Natalie: Perplexed by the idea of being frugal (31 of 72)

Learn to live frugally.

Living frugally means buying less, wanting less, and leaving less of a footprint on the earth. It’s directly related to simplicity. Here are 50 tips on how to live frugally.

If a 1 to 10 scale existed for living frugally with a 1 being religiously adhering to all 50 tips provided by Leo Babauta and 1o being that that you leave a plus size Sasquatch foot print on the earth then I think I'm a 6.75. I find that I am a bit baffled by the idea of living frugally. Before I seriously pondered the concept of frugality, I assumed that being frugal meant living within your means. As a consumer of the earth, you should make conscientious choices about your lifestyle and its impact upon everything around you. You know like when you're at a potluck, you take just a little sampling of all the dishes and makes sure you leave enough for all the other guests so as not to appear too greedy. I know I'm not the most frugal person I know but everyday I do try to be more mindful of the lifestyle choices I make. At this point in my life, I do buy less than I ever have. Some of that has to do with my family's general cash flow but other times I am asking myself "do I need that?"

This idea of being frugal brings up other issues for me. I have always felt emotional conflicted about money and how it impact a person's sense of self-worth. When I was a kid, my parents were divorced. My dad was pretty well off but me and my mom lived with my grandparents and my mom didn't make much but she was terrible with finances. She spent lots of money on me when I was a kid. I think she was trying to overcompensate for my dad not being around or some other deep emotional wound she was trying to deal with. We lived in a blue collar neighborhood right around the corner from the projects. No one had money where I grew up but my dad would show up for our weekly visits driving different sports cars and being all flashy and so I by association became labeled "the spoiled little rich girl."

This label has haunted me my whole life and has a significant impact on how I come to be an financially responsible person. It makes me want things and at the same time feel guilty for that desire. It makes me feel undeserving of quality stuff so I accumulate lots of crappy, low quality stuff. It makes me cheap and wasteful all at the same time. I know how this sounds. I'm contradicting myself and that's why I haven't posted in a while. The idea of frugality has got me being very contemplative as I struggle with so much guilt when it comes to making purchases.

Anyway, my brain is starting to hurt from thinking about this task. I know its time to move on. If anything, learning to life frugal is something I know I is a task I have not mastered but is at least I place I have made some changes and hope to make more in the future.