Henry David Thoreau included a chapter titled “Economy” in his book Walden. I’m not Thoreau, nor do I claim to even approach his literary facility, but I thought writing a single post about frugality early on in the days of this blog might be interesting. If frugality, simple living, and saving money aren’t of interest to you, feel free to skip this post.
Most people who think about frugality try to think of ways to buy stuff for less money. For example, they might look for soft drink or energy drink coupons so that they can buy their favorite root beer for less. They don’t understand that no matter how good the A&W Root Beer coupons are, they’ll never be as cheap as not drinking the root beer altogether and drinking water instead.
So the first rule of frugality, as far as I’m concerned, is learning how to consume less. In a world where you can get a glass of water from the tap for almost nothing, wasting money on soft drinks isn’t frugal. Heck, for that matter, if you absolutely MUST have flavored drinks, consider adding a lemon to your water. Lemons are usually pretty inexpensive. Or drink iced tea instead. Tetley Tea coupons can make an already frugal drink choice even more affordable. Iced tea is FAR cheaper to purchase than any kind of soft drink.
And even if you do place a high value on sugary carbonated water, think about where you buy it and how much you pay for it. If you just choose to eschew the soft drinks at restaurants and movie theaters, you can save a bundle each year. One splurge that my wife and I allow ourselves every week is a trip to the movie theater. A soft drink there is going to cost a minimum of $3 for each of us. By skipping the soda pop, we save $6 a trip. That doesn’t sound like much, but over the course of a year, it’s $300+.
But wait a minute, you might say. What are you doing going to restaurants and movie theaters when you just explained that the heart of frugality means NOT buying things?
It’s unrealistic to think that you’re going to just stop buying stuff altogether. People do work, and people do spend money. But when it comes to spending money, the trick is to learn something about mindfulness. Mindless spending is wasteful.
On the other hand, MINDFUL spending is worthwhile. My wife and I derive a great deal of pleasure from our weekly movie outings, and these outings enhance our lives. But most people who drink a lot of soda pop just guzzle the things without even paying attention to what they taste like.
I’d rather spend the extra money to get a Dublin Dr. Pepper or a Mexican Coca-Cola made with real sugar cane and REALLY enjoy my soft drink than suck down endless amounts of corn syrup sweetened beverages. That’s an authentic and mindful choice, and that’s what makes it frugal.
If you’re interested in some good books on the subject, try reading Your Money or Your Life, The Tightwad Gazette, and/or Possum Living.