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Being Frugal But With a Purpose

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Being Frugal But With a Purpose

Hi super savers. Hi also to the rest of ya’ll. What image comes to mind when you think of a frugal person? Be honest, One scruffy looking old man or woman who reuses everything from Jam jars to paper towels?

I remember my neighbour years ago used to wash and reuse tin foil! So if she got a piece of cake in a piece of foil paper, that foil would be tucked into the handbag and then washed, dried and put away for another use once she got home! But guess what? She was a very rich woman! Maybe, just maybe you have the wrong idea of what a frugal person should look like!

I’m a saver myself. I try to do my bit to reduce, reuse and recycle, I like to grab a bargain and I like telling others where they can get bargains or better yet, freebies. I like to hear about savings and ‘other’ choices etc. I enjoy every bit of frugal living. I don’t do couponing only because it is not a ‘thing’ in this country where I currently reside.

But you know what I hate? Hearing stories of people who take frugal living to the extreme and then die in a terrible state leaving all their savings. What is the point?

So today I want to talk to you about, not just being frugal, but being frugal with a purpose. Just in case you don’t know what frugal means, I’m going to explain.

What does living frugally mean?

Let’s start by saying the word frugal somehow has negative connotations because some people think of cheap when they hear the word when it does not, in fact, mean being cheap. Frugal people may spend less than an average person on certain things and may also save more but they are not miserly at all. I know there are some who take things to the extreme but I’m not on about those.

Some might be shocked to hear about a frugal person buying a really high end laptop. They might think ‘that’s not like them. They usually try to buy what is the absolutely cheapest brand they can find.’ But that is what being really frugal means. So this frugal person will try to save on other things but know the value and worth of a laptop and know that it would be better to buy a good quality one after having saved for some time than to buy a ‘lemon’ that is troublesome and needs replacing in no time.

That’s the type of frugal living I am talking about. So here’s what I like about frugal living. Some of these I already do and some I look forward to doing when I do get the chance.

being frugal

Being Frugal means Saving with a Purpose

I save. Sometimes I don’t necessarily like to because I can think of a million things to do with money. But what motivates me about saving is that I am saving towards something. I don’t get to go away on holiday every year so what I do is to try and save so that I can afford a decent holiday away for the family rather than going away and live in 1 star ‘luxury’more often. I don’t buy all the kids ask for. I don’t eat out often, reserving that for special occasions. I don’t buy the most expensive things that don’t give good value. I save, for holidays, for home repairs or improvement, and for other big things. When we do go away, we like to go to somewhere luxurious, not just for a week or 5 days but for like 4 weeks! It is definitely not cheap. We soak in as much luxury as we can (all-inclusive) because when we return from holiday, I like for everyone to focus on working hard and looking forward to the next holiday. This gives us a purpose to be frugal. So when I remind the kids of this each time they ask for something, they agree.

Value for Money

When I say I like a bargain, I mean I really do. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think getting some half rotten tomatoes for a bargain price is worth it. I do like to know that what I buy is worth the money or even that I got it for less than its original price! And if something I purchase isn’t value for money, or is somehow faulty, I complain! And with good results! Read my recent post about that here. Somehow I get a buzz from knowing that. I do this when shopping, be it for shoes, clothes or even food but the quality must still be good. Mind you, if a skirt that I am going to purchase has a 20% reduction in price because of a small ripped hem, I’m having that skirt! Of course, I know how to fix a hem and skills like this always come in handy; that’s being frugal. By the way, I believe in being honest with people, although sometimes it just doesn’t pay off! Read about how that happened to me while on holiday.

 

Driving down Prices (Haggling)

I think you already know that I love a bargain, right? Well, I practice haggling a lot. I don’t get embarrassed by it at all but my children are. So what options do I have? Well when I go shopping with them, I try not to haggle. When they are not with me, which is most of the time, I haggle away! I don’t take them shopping with me all the time because I tend to lose my focus and buy what I had no intention of buying or I let the other person get the better of me. Do you want to know where I especially like to haggle? Whenever and wherever I’m away from home, I just seem to lose all inhibitions! I think it might be the accent (both mine and theirs), but somehow I get excited with haggling over prices in strange places. We usually have a laugh and I am not embarrassed by the experience at all. As a child I watched my mom haggle down prices from market vendors and I was always amazed! She always won the contest, and for some time half the original price! That’s frugal living! Sure it embarrassed me as a teenager! But I’d always just look away as if we weren’t related but I sure was listening!

Couponing

I think this is an awesome opportunity to save. For those who don’t know what it is just type ‘Extreme Couponing’ in google and you will see. Like I have said before, couponing is not a big thing in the UK, but if it were, I think I would be great at it. With couponing, however, there is one thing I don’t like much. There are some who stockpile the stuff that they get and will never ever use all that. I’m a great believer in GIVING BACK. So I think people should make donations to companies or individuals in need. I have a niece in the US who has started couponing and from her stock, she donates to homeless shelters and women’s shelters. That’s the way to go. I think stockpiling food items and then dumping them when they are past their use-by date is wrong. That’s not frugal at all! We must think environmentally friendly as well and not just get things to then waste them.

So there you go, my thoughts on frugal living with a purpose. What are your views? Drop us a line at joleisacreed@yahoo.com. or in the comment section below. Cheerio

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Filed Under: Frugal, Give Back, Work Smarter

About Joleisa

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Comments

  1. Leta says

    September 25, 2016 at 11:14 am

    Love your ideas and the main message. I haven’t thought of being frugal in this way and now you really got me thinking, so thank you for this 🙂

    -Leta | The Nerdy Me

    Reply
    • Joleisa says

      September 25, 2016 at 11:50 am

      Great going! One new convert to frugal living. It’s awesome. Thanks for agreeing to give it a go and keep checking back for lots of cool frugal ideas x

      Reply
  2. shelley says

    June 5, 2017 at 9:24 pm

    My type of frugal! Thanks so much for sharing.

    Reply
  3. roamy says

    November 14, 2017 at 6:24 pm

    Thanks so much for sharing,I dont even think being frugal exist( because im one of them) I think it`s more being sensible with your money and not wasting things.That is how I do consider myself, dont waste, dont want, give out sinsible.It helps keep me out of debt.

    Reply
  4. Rachael M says

    December 12, 2017 at 10:23 pm

    These are some awesome frugal mindset tips! I love the idea of donating from the stockpile. One reason I haven’t looked too much into couponing was because of lack of space, but if I can get a bunch for the price of one and donate the rest to those who need it, that is surely a win!

    Reply
  5. Gibbs says

    December 14, 2017 at 12:13 pm

    Haggling is so much fun. I enjoy this activity when I travel and negotiate prices that I like. Even though I know that vendors always end up with what price they were originally asking, we both feel good in the end. They start higher and eventually the middle is their price.

    Reply
    • Joleisa says

      December 14, 2017 at 9:22 pm

      I had to have a laugh when I read that you love haggling too! The vendors know that we love to haggle so they give the first price at much higher than it should be. Hope you manage to grab some bargains anyway.

      Reply
  6. Kanicia Cognard says

    December 14, 2017 at 4:24 pm

    Nice post! I totally agree that saving with a purpose definitely helps me to save/

    Reply
  7. Lacy says

    December 31, 2017 at 6:30 pm

    I have enjoyed many of your posts. This is another good one! Thanks for sharing

    Reply
  8. Sydney says

    December 31, 2017 at 6:33 pm

    I needed this especially going into 2018. Purposeful frugality and saving!

    Reply
  9. Jen | My Healthy Homemade Life says

    January 15, 2018 at 4:28 pm

    I love the idea of being frugal with a purpose! I’m going to write out my reasons and put them front and center in my financial binder so I see them whenever I pull out my budget!

    Reply
  10. Leah | A Relaxed Gal says

    January 19, 2018 at 12:12 am

    Love this! When I was really into couponing I did the whole stockpiling and would then donate some of it to food shelters or food drives my church was having. I’m also big on using cash back sites when buying online. By using the cash back site and my credit card that gives cash back I’ve saved several dollars.

    Reply
    • Joleisa says

      January 20, 2018 at 4:02 pm

      You should check out QMEE and HONEY. Those two are my favorites for making and saving money online.

      Reply
  11. rameshlall says

    January 19, 2018 at 8:58 am

    we need more frugal, simple and sensible people around. and ur ideas are pretty nice.thx

    Reply
    • Joleisa says

      January 20, 2018 at 3:57 pm

      well, thanks so much for your comment and for stopping by

      Reply
  12. Patty Beach says

    January 19, 2018 at 4:57 pm

    Awesome article and very informative! Thanks for sharing. ~Patty B.

    Reply
  13. Matt says

    January 19, 2018 at 6:36 pm

    Some great ideas here, I especially enjoyed the haggling. I do it a lot on my travels in Asia but never in the UK. But I’m with your kids on that one, I’m rubbish at it! Keep up the great work.

    Reply
    • Joleisa says

      January 20, 2018 at 3:54 pm

      I love to haggle although I must say that sometimes the mood just isn’t right, lol

      Reply
  14. Tiia says

    January 19, 2018 at 6:50 pm

    Nice post, thank you for sharing your toughts on saving. 🙂

    Reply
  15. Cintia says

    January 19, 2018 at 7:03 pm

    Very honest and truthful post

    Reply
  16. Preirna Prachi says

    January 20, 2018 at 5:21 am

    Your ideas are amazzing. Loved it

    Reply
  17. Chris says

    February 3, 2018 at 2:00 pm

    I agree that there are so many different types of being frugal. I think it is something that has to work with who you are. I choose to try and live without too many material items but when I do have to buy something I like to get quality over buying something cheap and replacing regularly.

    Reply
    • Joleisa says

      February 3, 2018 at 4:09 pm

      That’s clever! Thanks for sharing

      Reply
  18. D says

    February 3, 2018 at 9:36 pm

    You have some great ideas and have explained yourself really good. It’s always good to be aware of what we are spending and how to cut down costs.

    D xo | Live Dream Create-D

    Reply
  19. Heather LeGuilloux says

    July 5, 2018 at 11:28 pm

    As a self-proclaimed frugal person (I have always been this way) I wholeheartedly agree with this post.. it can be important to have a purpose or goal in mind to practicing frugality but also to know the value of spending some money as a reward or to take care of yourself from time-to-time.

    Reply
  20. DeShena @ExtravagantlyBroke says

    July 26, 2019 at 1:59 pm

    Hi Joleisa,

    I definitely agree that being frugal does not mean being cheap. I think of it more as living comfortably. Because when you spend all that you have and bury yourself with debt, then there is nothing comfortable about that!

    Reply
    • Joleisa says

      July 28, 2019 at 10:21 pm

      Agreed, DeShena. Thanks so much for stopping by too.

      Reply

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Hi, we're Jo and Leisa, twin sisters and authors of Joleisa.com. Originally from the sandy beaches of Jamaica we now reside in England where we followed our calling to teach. But sometimes that call changes and our new passion is writing. We're here to give the ups and downs of it all with our lifestyle tips and tricks to help you avoid the sour lemons that can get in our way of frugal budgeting, intentional living and happiness. Join us and learn more about how we found the simplest ways to achieve easy living. Read More…

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