I've always called myself stingy...no wait, make that my mum and brother..but if you follow my entries, it's just out of habit that I dont have desire to spend unnecessarily because of my financial circumstances. But I like to see the other side of the coin that being 'stingy', is not as bad as it sounds.
In fact the correct term for me, instead of 'stingy', is 'frugal'. First it sounds nicer and second, cutting down on costly habits give meaning to life as you start to reap the benefits which do not necessarily translate to material gains. I treasure the clothing pieces that I have currently and being creative in how to mix and match instead of becoming slaves to fashion trends. Of course, my mum is making noise at me to buy new pieces because most of my clothes are losing colour and getting worn out.
It's not that I dont want to but the nice ones are too expensive while the more affordable ones look like they just hire some random person on the streets to design the pieces. My mum said I am too choosy with me labelling some of them as 'aunty' clothes but seriously, it is not just that. Of course, I do make mistakes (what do you expect from someone who seldom shops) and there are a few pieces that I simply cannot wear because they dont fit me well. Anyway, I learnt my lesson. If there is no dressing room to try out the clothes, DONT EVEN THINK OF BUYING.
Back to being frugal. When you are careful about your spending, you make the most of what you have and it can also be environmentally friendly like for example, I dont have to buy another notebook and use what I already have especially those half written ones or those given as gifts. Of course, it sucks when I see a new notebook in a shop that looks so nice and begging for me to write stuffs in them but knowing myself, I would probably stop at page 2 or 3 if it's lucky. Have you seen those designer notebooks? They're not just pretty but so expensive. I think if you were to make the cover yourself (since these notebooks only look nice on the outside), it will be treasured even more. And you can also save the trees if you reuse the pages of old exercise books and compile them into one personalized journal.
But then, people may scoff at the idea of being frugal because life is too short to impose limitations on yourself. So I dont see anything wrong in treating myself once in awhile or go to those restaurants that serve nice food but the prices are slightly higher than the amount I usually spend on food. Okay, I sheepishly acquired three pairs of flat heels last month within a week. I almost wanted to get another two pairs of heels that I would rather buy than these flats but because I already bought them, I had to forbid myself from buying additional two pairs of heels although they looked way more stylish and furthermore they were heavily discounted. Then, I told myself...hey..what is going to happen to the ones that I had just bought? They would probably be collecting dust. But hey, in the future, there will always be nicer looking heels that will be heavily discounted because they are of a past season or they want to clear the existing stock.
Being too used to a pampered lifestyle isn't good either because you can't see things on a ground level like for example, there are rich people who look down on other people who are not of the same status as them as if they belong to a different planet. And then, what if the red carpet is suddenly being swiped off from your feet and then you find yourself struggling to walk on even ground. Look at the world today now. Anytime, the world can change and people who have been living on a high suddenly find themselves out of jobs or getting themselves in serious debt when the financial world collapse. There is no telling what will happen next although there may be clues every now and then but now everyone moves around in a fast paced lifestyle that these clues are hardly detectable. So, it is always good to plan for the future and even if it means stashing away $50 per month every payday that may seem very little at first, months down the road, who knows if the accumulated savings will help you to pay unexpected emergencies like bills or medical expenses.
So sacrifice if you must. I think if we are willing to forgo certain things that are not necessary to have, we learn to appreciate what we already have and in general, the quality of life will also improve. Money can help to ease burden but it doesnt go as far as to give you complete happiness. For me, I choose to lead a simple lifestyle surrounded by the love of friends and family rather than high definition TV, a faster work processing PC or an expensive smartphone. No point getting a luxury car if you only use it drive yourself to and fro from work instead of using it to bring your family out for dinner. No point getting the latest blackberry if you hardly communicate with your loved ones face to face because work keeps you preoccupied most of the time.
Some people consider frugality as a virtue. Learn to embrace it. Reduce waste, save costs, increase satisfaction, why not?
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