Sunday, January 3, 2010

Frugality, living within your means, and preparing for all eventualities


Q: Is there a point in being frugal when your finances don't necessitate it? Isn't being cheap and miserly a bad trait?
A: Are you cheap when it comes to charity but spend lots on yourself? Then your frugality is really just stinginess and is a bad trait.
Are you frugal because you don't want to be wasteful of money? Then you're doing a great thing, as it is a sin to be wasteful.

God gives us a certain amount of money, but even if we're really rich we shouldn't be wasting it.
No, I don't think a rich person should live like a poor person, but I don't think a rich person needs to give in to every whim and desire of his, merely because he can afford to do so.
Doing so trains people to be greedy and to be spoiled. When I see people going grocery shopping and their weekly bill is in the hundreds of dollars and that they exercise no restraint when it comes to shopping, I truly feel sorry for them.

I know people who have had their share of good fortune monetarily. They got themselves used to buying whatever they want to suit all their whims. The most expensive cuts of meat and the most expensive type of fish, on a regular basis. Bakery bought goodies. Live in maids. Eating out in classy restaurants on a regular basis. Getting weekly french manicures and pedicures.
When these people's monetary status took a turn for the worse, these people were unable to function with less their previous financial circumstances.
These formerly rich people didn't realize that a time would come that their income may not be the same and did not prepare accordingly. They did not save up any money. They did not get used to controlling their impulses when it comes to buying.
When their financial situation was dismal, these people kept on spending wrecklessly as they had formed bad shopping habits. They continued with their live, expensive cuts of meats, weekly manicures and pedicures, frequent restaurant meals, all while their electricity and phone lines are getting cut off because of lack of payment. Their house is getting repossessed and these people are still spending money as if they were rich.

So no, I don't think people need to spend money exactly like me if they have money to spare.
But they should definitely build up a sizeable savings and get used to not buy everything their heart desires, or they'll have a really hard time adjusting if their finances don't stay exactly the same.

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