Frugality isn't very sexy. I'll admit that.

For most people, the concept of thrift probably conjures images of coupon clipping, stock photos of piggy banks, and Benjamin Franklin -- none of which are terribly glamorous.

Frugality, is, however, in line with the concept of getting rich slowly. We've learned that building wealth has much to do with living below your means. You have to increase your income, yes. But in the process of looking for ways to earn more -- whether it's negotiating, switching careers, picking up side gigs -- frugality is your friend.

[Editor's Note: Kristin Wong penned this article on money management tips even through your fears a couple years ago, but it's as relevant today as it was then.]

My first year of high school, I was looking for an easy, goof-off elective -- a class that would allow me to take a break in between Geometry and English, and maybe catch up on some magazines or take a quick nap. "Debate" sounded right up my half-assed alley.

I'll admit it. When I lost work last year, a tiny sense of entitlement crept up on me.
Okay, maybe it was more than tiny. On the outside, I told people: "I just feel like I deserve a good job, you know?" On the inside, I thought: Why the $%^@ don't I have a good job? I'm awesome.
My awesomeness, however, is irrelevant. Sometimes these things just happen. They happen to a lot of people, and, despite kind words of encouragement, they don't necessarily happen for any good reason. It's funny -- when bad things happen to me, I always tell myself that it's only because something better can happen. It's like I think I'm immune to obstacles or something. Oh, this can't possibly be bad. Bad things don't happen to me, I'm Kristin! It's probably just something amazing in disguise.
Convincing myself that "this happened for a reason" started to get depressing after three months, when absolutely nothing progressed. I felt fueled by entitlement, and it dragged me down. So I stopped. Instead, I kept working hard without expecting anything at all.
Sounds sad, right? It was actually the opposite. Hoping for everything and expecting nothing gave me a deep sense of gratitude. Life doesn't entitle me to any perks, which is why I should be thankful that I have some pretty great ones. I have an awesome place to live. I have a loving and supportive partner and family. Even when I lost that job, I still had other work. (And now, I'm even more grateful to have an abundance of it.)
Life, I realized, is good. Beyond that, I also think that gratitude is a good financial habit. I'll explain.
Impatience is costly
Researchers from Northwestern University, Harvard and the University of California wanted to conduct a study on instant gratification. In an abstract, these researchers wrote:

"The human mind tends to excessively discount the value of delayed rewards relative to immediate ones, with 'hot' affective processes believed to drive desires for short-term gratification."

In short, people dig instant gratification. This usually backfires. Impatient investors, for example, can make unwise market decisions -- selling a poorly performing fund before they give it a chance to grow in the long term. CBS News reported on the study too. As they put it:

I'm not usually a fan of gimmicks. But if the sole purpose of a gimmick is to save some extra cash, I guess I'm OK with it.

We talked about this recently, but there seems to be a heightened interest in frugality lately. Maybe that's why I've noticed a whole crop of money-saving challenges popping up all over the Internet, from personal finance blogs to Pinterest.

And then, the other day, my boyfriend asked: "Have you heard of this thing called the 52-week challenge?"

Maybe it's because I'm getting older, or maybe it's that I'm in a better financial place than I was just a few years ago, but lately, I've been thinking a lot more about giving back.

In recent years, it's becoming more important to me to be socially conscious and charitable. I'm secure, I'm healthy, and I'm free. That contentment seems to urge me to check in on the rest of the world.

Or, maybe it's coming from a more selfish place.

In the past few months, I've had a noteworthy number of conversations about the trend toward frugality. More of my friends seem interested in finding ways to save, I can't throw a rock at the Internet without hitting a money-saving "hack," and, during a job interview, I had a lengthy discussion about how "personal finance is now trendy."

Get Rich Slowly reader and money blogger Mrs. PoP noticed it too, and wrote about it on her blog:

"Recently I've begun to notice something a bit unusual. An interest in personal finance seems to be becoming more common, and dare I say, trendy… Maybe I'm just drawn to [friends'] comments because of our own interest in personal finance. But maybe, there's also a chance that personal finance -- in a non-gimmicky way -- is actually starting to be 'cool'." Continue reading...

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I recently read a short article in The New Yorker titled "The Cult of Overwork." In it, James Surowiecki writes:

"For decades, junior bankers and Wall Street firms had an unspoken pact: in exchange for reasonably high-paying jobs and a shot at obscene wealth, young analysts agreed to work fifteen hours a day, and forgo anything resembling a normal life."

Reading that, I had a thought. If you're working 75 hours a week, is your job really "high-paying"?

We get a lot of pitches at Get Rich Slowly. Despite the underlying marketing agenda, sometimes these pitches contain useful information that is worth sharing. Case in point, Pep Boys emailed us a whole array of free services they offer. My ears perked up for a few reasons:

• I was impressed with just how many services they offer.
• It made me wonder about other places that offer free car maintenance services.
• A Pep Boys shop just opened downstairs from my building (selfish, sorry).

Not every city has a Pep Boys store, I know. But there are a handful of other places that offer free services too. At any rate, I thought I'd find out more and put together a list.

Tire Repair & Rotation

Stacey Hamilton is manager of Pep Boys' Services Sales and Operations. She told me, "Our free tire repair is probably our most popular service."

Over the weekend, a friend of mine came to visit. She's a career counselor and, while I wasn't looking for free advice, the conversation naturally turned to my job hunt.

"How's it going?" she asked.

"It's bleak," I complained.

One of my money resolutions is to switch banks. I've been a long-time customer of a big bank that, in recent years, has stood out among headlines that reveal sneaky and unethical business practices. That's not the only reason I'm switching, but it does help me want to change. So, it has got me thinking bank vs. credit union?

Some people think credit unions aren't terribly convenient -- maybe they don't have online banking, or maybe it's hard to find an ATM when you're traveling. But I've found that, despite the potential inconveniences, there are advantages to consider when it comes to a credit union. Here are a few things I'm keeping in mind as I make my decision.