Frugality is Choice

Frugality is all about choice.

Perhaps it can be choosing to do something unpleasant now in the hopes it will pay off in the future.  

For me, I didn’t choose my profession in accounting because I thought it was the most interesting subject I studied in school. Really, it boiled down to two things,  good earning potential and I was good at it.  I thought it would unlock further choices and options for me further down the line and it has.

Unpleasant things can be eating out a little less, exercising a little more, making that contact with a potential employer. Oftentimes, the things that help us move out of our comfort zone are good for us, and sometimes those choices can be frugal too. 

Frugality is all about forgoing now to enjoy more later. For example, I  don’t have a good computer at this point. The laptop I am writing on I have owned since college. My desktop is well past its prime. Would I like a new computer?

Sure. 

But do I need it?

Not really. Both my computers work still. They even play most of the games I want to.  So I have put off upgrading for a while.

And all that thrift has not been for naught. I was able to buy a house last year, even in this crazy housing market.  Forgoing buying a new car, computer, and lots of other things gave me the option to buy something both truly expensive and necessary. 

Everywhere worth going in life takes effort.  Whether it is your personal life, professional life, spiritual life, or financial life.  There are no shortcuts, really, it is just a series of choices. The better choices you make, the better off you will be.

You may have made suboptimal choices in the past. I know I have, but you can pull ahead. 

And perhaps, one of the most important parts of this journey is you don’t need to make it by yourself.  If you have someone supporting your frugal decisions, I think it is tremendously helpful. Let’s make this journey together!  Share in the comments some of the frugal decisions you have made recently and how it helped you.