I'm mostly forced to be frugal, the other reason for my frugality is environmental, and I imagine some are frugal just to achieve F.I.R.E. faster but there must other motives for becoming frugal. Right? Like a vow of poverty maybe. Any one here trying to become a monk ? Anyone frugal for funzies? Are you forced financially? Are goal oriented to financial freedom? Are worldly worried for earth's future? Or are you try to transend desires?
What's your reason for being frugal?
byu/Putrid_Gas1540 inFrugal
Posted by Putrid_Gas1540
26 Comments
It’s just how I was raised.
Playing a lot of Runescape made me addicted to saving money and seeing the number go up
Raised by my grandmother … who lived through the great depression.
Lots of reasons, of course, but a big motivator for me is that I don’t like giving money to oligarchs. They have billions, I have thousands. Yes, sometimes I have to buy things from them, but guaranteed they are not getting penny more from me than I have to give them.
I’m frugal because it means I can spend what I want on the things that are important to me. Waste vs Spend Intentionally.
Cheap and frugal are two different things.
Just don’t like waste. Like being creative.
Freedom
I watched my parents be stupid with their money. Causing stress and arguments. They always had the keeping up with the Jone’s mentality. It rubbed off on me until I was tired of being in debt.
I’m saving for a franchise hopefully
Best decision of my life.
I feel much more comfortable living within my means. I hate the feeling that a delayed paycheck, an unexpected expense, or the opportunity of suddenly buying something I want can wreck my finances.
This is probably the root of it for me. Frugality is the way to get me there, and everything else beneficial about it is just a positive side effect.
I’m sick of capitalism telling me to spend all my money. I don’t need most of the things that are advertised, and the easiest way to save it is by not buying stuff I don’t need.
I am frugal mostly because I hate work and treat every expense as a function of time spent working.
I have to be frugal because of financial reasons and to go further into detail with that would be way too detailed and time-consuming to explain. Basically I can’t work and I’m living off of my retirement fund.
I have noticed though that the longer I live frugally, the more enjoyment I get out of finding things cheap or free. I think that even if I ever am not struggling financially I will still live frugally because if I can get by with spending less for something, then that’s more money I can spend somewhere else.
At first it was to not be flat broke. Then I just liked living frugally and minimally. You’d be surprised how much money you save by just literally not wanting the next shiny new thing.
Limited space, limited budget, goals.
I keep a picture list of everything I “want” and rank those pictures. It quickly boils down to how bad you need it and how much further ahead certain things can get you vs others.
I’ve been homeless twice and a lot of time broke af, like could not afford ramen broke. With a great job, luck, and hard work I’m financially secure now but still live like I’m destitute in some areas because I’m just used to it and splurge in others.
I was homeless for a short while after a breakup and unemployed for a bit longer. I finally got a job, but I live in a HCOL area and had no means to leave, so the majority of my salary gets burnt up in living expenses.
So basically, circumstances forced me into it, but luckily my lifestyle works well with frugality anyways. I have no reason to stop, and every reason to keep doing it while I continue to rebuild
I was poor for decades. I’m quite comfortable now, so I guess I’m not longer frugal, now I’m just cheap! 😉
Future inflation levels devaluing my current savings scares me
I just opened my eyes to see how much complete and utter useless shit there is to buy, along with beginning to see the powerful psychological forces telling me to buy buy buy
How I was raised, mostly. Parents are very well off and consider it an embarrassment to be bad with money or spend it on stupid things (especially designer brands). I am inclined to agree
I used to shop & eat at malls, almost every weekend. I’d buy a lot of shit. I met a woman (a mom) who was willing to risk her life trying to cross illegally from Honduras, tru Mexico to US. At the time,l was volunteering at a border shelter. I advised her not to do it. Cartels do awful things to young, vulnerable women in her desperate situation. I asked her why? She only needed 1k usd to open a food stand in her country. It dawned on me the value of 1k usd. The value of one life.
I’m afraid of running out of money.
Decided a while back that I never wanted to stress about money.
Wife and I born into ok families, but 1980 and poverty were no joke. And that’s 30 years and 2000 miles before we met. We both wound up in ok careers, but our exes spent us broke continually. We are fine financially together..not rich but fine. We just don’t blow money tho. Decent house, decent car. Just not spendy.
Seemed like the right way to live on this planet, respecting flora, fauna and my fellow humans.
my father raised me to be money-conscious, and frugality is how i’m accomplishing my money goals.