Reader comments
Readers share more thoughts on frugality

It is important for your young readers to understand that frugality does eventually pay off. I decided long ago that the rat race wasn't for me, so I quit my high stress job and have rarely made more than $10/hr since even with a Bachelors degree. We have lived very frugally. We don't have cable tv, rarely eat out, and the latest is I've started riding my bike to work which has had enormous benefits - I've lost 30 pounds, look and feel great, don't worry about my car passing emissions, and I don't care when the price of gas goes up. We have gotten out of debt and live on cash, put our savings in the bank which have accumulated and at 59 I can take time off whenever I want. Life is pleasant! I could go on and on, but this is getting too long.

Let me give two cheers for frugality as I see it practiced. I like to think of myself as frugal and think it's a good thing. But I've seen people take frugality to extremes a couple ways that I don't think are good. The first way is people trying to live like they're rich on a limited budget. To me, this eliminates the primary benefit that should come from frugality: the peace of mind associated with an attitude that rejects materialistic consumerism. I don't think that real frugality is about waiting until you get a killer deal on a 50 inch plasma TV and fancy leather couches. I don't think these people are frugal. They just want everything everyone else has at a reduced cost. And they gloat whenever they get a deal. The second problem I've seen is people who impose burdens on themselves and others by trying to be overly frugal. In my opinion, this causes more problems than it solves.

Ultimate point: you shouldn't judge the benefits of a frugal lifestyle by how much you've accumulated compared to your non-frugal friends. If you do, chances are you'll always feel cheated. And you'll be missing the point.

Living within your means is liberating. I don't care how much one makes or how much one spends so long as that person spends less than he/she earns and if he/she will be able to afford an acceptable retirement. Having very little or having lots of money isn't good or bad in and of itself. It's how one spends and what value/priority one places on money where the trouble arises. In general, the greater the percentage of one's income spent on one's self, the greater the selfishness & fleeting satisfaction/happiness.

I've heard of people who receive government or church financial assistance that go out and purchase a new snowmobile or a new $30k+ vehicle. Why should my tax dollars or charitable donations financially support someone who hasn't learned to live within their own means. All of us should be frugal within our own financial realm. I would rather give $100 to Bill Gates (who lives well below his means, than someone who makes $10 per hour but is trying to live like they make $15 per hour. Instead of pretending to be rich, get off your seat and make yourself rich instead. I have no respect for posers.

It's time to rent the movie Grapes of Wrath and watch it without distraction. This will help you get centered on what's important and to re-energize your gratitude for what you have.

We are a soft people with a strong sense of entitlement. Scary!

I remember stories from my parents about their lives during the depression. They lived in a small house on a small plot of land. They had a cow, some chickens and a garden. That was their food.

I wonder how many of today's families would be able to adapt to depression living.