The benefits of frugal simple living are so great that people who live this way find it hard to believe that anyone wouldn’t want to follow suit.
Living frugally doesn’t mean being poor or living as if you were poor. It simply means having a mentality other than “spend, spend, spend,” which is how so many Americans live these days.
"He that is of the opinion money will do everything
may well be suspected of doing everything for money.”
- Benjamin Franklin |
The idea behind frugal simple living is that you want to get out of debt by reducing your expenses, increasing your income, and establishing a savings fund that will provide for you in future years.
All admirable goals, right? What’s more, by living simply and thriftily, you take yourself out of the “rat race” in many ways. You stop trying to keep up with the Joneses next door and you start focusing on your own family and their happiness.
Think about family vacations. One option is to go to Disney World and spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Would that trip be fun? Absolutely!
Disney World is most definitely a fun place, but would it be any more fun, or create as many cherished memories of family togetherness, than a camping trip or a family reunion or a fishing excursion would? Of course not!
The point of a family vacation is to be together and enjoy fun experiences together. Fun memories don’t have to cost hundreds or thousands of dollars, and it doesn’t require walking away with a “real deal” Mickey Mouse hat.
Something else to consider is that those elaborate, expensive family vacations can be exhausting and hectic as well. Trying to cram so much “fun” into a few short days takes its toll.
Compare that experience to a relaxing, invigorating camping trip or a nice, simple stay at the beach. Which sounds better now? How will you feel when you return to your job?
This key life lesson is what frugal simple living is all about. It’s about focusing on your family rather than on material possessions.
We’ve all heard senior citizens talk about how they were so poor growing up, “but we were happy”, and it’s so true.
Family happiness doesn’t depend on having, or spending, a lot of money. If you’re spending your money wisely, preparing for the future, and seeing to it that your family’s needs are met, you’ll have peace of mind knowing that you’re not in financial danger.
People who have taken advantage of frugal simple living practices find themselves so much happier than they were before, when they were living from paycheck to paycheck, making huge credit card payments every month, trying to live in the fast lane.
Frugal living is smarter, healthier, and overall better for your happiness and your family’s financial health.
"Without frugality none can be rich,
and with it very few would be poor.”
- Samuel Johnson |
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Debt is NOT your friend. It's not a wonderful "tool" for building wealth. That's a myth.
