And I think you, Trent, may be one of the best examples that I can “touch”. You spend time read and write as part of your job – hey, I run my PF blog in my spare time. You may be prepping ideas for a post while also prepping dinner.

AWESOME – 2 birds meet 1 stone.

Balance is a wonderful thing and it is made even easier when we’re balancing mostly enjoyable tasks and activities.

Keep up the good work and contine to serve as an example for us all.

Dave

As long as there are more good days than bad ones, it’s a place worth being. If the scales tip the other way it’s time to move on.

I like the way to carry out how important the frugality is. The more frugal we are, the more choices we can have in our jobs.

I can see that this is slightly different from what we usually think – Work hard in a job we dislike and spend money on something because we deserved to do it.

For example, many people will go for an expensive travel or buy a luxurious car because they work so hard and deserve all this thing. However, this let them greatly in debt and lose their freedom in choices.

So just like what you said, it really depends on our mind and thoughts to determine what our life will be.

I was surprised to see that you send your children to daycare. What are your reasons for choosing daycare over taking care of your children at home? It seems to me like you would save money and get more quality time with your kids by keeping them at home. Personally, I think I would prefer keeping my (hypothetical) kids at home (if they are pre-K age). But I don’t have kids, and I don’t know how difficult it would be for you to complete your work while watching the kids.

I completely agree with you regarding frugality and work. Because of our frugal lifestyle, I can work part-time and do things I really love, like teach at a local college and spend time working on my blog. I love my job; I’m much less stressed out and have more time to take care of things around the house so my husband and I can enjoy more time together. It’s a beautiful thing.

1. You hate your job, but you need/want the money.
2. You spend more money to compensate for that unhappiness.
3. Back to Point 1.

Never have truer words been written. I once had a job that caused me to even hate my days off because I’d spend them unhappy, dreading the return to work. I took a pay cut to get away – leaving behind money, vacation, and a steady M-F 8-5 schedule, and two years later am still glad I did.

Your comments about frugality in this post are true, but I think you missed an important point. Before you decide to go frugal, you absolutely have to have a concrete plan to either cut back your time at work or change jobs. Otherwise you’ll be getting hit from two fronts at once: a lousy job and a life of self deprivation.

I don’t know why, yesterday I was looking back at some of your old posts about your schedule… I was horrified to think of you getting up at 4:15 or 4:30… Glad you have arranged your life to “sleep in” till 6:30 these days. That sounds like something a person could live with long-term, whereas the other sounded like… torture.

I love my job and the path I’m on, but that does not mean I dont live frugally either. If you hate your job, the first thing you should ask yourself it WHY are you still there?

Thanks Trent! Great post.

“That positivity and negativity of thought affects everything in our lives. If we’re miserable in our jobs, that misery gradually flows through our life. If we love our jobs, that joy gradually flows through our life, too. That affects everything throughout your life – your health, your personal relationships, and eventually your job, too.”

I’m lucky that I’ve learned early on in my life that I must be working at a job I enjoy. I highly enjoy writing and challenging people with financial concepts that they can use in their own lives. This is my dream. My conversation with you regarding PlainCents.com helped give me the push to keep going. Thanks for your thoughtful article today!