My Frugal Year

There is a difference between “frugal” and “cheap.” Cheap seems to have a negative connotation. That word brings about notions of Scrooge-like behavior. Being frugal or thrifty is a positive thing and to me, it doesn’t come from a place of lack or unwillingness to share. It’s just smart. I’m frugal and thrifty so that I CAN do things I enjoy, donate to causes I believe in and to create a better life for my family. In my life, being frugal brings a feeling of abundance to my home, so I think it’s a truly positive thing.

Today I blew four bucks on a Chai Latte at Starbucks. Not too frugal particularly, but that’s ok. What that brought me was a couple hours with a dear friend. Being frugal doesn’t have to mean that you never treat yourself! Saving is important – but that Chai Latte with my friend was a sanity saver.

No other spending this day, so nothing saved but my sanity – so I think of that as a really good day!

Well, just a tiny bit of savings today. I had to do one of those “quick trips” to the store for milk and cheese. I didn’t have any coupons with me, so I just used my store card and saved $3.

I was thinking about various aspects of frugality today, and buying second-hand. For most anything we need I always check second-hand stores. Some things, though, are worth buying new. This occurred to me after a long shift supervising in the ballroom this weekend. Shoes. Don’t get me wrong – I have a lot of second-hand shoes, but those are aren’t the ones I wear when I know my feet are going to take a beating. I’m saving up to buy some nice black Danskos for work. The way my feet feel after a long day walking all over the complex, I think it would be worth it. They’ll last a long time and be good for my feet. I figure $114 at Norstrom is better because they’ll last for years. Better than spending $20 a pop multiple times over the years for cheap shoes that aren’t as comfortable.

When I’m feeling REALLY flush, I’m gonna blow the $300 or so for some LaDuca character shoes for my theater gigs.

That would be heaven! The Rockettes wear LaDucas. I want them!! Aren’t they pretty? And they are sooooooo comfortable. Sadly, you don’t find LaDuca coupons. But you see, that’s part of why I’m frugal…so that I don’t feel guilty when I get around to buying $300 shoes! Someday…someday I will treat myself to that luxury.

Meanwhile, I need to seriously consider turning down the temperature in the house to save some bucks on utility bills.

Saved today: $3.00
Year to Date Savings: $71.29

Another fairly uneventful day. There was $3.50 in parking, but no shopping, so no savings. Ok…maybe there was a small spending event. But honest, it was an accident!! Don’t you just hate it when you accidentally go through the drive-through at Krispy Kreme? We haven’t had a treat like that in quite some time. Excuses, excuses. But the kids enjoyed it and so did my husband. Well, I did too.

I think part of staying on track with being frugal is to allow yourself a treat from time to time. Not necessarily a ridiculous extravagance, but if you can’t blow a few bucks every now and then, what are you being frugal for?

Knowing why you’re being frugal and saving helps to meet the goals you have. When you have clarity on why you are doing something, your success rate goes up. I’ve certainly found this to be true in my life.

Tomorrow will be a better day…no off-track spending. I’m going to do some meal planning to see just how far I can stretch that grocery budget while still enjoying mealtime.