Quote:
Originally Posted by dmills
Come on folks! Really? You can't give this family credit for departing from their norm? You're only being frugal if you lead a life of total deprivation? I applaud their effort. Spending $1,500 to $2,000 less than they usually spend is going to hurt. I just read in the "Frugal Virgin" thread where someone advised the poster to start small and not try to do too much. Who knows, this may be the beginning of a new lifestyle, and others may be inspired by their efforts, whereas they would be discouraged if they went to the extreme.
|
Sure, it's nice that they are trying, but all I read in that article is that they waste a lot of money every month. They spend $1500-$2000 monthly on things they admit they don't need (with the exception of groceries). But they went and stocked up beforehand, so I don't get that concept. It is the same money whether you spent it yesterday or today.
Their cutbacks for this month could pay all my total expenses for the month, including a mortgage. To me, that is more sad than it is impressive. The guy complains that his pockets are empty, and doesn't acknowledge that it is because they are so wasteful. If they are short on money, they should look at cutting $500 worth of waste every month instead of going extreme for 1 month.
My point was: Why is this newsworthy? Why was it worth having a reporter go out and interview them about the fact that they intend to waste less money for 30 days? I don't get that at all.
And no, I absolutely don't think you have to deprive yourself to be frugal. I consider myself frugal even though both my cars were purchased new (they are now 6 and 14 years old), and I bought a new couch, new entertainment center and new big screen TV (old ones were all 10+ years old) last year. It isn't about deprivation, its about not being wasteful. I don't buy things that I don't either need or truly want. I don't buy on a whim, I don't go after new gadgets just because they are new (I only carry an emergency cell phone that charges me for each day I use it, last year I used the cell phone 10 times) and I always make sure I get the best possible deal on whatever I do buy, and then I use them until they aren't functional anymore. To me, that is being frugal.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
