very frugal. Our friends use to call me cheap because I’d rather have a drink and nice meal at home rather then spend a fortune going to 5 star restaurants with them.

We’ve always lived on less and only bought what we needed. I think people have forgotten how to enjoy life without spending money. We paid off our first house in 10 yrs. and our second house in 8. The house we live in now was paid off in 5.

When my husband was laid off in 2006 at age 59 we decided it was okay not to go back to work.

Our friends who thought we were cheap, still have mortgages and would love to retire but can’t.

By: Courtney

Courtney — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 04:01:55 +0000

Handmade toys make great gifts – Easter and Christmas are coming! ;) My MIL made my 15-month-old daughter some awesome toys when she was a bit younger. They are all washable, dryable, colorful…and often had rattles inside. (a bell in a plastic box works well!) A knit covering over a cloth ball is great for little fingers, too. Plus, I wasn’t worried about lead paint, or melamine. And, it was eco-friendly to repurpose old fabric.

By: Denise

Denise — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 04:55:50 +0000

I absolutely disagree with the post above that says frugality is about being self-deprived and that those who are frugal should just accept that. My husband and I make a great living and view frugality as using our money to obtain the most value. That means, if I want a certain product, I shop around and find the best price so that I know we haven’t wasted money. Or if there is something we want to see or experience, finding a way to do so that gets us the most bang for our buck. We buy things of quality. So, we can have all the fancy things we want AND have a lot of money saved in the bank for emergencies and for retirement because we’ve been thoughtful about how we spend. We have peace of mind. I bet a lot of people who frown on frugality can’t say the same.

By: Cory

Cory — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 21:34:30 +0000

Regarding expensive is better… I’ve been learning lately that sometimes the “old fashioned” way of doing things can beat the pants off the “new” way.

We just got a nice new cast iron skillet from our niece. She didn’t want it because it wasn’t T-Fal. I love it. Properly seasoned it is just as non stick (for some foods) and I never have to worry about what kind of utensils we use in it. It’s not always better than a good non-stick pan, but getting rid of it because it wasn’t the expensive option was a mistake.

I’ve also found I get a much better shave from a double-edge razor like you mentioned in a past article than I ever did with multi-blade cartridges. Plus new blades are only $0.20 each vs $1.80-$3.00 each the way they are with some models. And I’m having a minimal impact on the environment. Don’t feel deprived at all.

By: Cory

Cory — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 21:27:53 +0000

@Bill in Houston – We have used vinegar quite a bit lately but not with the idea of it doing the fabric softener’s job (will have to check that out!) I’ve noticed no vinegar smell but I suppose if you used enough you might. The reason we’ve used it is that it seems to cut just about any other smell out in the clothes.

A musty pair of swim trunks we couldn’t get the odor out of before came out completely odorless after using some vinegar in the washer.

By: Kathy

Kathy — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 20:17:49 +0000

In the midst of a pity party, I was bemoaning the fact that “all these kids” (which after 40 seems to be an awful lot of people) had newer cars and newer cell phones and Tivo and better computers and iPods and…here I was with a “good” job driving a 7 year old Ford Focus, no computer, and a three year old cell phone.

Until I remembered that “these kids” had massive debt and worked three jobs. Which is its own kind of deprivation.

By: Bill in Houston

Bill in Houston — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 19:20:35 +0000

Trent, I gotta ask, “Doesn’t the vinegar as fabric softener make your clothes smell… like vinegar?”

That’d be my only real qualm. Instead of fabric softener we buy the 200 count dryer sheets at Costco. Costs about two cents a dryer load. No, we don’t air dry our clothing because it is against homeowner association rules.

Keep up the good work.

By: Frugal Liz

Frugal Liz — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 17:58:33 +0000

My husband and I are frugal all year so that we can go on 2 awesome vacations without having to dip into our long term savings account. We have a separate bank account for our “vacation fund” and it’s fun watching it grow every month. Our goal this year is to get it to $3,000 by October. So far we have $1,700!

By: Carrick

Carrick — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 17:22:28 +0000

I totally agree, Trent. In addition to it being fun to imagine you’re living more like “Little House on the Prairie”, I think that getting to feel smug about it in another fun reward as well. :) Just as driving a Prius makes people feel smug (at least according to South Park), I totally feel smug about things like the fact that most of the clothing I own are several years old, making my own lunch and bringing it to work in a reusable container, etc. And the fact that most of these things coincide with helping the environment makes me feel even smugger. :D

By: kz

kz — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 16:46:59 +0000

@viola : I feel the same way about watching everyone else cutting back and (largely) complaining about having to do so. My husband and I live frugally all the time, so this is nothing new to us. Other than feeling a little less secure in my job and watching gas prices dive, this recession hasn’t affected me in the least. I feel badly for those who are seriously affected, but some of those are the same folks who gave me a hard time for being frugal when times were good.

By: Kate

Kate — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 16:36:27 +0000

I echo the sentiments of Cynthia and Amanda B.: It would be great to see your wife’s stuffed animals and, assuming she used patterns that weren’t copyrighted, to get the instructions.

Your thoughts on the “deprived” mindset were right on the money (pun intended), too! Kate

By: Nancy

Nancy — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 16:26:25 +0000

I’d also like to add my request for patterns or how-to on the stuffed animals out of sweaters! They would be so fun to make!

By: Catherine

Catherine — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 16:26:07 +0000

I’ve never posted here before, but just had to ‘third’ the request for info on stuffed animals! I, too, get a lot of pleasure out of recycling things. I turned my bro’s old t-shirt collection, and old flannel sheets, into a stack of fitted cloth diapers for my baby, and I felted and sewed pieces of wool sweaters for use as covers. Sounds corny, but every time I change his diaper I’m happy that I’m saving $, not sending a paper diaper to the landfill, and re-using t-shirts that would’ve been thrown away otherwise. I then used the smaller wool scraps and scrap leather to make soft-soled ‘robeez-type’ shoes for him. The shoes are free, cute, and it’s a pleasure to see your child using something you made for him by hand. I COULD just buy him shoes at the store, but where’s the fun in that?

By: viola

viola — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 16:13:58 +0000

Oh I forgot to add that the feeling of deprivation comes from the change of spending to not spending all the time. Once you’re used to not spending, the deprivation feeling goes away.

By: viola

viola — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 16:11:23 +0000

About 5 years ago, while everyone else was buying a house to big and brand new cars and expensive furniture, I bought a regular size (but newer) house, still drove my paid-for car (has 155,000 miles on it now), and lived well below my means in order to save.

At first I felt deprived because I wasn’t doing what everyone else was doing. I felt like I worked hard to go through college & do well at work, and I deserved to live a nice life. Then a friend of mine got laid off, and I realized that what I deserved for my hard work was to have money in the bank, investments for my future, and peace of mind.

Now I see that other people really couldn’t afford that lifestyle anyways since they were spending more than they made. Now THEY are having to cut back on everything while I live just the same. Now THEY are the ones feeling deprived. The time to be frugal is not when you lose your job or the economy goes bad. The time to be frugal is ALL THE TIME, so that you’ll be prepared.

By: andrea peck

andrea peck — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 15:54:30 +0000

This post really gets to the heart of the matter – it is sometimes hard to be frugal, even if you love it, because of the looks/comments you get from people who don’t get it. This writing is timely to me, as I have become less concerned about others’ opinions and more joyful in my own saving! Thanks so much for underlining my thoughts! Also, would love a blog on stuffed animals also!!!

By: andrea peck

andrea peck — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 15:54:30 +0000