This is a post I’ve had sitting awhile waiting to be written and with Four Pillar’s recent post “What Does Frugal Mean To You?” I’ve decided to actually write it.  Now FP lists some common interpretations of frugality and does a good job looking at them from different perspectives. I just wanted to add how they apply to me:

• I spend less than I use to - I don’t really know because I try and not look at what I spend month to month even though I have a budget
• I spend as little as possible - I think I do this already but I’m sure someone else could probably find more ways for me to save
• I expend effort and time to be frugal - I try not too. I rather spend my time doing something more productive like sleeping on the couch
• I save a lot - I save 30% of my income….is that a lot ?

So how do I define frugal?

Well the dictionary definition of frugal contains a lot of words like meager, scanty, thrifty and chary. These are great but there is one problem, they don’t provide any bounds or context. Without bounds or context you have no measure as to what is frugal. My definition gives  both context and bounds as well a new synonym for frugal. Here it is:

Frugal

- Creative (synonym) ways to saving that allows you to achieve your financial goals (context) while maintaining a desirable lifestyle for yourself (bounds).

Bounds and Context

By setting financial goals you can put your frugality into context.   You are truly frugal if the decisions you make have a significant impact in meeting your financial goals.  You could save 50 cents on detergent and call yourself frugal but whats the point? How much closer would you really be to retiring with a million dollars? If you want to be frugal then find ways to save that have real impact. Now there is the tendency for frugality to go amiss.  Setting certain lifestyle expectations and making sure your frugality doesn’t impact those expectations will lead to an enjoyable life for your self. Why go through all the hassle of being frugal if your miserable all the time. Remember YOU run your life, not your frugality.

The principal of pay yourself 10% first before you start spending is in essence a frugal decision. By saving 10% you will have that real impact on your goals with the remainder of your money to live your life the way you want to.

Why is creative a synonym for frugal?

Well you’ve gone through the trouble of setting your financial goals and you’ve decided there is a certain lifestyle you would like to live while meeting those goals.  The problem here is that your goals and your lifestyle may not necessarily work in tandem and this is where being creative comes into play.  It requires creative ways to save in order to maintain your lifestyle while meeting your financial goals. It’s this creativity that will keep everything balanced and working together.

As an example, I’ve been struggling to cut down my spending on coffee at Tim Hortons.  I was spending at least $5 a day which is about $1825 over the course of a year.  For a long time I manage to drink the swill from the machine at work (you can image how bad it is if Tim Hortons is a step up) but eventually I couldn’t stomach the stuff anymore. I had to find a better solution. I tried freeze dried coffee which is the stuff I grew up on. I think it tastes better than Tim’s but for some reason I couldn’t get it to taste right at work. I then tried a french press but I found it a bit of a hassle having to go back and fourth to the kitchen. I ultimately settled on a small coffee maker at my desk. I just get the water from the cooler nearby and I’m good to go. For me this was a creative solution for a financial dilemma that will have a significant impact in achieving my financial goals while maintaining the coffee-drinking lifestyle I want. It was truly a frugal moment.

Conclusions

This is the definition that I think of when I think of frugal and is how I currently run my life.  I find creative ways to save money that has a real impact without having to turn my life upside down. I can say that up until recently my life was in balance. The whole “spend $100 a month” thing is not working out and I am now frugally burnt out but that is an article for tomorrow.

-mfd-

Related posts:

1. Memories From A Frugal European Upbringing
2. Debt Repayament - Feel The Rush
3. Frugal Tip - A Big Mac My Way
4. Attempting One Of My Financial Goals
5. Failure Is Not An Option - How To Make That Goal Happen!