A frugal life is a rich life
Frugality is often confused with “poverty”, “cheap” or “scarcity”, not having enough. And in a way that’s explainable, because need and necessity are often the initial sparks which make us do with what we’ve got. The ongoing economic crisis has forced even previously well-off people to consider their lifestyle.
Consumerism is out – frugality is in
But frugality is much more than making ends meet. It’s a lifestyle, a conscious choice to live economically within our environmental and social context. Instead of exploiting and wasting resources on things which end up cluttering our lives, we can take a step back and free ourselves from what we don’t need.
Freedom is in fact one of the great benefits of a frugal lifestyle. Experiencing how little we need boosts our self-confidence and gives us inner safety. Having less helps us focus on what we have already and what we really want – instead of chasing and taking what we can get.
Living frugally and giving freely is quite the opposite of a “poor” mindset 🙂
This week I feature a blog I discovered right in time for this post (meaning today): Notes From The Frugal Trenches – A Downshifting Journey
I hope you enjoy “Frugal Trenches” as much as I do 🙂
Maria
Image source: publicphoto.org forest dump, green woods
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- Reflections: Life In Moderation… (eof737.wordpress.com)
Create The World You Want 
Thank you…I linked into “Frugal Trenches”….what helpful ideas are in that site. I like that idea of learning to become more aware of and recognizing our “gifts” and finding ways of sharing those gifts with others, very special.
And shifting into a more frugal lifestyle and experiencing how little we actually need…that’s an awareness I’m shifting into, too…slowly, but steadily. It’s actually a big surprise to become aware of how little I need, instead of that perpetual “chasing and taking”. I like how you phrase it: “having less helps us focus on what we have already and what we really want – instead of chasing and taking what we can get.”
Thank you!
This is probably the most valuable insight my parents and grandparents taught me: Having passed through rough times in general is a great confidence booster – the next time we know we can do it 🙂 And “needing” less makes us so much more flexible and resistant to brainwash ;).
Great point; being frugal is sensible, as long as we are clear about the reason for our frugality; to use only what we need. Then, we share some of our extras and hold some for the future. That is fine… Depriving ourselves of what we can afford to enjoy is not frugality but something else… Cheap and stingy are in a different category though cheap is such a generic word it covers everything from frugal to stingy. Great post. TY! 🙂
You’re absolutely right: Depriving ourselves just for the sake of deprivation means taking the joy out of life. Realising and enjoying what we’ve got as long as we’ve got it is appreciation of life – “happy gratefulness”. Thank you, Eliz!