Who is one dimensional?

Frugal people are not.

Frugal people are stereotyped as going way out of there way to save a nickel. Although this is sometimes the case, this is rarely the only cause for going out of ones way.

Sometimes, going out of one's way is the scenic route.

Here is why I do things that are frugal:

FOR MY CONSCIENCE
-Over consumption of resources means other people around the world are left with less. I see this as a form of stealing.

TO TEACH MY KIDS
-My husband and I believe in a strong work ethic and we want to demonstrate that to our kids. Just because I don't get paid for work I do around the house doesn't mean it has no value.

TO LEARN
-This one is huge with me. Knowledge is power. The more I know how to do myself, the less I have to rely on others to do things for me. There are things I do where I am unsure if I will save money at all, in fact the goal sometimes is to break even, but I am becoming a more capable and well-rounded person by doing them myself.

FOR FUN
-There is so much I do just for fun. Sure, the activities may overlap in other areas, but fun is my primary motivation in soap making and sewing.

FOR HEALTH
-Many things I do that skim a few pennies off a meal add massive amounts of nutritional value. I may or may not have done them just for those pennies, but no matter what our income is in the future, I will continue to make food from scratch for our health.

FOR THE PENNIES
-I am God's steward of every penny he lays before me. I feel it is my obligation to think through my decisions and use his resources to the best of my ability. Yes, the pennies do come into consideration, but they are not the only thing.

TO SAVE TIME
-It takes less time to tumble my Wonderwash than it does to go to the laundromat. It takes less time to brew a cup of coffee than wait in line at Starbucks. And the more I do at home, the less obligated my husband and I are to have to earn money outside of the home.

As I think through many of the things I do, making pasta, line-drying clothes, sprouting foods, the reasons for doing these things are dynamic. For each of those, at least five of the seven reasons factor in.

What other reasons do you have for doing the frugal things you do?




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