I Deserve Stuff

We have a lot of things we tell ourselves that sabotage our saving and prevent us from getting ahead financially. We say these things without thinking deeply about them, a superficial refrain, an unexamined mantra.

We think things like “You only live once” and “life's too short” to justify and rationalize our spending. Because I could save and “I might die tomorrow” and “after all you can't take it with you.”

So you spend all your money “because you work hard and you deserve it” not really thinking that since you work so hard you deserve to keep some of your money. That you deserve to have some in the bank working for you, instead of you working hard in order to be penniless.

Most people are going to spend a huge amount of their short, hard working lives working in jobs they don't enjoy, and would rather be doing something else. If “life is short” is really a genuine reason for doing things, why don't people save more in order to work less hours and have more time for themselves?

Why is this? Partly through most people not being self aware in this area or deeply thinking about it, and partly because of the media environment we grow up with constantly trying to get us to buy.

Permeating western culture, particularly in the U.S is the link between fun, enjoyment, and even happiness, with stuff. Therefore when you save you're depriving yourself of enjoyment. Couple this with a short term view and need for instant gratification, and you get a culture where you want and you buy. A culture where frugal is boring, saving is boring. Where by if you accumulate money that brings you options and freedoms you're actually depriving yourself. Save money? But you could have more stuff instead.

With most peoples money it's often a case of “hard come, easy go.” You can turn that around with a budget, tracking off your spending and a bit of planning. You don't have to be a miser, you can save and have fun.

Buying Quality

This post is part of a series of ongoing posts on Frugal Concepts

Part of being frugal is about making your money go further and getting value for every dollar spent. However this doesn't necessarily mean buying the cheapest thing, often it pays to spend more. Buying quality is often cheaper in the long run.

Clothes. Do you have a wardrobe crammed full of cheap clothes that don't look or feel good to wear? Buying one high quality item of clothing, such as a shirt, will last longer, be more comfortable, fit, and look better than multiple cheap ones.

When buying clothes go to thrift or consignment shops and buy just a few that that look good and that all go well together. By mixing and matching a few quality clothes and some stylish accessories you can produce a lot of chic different looks. You don't have to buy them all at once, it may take sometime to find the right clothes for the right price. When you replace your old clothes you can sell them, and recoup some of the cost of your quality clothes, at a consignment store or yard sale (or donate them to charity). You will feel better with a few quality items than a wardrobe full of uncomfortable clothes cluttering up, and weighing on your mind.

Make a list of how many tops and bottoms you need for work and casual wear, taking into consideration washing etc. See what you have and work out what would go together and what you need to buy.

In General. Of course buying quality isn't just a good idea for clothing, it applies to most consumer items. This is true for used goods as well, a lot of antique furniture is solid, will last, and may not cost any more than new. It will also hold it's resale value as well should you later sell it. You can get greater pleasure, more use and a longer life out of owning quality items.

Finding Quality Paying more money doesn't always mean greater quality. You may be paying extra for a image which provide no extra quality. Other brands can also provide the same quality but at less cost. Reading reviews and doing research can help you find those items with the best value for money. Research not only the item but the factors that make up the quality in the item you are about to buy. Like the features and specifications. E.g for a TV, what resolution does it have? Also research the brand and shop where you might buy it from and their reliability and warranties.

Note when buying TVs, computers and other consumer electronics while quality is important buying the latest cutting edge generally is not. Unless you particularly want it. Don't pay a premium for a product what will devalue fast. Buying secondhand or an earlier new model will get you more quality for money.

Welcome to FrgualTwig!

Hi and welcome to the very first post in Frugal Twig! I'm Geoff. While I live at the bottom of New Zealand I read mostly U.S personal finance blogs and talk about universal ideas. I want to write about not only ideas on how to be frugal, but ways to make money too. I intend this to be a personal finance blog that has mainly financial issue based posts rather than personal ones.

Having said that I will give a quick run down on myself. I'm 36 single and keen to talk about money! Unlike many PF bloggers I haven't been in a lot of non investment debt and never really had a problem with credit cards or overspending. Still I haven't had a lot of money for quite a bit of my life and know by necessity, how to be frugal.