Is frugal the new normal?

lessonlearned

I also think that we "quiet ones" have hidden depths that the shallow shopaholics couldn't even begin to dream of........;)

My life may be simple but it's far from dull. In fact I think it's rich and rewarding.

My dad has a saying - "elegant sufficiency" which always makes me smile but which i think sums it up.

My clothes are usually from the chazza shop or purchased in the sales, but they are good quality and last for years. People think I'm elegant and chic and I'm always being complemented - if only they knew that the top they are admiring was the same price as a latte ........:D

My home is stylish and elegant, However it's all done on a shoestring. - most of the furniture is junk shop finds which I have lovingly restored and repurposed. What I save by doing that I can splurge on beautiful rugs, textiles etc, but even then I will bide my time and find the bargains. A recent one was a beautiful large 12 ft x 10ft pure wool oriental rug - £15 from a charity shop.

I do splurge, usually on a piece of art or an unusual piece of glassware or pottery. I like things that are original so I will often use birthday or Christmas money and treat myself to something made by a local artist or crafts person. I would much rather support my local economy where possible.

As for work lunches etc - I can't see the joy in paying £4 for a horrible supermarket or garage forecourt sandwich. Yuk.....I want to feast on good healthy delicious food, not make do with tasteless unhealthy expensive carp.

Like a lot of people posting on here, I chose to live this way and I would probably still make the same choices even if I was a billionaire...

I dont feel deprived - far from it - I feel rich, I have no debts and I don't panic when I get a brown envelope ...:rotfl:

lillibet_dripping

mardatha wrote: »

I just do my own thing in my own way and I honestly couldn't give a mouldy jellybaby as to what anybody else thinks of me. My life is my business, their lives are their business. But one thing I do know - envy is often cloaked with criticism. Or is that the other way round lol

Mar, are you telling porkies? I can't believe you would ever have any jellybabies left long enough to go mouldy!:D

[Deleted User]

I feel free, we aren't bounded about by 'current' or 'fashionable' and the 'latest incarnation' of anything doesn't even evoke a flicker of interest. We're free to do and be what we want and who we are, no amount of posessions or riches could possibly give the satisfaction that feeling brings.

suki1964

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

I feel free, we aren't bounded about by 'current' or 'fashionable' and the 'latest incarnation' of anything doesn't even evoke a flicker of interest. We're free to do and be what we want and who we are, no amount of posessions or riches could possibly give the satisfaction that feeling brings.

I like that I FEEL FREE

thank you for that

[Deleted User]

FairyPrincessk wrote: »

I think much of this behavior is driven by that supertanker GQ mentions. .

I liked your post, it was thought provoking. I believe that I am back on that supertanker and am spending. Everything I am buying now is good quality and will have a lifespan a lot longer than me but they will eventually be handed down the generations. I am helping the economy, to keep people in jobs. I have always believed that you get back from life what you put in and I don`t just mean emotionally, it is a kind of good energy that seems to circulate around

chanie

I think there is a fine line between being frugal and being tight and I think

Up thread, I mentioned a colleague who always brings in lunch from home, had a good salary and is mortgage free, so could afford to have the odd treat if they wanted to, but never has.

Anyway, quite a few people in our office bring in lunch from home (me included) and aren't seen as being tight, but this person is. To give an example - at work, we don't have milk kitty, but someone will bring some in. I bring in a 4 pint bottle every week and this is more than enough for my cereal and coffee. Colleague brings in a 1 pint bottle, which I suspect doesn't cover their share for the week. I sometimes think 'it wouldn't kill you to bring in a 4 pint once in a while'.

meritaten

this discussion is absolutely fascinating!
the different points of view on what is a 'necessity'! for one person its make-up, for another its being debt free! humans are definitely unique with their own priorities! and btw if make-up is a necessity of life to you - that's fine by me! you probably think my 'yarn buying habit' completely unnessary!
I think if a person lives within their means, has enough to buy the occasional 'luxury', and doesn't starve themselves or do without to pay the mortgage/rent or utilities......then they are living a 'good' life. but it probably comes down to appreciating what you HAVE and not hankering after what someone else owns or does.

[Deleted User]

We're mortgage free and don't have debts and He Who Knows took in a home made lunch every day because he preferred to. He didn't consider a shop sandwich or coffee or bar of chocolate as a treat and certainly didn't want a burger or chips or anything like that. Perhaps your colleagues just prefer home done food, just a thought?

pm2326

I've been reading along since the thread started and I'm fascinated with all the different points of view on whether we're thrifty or frugal and whether it's a new norm

I personally don't know what category I fall into and too be honest I don't need a label. However I will admit that having wasted vast amounts of money in the past (I'm too ashamed to calculate or admit the amount but I know it's in the £1000's) it is only the last couple of years that I've started to be careful with my money, so yes it is the new norm for me. I actually struggle to convince myself to spend money sometimes much to other people's amusement.

I am lucky in that I am no longer struggling to make ends meet, but I am choosy on how I spend my money.

I too take my lunch to work, I refuse to pay canteen prices for food that is either cold or overpriced...I also will not pay ridiculous prices for crisps, chocolate or pop in the shop at work.

I shop at aldi and make 95% of my food from scratch, my monthly food bill is about £60...that said I choose to spoil my cat and he gets one of the most expensive tinned foods on the market :rotfl: but I only buy it when it's on offer so it never costs me full price!

because of my past problems with money I have made the mistake of buying things that look good but perform poorly, for instance a winter coat from primark that looked lovely and did in fact keep me reasonably warm, however after the first downpour of rain I soon realised my mistake when I got soaked through to my underwear and had to return home instead of catching the bus to work :eek:

So this year, in the sales, I bought a decent winter coat, the price of it has made people's jaw drop....the same people who think nothing of spending £60 - £70 every week on a night out.

Although the coat was expensive, I'm able to afford it as I shop well at other times, buying clothes from charity shops or eBay, not wasting food, stocking up when I find items on offer which I use regularly. Only buying YS items that I would use anyway, rather than buying them because they're YS.

So for me it's not about being frugal or thrifty, it's about being careful with everyday spending and household bills, which in turn allows me to buy the quality items I need.

thriftwizard

We're also mortgage & debt free, and Him Indoors takes home-made lunches - usually a healthy portion of last night's tea - in, because that's what he likes best! (Apparently he's the envy of the entire nick, having HM food, which is all made from scratch, some of it home-produced.) When I'm working at shows or festivals, I'll also take a soup-flask or something similar, because it's very expensive to eat from the food stalls, and there may not be anything on offer that agrees with my digestion. Also I may not be able to get off the stall, so at least I've got something. Not miserliness, just practicality.

Where I do get slammed by the mainstream is in having "chosen" to be - and stay - a stay-at-home-Mum. It's a loaded subject, and I don't intend to push any hot buttons here, but we do have an offspring with "invisible" special needs, who needed a lot of support, and still does, even though she's past school-age now. I still regularly have to fend off accusations of wasting my education and depriving the nation - and our other kids - of my earning power; my own little business evidently doesn't count, only salaried 9-5 (or term-time) employment, preferably complete with commute, will do! Yet doing my own thing not only allows us to support our daughter (and my 89 y.o. mother) without recourse to any state funding, but also to be able to shop wisely, grow stuff & cook from scratch in order to live within our means. Which I like doing, and feel very fortunate to have been in a position to do.

I do think that more & more people are beginning to wonder whether they belong on the supertanker now. A number of friends, all in their early 50s, have recently told me they're going part-time at work, or are seizing the chance of redundancy, to try a less-pressurised life before stress & ill-health takes that chance away altogether. They've seen us & others manage & know it can be done. So maybe frugal is slowly making its way back into the mainstream?