Comments on: Frugal Friday: The Cost of Being Frugal

By: Cia

Cia — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 23:12:47 +0000

I greatly appreciate the direction of your blog.

Between old gals like me, who have a wealth of experience, and young moms like you, who have creative determination, I worry a bit less about the ability of this generation to weather whatever economic storm comes our way.

Thank you and God bless.

By: Marcia Wilwerding

Marcia Wilwerding — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 02:01:37 +0000

It is so funny that you mentioned painting your old furniture! I had written my post before I read yours, and — lo and behold — my post is about repainting my old hutch. How funny!

By: Hoosier Homemade

Hoosier Homemade — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 14:05:09 +0000

I will have to admit it is a bit aggrevating always telling the kids we can't do that. But it is also fun doing things that don't cost anything. You just have to be creative
Thanks for hosting!
~Liz

By: Leila

Leila — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 13:11:14 +0000

Another "drawback" to being frugal — you have to continually tell people how the fabulous thing you managed to find, spruce up, and display attractively or use cleverly was CHEAP!!

Thanks for sharing!

By: Tara

Tara — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 12:05:37 +0000

Another cost is that people will look at your 7-year-old daughter strangely when she tells them that, "No, I don't have a My Twin doll. My mom found this My Twin shirt at Goodwill." I was thrilled that my sweet daughter looked so proud!

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 11:58:51 +0000

I would consider myself a "newbie" to the saving/coupon way of life, but this month I had a total breakthrough. First off, our goals are:

1. Pay off our (small) mortgage ASAP

2. Pay off the remaining balance on our one car that we're purchasing from my parents (thanks Dad and Mom!) interest free

3. Build up our savings for those rainy days that people are always talking about.

4. This is the totally frivilous one…we're also putting money away each month (and saving all our coins) for a vacation. Now, the thing about this one is that the vacation can only come after we've paid off our other stuff and it can't come out of the rainy day savings, but it's nice to have something to save up for that's just for FUN!

OK, so those are the goals that we've set. The "breakthrough" this month was that, for the first time, I've been able to stick to my grocery budget and even stay UNDER budget. I also stopped before I hit the "Purchase Now" button on Amazon and thought, "Do I really want these [blank] more than I want a fatter savings account or more than I want to be totally out of debt?" The answer was a resounding NO!! I closed my browser window and by doing so, I "saved" $25! It was an "Ah Ha!" moment for me.

Thanks for sharing your life with the rest of us so that people like me, who are still in a frugal learning curve, know that we are not alone! God Bless!

Carrie K.

By: SwoopUp

SwoopUp — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 08:34:37 +0000

Another "positive" cost to consider is saving money can actually make you healthier (i.e. buying healthy food at the grocery as opposed to eating out at restaurants and fast food places)

P.S. Nothing wrong with coupons either! =)