Hello Dear Reader,
There are loads of ways that I save money every day. I always take my coffee and lunch to work everyday. I shop for groceries with a budget and stick to it. I home cook all our meals. If we go out for the day, we take food with us. Our central heating is set low and on for an hour a day on working days and two hours a day on other days. The thermostat is set to 17 degrees. Our main heat source is our wood burner and we buy wood for £100 a tonne and it’s bought and paid for when we use it. We buy two or three new items of good quality clothing a year and wear it for years.
We had two holidays last year (one was our honeymoon) so we won’t be having one this year. We’ve eaten out once this year and my daughter treated me for Mother’s Day; other than that we don’t eat out. We don’t eat takeaways or ready meals. Christmas and Birthday celebrations are kept to the bare minimum (a nice meal on either occasions and no gifts). Most days are no spend days. A spend day is rare.
You may ask what am I being frugal for? I’m saving for a new car but will admit that prices are rising so fast that I’ll never get there. I’m also using most of our incomes to pay off £18,000 - £20,000 of the capital on our mortgage this year. The amount we will pay back will increase each year as the interest payments decrease. We also save monthly for any additional costs our home might incur such as plumbing repairs or general maintenance.
I don’t save money for the sake of simply saving it; to look at a balance sheet and marvel at the amount. I’m saving and living a simple and frugal life for a reason. If I want a new sofa, then I will have been frugal to save for it. If I want a new car, I’ll have been frugal to save almost half the balance of the new car and I’ll have to be very frugal to make the car payments each month. If I want to buy fabric at a quilting show or plants at a flower show, then I’ve saved the money and hand over cash.
I’m frugal but live in a warm and comfortable home. I’m frugal but eat well and I’m frugal but invest in my health and well being and that includes working towards weight loss. My blog is my online diary where I document my daily comings and goings and that might include trips to Ikea to look at sofas or the local dealerships to look at cars. At some stage, I’m going to spend money on something or other.
To the reader who doesn’t like my choices, feel free not to read my blog. But think of this, every time you come back and comment and keep my visitor numbers high, you make my blog more profitable for me.
Over to you Dear Reader, does anyone want to be a miser? I don’t want to be a miser but live sensibly and carefully and can and will spend if I want to. Who else saves for a reason such as retirement, having holidays, taking their children out and about or living as they choose? I look forward to your comments.
Until tomorrow,
Love Froogs xxxx
Erm in one short answer NO! My family have been have been through enough trauma to last a life time. We dont really need to skimp and save, as the mortgage is well we dont have one! My husband loves shopping around for great deals. And I wouldnt expect my children to go without.
Society is cruel enough to children today. I have seen this with my own eyes every single day I am at school. So why make your child a target. I am not saying go and buy the latest bits and bobs. But have a chat with them and try and keep up to speed with them.
I love charity shops so I dont have a problem now with controlling my spending. Amazon why bother I have a great local libary.
the best choice we have done is grow your own and we love it, it saves us a packet and you cant beat the taste!
So no I dont want to be a miser thank you.
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There is a blanket of security attached to having savings for no other reason than it just being there “in case.” I do spend money when I need to but will often stop myself from impulse purchases, not because I can't afford it or won't be able to hit my savings target that month, but just because I am too tight to part with cash for something I don't really need. Every penny I spend must be earned and I think if there is one thing I am a miser about it is time- I would sooner have those pounds that I could have spent, saved away in an account which perhaps at 63 might enable me to retire from teaching a few years younger than the government want me to. I suppose I do save money for the sake of it. I can live with that 🙂
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I save £2 coins just because……..not sure why but I have money box that a coins go in and I know when the box is full there is £250 in there. Now I'm off to cook some Braising Steak my husband picked up in Morrisons today for 29p. I shall cook it in tin of tomatoes slowly and have it with mash potatoes tomorrow.
Julie xxxxxxxx
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You have hit the nail on the head there, it is all about choice and to quote Mr Micawber “Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen [pounds] nineteen [shillings] and six [pence], result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery.”
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Yes, yes, yes
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I don't want to be a miser but have to keep a disciplined mindset at least. There are so many things to keep up on to make sure your money isn't drained away in places it doesn't need to go. If you can keep on top of that, then the funds are more likely to be there for places you do want the money to go. But the constant vigilance is not easy and I wish we had enough money not to have to do it!
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I saved loose change in a jar. just 5, 2 and 1p coins. The full jar was 30 pounds worth. That with 160 pounds worth of nectar points was a welcome donation to a new television when very old telly went bang.I was happy to be a miser that day!
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Be a miser? No, but rather to live frugally with goals in mind such as you have shared, ie pinching here and there so as to purchase a new car, sofa, etc.-a definite YES! I have always lived below my means, and plan for regular expenses as best I can, down to the penny. I have an emergency fund, a save for new car fund, and now, save for our next house fund. I am currently debt free-first time since I was a teen, having paid off a zero % car loan early (long story short: despite multiple steps and many months in trying to get the title to the car and the loan just in my name, post divorce, it had been a nightmare and was becoming an energy suck. I am fortunate to have been able to simply write a check for the balance due and be done with the loan, now I await the paperwork (can take several weeks) to then return to motor vehicles (5th time!) and finally, hopefully put that to rest!). I anticipate needs, attempt alternative ways than simply popping over to the mall to acquire them. Case in point: we NEED, yes NEED 2 twin size bottom sheets for the boys. We are using several mix/matched sets (totally fine in my book)and have 3 complete sets. Since I line dry, 2 sets per bed are required, a 5th “extra” is in case of accidents with special needs child. So, no Mall shopping just yet. I will try Freecycle, the thrift shops first. I looked at new sets at Marshalls, a discount dept store-$30-$40/set for twin sized. Thud.
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I save because I am fed up of giving my hard earned cash up, first to the government in Tax against earnings then on VAT, second to companies who make so much in interest on cards and loans and most of all whilst it is the only way I could have bought my home the £500 I pay in interest every month makes me downhearted (what else could I have done with it ) . In order to be interest free I need to go backwards some paces before I can move forward , I would rather the hardship today whilst I am young than tomorrow when things may be much tougher.
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I don't consider myself to be a miser - I'm careful with cash and I'm so glad I've cleared my outstanding credit cards with the help of all the good advice from Frugal Queen.Especially after reading in today's Independent that the government have “sneaked in the through the back door” Charging Orders. Which in effect means your creditors can force the sale of your property to recover outstanding sums on Payday Loans, Credit Card debt and any other consumer debt for as little as £1000. Once a charging order exists on a property the creditor can force the sale of the property to repay the debt!! How scary is that. Julie xx
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I'm like you in that I'm frugal for a specific reason, at the moment this is to buy our first and last ever house together. This will be our 'forever home' and I have absolutely no qualms about saving every spare penny I can get my hands on to do this.
I am not, nor ever will be a miser. I'm frugal in some ways so I can spend in others, we all have our own ideas and reasons and it's fantastic that we can share tips and inspiration through the wonderful medium of Blogging.
I hope you find the car you want and get the good deal you're after, we may, just may have found our forever home 🙂
Sue xx
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http://www.independent.co.uk/money/loans-credit/1000-debt-could-force-you-to-sell-your-home-8562606.html
I read that too.
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I think for us now it is about making the right decisions. Just planning and thinking things through a bit just means the money goes that much further. We have prioritised living frugally so we can save for a house deposit and it is working bit by bit. I love going to car boots and pick lots of little bits up there for a fraction of buying things new, had a great day today.
I don't actually know anybody that saves just for the sake of saving but then I don't know any people that are that well off. I think a lot of people have to make fugal choices if they want to save, just like us x
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To me the word Miser implies Misery and you certainly don't have to be miserable to live a frugal life. I live a very happy frugal life with my partner and 3 boys we still go out and still do things. We just look at the cheapest way of doing it for example vouchers and offers. The boys have never gone without anything and thankfully never felt second best next to their peers. Ok so they may not have the newest games console or new designer clothes but they do have an older games console bought from a second hand store and are always well turned out in their second hand clothes either hand me downs or charity shop buys which very often happen to be designer names at a fraction of the cost. No I would say i'm no miser I am a very happy frugalist with a very happy frugal family 🙂
Claire xx xx xx
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All I know is that when I budget and save for things, shop carefully and not get into debt I feel much better about myself. After years of being in debt I don't ever want to end up there again. I'm not the best and most frugal saver….I have an awful lot still to learn but having lost extra hours at work now is the time. I shall be keeping an even closer look on your blog than ever.
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I guess your readers want to/have to/think its sensible to be a miser so they can improve their lives. Looking back on my life I have scratted and scraped, to ensure my family survived and were happy. Its life, its always been like that. What really gets me annoyed is what we are fed by the media to want, want, want what we really do not need!
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I love watching money grow. Whether it be in the self counting coin jar, savings accounts, or stocks and funds. We are frugal and because of it we are debt free. We have cash for everything we buy and enjoy a good life. I teased my dad and mom for years abut being cheap. Dad now is able to pay for mom's nursing home bills and live off his dividends. He lives a good frugal life and mom is well taken care of. I will never tease about them about being cheap again.
I don't think dad or I are misers but we have plans and are prepared. We watch our spending and live below our means. We just look at what we want and see if we really want and need it and plan how we will get it. We are very generous with charities and love to travel, daughter's college is paid by cash as will be her upcoming wedding and our next home. We do not have the ''I have to have it now'' kind of personalities.
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All of our savings went on buying the house. We have slowly been trying to build them back up this last 4 months. Ideally I would like to have an emergency fund of £5000. We are overpaying our mortgage by £75 a month. I would like to pay more but there doesn't seem to be enough left over at the endo of the month. Saying that we could easily cut back so much more but are enjoying the life we have at the moment renovating the house. This month we have had a major blow in the form of the car - it cost £482 to get through the mot which was so not expected. I am determined not to go into savings so this month is a 'tight' month. I have to say so far I a really enjoying it. I have 2 freezers and a pantry full of food so we won't starve
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I am very happy to let my money go as far as possible. Through years of lack of security in jobs I always feel happier if we have a buffer of savings, to help in those little mini problems. Being a parent, I also see it as helping my children to understand that things have to be paid for, and they have to make choices between things i.e.they can't have it all! I know my kids are picking things up about my annoyance with consumerism, as now I can't sit and watch the T.V. without one piping up- you don't want to buy that it's rubbish!
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Hiya
No not a miser we don't spend lavishly but then we don't feel the need to. I don't do debt (except mortgage which is being worked on) as i saw many people struggling with their own debt when i use to work in the bank. I like to withdraw the cash and spend it that way for big purchases knowing i saved for it and now it is mine makes me happy. I couldn't do debt and credit card living because i prefer to sleep at night (when the kids let me lol) your life your choices i say x
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I like saving but for things I want. It may take me years to save for a trip of a life time, or even to replace my TV with a screen that keeps going black. Will I pay for something that I can get for nothing? Of course not.
if that makes me a miser then I am one.
My money is mine. I earn it and I can see why some people get a cheap thrill from looking at their savings account. it makes you feel safe knowing you are ok. No one else is going to look after me, I have to do it. I need to sort out my pension, like you Froogs, the Government is making me pay more for less. I need to think about that and pinch every penny
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We always try to save money for things we need! Last year we bought a new-to-us minivan for our growing family. It took us almost 2.5 years and every single extra penny to save enough money but we found a great deal with a sale by owner, and we paid cash! Driving it now feels so much more rewarding because we know that it's ours, and we don't owe anybody for it!! Good luck on all your savings! I know, you'll get there!
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We went for a 7 mile walk today, i took drinks and snacks with us. We came home to a chilli in the slow cooker and now kids are worn out and tucked up in bed. Perect sunday and no money spent x
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We enjoy nice things far too much to deprive ourselves of spending money! For us it's about choices and budgeting; we have a finite amount of time, energy and money and have to save in many areas to allow ourselves to spend in others. We have just found our “new” car; a five year old car replacing one 13 years old and the deposit we have made on it and the balance will be paid out of our savings. After buying it on Saturday, it was such a lovely day we had a trip out and had lunch in a cafe. It was an expensive day, and now we have to tighten our belts and get the savings up to a respectable level as soon as possible so that we can continue to avoid debt and the anxiety that goes with it. Miserly? Bah humbug; THRIFT!
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Our hot water tank went out yesterday and how nice it is to have savings to pay for it. We didn't know it was going to go out. It didn't have a pull date on it. Like most household emergencies. They just pop up. We don't have to use a credit card to fix it. We didn't have to accumulate debt to fix it or worse, go without hot water.
I used to be horrified at the younger generation and would start out my comments by saying “I'm not a prude, but….” Now I am proud to say I am a prude. The same goes with being a miser. “I am a miser and proud of it. Aren't you glad you don't live with me!”
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Its a fine balance living a life frugally and within your means and giving yourself somethings you enjoy from time to time, whether thats a small treat or a larger purchase. From my own personal experience, if you deny yourself too many treats the temptation to splurge becomes overwhelming sometimes ! Nobody wants to be considered a miser. You have to make your own carefully considered choices in this life and be happy with them, even if other people might do things differently.
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I have been reading your blog for sometime now & always find - inspiration, great recipes, info++, & I admire your 'bluntness', it's nice to read a blog written by someone so comfortable with themselves they say how they feel (it gives me a little chuckle too). I am an aussie living in a little piece of Queensland paradise called Tambourine Mountain, our house is our haven, we are growing veges, & DB is preparing our chook pen to receive our much longed for 'girls'. We are new to the frugal lifestyle so it's a bit bumpy @ times but we are determined. There is a wonderful blog I also read daily called 'Down to Earth' written by a like minded aussie lady called Rhonda, I don't know if you are aware of her or not, but if you have a few spare moments pop into her blog & have a read, i'm sure you'll enjoy it, keep up the good work you do with your blog, Deb M
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For me being frugal is necessity not a choice. At times I wish I was better at it. I have never had a good income or money to splash around. Right now I am trying to save $4500 for hearing aids and it is one step forward and two steps back most of the time.
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I have no idea why people would come to your amazing blog and bag you out or be mean about your choices. I have found your blog to be one of the beacons in my life that keeps me sane and also makes me realise that with hard and focussed work- we can achieve anything. The only thing I don't like is that I have read it all from beginning to end and have to wait for further updates. It's that good. What I will do I think is go back to the start and read it over again. When I am out of debt, and every time I make a good choice, please know your continued inspiration has been a big part of my ability to get my life back on track. Froogs- you rock!
PS I too am a 40 something teacher- I see a lot of myself in your challenges and blog posts, and this is feel is one of the reasons I can relate so much to what you write.
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Not a miser by any means; but a frugalista nonetheless. Saving up for a second car, trying to pay off the mortgage - I can so relate!! Love reading about your frugal journey!
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Being a miser is definitely not on my 'Bucket List' - but living a more meaningful, productive life is.
We've become a society that demands and thrives on instant gratification. The power of advertising constantly informs us we can't exist if we don't have the latest this or that, and the advertising doesn't let up, it pounds on and on and on until we give in and go out and spend, spend, spend…
Well, been there, done that, and ended up flat broke, deep in debt, and thoroughly unfulfilled. Long story short, for us it turned out to be a blessing in disguise though, as it forced us to acknowledge our situation and lifestyle, that was the turning point.
Twenty something years on, we now know who we are, where we're going, and what we want out of life.
We were in our late forties when we purchased our home, all going well and good we hope to be mortgage free within the next 5 to 8 years.
We don't have holidays, dine out at restaurants or cafes, go to the movies, sounds boring but for us life is anything but that. Maybe one day we might indulge in those activities again, but I doubt it. Our frugal lifestyle has weeded out who our real friends are, there's only a few of them now but it's so liberating to just be accepted the way we are instead of being judged on what we wear, what we have, where we've been, where we're going …
I only have one regret and that is, I didn't start thinking and living this way when I was much younger, but better late than never.
Once again Froogs, another thought provoking post. Many thanks for allowing those of us who follow your journey to share ours with you too. X
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Yes, it feels good to reach pensioner status and have no mortgage or debts. It means that once the electricity, TV licence, water, etc have been paid, I can get out and about for the occasional treat. Yesterday I drove down to Portscatho, had lunch at The Hidden Hut (Seafood Paella cooked & eaten al fresco in the gorgeous sunshine) then sat on Porth Beach getting slightly sunburnt. xx
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I think being frugal and being a miser mean two different things. To me being frugal is a choice to spend money wisely a miser is someone who hoards money for fear of spending it.
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We're definitely not misers, but we are in a situation which prevents us from enjoying luxuries like holidays and meals out. 90% of our furniture is picked up from the side of the road, the rest is from op shops. TV's are from the roadside and these days, most people throwing them out are kind enough to tape the remote to them. Our very expensive (if bought new) colour printer was another freebie. I made our colourful patchwork curtains from fabric off-cuts. We don't buy DVDs or books new. Pure cotton bed linen (sometimes unopened), kitchenware - all second-hand. The thing is, I really love old things and even when we're both working in usually well-paid jobs, we love the thrill of the hunt. I don't think that will ever change. We would never even consider buying a new car - it's an incredible way squander money. We have cars that are appreciating in value as my husband picked out models that are now considered classic cars. Thanks for this post:)
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Having read all the comments here, it seems to me that the problem lies in how people define 'miser' or what they associate with the word. It doesn't seem to bring up thoughts of 'thrifty' or 'frugal'; more often, it's 'misery'. But by your own definition (where you tell all the ways you pinch pennies), I am a miser, too (but often so far in a yo-yo sort of fashion). But I am not at all miserable. I enjoy getting all I can out of my money. I have cut back on impulse buying considerably, but it does still happen at times. However, I can make a dollar stretch into next week or farther, which is what I do most of the time. And most of my 'impulse' spending these days is actually purchasing supplies for my creative pursuits, some of which will be sold in future. But I also cook and eat at home most of the time, rarely buy clothes, make much of what I need and am a very good scrounger. I often 'rescue' things being thrown away and either put them to good use or pass them along to others who can use them.
I love your blog and am beginning to use some of your suggestions.
Thanks a lot for all the great ideas. ~ Linne
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We grow much of the food that we use to cook from scratch, we go to the library for books and movies, we thrift shop and make it ourselves. We owe nothing on our house and our cars, we call it frugal but it may actually be cheap! We save a little every month for emergencies and sleep really well - we are so very comfortable with our lifestyle!
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We owe nothing on our home or cars, we grow and can or freeze a lot of the food we use to cook from scratch, we shop at the thrift stores and we make it ourselves, we go to the library for books and movies, we set aside a little every month for emergencies and then we sleep well! We call it frugal but it may be just cheap! It's ok though, we don't stress, we trust the Lord and it is enough - always. 🙂
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Hiya Claire, I do agree with you, my kids dont have the latest console or game, but we make them wait a couple of months or make them save for it, if they really want it! I made them all save for bioshock infinate, as I knew it was a premium game that they both wanted at easter just gone. My sons console was their fathers passed down to him and the other console was a pre owned one, so we saved ,money there.
One kid loves second hand clothes and the other likes sale clothes!
I think they realise that if they do jobs or go sale shopping they get bang more for their pound. So instil this into your kids now and they will think frugal for the rest of their lives! My 3 do!
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You are not a miser!!!!! You are frugal which is sensible. I am trying to follow your lead in ways to save money but unfortunately I am constantly banging my head against the walls with my family. it seems if you are not the one paying the bills it does not matter. Desperately trying to pay things off and at the moment I don't seem to be able to see the wood for the trees. Just trying to do what you advise and pay off one thing at a time. You really are such an inspiration and it really annoys me that people read your blog if all they can do is be offensive? I guess it takes all sorts to make a world. My attitude now is that we are warm, fed, have a roof over our heads and love. You do not actually need anything else.
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I agree with you. It's not a miserly life if you get out and about having fun, have hobbies that you enjoy and generally live a good life.
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Sometimes I feel miserly as I seem to be forever telling my husband 'no, we can't have that/do that/go there' but for the time being we're being frugal because we have to be so I'm squeezing everything I can out of every penny. If I think back to when we were both working though, we were often frugal out of choice because it just seemed such a waste of our hard earned cash otherwise. It was a matter of getting the balance right, sometimes we'd spend, sometimes we wouldn't. We rarely bought clothes, for example, because we both spent our working week in uniforms and there is a limit to how many clothes you can get through in the hour or so before bed after your shift and maybe one day off a week. When we did buy, we splashed out and bought quality which is still serving me well now. I was very frugal with my wedding dress though, that came from a charity shop for £1.50! bargain of the century 🙂 There was no point in busting the budget on something I'd only wear once, besides I liked it more than the more expensive dresses I'd seen.
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I don't want to be a miser, I have no choice! I only have benefits (at the moment!) To some extent I love the challenge of frugality but, at times it gets me down.
No savings,no mortgage but rent.
It's hard to budget at times, especially with fuel prices on the up.
One day, I had som many layers of clothing on, I could barely move LOL!
I do admire your courage and frugal ways,so keep up the good work!
Sandie xxx
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I wouldn't like to class myself as a miser but I guess I may well be one. I have always lived a very frugal life - for a long time due to absolute necessity. My Dad was the same (his 'catchphrase' was, 'I'm not mean, I'm careful'.) Nothing gave him greater pleasure than having money saved up in the bank and I, too, tend to squirrel money away - not with anything in mind to spend it on, just to know that there is a financial cushion put away for the proverbial rainy day. 'Cos, sadly, you just never know what life is gonna throw at you.
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I think it's all about personal choice and balance. I do think a lot of people in this country need to learn to live within their means again and if this recession has done anything its made people look at their spending and prioritise. I think we should all be frugal in our own way, whether its to save, cut debt, for environmental reasons or just as a lifestyle choice.
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I also believe in being frugal and see being miser as different. However, ever so often I realize that perhaps our perspective is slightly skewed. We believe that we need to be frugal to fulfill our needs. A telly?, fully appointed 3 - 4 bedroom house … with a garden for the children?, central heating? 1, 2 .. cars?, holidays in the sun?, 5 + outfits?, computer for each member of the family? Gym membership, diet food, dog food, baby food, eating out and so on… Why? because otherwise we are, poor, suffering, on the breadline ? Really???
And by buying all that stuff, whether we are saving for it through the frugal ways by giving up some other wants(needs?) or charging it to a credit card, in the end we all are slaves to those wants(need?) and the stuff. Sometimes I imagine what it would be like not to have those 'needs' - how liberating! We earn that money and we do not need to spend it! .. and no need to be frugal or miser, just happy because all our needs are fulfilled. I know it is unrealistic, so I am opting for being frugal, for ever trying to weed out what is important for me and what is not.
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I definitely save so I can live as I choose, like you. I aim to never go into debt again (except one day a mortgage), and I stash a little cash every month for a cheap holiday, Christmas gifts and travelling home to visit my family.
I save money on things I don't care about so I can afford the things that matter to me.
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