Being called frugal can almost sound like a insult in modern day society .
We live in a culture that believes “more is more” in terms of consuming, buying, and spending. They more you consume the better you are.
So to do less of that style of consuming can cause someone to be somewhat of a outcast amongst their peers.
But is frugality really that bad? We’ll find out in today’s post!
Since we at A Step Above Style value your time (and because you already know why you’re here) we’ll jump right in.
Let’s begin.
Frugality Defined
According to the Cambridge dictionary frugal can be defined as :
“Careful when using money or food, or (of a meal) cheap or small in amount”.
Cambridge Dictionary
When you read the word frugal in your mind perhaps you imagine someone who is less fortunate and is barely getting by in life.
Perhaps you envision someone who is eating ramen noodles, and missing out on all the fun things and experiences that life has to offer.
But what if I told you that the range of people in this frugal category vary a lot more than you may realize?
Consider Warren Buffett for example. With a net worth of $116 billion, he’s definitely not your average guy.
But he does have some surprisingly frugal habits. One of which is his home.
He has lived in the same house since 1958. A house that cost $31,500 at the time and is valued at .01% of his wealth. In today’s money (adjusted for inflation) his home is valued at $250,000.
Compare that to what most people are doing.
Most people will buy as much house as they qualify for. Most people believe that “more is more” and sequentially move from one big house, “outgrow it”, and then move to a even bigger house. This cycle repeats time and time again.
And while they believe they are homeowners, in reality the house owns both them and their finances in general.
As of the second quarter of 2022, the median home price in the U.S. was $440,300, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
Rather than being able to enjoy things such as shopping, vacations, and hobbies guilt free, people who are house poor spend all their money paying on a mortgage and making repairs to their home.
Because of the price of their home, they now have to borrow money (financing) to get a car.
Their house note has led to a car note. Their car note leads to financing a cell phone and so on. A slippery slope of debt, bills, and never being able to get your head above water.
Unfortunately many become comfortable with going into debt so that they can continue living a consuming lifestyle that allows them to “have their cake and eat it too”.
They’ll have as big a house as they can qualify for, and still go on all the trips, do all the shopping, and enjoy all the hobbies like everyone else. They’ll just borrow the money with another loan, or transfer the balance to another credit card.
How Frugality Identifies Smart Purchases
“Frugality is simply enjoying what you have purchased”.
Another way of looking at frugality
When you make a great decision with what you buy, there’s no need to buy the “latest and greatest “ version of it.
Why?
Because you put a lot of thought into your initial purchase. By shopping smart you are 50% of the way to being frugal.
The other 50% happens when you refrain from buying things just for the sake of buying them.
Frugal people understand they buy things with hours of their lives. (We use our time at work to earn money that we then spend on things).
So to make another purchase of the newer version of that same item actually makes your first purchase look inferior.
So to be frugal is simply to enjoy the things you already have that work and fulfill your needs.
Conclusion
As a faithful reader of the A Step Above Style Blog you understand that we think about things differently from the average person.
Warren Buffet has some uncommon habits that lead him to become one of the wealthiest men in the world.
He wasn’t afraid to do things differently from those around him. He made choices in the beginning that lead him to where he is today.
So today we encourage you to stand on reason. Don’t get caught up in the emotional decisions that lead so many Americans into lifelong debt. Use reason and avoid this modern day culture of consuming.
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