Happy new year.
Buon anno.

Yes, I have my indulgences. We have some savings for things like scifi cons and (*squee*) Bruce Springsteen tickets. There are also some things that I’ve decided aren’t worth the money to me, like most movies in theaters, new cars, or a bigger house.

But even more: I have enough, so the need for more money isn’t the main focus of my life right now.

Friday we had 20 friends over. We roasted a turkey, friends brought leftovers, and we played board games and laughed. Some friends got better acquainted. That turkey & stuffing ingredients cost about $5. On-sale Shasta cost another $5. (Pre-party cleaning, well, that took hours.) It wasn’t the money that made the occasion fun and interesting – it was the people.

Then there’s my post-work de-stress routine of “walking to the bus stop”. (Not exactly expensive.) Or swapping massages with my darlin’. Sharing online comics. Having friends over for dinner (a little extra pasta doesn’t cost much).

Now, if the only thing you find fun or interesting is insanely expensive, then you’ll have a problem. Otherwise, a lot depends on what you want, and how forced into frugality you feel.

[...] wants to know how to (legally) keep frugality fun and more interesting. – Just keep thinking about how much MORE money you’ll have in the future by making the right [...]

[...] JD talked about making frugality fun. [...]

When I got to the register, I told the cashier that I was on a coupon extravaganza and she laughed and got in on the fun, finding extra coupons for my purchases. In the end I saved $47 and made a tired DC cashier laugh. Now that was fun.

[...] JD wants to know how you make frugality fun. [...]

[...] Ask the Readers: How Do You Keep Frugality Fun and Interesting? by Get Rich Slowly – This is a constant battle for me. I like seeing the progress in my account balances as I work to spend and save more wisely, but I still have the desire to buy things that I know I shouldn’t. Making it to Boardwalk at BankRate.com, interview with Robert Kiyosaki – I found this interview to be a mixed bag, I like Kiyosaki’s focus on improving financial education, but I found the recommendation to buy silver to be rather bizarre. I guess you only have to be right about something like that once, but precious metals have rarely been a wise place to put your money. Time will tell. [...]

My mom (who is so NOT frugal) does wash her plastic bags – in the dishwasher no less. I prefer to use plastic containers instead.

Now, I really find frugality fun. This is because I want my friends and family to see the importance of frugality..and I want them to become frugal too. Becoming a frugal person has much more influence on other people than just mainly preaching. Your credibility shoots up if they themselves see you as being frugal.

Just recently when I was in Singapore, I was really tempted to buy a PSP. I already did some web shopping and mall shopping to see which store has the lowest price, but before deciding to buy it, I asked questions to myself like “Will this thing really help me in the long run? Will I find more fulfillment and enjoyment in spending my money or saving and investing it?” Since I really like investing and seeing my money grow, the decision was a no brainer. I also thought of what I felt when I spend my money on things that will not really help me achieve my goal..and so I opted not to buy one

I think a balance [that you're comfortable with] has to be reached. You have to recognize when to pay up for something, or when it is reasonable to find a cheaper alternative.

For example, I do a lot of shopping at Goodwill and Value Village. The stores I go to have (generally) a great selection of clothes that are in really good condition. Between shopping for used clothing, and shopping in places like Ross, I rarely buy new clothes in department or specialty stores — and it isn’t obvious to other people. I’ve seen Seven jeans at Goodwill, and I recently bought a (seemingly unworn) cashmere sweater for $15. However, I also know that if I want/need something specific and I can’t find it used, I’ll go and buy it new.

So, the real answer is: decide why you are being frugal, and then find the right balance between what to be frugal with, and what (and when) to splurge on something.

This is becoming a hot topic, as well it should be. It is so easy to become obsessed with numbers and Frugal Bachelor is as guilty as anybody about staring at his account balances and net worth all day long and figuring out how to pinch a few more cents. At the end of the day money is a just a means to an end, and the next challenge after getting your finances in order is to figure out how to use your financial position to LIVE better.

1. Spend money on the important, life-enhancing stuff, and spend less on things that don’t matter as much to you.

We spend a lot of money watching and participating in live performances and on travel. On the other hand, we drive old cars, borrow books from the library, wear clothes for comfort instead of style, and are downsizing our home. Your priorities will be different.

2. If you’re “bored”, then your goals aren’t compelling to you. Reexamine the reasons you’re being frugal, and change your approach and goals accordingly.

We’re easily bored, so we change major chunks of our lives (usually for the better!) every two years or so. We sit down and talk about what we want and what we’re willing to do to make it happen.

(Hint: when you have no debt and a fair amount of savings, a world of opportunities opens up to you. Just ask JD . . . )

I’ve learned to get a real kick out of the interesting clothes I find at thrift stores. I get more complements on those than on ones that I buy new. I love the theater and can drop a fair amount on a ticket when there’s something I really want to see. But there are often good plays at community theaters for $10 and our annual Shakespeare in the Park is free. Some friends with more flexible schedules than mine, volunteer to hand out programs at the theater and get to see the plays for free.

Bird watching, cross country skiing, kayaking, and lovely autumn walks are some of the funnest things around. The kayaks weren’t free but they sure were cheaper than the big gas guzzling motor boats that so many people have. Cross country ski setups can be bought for less than $200 and provide years of skiing for the money. In some places you can find used equipment.

Get a book from the library on local architecture and go check out the buildings. Watch your local newspaper for outdoor concerts…

When you are trying to save on food get some interesting cookbooks – at the library or used book store – and enjoy the experiment.

Pretty soon the expensive car seems somewhat pointless.

[...] Get Rich Slowly discusses some great ideas for keeping frugality fun.  [...]

Anything I do from here on to save money is going to be a hard, painful lifestyle change. Which comes back to the balance between saving for tomorrow and enjoying your life today. I’ve known enough people who died young that I have no interest in saving every penny for retirement.

I DO clean my bags. But I only process the ones that can be cleaned with a quick rinse. If I have to scrub with soap then rinse forget it. Cheese residue? Moldy left-overs? Into the trash they go. If they pile up I toss them as well. When I realized I was STILL getting two or three uses per bag ON AVERAGE, I stopped feeling guilty at the waste.

My weakness is books and I can spend (and have spent) a LOT of money at Amazon. Here’s what I do control myself:

- Try to find it at the library. There are some utilities to automate this. I use Book Burro (http://bookburro.org/) which will
alert me if the book I’m looking at (on Amazon) is at a nearby library, or available cheaper elsewhere. If I totally love the book then I can buy a copy for myself later, but usually I’m happy to return it and never look at it again.

- After I fill My Cart, before buying several books, I pull at least one item back out of it “for next time.”

- I put it into my Wish List instead. This is VERY helpful: sometimes I’m just in greed-mode, and putting it my Wish List satisfies that itch, especially since I know I can buy it “next time.”

Now if only I could save on parking… I could buy a lot of books with THAT money!

I liked this post. A good read going into the weekend, when boredom usually takes over.

My wife and I like the idea of splurging on the nice restaraunt whenever we decide to go out and eat. That way it’s special and high quality. For normal meals we try our best to stay home and cook.

PT
http://www.ptmoney.blogspot.com

Also, as has been said, some people actually find certain ways of being frugal to also be fun. When you find that, have all the fun with it you can…you’ll be saving more and more money!

I like to read. I could spend money to buy books, but instead I get stuff from the library.

I like music and theater performances. I could spend upwards of $25, $40, $75 a ticket on the big acts in the big theaters in town, but there are literally hundreds of smaller venues with lots of interesting work going on for far smaller admission prices. It just takes a little more detective work to find them.

And, don’t forget that old saw about the best things in life are free. Get outdoors–nature is amazing, and parks and beaches are generally free, free, free. Going to the playground with a kid? Fabulous, and playgrounds are free! (Heck, if you don’t have a kid of your own, you can probably get someone to pay you to watch their kid for a while…) There are also some great pastimes just for grownups that are time-honored ways of passing the time for free, and those never get old.