Perfectly Practical #94 - Simple Does NOT Necessarily Mean Easy

Simple is not the same as easy.

When speaking of simple in a frugal context, it just means less, not easy (although, these examples are quite easy as well.)

• It is not easier to make your own laundry detergent than to buy it - but that means less chemicals on your skin
• It is not easier to make your own chicken stock than to pick it up at the store - but it means fewer processed foods in your body
• It is not easier to cook or pack a lunch rather than going out to eat - but it means reduced expenditures

So really less is more:  more nourishing foods, healthier, and more money in the bank.

The first steps to becoming frugal are simple but they are far from easy. In fact, those steps may make you distinctly uneasy in the beginning.

• It takes character to stand up to society's claim that you NEED this thing to be normal and happy. No thing will ever make you happy and as for being normal, Dave Ramsey says, "Debt is normal; be weird."
• It takes integrity to say no to peers who ask you to go out to eat or shopping with them. Even as adults, we feel peer pressure. Your friends will still be your friends even if you wear your clothes more than once or bring your lunch to work instead of going out to eat.
• It takes honor to stand by your spouse as they say no. I don't like being told no and I'm not particularly fond of telling others no; but, when Engineer says no, I have to stand by him. He is the one who looks after our finances and if he feels that a certain activity or purchase is not the best decision at that time, we discuss it and then we make the decision together to pass on it or not.
• It takes strength to be humble. All of the above show that you have to humble yourself. You have to face the music, face the facts, face the man in the mirror, and any other cliche meaning you have to take a hard look at your situation as it is and not how you think it might be.

Now that you have started to think intentionally and frugally (not cheaply) it's a great time to really do the simplest but most definitely not the easiest step towards frugal living:  sit down with your spouse and create a budget. 

Fear not, simplicity (and frugality) does get easier with practice...even the saying no part.

This is the third in a series on frugality:  Part 1:  So You Want to be Frugal?  Part 2:  Frugal vs. Cheap

This is part of We Are That Family's Works For Me Wednesday