Frugal/Economic Rule One (old, price, money, book)
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I do not know if this is the FIRST RULE of Frugal/Economic Living, but it is a rule I learned the hard way.
DO NOT PAY FOR ANYTHING THAT YOU DO NOT ABSOLUTELY NEED
I learned this the hard way because I had an Ex-Wife who thought that she was entitled to have anything she wanted. She would get a Credit card and have it maxed out in a month with nothing to show for it (Trinkets, knick-knacks, clothes, eating out) As well as keeping the bank account at ZERO by Payday. If there was 5 dollars in the bank account, she would go out and spend an hour looking for something that cost $5 just because it was there.
And what she got was unneccesary (kind of like her)
I have narrowed down lists of things I need and Things I want.
For example, NEED is groceries for meals, WANT is artichokes and asparagus.
Need is clothes for work want is a brooks bros suit
Too often, people get into the habit of saying "Oh I have a coupe of bucks in my pocket, let me buy that"
It is ok to treat oneself now and then, but I prefer to say "Here I have a couple of extra bucks, let me put that in the savings can"
I try to purchase ONLY what I need, as fr as junk around the house goes, that seems to be very little, as I have much I can recycle and reuse instead.
I think that your bolded statement is too extreme, but the rest of your post seems to be more moderate.
In truth, all we really need is a roof, heat in the winter if you live in a cold climate, water, food, and some clothes.
I could live in one of those tiny 70 square foot houses, find the meal that costs the least while providing daily needs and eat that same thing every day, and buy one outfit that you wear every day until it wears out.
But surviving isn't living. Some expenditures beyond basic needs are reasonable. I don't think you meant to be quite as extreme as you came across.
I do agree with the sentiment you are trying to convey, and I pretty much live that way as well. But I do have some "wants" that I regularly pay for, like fast internet, cable TV, a night out with my husband, etc. Those are not needs, but they make my life happier.
In my mind, there are really 3 categories,
1. Basic Need
2. Want, and will actually make use of, and have a better, happier life because of it (which necessitates being able to afford getting it in the first place)
3. Want just because
The problem doesn't come from category#2, it comes from #3. Or an inability to tell the difference between a #2 and a #3.
But you only live once so don't deny yourself some pleasures of life.
Pure existence seems too extreme. You have to find that balance that allows some extravagance as little as it may be.
I take a vacation once or twice a year. World cruise ? No..more like a 2 hour drive to the coast to stay in a mom & pop cottage with kitchen.
I do not know if this is the FIRST RULE of Frugal/Economic Living, but it is a rule I learned the hard way.
DO NOT PAY FOR ANYTHING THAT YOU DO NOT ABSOLUTELY NEED
I learned this the hard way because I had an Ex-Wife who thought that she was entitled to have anything she wanted. She would get a Credit card and have it maxed out in a month with nothing to show for it (Trinkets, knick-knacks, clothes, eating out) As well as keeping the bank account at ZERO by Payday. If there was 5 dollars in the bank account, she would go out and spend an hour looking for something that cost $5 just because it was there.
And what she got was unneccesary (kind of like her)
I have narrowed down lists of things I need and Things I want.
For example, NEED is groceries for meals, WANT is artichokes and asparagus.
Need is clothes for work want is a brooks bros suit
Too often, people get into the habit of saying "Oh I have a coupe of bucks in my pocket, let me buy that"
It is ok to treat oneself now and then, but I prefer to say "Here I have a couple of extra bucks, let me put that in the savings can"
I try to purchase ONLY what I need, as fr as junk around the house goes, that seems to be very little, as I have much I can recycle and reuse instead.
I think this is true. A few more rules I'd add:
1. Be careful who you go to bed with. Use birth control religiously. Do not have kids without being married (if you actually want to have some money and not be living in crisis mode for most or all of your life).
2. Be careful who you marry. If your spouse is not frugal, your chances of divorcing go up greatly. Divorce is very costly. Being in love will NOT overcome the differences in how finances are handled.
I guess I don't need my HDTV, but I sure do enjoy watching it.
What say you?
I do enjoy My HDTV BUT I got it free. I waited until the week when they were doing a free TV Promo to sing the mortgage for my new house. I also get free cable (well not really free, it is bundled into the exorbatant homeowner association fee) I would not have bought a new TV the giant 300 Pound 24 inch Box I had still works
Likewise, I buy food, healthy food, I buy nice clothes (good quality) BUT I do not buy "JUNK" as the ex wife did. I do not need JUNK any more than I need her, and I do not buy things just for the materialistic thrill of getting soething
Hence, do not pay for things you do not need
Do you need a new shelf to dispaly all the worthless knick knacks? I say no and that ws the final breaking point in our relationship (I call it the divorce shelf, but there is more too it that that)
So when we put needs first, yes we need the things that make us healthy and happy. I do not see collecting more junk as happiness, but then again, I am not married to a child of two hoarders ether.
No one needs small luxuries. I get a lot of enjoyment out of wine, coffee, scotch, chocolate, eating out on occasion, books I can't get at the library, Netflix, good cuts of meat and pricey fruits/vegetables, toilet paper instead of cleaning poop rags... I could go on and on. None of it is stuff I need, and you're a damn fool if you never buy any of it ever.
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