Non-Frugal Reasons to Be Frugal

The other day, after we’d talked about maintaining a positive attitude about frugality, I remembered something I wanted to add to that discussion, which is this:

Frugal habits have non-monetary benefits, and focusing on those can help prevent deprivation feelings and can help you hang in there when you want to give up.

For instance, cooking at home can save you somewhere around a bajillion dollars a year, but there are other benefits.

Like:

-less trash production (unless you’re eating somewhere that uses real dishes and silverware)
-healthier food (unless you’re making s’mores for dinner)
-ingredient control (you can avoid allergens, use local or organic ingredients if you wish)
-tastier food (I’d prefer a homemade meal over fast food most any day)

Sometimes when I’m ready to throw in the towel, fork over the money, and get takeout for dinner, thinking about the non-monetary benefits of cooking helps me drag myself into the kitchen.

If you’re feeling sorry for yourself because you have to cook due to a lack of money, maybe try re-framing that:

“I’m cooking because I want to produce less trash, eat tasty food, and feed my body well, and I’d want those things even if I had a million dollars.”

It makes it feel a teeny bit more like a choice that way, you know? And when it’s a choice, that improves my attitude a whole lot.

This works with quite a few other frugal activities as well.

• Fixing something instead of buying a new one saves money, but it also keeps an item out of the landfill and enables you to avoid purchasing a new one, which means you won’t be supporting overseas factories or using up more resources. And fixing an appliance always makes me feel like superwoman, so there’s that.

• Shopping in thrift stores lowers your clothing budget, but it also can support a charity, keep clothes out of the landfill, reduce demand for fast, cheap fashion, and allow you to buy a well-made item that would normally be out of reach.

• Refinishing old wooden pieces (like, say…cabinets!) is frugal, but it also offers you flexibility (You can choose whatever color you want.), keeps new items from being manufactured, and gives you a product that’s better than a new particle board/MDF piece. And if you finish it yourself, you can also fix it yourself when the finish gets dinged up.

• Borrowing or renting something instead of buying it means you don’t have to store it when you’re done, and fewer items need to be produced when multiple people use one item.

• Living without a smartphone will almost always save money, but it can also help you to avoid screen addiction and be more connected when you’re face to face with people.

I’m sure I’ve just scratched the surface and that there a lot more examples of this. What came to mind for you?

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Joshua’s 365 post: Dark to Light