Days 57-58: Reason behind the frugality

I've always been frugal. Having a grandmother raised during the Depression made an impact on my family's approach to waste and savings.

However, I sometimes question the purpose behind my (extreme?) frugality. Is the point to live as austerely as possible? To see how long I can go without spending any money just for the challenge of it? To squeeze all the use I can out of every cent, and in doing so, squeeze all the fun out of life?

Hardly.

While I'm a saver by nature, I'm hardly cheap. I love to find appreciative new homes for my excess belongings (and sometimes money). I don't deprive my kids of the necessities, or, honestly, of many of the things that can be an enriching part of a childhood. Big Girl took gymnastics lessons for a year and as I mentioned earlier, we are planning to join the Y.

**I don't bring this up to brag, just as a defense against the belief that you can't be frugal and generous at the same time.**

I think you can go too far in the name of frugality, IF there isn't a clear-cut purpose behind it. Yes, there may be times when the kids' activities have to go because there absolutely isn't enough money for the extras. But on other occasions, frugality can cross the line if the goal is just to be as cheap as possible.

So why am I frugal, except that it's part of my nature? Well, for starters, I'm a shopper. No, not at the mall, but at Goodwill. If I don't reign myself in with challenges like The Compact, I end up with little things "that I might need someday" or "that I can resell for a profit."

          (Sidenote: I know the Compact means "buy nothing new" but I'm trying to apply the same thought
           process to buying used as well)

Truthfully, I very rarely needed those things someday, and my reselling adventures netted me maybe a few dollars. Hardly worth the time it took to store and package things for mailing.

Also, I noticed along similar lines that I was spending all my time worrying about my stuff: cleaning it, picking it up, moving it around, wondering where I put it when I cleaned and/or picked it up and/or moved it around. The kids were playing with their favorite toys over and over and never even looked at the extras in the closet.

So what have I noticed as benefits to curbing my urge to buy? For starters, I'm a lot happier without a lot of unnecessary clutter taking over my life and without a tsunami of stuff constantly coming into the house. I have a lot more time to spend doing things that are free and don't involve packaging or upkeep (swimming at the Y yesterday, trips to the library, walks around the neighborhood--it might only be 21 degrees but a girl can dream, right?)