How old were you when you "discovered" frugality? - Page 2

Will · 12-31-2007, 11:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kav122

partly because I feel a deep sadness for the over-spending of Americans when there are people all over that "make do" with less than a tenth of what we have.

That was beautiful Kav122.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mydebtquest

Only in the last two years, since getting married, has frugality become a part of our lifestyle - in fact, my wife is still adjusting to the idea.

Is it hard to make the adjustment? I read somewhere (maybe "Millionaire Next Door") that one of the greatest predictors of household wealth is whether both spouses hold a similar view to frugal living.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Billyum

Time for a rude awakening while entering the steep 'this is the real life' learning curve and an introduction to a new and better way of living.

I' glad to hear you found something positive in what I'm sure was a complicated time in your life. Did you immediately see it as a blessing? If you didn't, how did you manage to switch your perspective to something so positive?

PlantGeek · 01-01-2008, 01:57 PM

I grew up in a frugal family. My brothers and I wore hand me downs, didn't have satellite or cable, got our toys from thrift stores, etc. We were never lacking in the necessities though.

Fast forward to today...my husband and I are saving money for a house so pinching pennies where ever we can has practically become a game for us.

indieretailer · 01-01-2008, 02:10 PM

I was around 30 before I even thought of frugality. I am one of legions of readers who owe a debt of thanks to Amy Dacyzyn (sp?). I subscribed to her now defunct newsletter and her ideas began to brew in my head. I have to admit that I was rather clandestine about my interest in frugality since my family associated frugality with stinginess and lack of generosity.

But was making a career change at 30 and needed to change some ideas about money. I run a group home and I wanted to learn to run an efficient household for 15 people and keep the costs down.
I've been to run the home for the past 15 years,thanks to the frugal ideas,but my personal spending habits have only just begun to change within the last year.

Pinoy Smart Blogger · 01-01-2008, 02:39 PM

To be honest, I wasn't well acquainted with the word until just 4 months ago. While reading some blogs, I have found so many innovative things people do to save money without having to lower quality of lifestyle.

Ever since I've read the concept, I've been making the move to a frugal living.

Miranda · 01-02-2008, 02:54 PM

About four or five months ago, when I happened to read Paul Michael's "The $40 hidden inside a 12V battery" article. I thought it was really interested and started reading more articles on the site, and from then on I was hooked.

I hadn't fully realized before then how wasteful I was or how much money I spent unnecessarily. I'm now making more of an attempt to be frugal, and I've found that it's much more satisfying and practical.

(For the purpose of comparison, I'm 22.)

Savio · 01-02-2008, 05:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pinoy Smart Blogger

To be honest, I wasn't well acquainted with the word until just 4 months ago. While reading some blogs, I have found so many innovative things people do to save money without having to lower quality of lifestyle.

Ever since I've read the concept, I've been making the move to a frugal living.

Same here. I wasn't familiar with the term, but I guess I live frugal whenever I'm working on some material goal. Im 21. And Frugal is a very cool word. XD

anitra · 01-04-2008, 01:50 PM

I grew up in a frugal household. It was just "what you did", as my parents had spent plenty of time as poor college students, and THEIR parents were young adults during the Depression. It didn't matter how much money my dad made, any extra went to savings or very occasional luxuries (he bought my mom a new car for her 45th birthday, the first time in their lives they'd had a new one and ordered exactly the features she wanted).

Most of it stuck with me, although I did unfortunately copy them on some luxuries (eg. needing a loan for my nicer used car). When I married my husband, he was much more spendy than I, but we've both adjusted our priorities so we neither of us needs to feel deprived (cut too much) or guilty (spend too much). But even now, I can hear my mother in my head saying, "Why would we need cable TV? We'd just spend even more time in front of that idiot box!"

Miss Rosie · 01-06-2008, 12:17 AM

When I was a kid, my parents paid for 40 acres in 5 years, plus building a house, all on a teacher's salary. Calling them frugal is an understatement.

It was a mixed experience. Raising most of our food and cutting all of the wood it took to heat and cook for a year was physically grueling, to the point where it broke several child labor laws. It probably would have been better for everyone's sanity if they'd paced themselves better.

On the other hand, I grew up knowing how to cook starting from raw grains, a houseful of hens and a garden. I can use and re-use things in all kinds of odd ways, and make some things from scratch. I'm constantly re-assessing how I do things and seeing if there's a way to do it both better and cheaper, a skill I learned from my parents.

So it wasn't a completely awful experience, just an extreme one. Probably my biggest challenge now is learning when to loosen the belt a bit.

Rebecca · 01-06-2008, 06:05 AM

I discovered frugality about 2 months ago. I'm 33. I didn't grow up poor, but we weren't rich, either. My mother is very careful with money (she grew up extremely poor, was even homeless at one point). My father, on the other hand, who handled all of our finances, grew up as upper-middle class. He is very much of the "you want it? get it" menality. In fact, I can hear him saying that as I remember grocery shopping as a family.

Unfortunately, I took that a little too literally. So any time I had a bad day I engaged in "you want it get it" retail therapy. Ergo my $12,000 of credit card debt.

Now that I've turned over a new financial leaf, I am shocked at the excess my family engages in. I'm selling possessions left and right to help pay off my debt. I look around my parents house and I can't believe how much STUFF there is and how much WASTE.

I never realized how much I wasted, too, especially with food.

Joanne · 01-06-2008, 06:12 AM

I never put a name on it but I've always tried to get the most for my money. When we adopted our kids and I didn't go back to work, I kind of looked at it as my job. Saving money in one area, allows us to spend it on something else.

01-01-2008, 02:10 PM	#13
indieretailer Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: San Diego Posts: 71 Reputation: (11)	Not Practicing Frugalist Until a Year Ago I was around 30 before I even thought of frugality. I am one of legions of readers who owe a debt of thanks to Amy Dacyzyn (sp?). I subscribed to her now defunct newsletter and her ideas began to brew in my head. I have to admit that I was rather clandestine about my interest in frugality since my family associated frugality with stinginess and lack of generosity. But was making a career change at 30 and needed to change some ideas about money. I run a group home and I wanted to learn to run an efficient household for 15 people and keep the costs down. I've been to run the home for the past 15 years,thanks to the frugal ideas,but my personal spending habits have only just begun to change within the last year.

01-06-2008, 06:12 AM	#20
Joanne Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Originally from New York City, now in Florida since 2002. Posts: 131 Reputation: (43)	I never put a name on it but I've always tried to get the most for my money. When we adopted our kids and I didn't go back to work, I kind of looked at it as my job. Saving money in one area, allows us to spend it on something else. __________________ My Myspace Page Forever Parents Adoption Shop

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01-01-2008, 01:57 PM	#12
PlantGeek Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 18 Reputation: (10)	I grew up in a frugal family. My brothers and I wore hand me downs, didn't have satellite or cable, got our toys from thrift stores, etc. We were never lacking in the necessities though. Fast forward to today...my husband and I are saving money for a house so pinching pennies where ever we can has practically become a game for us.

01-01-2008, 02:39 PM	#14
Pinoy Smart Blogger Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Philippines Posts: 9 Reputation: (10)	To be honest, I wasn't well acquainted with the word until just 4 months ago. While reading some blogs, I have found so many innovative things people do to save money without having to lower quality of lifestyle. Ever since I've read the concept, I've been making the move to a frugal living.

01-02-2008, 02:54 PM	#15
Miranda Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 11 Reputation: (10)	About four or five months ago, when I happened to read Paul Michael's "The $40 hidden inside a 12V battery" article. I thought it was really interested and started reading more articles on the site, and from then on I was hooked. I hadn't fully realized before then how wasteful I was or how much money I spent unnecessarily. I'm now making more of an attempt to be frugal, and I've found that it's much more satisfying and practical. (For the purpose of comparison, I'm 22.)

01-04-2008, 01:50 PM	#17
anitra Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 27 Reputation: (15)	I grew up in a frugal household. It was just "what you did", as my parents had spent plenty of time as poor college students, and THEIR parents were young adults during the Depression. It didn't matter how much money my dad made, any extra went to savings or very occasional luxuries (he bought my mom a new car for her 45th birthday, the first time in their lives they'd had a new one and ordered exactly the features she wanted). Most of it stuck with me, although I did unfortunately copy them on some luxuries (eg. needing a loan for my nicer used car). When I married my husband, he was much more spendy than I, but we've both adjusted our priorities so we neither of us needs to feel deprived (cut too much) or guilty (spend too much). But even now, I can hear my mother in my head saying, "Why would we need cable TV? We'd just spend even more time in front of that idiot box!"

01-06-2008, 12:17 AM	#18
Miss Rosie Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 101 Reputation: (27)	When I was a kid, my parents paid for 40 acres in 5 years, plus building a house, all on a teacher's salary. Calling them frugal is an understatement. It was a mixed experience. Raising most of our food and cutting all of the wood it took to heat and cook for a year was physically grueling, to the point where it broke several child labor laws. It probably would have been better for everyone's sanity if they'd paced themselves better. On the other hand, I grew up knowing how to cook starting from raw grains, a houseful of hens and a garden. I can use and re-use things in all kinds of odd ways, and make some things from scratch. I'm constantly re-assessing how I do things and seeing if there's a way to do it both better and cheaper, a skill I learned from my parents. So it wasn't a completely awful experience, just an extreme one. Probably my biggest challenge now is learning when to loosen the belt a bit.

01-06-2008, 06:05 AM	#19
Rebecca Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 96 Reputation: (32)	I discovered frugality about 2 months ago. I'm 33. I didn't grow up poor, but we weren't rich, either. My mother is very careful with money (she grew up extremely poor, was even homeless at one point). My father, on the other hand, who handled all of our finances, grew up as upper-middle class. He is very much of the "you want it? get it" menality. In fact, I can hear him saying that as I remember grocery shopping as a family. Unfortunately, I took that a little too literally. So any time I had a bad day I engaged in "you want it get it" retail therapy. Ergo my $12,000 of credit card debt. Now that I've turned over a new financial leaf, I am shocked at the excess my family engages in. I'm selling possessions left and right to help pay off my debt. I look around my parents house and I can't believe how much STUFF there is and how much WASTE. I never realized how much I wasted, too, especially with food.