Most people think that wealthy people are extravagant and poor people are frugal. Most people are wrong. In fact, the wealthiest people are hard to pick out of a crowd. Oftentimes they are the ones arriving to their financial planner’s office driving a ten year old Subaru. Meanwhile, a person who earns less than a quarter of their income might be driving to the mall in the latest model Toyota Camry.
A chapter in a book I’m currently reading called The Tightwad Gazette, says:
“People who live an affluent lifestyle are seldom wealthy. Affluent lifestyle people spend all of their money on extravagances and have nothing leftover.“
Too many people wrongly think that frugality has to do with being poor. Most people spend money the way they mistakenly think the wealthy do, which is on day-to-day extravagances. They feel good and experience a dopamine rush because they briefly made people think they are wealthier than they are. And while it is true that the wealthy do purchase more luxuries than the poor do, it is only using an extremely small percentage of their income in doing so. Whereas, “Poor people often remain poor because they spend any surplus income on short term gratification.” - The Tightwad Gazette
Happiness Odometer Rate
It‘s important to evaluate your lifestyle and notice what spending a little extra can do for your happiness. If you can spend a small percentage to gain a lot of happiness then that is worth considering. However, make sure you aren’t spending a large percentage to net a small amount of happiness. For example, does the brand name purse that you spent an entire week’s paycheck on make you that happy? Or would you be just slightly less happy with a new but less expensive purse? If it really means that much to you, then I’ll go against any tightwad and say go for it. Your money is there for your peace of mind, your safety, your comfort, and your happiness. Just remember, you will be stuck paying that sticker price long after the happiness high wears off.
Splurge Worthy
Our family really enjoys traveling. While traveling is expensive, we find the joy, education, new experiences and the memories we make while traveling nets us a high return of happiness for our money. We are always in search of ways to save money and that includes when we travel. Some of the ways we save money when traveling is by finding the best deals on plane tickets (being flexible and playing with dates and departure cities really helps), using credit card points to pay for our hotel rooms and carrying our frugal nature with us to the new town.
For example, a few years ago we stayed on the strip in Las Vegas. We went downstairs to purchase some water and to our dismay, the cashier said one bottle of water was $4! We purchased one but quickly found a case of water from a Walgreens on the corner and carried it back to our room. This saved us $96.
Cheap Confidence
Certainly many poor people are frugal and many wealthy people are not. But what I do see is that many people are ashamed of being frugal. To be happy and successful living a frugal lifestyle, we must be proud and confident in our choices. We must have a clear understanding of the trade-offs we are making and not feel we are being deprived. We need to keep a clear view of our goals.
"Be very careful, then, how you live - not as unwise but as wise,
making the most of every opportunity..." Ephesians 5:15-16 (NIV)
Let me encourage you today to 'waste not, want not.' Oftentimes being frugal shows a thankfulness and gratefulness for all the Lord has given us and a compassion for others who have not the same blessings as we do.
~Crissy
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