It’s Not All About Being Frugal
This isn’t a post about the fine line between being frugal and being cheap. No, this is a post about keeping your wits about you in a world over whelmed by personal finance advice.
I read many personal finance blogs. I enjoyed them enough to start up my own. I have heard a million times over what I should do and I am doing it. Month in and month out, I watch my budget and ensure that my money goes in all of the right places. I watch my latte factor, I brown bag my lunch, my apartment is full of CFLs. It is boilerplate personal finance. Besides a few missteps here and there, I control my money, it does not control me.
That said, a life lived under a draconian budget without flexibility can lead to feelings of being constantly deprived. You need to go ahead and splurge every once in a while. If done in a controlled fashion, it can be very financially healthy.
Saying ‘Yes’ So You Can Say ‘No’
Being frugal is important but not at the expense of all else. I believe it is very necessary to allow yourself luxuries now and again as a reward for keeping your finances under control. If you have a strong budget as I do, then go ahead and budget in some money for your favorite hobby or guilty pleasure.
Delayed gratification is a very good skill to have. A dose of frugal trend bucking can be a tool to help you keep your cool in tempting times. More often than not, if there is something I want, within reason, all I have to do think ahead in my budget a month or more to know that I will have some money to spend and spend frivolously. I’m not talking huge amounts, but at the end of the month when I am craving a trip to my favorite restaurant for a burger, it is easier to say ‘No’ if a new month’s budget is around to corner.
Saying ‘Yes’ every once in a while will make the more frequent ‘No’s much easier to handle. It is a clear method to keep yourself on track and honest.
Taking a Month OFF From Frugal Living
When you have no credit card debt and a heap of discretionary income at the end of every month, you are in good shape. Everyone needs a vacation. I propose an anti-frugal vacation for those feeling on the verge of a frugal burnout. Take your discretionary incomes for one month out of the year and spend every dime instead of investing and saving. In the long run, the amount you spend will be dwarfed by your other yearly contributions.
Right now, this is exactly what we are doing financially now. My fiancé and I are putting savings on hold while we save for our wedding and eventual honeymoon. Our wedding is due in about a months time and we are getting excited about it.
One of the things we are not overly worried about is how to pay for it. We will have plenty of cash in the bank to pay off all of the vendors as well as embark on a memorable honeymoon. The only unfortunate thing is that our time off of saving and investing is looking to be more like three months long, maybe less. It is still worth it in my mind. After all, you only get married once, and as I have posted before, we are not exactly having a gigantic princess wedding.
So in nutshell, keep yourself sane in a world overflowing with advice to save every penny and invest all of you dimes.
- Understand that you are human and you want to spend money, it’s only natural
- Cater to that need in a controlled fashion through your monthly budget
- Once a year, take a break from frugal living to recharge the batteries