frugality

The line between frugal and crazy

You don't have to go very far down the path of being frugal to reach the point where people start questioning your sanity. (You bicycle to work? Even though you have a perfec

What If Everyone Suddenly Became Frugal?

What if a magical spaceship from the planet Cheapos came to earth and brainwashed everyone so that every single American stopped buying useless junk and started to live way below t

How much are memories worth?

I get a particular negative jolt when I review a credit card bill and find a charge for something that's already over and done--a meal already eaten, a vacation already taken,

Endurance Frugality: Staying The Course And Being A Winner

Frugality can be fun and help you sleep peacefully. But don’t be fooled: as frugal days turn into frugal years and frugal decades, bag lunches can be become boring; smallish houses

Peanut Butter: The Poor Man’s Protein

Peanut butter is a staple food of many households. The rich and the poor alike find it to be filling and delicious. Eating the ri

Playing Around: Frugality as a Game

Most people don't find frugality fun. Describe a thing as frugal and people will tune out. Describe a person as frugal and he immediately seems uninteresting. However, this

Living within your means isn't nasty

How bad could things get? The New York Times asked that question about the economic situation. It's a good question, but they gave a really bad answer.

The many reasons--besides frugality--to do for yourself

Doing for yourself--cooking your own meals, making your own clothes, growing your own vegetables, playing your own music, baking your own bread--is sometimes justified on the groun

For Best Results, Turn Your Kid's Pants Inside Out

Designer kids’ clothes are not cheap. And while boutique looks are adorable and all the rage for younger tots, they don’t exactly fit into our

Finding joy in temporary frugality

If you read frugality and simplicity blogs for any length of time, you'll run into a lot of people who take great joy in having simplified their lives. Gradually simplifying y

Book review: Retire on Less Than You Think

Halfway through Fred Brock's book Retire on Less Than You Think: The New York Times Guide to Planning Your Financial Future, I was already drafting a review that would

Book review: The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need

Andrew Tobias' The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need is the perfect book for every Wise Bread reader.

On the importance of having capital

One of the most frugal things you can do is have capital. Whether it's money in the bank or a nice chunk of reasonably liquid investments, having capital not only makes money (thr

Frugality: a tactic, but also a goal

I was going to write a piece on how frugality was a tactic, not a goal. The point I wanted to make was that the goal is living the life you want to live, and that frugality is a ta

Making the most of your guilty pleasures

I've been trying to come up with a way to articulate the mental shift from being not-frugal to being frugal. It's not really about wanting to spend less, and it's certainly not about making do with less. [more]

Do you have what you want… and do you want what you have?

Sometimes, being frugal means not just saving money; sometimes it means not spending any at all. There’s been a growing preoccupation with working more to earn more--to buy more; y

The seven deadly sins of consumerism (and the frugal redemption).

Sit ye down, hold your loved ones tight, and get ready for the seven deadliest sins of the modern day consumer. (By the way, I know I’m a movie buff when I can reference two of the greatest films ever made in one blog headline. [more]

Can I Conquer My Vanity for the Sake of My Sanity?

The truth is, frugality can be terrifying — especially for those who crave a lavish lifestyle. But where has all that spending gotten you?