The Problem with Miserliness
October 5th 2006 00:38
Darkness is cheap, and Scrooge liked it.-Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol
Saving money is great, indeed, ‘tis what this blog is all about. But is that all there is to life? Ebenezer Scrooge thought so, but most would disagree with him.
There are people who know how to live frugally and that’s the focal point of their life. They take in and store up, but never give out. Others know how to live frugally, but choose to be spendthrifts. They live paycheck to paycheck no matter the size of the paycheck. A spendthrift ends up financially poor and a miser ends up emotionally and spiritually poor.
Both issues flow from the same point and that is where frugal living is presented as a goal in and of itself. Some people will view saving money as a measuring stick. The miser fills their bank account with funds and stay ahead of the rest of the world. The spendthrift sees no point in saving, and therefore no reason to hold himself back from whatever he wants.
Thus, the first key to avoid being a miser or spendthrift is to catch a vision of what you want to do with money. “I want to be frugal so that I can save for my kids’ college” is a great goal. “I want to be able to retire well” is a great goal. Smaller goals can work, too, such as, “I’m not eating out as much so I can save for a vacation.”
If you have an actual reason why you’re trying to save money, you’ll see more of a point to it, but you’re focus won’t become the money, but rather achieving your goals.
Secondly, use money for good. Give funds to charities or religious organizations. By doing so, you avoid the selfishness of both the miser and the spendthrift. You can definitely use the idea of thrift to help make you a smart giver by investigating the type of ministries and organizations you support to insure they do the job they’re supposed to and that they watch their money. If you’re giving to a local organization that has a specific need, rather than giving money, you might choose to find the items they need yourself to make sure your money is used the best way.
Third, don’t let everything be about money. Some things in large spoonfuls don’t make sense financially, such as eating out and watching movies in the theater. These should be avoided in general. My wife and I usually go out around 2-3 times a month and to a movie once or twice a year. True, we could wait for the DVD every time and never eat out, but then we’d be letting our money control us rather than controlling our money. We’re making a choice to have fun with some of our money, even if it’s not the most frugal way to do it.
Don’t become utterly austere unless you’re in truly dire financial straights. Keeping perspective makes it easier to live a frugal lifestyle, because it becomes much harder when you deny yourself all fun and joy in life so you can save a few dollars. So, thus, the good bargain hunter is balanced and doesn’t give up his life to the bargain, but finds bargains to best meet the needs of his life.
Saving money is great, indeed, ‘tis what this blog is all about. But is that all there is to life? Ebenezer Scrooge thought so, but most would disagree with him.
There are people who know how to live frugally and that’s the focal point of their life. They take in and store up, but never give out. Others know how to live frugally, but choose to be spendthrifts. They live paycheck to paycheck no matter the size of the paycheck. A spendthrift ends up financially poor and a miser ends up emotionally and spiritually poor.
Both issues flow from the same point and that is where frugal living is presented as a goal in and of itself. Some people will view saving money as a measuring stick. The miser fills their bank account with funds and stay ahead of the rest of the world. The spendthrift sees no point in saving, and therefore no reason to hold himself back from whatever he wants.
Thus, the first key to avoid being a miser or spendthrift is to catch a vision of what you want to do with money. “I want to be frugal so that I can save for my kids’ college” is a great goal. “I want to be able to retire well” is a great goal. Smaller goals can work, too, such as, “I’m not eating out as much so I can save for a vacation.”
If you have an actual reason why you’re trying to save money, you’ll see more of a point to it, but you’re focus won’t become the money, but rather achieving your goals.
Secondly, use money for good. Give funds to charities or religious organizations. By doing so, you avoid the selfishness of both the miser and the spendthrift. You can definitely use the idea of thrift to help make you a smart giver by investigating the type of ministries and organizations you support to insure they do the job they’re supposed to and that they watch their money. If you’re giving to a local organization that has a specific need, rather than giving money, you might choose to find the items they need yourself to make sure your money is used the best way.
Third, don’t let everything be about money. Some things in large spoonfuls don’t make sense financially, such as eating out and watching movies in the theater. These should be avoided in general. My wife and I usually go out around 2-3 times a month and to a movie once or twice a year. True, we could wait for the DVD every time and never eat out, but then we’d be letting our money control us rather than controlling our money. We’re making a choice to have fun with some of our money, even if it’s not the most frugal way to do it.
Don’t become utterly austere unless you’re in truly dire financial straights. Keeping perspective makes it easier to live a frugal lifestyle, because it becomes much harder when you deny yourself all fun and joy in life so you can save a few dollars. So, thus, the good bargain hunter is balanced and doesn’t give up his life to the bargain, but finds bargains to best meet the needs of his life.
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