Being
frugal….
I
have always subscribed to this philosophy.
I come from a long line of individuals who, having had nothing and also
having survived the Depression, managed to scratch and claw their way into
being able to provide roofs over the heads of their loved ones, food on the
table, books to read and an education.
For some, these tasks proved daunting and couldn’t be exacted on a daily
or even weekly basis. But they were determined
so kept at it, their goals always in sight.
It
comes as no surprise to me that I adopted many of these relatives ingrained
beliefs on what’ important in life—really important. One is that since we work so darned hard to
earn our money, it makes sense to work as, if not harder, when spending
it. What does this mean? Simple.
Why spend twice or three or sometimes even more for a product when a
little shopping around reveals amazing deals?
Why toss out the leftover coffee in the pot? There’s nothing wrong with it. Why not simply reheat it the next day? When seeking the items we need, not only is
it fun but incredibly cost-efficient to find those items at thrift stores or
for sale by individuals placing ads for them.
Where one has leftovers after eating out, why not have them boxed up and
eat them the following day for lunch or a light dinner?
It
never ceases to amaze me how exorbitantly wasteful many are. Seems to be an almost disease with
Americans—not all…but enough. Some would
argue that doing the things I’ve mentioned takes time—time they don’t
have. Hmmm…let’s take a closer look at
that. Does it take more or less time to
reheat leftover coffee and food than it does to make new pots or cook entire
meals? It takes less. This provides an
opportunity for the individual to not only save, but to also have a little down
time—a valuable commodity in today’s hectic world. And what about shopping around for those
items we need at thrift stores, etc. instead of going online and clicking
“buy”? Again, with a little ingenuity,
something my relatives were rich in, one can redirect these projects as outings
that might replace sitting on the sofa and watching TV or playing endless
rounds of video games, etc.
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