Frugality means many things to many people.
To me it meant reigning everything in to pay off our mortgages, first the one on our Welsh home and then when that was gone, the one on our pension investment property. It meant keeping an eye on the purse-strings all the time until we achieved the goals we set for ourselves. It meant selling off all surplus and no longer wanted or needed things and adding the cash to the savings.
Now, it means living simply.
All the frugal training is now so deep in the soul of me that I no longer have to think, or over-think the things that I do. And that is why there are no Challenges being blogged about by me this year ... there is nothing different for me to have on my mind. I have learnt so much from the many challenges that I have done over the years, now it's time to relax into those learnings.
It is now second nature for me to spend all of January eating from the fridge, freezer and cupboard before I even think about visiting shops to purchase anymore edibles. It is ingrained in me not to waste anything ... food or household items ... to shop second-hand from charity shops, to make the best use out of every thing that I already own and to stock up on bargains available at brilliant prices if they are something that I actually need.
I will not be eating the cheap beans, unless they are the tastiest beans, or buying the cheap bread because I'm saving pennies if it means that I am potentially sacrificing my health. I will be buying the quality things if they are the best things, and the cheapest things if they are what suits me best.
I will of course be continuing to blog about the food, the books and the simplicity, and you are as usual more than welcome to visit and comment as and when you wish for as long as I continue to post. Not that I have any intention of stopping any time soon.
You're all stuck with me just not a challenging myself me ... if of course you want to be. There is one major thing that the old me would have turned into a big Challenge, but more about that another day. 😁
Sue xx
I think you're right to consider value in a way that's separate from cost. Cheaper items seem a good choice but too often are not worth the savings. I'd rather buy less but better quality.
ReplyDeleteYes, exactly this. Buying less but better quality. It takes time to get to a position where this is possible but once you are there, I think it's pretty important to do this.
DeleteFor me, being frugal is about mindful consumption, and I think you've found the perfect balance, Sue. Xx
ReplyDeleteYes, being mindful is so important. xx
DeleteI like the idea of being Frugally Trained
ReplyDeleteLike you say it becomes the normal so no need for extra challenges - although I might have fun with saving just in case I want to move again!
I think we both thought that we had made a final move ... only to realise that we probably haven't. Oh well, once unto the breach and all that. ;-)
DeleteAgreeing with so much of this. Growing up in a family with little spare cash. Then newly married in our first jobs, saving every penny to pay our way through Bob's 5 years of training. Bringing up a family on a small income - then having a big mortgage which swallowed up every spare penny... But now we are in our own home, and on a pension, and we can manage. And because frugality is ingrained, now we can afford simple treats and not feel guilty. We can "buy well, and buy once".... But also be responsible about sharing our blessings, and giving and sharing our resources with others.
ReplyDeletePerfectly put Angela. I've been through it all from paying for food with small change when my boys were little, to paying off mortgages and gaining financial freedom. You learn every step of the way don't you until it becomes second nature. Once you have yourself sorted that's when you can really start to help others.
DeleteYour post is spot on for how I feel about living well in retirement. I have just cooked up soup to save wasting veg and will not need to shop for another week at least. I enjoy our simpler life with my best friend and am thankful for each day with him. Catriona
ReplyDeleteThankfulness and gratitude are wonderful feelings aren't they, I'm so pleased to hear that you have them both. :-)
DeleteFrugality is a mindset, I think. Sometimes, we are frugal because there is a financial need; sometimes, it is because it has become ingrained in us. I will still read your blog even if you never do another challenge again. :)
ReplyDeleteYes, it's something that can seem quite awful at first and then it becomes, as you say, ingrained. Then you realise that each hard step you take gives you the knowledge that there will be easier ones ahead.
DeleteWe have always been frugal mostly out of necessity but now we can relax a bit and I agree whole heartedly if we want the "finest" bread or anything else we can now do that but only if it suits us. I really enjoy reading your blog so I hope you continue. You write with a lot of common sense and reason. Regards Sue H
ReplyDeleteIt's a good feeling when you suddenly realise that you are 'there', and you can begin to relax into the mindset of it not being completely necessary but more something that is a choice. xx
DeleteFrugality is about being mindful about money rather than penny pinching for the sake of it. Even if I was loaded I'd always choose to shop second hand first! xxx
ReplyDeleteExactly, I would be just the same. :-)
DeleteThat sounds very sensible. We are trying to eat food which is both economical and healthy, avoiding Ultra Processed stuff. The bread from the bread maker is as cheap as supermarket basic stuff, and much more tasty. I liked Jack Monroe’s idea of buying cheap baked beans and rinsing the chemical red stuff off. I have homemade tomato sauce in the freezer.
ReplyDeleteIt's the experimental things that we do and read about that can help us save the pennies and begin to build up the pounds isn't it. Jack's bean rinsing was a real eye opener to me all those years ago, I had never thought of it as a cheap way to get haricot beans before that.
DeleteVery wise words, thank you, Sue. For me, it is about living the best (not the poshest or the most expensive, just the best) and most responsible life I can with the resources I have. xx
ReplyDeleteIt's finding out what our 'best' is in each little area of our lives and enjoying that we can have them without guilt that is truly liberating isn't it. xx
DeleteWell said. I have to admit I got tired of reading about your challenges. Look forward to 2025 posts of interest.
ReplyDeleteHaha ... no more challenges honest. Perhaps a bit less of me, but definitely no more challenges!!
DeleteHappy New Year! Now it is my turn to be as thrifty as possible!
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to you too, and I hope it's a nice thrifty one for you. Reign in the spending, save the pennies and build up the pounds. xx
DeleteSue, I will follow your posts whatever you write about :)
ReplyDeleteYou are so right about frugality becoming ingrained. I never thought Graham would get the frugal mindset but now he sometimes points things out to me that I had missed! He WANTS to eat less meat and more veg and we have just paid another years subs for the council allotment in order to grow healthy veg. He's sorting his seeds and making a list of things we need to buy for Spring, washing pots to reuse them and planning on using any birthday money to buy the stuff we need for the new growing season.
Contentment, not lavish living , will be fine for us now ;)
I am intrigued by your hint of change to come......
Angie x
Oh it sounds like you have him well and truly on board. Now that he's not working as such, he could really help to feed you both from the allotment ... weather and health permitting. It could almost be his 'part-time job', with him on the allotment and you in the kitchen, mixing and matching and sharing labour when necessary, I see a frugal and very tasty year ahead for both of you.
DeleteThe 'intriguing' thing, well it could have been a challenge ... instead it will be a mention, simply to be slipped into every day living. I'll probably expand on it a little bit more when I have my head wrapped around it a bit more. :-)
Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteMaybe subconsciously, I think you have just set yourself a new challenge. Frugality may be ingrained so much that it can be hard to ease off a little and focus on buying quality, rather than just cheap, food. You may not be blogging it as a challenge but I think this year will be focused on eating for health, economically where possible but if not possible then health will come first.
No challenge, just life as it happens. There will be no budgets as such but just buying what I need whenever I need it. 😀
DeleteI shall follow along reading whatever you choose to write about - it's always something interesting.
ReplyDeleteI'll be my usual very varied self, there will always be food, books and life in the Lodge. 😄
DeleteLong may you continue blogging about food and books etc (and Mavis & Ginger). Have read you for so long and love to hear about what you do.
ReplyDeleteWendy (Wales)
Aww, that's nice, thank you. ❤️xx
DeleteBlessings in your new year. I’m happy to be along for the ride.
ReplyDeleteAll the very best to you too. You are always welcome here. xx
DeleteI always look forward to reading your posts Sue ❤️ You could write about how long a piece of string is and make it interesting 😘 👏 I had to laugh at your remark about eating cheap beans, I feel the majority of us have had to do that when we faced hard and tough times😮
ReplyDeleteOh, beans on toast is a hard times staple isn't it ... and a good times meal to savour when the mood strikes. 😀
DeleteHappy New Year to you and Alan, I like your mantra re your blog, which I have read from the beginning, I’ve decided to only buy from charity shops which is easy for me as I volunteer at one!, to only buy when something needs replacing in the home, I certainly don’t need any more clothes! In fact when they wear out I won’t be replacing them, scale down the wardrobe! 😂 Loved your comment about the beans! I love cheesy beans on toast with Worcestershire sauce, it’s a beautiful sunny day here down south albeit -1 degrees, I feel a walk coming on. Enjoy your day Sue, take care,
ReplyDeleteMargaret x
Contentment and gratitude are important but here there is inflation so I have to think about purchases and avoiding waste too. Happy 2025 and thank you for still being in blogland.
DeleteThank you Margaret and all the best to you too. 😀 It can be a dangerous thing being a volunteer in a charity shop, all those lovely things needing new homes, and at bargain prices. But it's a wonderful thing to do.❤️
DeleteI agree e. inflation is rife at the moment, and buying less is a good way to combat it, and of course having no waste in any area of our lives matters even more than ever now. But those of us that are intentionally sensible and frugal have lived like that for years. 😀
DeleteI think that a new year brings with it challenges of its own. Ones we don't have to blog about if we don't wish to. I am still striving towards a simpler live and have found that I have perhaps made that pursuit just a bit too complicated.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
It's easy to get carried away isn't it, but I'm happy to say that I think over the years I have found the right balance, and even more so heading into this year. ❤️
DeleteWhatever you decide to write about, just please keep writing ✍️
ReplyDeleteRe: your para starting "It is now second nature " . . .
I do not know whether these days it is called it frugal or something else. To me it is also second nature, common sense, being practical, prepared, mindful and careful.
Like you, it has become a way of being, so much so that I don't think about it any more, what you describe is just how it "is". xx
Oh I will keep waffling on don't worry. It really is just a way of life now isn't it. 😀
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