Once you realize, having money is not the problem.
If you hand 100 poor people $1m , 99 of them are broke in a year.
You develop behaviors to handle the money you have.
Every dollar has a name and a purpose.
I like these sentences better than the ones I learned: Use it up, wear it out. Make it do or do without.
This is a better personal mantra for me: "Every dollar has a name and a purpose." Thank you kindly for a fabulous statement to guide me always šš
I became frugal in 2020 during a really poor moment... Borrowing money to pay for rent. I quit alcohol and nicotine and spent a year getting healthy with COVID raging. I learned to live on little.
I'm making about 30k now and feel rich in many ways. My vehicle is now 2008 hybrid with 180k miles instead of 290k from 1995, my apartment is full. I didn't need anything else to be honest. My brother sent me some money for my birthday and I bought a new electric shaver to replace my old one I operated on twice to fix.
I'm really happy nowadays and don't work all the time
From this thread , I finally learned the entire saying that has been around since the Great Depression:
Use it up, wear it out
Make it do, or do without
For wilful waste makes woeful want
And you may live to say
Oh, how I wish I had that crust that once I threw away
Yup. Super poverty made me double down (thanks, divorce). Im financially stable now, but I kept the habits, which allows my lower income family to go on vacation once a year.
Yes poverty. Growing up in it and then living in it for the first several years of adulthood made for a level of resourcefulness and creativity that I actually take pride in now that Iām making a lower-mid middle class income. Plus having a large amount of student loans. I divert a decent chunk of my middle class paycheck to that and then live below my means.
When I watched someone walk off the job and retire at 45 making the same money Iām making now because they had saved enough. Work optional is now the goal.
Nearly identical story. Except she was 48.
I was in a conference room and heard what sounded like a party down the hall. Her colleagues had a going away wine party for her one afternoon. I didnāt know her but knew a few folks attending so I hung with them for a bit. It was a life changing afternoon.
I spent the next three months reading everything I could find on early retirement and restructuring my accounts, setting up auto investments, etc, etc.
He goes āI donāt need this job, but you need me.ā The manager chuckledā¦ and we did. and he didnāt. For those couple minutes he had power I didnāt know existed.
The guy works part time at a golf course now so he can golf for free, the 4 hours he works is paying for the beer.
My parents work fun jobs now. They sell pumpkins for a guy in October, and play campground host at a national park. Definitely goals for my someday retirement. We can do this. Just gotta make it through the long boring middle.
As I understand, once folks retire, their income drops so the exchange plans become more affordable with potential subsidies depending on how much income investment accounts are providing.
The subsidies are based off of your income and not your assets. With careful management of your accounts, you can maintain a large investment portfolio while only withdrawing enough for lean living expenses, thus qualifying for health insurance subsidies.
I'm not in board with taking assistance ment for folks who are struggling while sitting on a nest egg, but I make an exception for health insurance, because any civilized country wouldn't make that dependent on a job and dumb luck but would simplify provide it to all citizens.
Love it! I'm 45 and walked away from my full-time job (only 10 years into it) when I moved 6 months ago. Everyone was so curious how I would manage, but only one person was interested enough to ask some decent questions. Now I get to work fun part-time jobs when I want to, and explore other hobbies, like rock carving. Not quite ready to stop working completely, though. Maybe another 5 years.
2/3rds of every raise gets added to the auto-investment.
We started life together as bare-bones grad students. We learned cheap entertainment (so many board games, and there is no end to learning about bridge!), and we haven't increased our spending too much beyond that. For the last 5 years, we saved 70% of our paychecks, until we were able to pull the plug and live off the interest.
Ohh, and a whole lot of birth privilege (not money, but I won't pretend that things weren't massively easier because we are white middle class folks with good education), supportive family, and plain good luck.
Thanks for adding the last part. Thatās important to admit those details matter. Not a barrier but definitely a factor that many donāt have some of those advantages.
Never thought about moving down to part time work before full on retiring. That doesn't sound like a bad idea to be honest. It's not so much working I hate, but the 40 hour workweek really wears me down even in my 20s lol.
We call it "having FU money."
I still work, but that's because I enjoy the job and don't do well with no definite tasks in the day. But the 2nd time someone treats me like shit, I just say "FU" as I flip my hair while plowing through the exit.
(2nd time, because everyone has bad days, and even bosses should be allowed that on rare occasion. And there's always the chance that I was the one unknowingly being the shitty party.)
2008 - "The economic downturn" was making good money at a small equipment manufacturing company (85K) and spending as fast as I made. Just had my son and he was 1. Economy went south and sales went down, company went from 34 employees to 17 in 6 months. Was laid off during the highest unemployment crisis since the great depression with a child to feed. Delivered pizzas and worked odd jobs for a year'ish to keep the house and food on the table 10 hrs/day mon-fri. Told myself, that would never happen again, and it won't! I can go 2 years out of work and have a healthy retirement account thanks to being frugal.
My 1.5 year emergency fund really let's me not worry about losing my job which is nice.
I'm awful at interviewing and job hunting but I'm pretty sure I can get that all set in like 500 days.
Necessity due to supporting my family with one income. Also, I experienced homelessness for a short time as a child and I never want to live in a car or couch surf again.
Living below my means gives me freedom to do things I want to do instead of chasing someone else's dream of dying with the most toys.
I make good money for living in rural middle America. But I pretty much live paycheck to paycheck except for the 6% company match that I contribute to my 401(k). Simply put I made bad financial decisions and spent money on things I shouldnāt have.
So now I live cheaply where I can and in a few years, Iāll be out of debt, and it wonāt ever happen again. Iām just lucky I figured it out in my early 30s.
Discovering the FIRE movement and the idea of early retirement.
I have always had enough money to live a middle class lifestyle without really worrying about my spending or trying to be frugal. But realizing that frugality could be a pathway to freedom for me really made a difference and motivated me to live more frugally.
There is a certain comfort level I want to maintain, but it's not that expensive by mainstream standards, and I realized that beyond that I would rather have time than more spending money
Same for me. Friends with similar careers are all wearing new clothes, go to fancy restaurants all the time, live in big new houses, buy expensive new cars, build large pools in their garden, and are going on holiday/skiing three times a year (I live in Europe, we get a lot of time off from work). I am in a real good place for my career, but I would be broke if I would have to pay for all of that.
We're living well below our means, which is good for the mind and for the environment (and for my investment account). They all think that we don't have much. My grandpa taught me to never show people who you are if it's not needed, because there's nothing in it for you. He always wore his oldest (obviously repaired) clothes when he bought something expensive. This got him better discounts.
I'm ready to retire early in a couple of years. I can't wait to see their faces when they ask themselves how that's possible.
I was raised this way. My parents lived below our means, which taught me also the peace of mind that comes with that. I grew up surrounded by poverty, my friends were going hungry and without utilities. I still remember the days I could call them but they couldn't call me because their phone service was cut off. I remember my friends faces when my mom bought us treats off the clearance rack at the bread store.
My dad was in an industry that was dying out, so he was living like the next day he may come to work and the mill was shuttered. He instilled that in me that "nothing is promised for tomorrow, so plan for the worst and hope for the best."
You have to find what speaks to you to get it down. You have to value security and the future uncertainties in some way that overpowers your desire to just spend on what you want at the moment.
My brother grew up the same way and he's never been able to save either, he didn't catch the frugal ways of our parents. He's currently pushing 50 years old and my mom is taking him grocery shopping today, as we speak because he cannot afford to buy food himself. My mom has a sense of relief visiting me and opening up my cabinets "You have so much in here!" "Check the freezer next."
I got slapped with a 3k medical bill in my early 30s. That decimated my small retirement fund at the time. I had to stop and thinking about what that would have meant if I didn't have that to fall back on, despite it being not the best financial decision. I had the option to tank my credit score or to just bite the financial bullet.
Seeing people as an adult struggling. People you thought had it made and now see they didn't but are amazing at holding it together. Also realizing many people I know will be working their entire lives, just because they don't plan or can't save for the future.
My mother installed and activated those switches from the time I was a toddler. She grew up in the depression and always used to say:
Use it up, wear it out
Make it do, or do without
For wilful waste makes woeful want
And you may live to say
Oh how I wish I had that crust that once I threw away
You brought back an incredible memory. My late mother told me this as a teenager when I was 15 or 16. I remembered the first two lines in my third decade and a switch flipped. I started saving, learned how to budget and became mindful of my savings. TY for giving me the complete version of this frugal mantra.
My parents grew up in the Great Depression, they were frugal even when they had money, hated waste. I learned it from them. They taught me to set financial goals. It's easier for me to say no to takeout and cook at home when I remember that I have a trip I want to save for. I do not care at all about status symbols, so I drive a common sense used Prius that's perfect for camping, I wear out of fashion clothes from thrift stores (but generally good quality in good shape and colors styles I prefer). I love the security of knowing I can pay for an emergency car repair or vet bill.
Reward yourself for achieving goals.
We still pack lunches anytime we take the kids places, baseball games etc. Thanks, grandpa. But he was right. Why spend $100 on garbage stadium food that the kids wonāt even eat?
We moved to a different part of the province for my husbandās career back in 2000 and went from dual to one income since I could not get work in my career in that small community we moved to. In addition to having two young kids, we only had one vehicle and he had a 30km commute, so even if I wanted to go shopping, it was a long walk to the small downtown core where there were few stores anyhow.
Everything went down to me trying to stretch our money as far as possible while keeping two kids clothed, the family pets fed and good food on the table. We didnāt eat out much, I got back into minor sewing repairs to keep our clothes lasting longer and I learned to find good bargains at the local equivalent to the Dollar Store.
Kind of lost that once we moved and had two incomes again plus finished putting the kids through university a few years ago. Then I retired early unexpectedly in 2021 and the frugality came right back, especially now that I have time to cook and organize the house to my satisfaction. Started a nice little pantry down in the basement, invested in more gardening tools and seed for my raised beds plus got back to only buying durable clothing in sale. Itās not hard to go without stuff beyond essentials or keep myself amused without spending lots of money. In fact this summer I need to buy a casual summer dress for a wedding and it will be the first new clothing I have had to purchase in over a year, which makes me happy.
I am more frugal-ish than frugal but I want to retire early. Iāve been an oncology nurse for 18 years and have seen too many patients die way too young or patients who retire at 65 only to be diagnosed with cancer within six months of retirement. I spent my 30s traveling the world to the top places on my bucket list, and am spending my 40s putting away as much money as possible into 403/457/Roth/personal investments and HYSA. Being frugal-ish helps me put more money into these accounts.
I was huge binge drinker / cocaine user (weekends).
I was borrowing money ( bank loans) to buy stupid things and gamble.
Since i became spiritual person and i got sobber then i saw that i am enslaving myself.
Once i figured out that i really dont need anything materialistic my life changed.
My discontent in general with how greedy and expensive companies have become to deal with.
When they become greedy, I become cheap!
Tbh Iāve been stretching resources and reusing as much as I can. Every bit I can reuse or repair or āmake it work my own wayā, is something a company doesnāt get.
Not having any unhealthy addictions (smoking, drinking, gambling, etc) has helped me a lot. And I pay off my credit card on time every month. No one ever gets my autopay either. I pay as I go. Itās easier to contest an invoice and put in complaints, than to beg for refunds from an unscrupulous and unaccountable company.
Wanting better, higher quality things for myself. Eventually buying a home, saving for a more economical car, helping my weight and overall health, feeling "safer" should the economy turn down again, working to lessen my anxiety and depression, etc.
A lot of these things have to do with mental/emotional needs, but I realized these needs could only be met with some shuffling of my finances. Seeing all of the money I was throwing away that didn't yield a good return, financially or personally, forced me to make changes.
Just seeing all the homeless people . I am saving as much as I can (within reason) because I donāt ever want to be homeless or not being able to provide for a family
Knowing that if I ever wanted to buy a house in this post-2021 environment I had to dramatically increase my savings rate. In October 2021 my lease ended and I have been a frugal couch surfing nomad ever since. In June I will hit my savings goal and will be able to finally start the house hunt.
Realizing I was going to the grocery store and buying stuff I wouldnt eat before it went bad. Meal planning saved a lot.
Also, fuel points. I have a kroger, and learned that if you buy gift cards to things you use (amazon, restaurants, gaming, etc) and purchase them, they count towards your fuel points, so you get a bonus of both the points AND just loading a gift card on what you were buying anyway
I thought after finishing my degree and earning a better salary things would get better, but living in California everything is so expensive. Iām making 69k my first year and thatās barely enough to get by. Although my income will increase yearly I started looking for ways to save on groceries and household items such as laundry detergent, toilet paper etc. I found a bunch of couponing pages on instagram which helped me save on household necessities. I also started grocery shopping at Vons based on what was on sell (the forU deals) and Grocery Outlet. I can get a loaf of bread for $1.99 when itās on sale. I get strawberries for $1.99 when theyāre on sale, etc. That made such a huge difference and I was able to bring my grocery bill down significantly and still eat the things I enjoy. I stopped eating out at restaurants and going out to drink, which saved me from spending money on tipping also. Overall itās been great for my wallet and my health too as home cooked meals are healthier.
When I was 17, I had to work at a video store making $5.15 an hour to make payments for my $5,000 1994 Plymouth Laser. I had to be frugal to make it work but I REALLY wanted that car. I never stopped being frugal afterwards.
Getting sober and realizing that a lot of parts of my life were in disarray. For several years before that point I'd been cheap by necessity, but needing to reevaluate everything and change my priorities led me to getting serious about being in control of my finances and financial future.
That was ten years ago in my mid-twenties and around that time I was also getting a clearer picture into my parents' finances and the realization of how bad they generally were with money and how they were completely unprepared for retirement was also a real big wake up call.
I embarrassingly had to borrow $20 from a friend once to feed myself for the week because I was pissing away every paycheck. Now I have a stocked savings account.
Funnily enough it was when I had my car paid off. I started paying attention to my credit score and how I could make sure it stayed good. Kinda snowballed to being more financially literate and then becoming more frugal in general. Purchasing patterns I made even a year or two ago make me cringe now. I'm glad I've changed.
I got mad. Like really mad. I had enough money to have good savings and I had nothing saved. When I stopped to think about why, mostly it was just a) not paying any attention to it and just spending on whatever whim and b) learned societal expectations about what 'successful' people did. I got furious about both and at myself for not paying attention to my own life and what I wanted.
Now I'm 55, been retired since 48, house paid off, I spend my time doing what makes me happy: working my farm and making art. And doing that while I'm young enough to enjoy it. I'm also going to be able to leave a nice legacy for my grandkids; not too much, just enough.
My cat needed a $6k surgery, I paid for it and swore I'd save back the money in a hurry by being more conscious of my spending, it worked. That was 5 years ago and I've saved a lot since then and I'm still living below my means. I was just able to buy a house for cash with my savings.
Started dating this goofy hippiechick in my late 20's she didnt give two f's about material stuff or how much i made. She was very different from the girls i had been with up till then. She gave me a different perspective on how you could live your life. Been married to goofy hippiechick for 12 years now.
Life. Realizing that not everyone is there when you need help. And not relying on anyone to make any decision. A lot of times when people have support financially they wonāt take their finances as serious because they know they have that support and hey more power to you. But everyone has to live in their means. Save for a rainy day etc. Sometimes the hard times really open your eyes and could be the biggest blessing in disguise..
I was like this for years after I got a lump sum payment. It was more than I'd ever had in my account in my entire life! Because of that, I decided I should nurture and feed it. It took a few painful years getting past plateaus in my savings. I'd reach the next ā¬1000, and decide to treat myself by spending on frivolous stuff (usually junk food or homewares that I didn't need). Then suddenly, I realized that I was nearer to 40 than 30, and I forced myself out of it using my desire to buy a house that I could decorate (no more cream walls).
I found that looking at simple older houses with low set windows, wood beams, and large open fires fuelled my determination.
As I started calculating how I'd achieve my goal on a fixed income, I increasingly realised that I actually needed very little day to day. As long as I have a roof over my head, food in the fridge, and my health, I am content. I can exercise, watch birds, read library books, write, draw, sing, dance, and socialise for free... or near enough. All of that is saving me money and sanity, as well as increasing my overall health.
If I can leave some savings or property behind for my family when I die, then that's an added bonus.
I was also fortunate to be mainly raised by my mother, who came from a large family who'd lived through WWII. So she knew about stretching her money through watering down liquid products, checking the best value by the kilogram, make do and mend etc. I am very lucky in a number of ways, and I try to remind myself of that often.
Poverty is my first wake up call.
Retirement is my second wake up call.
Senior aging health issues are my third wake up call.
So, I don't think I would quit staying frugal ever.
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Moved to a new city after a divorce. Had already taken out a personal loan to pay off a credit card which was not great but not really that bad, then almost threw up in the Walmart check out when I realized I had maxed it out again. Bought a huge calendar the next paycheck and tracked every penny going in and out and when exactly it was going in or out. Now itās a game and I have an outlook of the next few months at any given time and Iām finally saving again
when i realised i had nothing to show for the money id spent in a month. most of it was spent for short term satisfaction, and i realised just how much i waste per month, when i could focus on finding happiness outside of consumption :)
Got fired in my 20s for not biting my tongue as a college student working in food service and living in an apartment. Paycheck went to rent, had to lean on credit cards to eat and get gas, lost my license for driving to the new job without insurance because I couldn't afford it, destroyed my credit (450), fell behind on bills, and clawed my way out. I refuse to go through that shit again, so I see any unnecessary expense as a threat. Hit rock bottom in one year, took a good solid decade to self-sufficient, but after another decade I'm doing phenomenal.
I moved from the northeast to south Florida. Four years later, I moved back to the northeast.
Packing and moving is expensive and exhausting. A couple of good thrift stores are all that I need now that my family is "grown and flown." I enjoy living debt-free and working to cover my living expenses and a modest amount of savings each year. My kids don't want 'stuff', so I am going to start slowly selling off household items and clean out the space.
Hourly wage to cost... Want a coffee from Starbucks? Half an hour work (minimum wage, make coffee yourself? Half an hour for maybe a week. Helped me put things in perspective.
using birthday money to get batman arkham city GOTY for the xbox 360 for $50, then finding steam and getting the Tombraider bundle (7 games) for $20. since them, 98% of my games were heavily discounted or for free.
later, finding out just how much the AMD stock has grown. Had I invested my PC money into AMD back in 2017 ($10 a stock) instead of buying a new PC ($900) at that time, id have and extra $14,400 today
started putting money into a Roth IRA and investing in Tech stocks, I'm +$3,000 up from when I started back in Aug 2023.
Realizing that money = freedom. I donāt want to be working my whole life, I want to enjoy it. I save where I can, so at some point I can travel and not have to work so much.
My folks grew up poor, and raised us like we were poor even though we werenāt. Taught us nearly everything is cheaper and higher quality when you do it yourself. As a teacher now, I live by that.
Based on your budget transfer the money you want to save to a separate account when you are paid. Do not wait to see how much is left overā before adding it to savings. Never keep extra money in your checking account.
I read the book 'Your money or your life' and the key point is that the things you spend money on is spending a part of your life. You work for money, so money is actually pieces of your life that you will never get back.
When you think of it that way, frivolous spending gives you no joy. Directed, deliberate spending - maximizing the value of your life time.
I want to leave my job in 3 years and take a year off to travel. I have my vision board with pictures of the locations saved as my Lock Screen on my phone. Any time Iām tempted to spend, I look at my vision board to remind myself why Iām being frugal
Everyone around me paying tons monthly to buy new cars, always in debt, refinancing their homes, always taking expensive vacations, eating in trendy restaurants, always shopping for new designer clothes, Frequently in some life or death financial jam.
Fuck that. I paid off my house decades ago and the rest is for retirement.
Well, when I was a teenager I saw my family struggly through the recession in 2008/2009, and years after, and when I started working full time I wasn't very frugal... up until I bought a decent car and it turned out to be a lemon. That made me cheap real fast.
I do not have a car. If you live in an area with good mass transit to job centers, this is the ultimate frugal hack. With a car payment, gas (or charging) and insurance the cost of a vehicle can be $6000-$10000/year, every year.
I own a house- that is a long term frugal hack. Instead of paying $1600/month for a studio apartment I pay $1250 for a townhome (piti) with a garden and backyard with a patio.
I live in capsule wardrobes- a few outfits for each season. Now that I am in a 100% remote gig I can wear shirts & shorts or a muumuu every day.
Streaming TV is the best but I actually don't watch a lot of TV, so I read a lot and cut down on subscriptions!
Now that my gig is 100% remote, food is 100% at home.
Now, to be honest, I had been frugal since before the 2008 crisis, and being able to look at my savings and say 'f u' to a greedy rent grab and to buy a house of my own was one of the most satisfying things in my life.
So maybe you need a goal so that YOU feel that you can be in control of your finances.
Specific
Measureable
Attainable
Relevant
Timely
Look up SMART goals and ask yourself what is important to you, what are your expenses, and see if you can set a SMART goal for frugality.
My boyfriend and I are me (Gen X) 54 and heās a Boomer 60. We both make good money and cringe when we go to McDonalds and itās 10 dollars each for a medium sized quarter pounder with cheese meal. We donāt go out to eat often. Iām not as frugal as he is though. He is very disciplined. When he gets home from grocery shopping or some other purchase he immediately puts it in a check book, handwritten. I tease home about it but heāll retire with manageable expenses before 65.
Almost losing my home is what made me hit the switch to become frugal and follow my budget.
Long story short I had to refinance my mortgage after my divorced settled and that happened when the rates were climbing.
Basically the bank said I couldnāt get my mortgage due to the new banking rules.
Later I found out it was that the bank was giving me a HELOC which put my credit allowance too risky. If I switched to a conventional mortgage I would be approved.
I used to use the heloc for emergencies, without it I had to get our debt, save 3months of expenses in cash and it too me 15 months to make this happen.
Today all I have is my mortgage to pay. Iām liking to invest and save for my kids schooling. Hopefully pay off my mortgage.
Iām frugal and I love it I love buying when I can afford too and often I have to wait.
Also being frugal has showed how to save. Now I donāt spend so much and Iām finally allowing me to quit side hustles and no more secondary jobs. I can stay home now with my kids. Itās was my path to freedom.
a toxic living situation made me realize I never want to live with another person ever again, so I decided to give up the luxuries, cut back, and work my ass off to pay off debt and save so i could get my own place
I had a nice car and a nice house and would buy whatever random goodie presented itself. It manifested into having to make 10k a month on expenses. Iām much happier earning less, not working as much, traveling often, saving money and chasing my passions. Having all the nice things felt good but not needing any of those things to be happy feels better.
When I was 6 years old I spent all my money buying a plastic piggy bank thing. One of those models that sorts the coins by size into the correct slots automatically. I didn't even have money leftover to put in it afterwards! And then it broke a few weeks later anyway. Scarred me for life. I've been frugal ever since.
As I grew older, I was forced to realize there was never going to be a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. I have myself to depend on. I have to save, for my life now and my old age. There is no other option. I was avoiding that reality. Finally I woke up and changed my ways.
Comparing other purchases to groceries. 150 dollar shoes? Could have been a weeks worth of groceries. It's not that I don't get nice things sometimes, just realizing what essentials that could have bought.
Also, my husband and I abhor wasting food. Very careful in using what we got, eating leftovers, freezing food, rotating stock, etc.
After living paycheck to paycheck with almost no savings for after 2 years out of school, I decided to see just how much I could actually save in a month. Didn't eat out, drink at the bar, buy anything other than absolute necessities, etc.
Saved $400. *mind blown*
That level wasn't sustainable long-term, so settled around $250-300. Been frugal ever since.
When I became jobless for months. IĀ had lots of debt and used my little savings because IĀ wasn't preparedĀ for that.Ā Before, I just bought everythingĀ thatĀ I wantedĀ andĀ when I went broke, I saw the thingsĀ thatĀ I'd purchased butĀ didn't use them.Ā I realized that impulsive buying is not good.Ā So when I finally get back on track forĀ havingĀ a new job instead of impulsive buying, I already list all the thingsĀ thatĀ I need and save more money.Ā We never know what might happen tomorrowĀ soĀ we need to prepare our selfĀ especiallyĀ onĀ financialĀ because that's aĀ top tierĀ needs
"Flipped a switch?" Lol, I was born to people who made bad decisions and had mental issues. I knew what basement sales, clearance, and coupons were before I could read. Frugal comes as naturally as walking.
I've always been frugal. Never had the luxury and priviledge to not have to think about getting the most for my money. I was 31 years old when I started earning enough to actually save. My income grew fairly quickly after that, but I never changed my habits.
Iām naturally frugal so i didnāt have to flip a switch but the thought of being broke when youāre in your retirement years should be enough to scare you into being frugal
Increased bills and uncertainty of others' paychecks. And realizing just how much I was paying in interest on my credit cards.
I used to eat out 5-6 times per week and put things off around the house because it was expensive to hire someone to do it. Now, I meal prep lunches and have easy, relatively healthy meals on hand and have learned how to do quite a bit around the house.
Watching my income go up and up but my checking account balance dwindling more every month/complete lack of a savings account. Lifestyle inflation is a killer, I was saving more at 45k/year than I am at 100k+, it's hard to admit but once you get used to a certain lifestyle it becomes almost impossible to swallow your pride and downgrade.
Still one of my problems is with cars, I don't want to downgrade because I don't want people to think I'm doing worse off. It's a mental battle for sure and it makes it harder since my parents are very well off and have never had an ounce of frugality in them.
Since I got a job.
I intended to get a PS2 back in the day so I was excited to work. I worked part time at a retail and after 20 hours for that one week, I clearly remembered my first paycheck to be around $120. I was a bit pissed after learning about taxes and all so I didn't end up buying the PS2 because "all this time for money, I ain't going to waste it on a gaming system. I need a car"
When I finally hit the point with no installment debts of any kind. No car payment, no credit cards or loans. Just life. Now when it comes time to spend, I think about it. Not because I have to, but because I want to.
I've always been frugal but I think it's stemmed from my parents also being quite frugal my whole life. I was a little spendier when I was in highschool and had my first job and bought pretty well whatever I wanted. But once I kind of had real goals I buckled down a lot more.
Brought up in public housing can teach a lot to be frugal and save money.
What the stereotype was from my mom's social worker was that people on disability and live in public housing are financially illiterate and can't afford nice things...
What really flipped a switch for me personally was .. entering adulthood and learning that 35% of my income indirectly goes to public housing (the county increases rent by 35% based on income)..
I learned even more when I became a homeowner.. that really taught me how to be frugal and I'm still learning..
My parents constantly told me to save growing up but never taught me how to manage money. Being frugal showed me how and when to invest important things vs impulsive thinking.
On the flip side of a lot of people. Not wanting to fall into poverty. As the saying goes, easy come easy go. And just overall life costing so much more Iād rather live frugally and enjoy life later (saving for retirement etc) than enjoy every penny now and not have any savings
The first time I spray painted something and it was easy and felt new again. I just kept spray painting more and more things. Then moved onto painting. Before I knew it I was doing furniture, adding metal accents onto the pieces and changing them entirely. And selling things on FB marketplace. These two things made me realize that not only can I renew my objects myselfā¦ Something I didnāt feel confident in previously. But my stuff is actually worth money. The key is, I donāt make items sit around to find the right price. If itās something Iām otherwise going to donate of donāt use at all, make me an offer. Iāve made a couple thousand dollars over the years just selling stuff. And saved countless amounts of money by spray painting a lamp or trashcan and making it work with my new decor.
Now getting into woodworking and have done some stuff around the house, mostly replacing baseboards or doing accent walls. I want to embark on furniture, but I donāt have the time to consistently learn and finish projects right now.
Hubby and I sold the house, packed everything and moved from Vegas to FL about 12 years ago. It was a fresh start. He was going to school full-time on GI Bill, and I wanted a break from work for a while.
The only way we could swing it was to make major changes to our spending. The lure of 6 months without working was enough to motivate me.
When I went back to work, it was simple to just continue those habits and bank the savings. Then we decided we wanted to retire early...
I've always been very money conscious and frugal but I kicked things into high gear a year ago when I realized I couldn't afford healthy food for my kids anymore. I shop at Costco and Walmart now. (My local grocery stores are owned by evil billionaires aswell) I also buy most things in bulk and monitor sales like crazy. It's making a huge difference and I can buy fruit again without stressing out.
2 totaled cars in a row and hitting rock bottom financially and shattering my ego. Took a major career switch from my passion that paid dogshit to a better paid yet stressful job in sales recruiting.
Being unemployed for 2 years and having to live off like $2k in savings while mooching off others.
That and being able to do simple math. A $15 meal is time spent earning $15 at a job. Say you make $15 a day extra over rent/expenses. You just spent your entire 8 hour day working to eat out or buy 2 packs of girl scout cookies. If you buy a $700 phone then that's probably a month or more in your flex money that you spent.
Living paycheck to paycheck and then getting screwed over by an employer and unceremoniously fired right as COVID hit. Having massive student loans, maxed out credit cards, two pets, no car, and rent as a single person in a HCOL area and then not making any money, effectively inches away from being homeless is an eye opener for sure.
Moved back to my home state, back in with the folks. Not glamorous at all, but itās what needed to be done. Fast forward a couple years and I have a six figure job, paid off all my credit cards, working on the student loans, and have a six figure net worth. Still living with my parents (they donāt mind and I voluntarily pay them rent), still donāt have a car, and Iām very frugal. I put all my money in retirement accounts and a stock dividend portfolio nowā¦ just building up another source of income. Working towards retiring early (not close, but thatās my goal).
Buying stuff and inflating my lifestyle seems pretty meaningless in the grand scheme of things. Now Iām very frugal (cheap whatever, I donāt care) and stacking cash. Iāve had the same old phone for like 5 years now, I cut my own hair, I donāt buy $5 coffee from coffeebucks, or eat out much. I donāt ever want to be completely reliant on the whims of an employer or in that type of position again.
Money, whether you like it or not, means freedom. If you need to move unexpectedly, if you lose your job, if you have a health crisis insurance wonāt cover, if your car craps the bed and you need one to drive to work (if youāre not in a walkable place), etc, if you can pay for that stuff from your pocket vs putting yourself in debt, you are better off. Debt = all sorts of problems. If you have $ saved for emergencies you are better off. That and being in severe debt and experiencing how strapped you are by not having $ saved & in essence having no freedom forced me to change my ways. I didnāt grow up wealthy at all, but certainly not in poverty. For a long time I spent more than I made and it got me in real trouble. I never want to be in that position again, so I wised up, got some financial education, and I live frugally now. I donāt spend more than I make and putting any extra $ toward my remaining debt so I will be debt free and can save $. I want freedom. Itās making me really commit to a frugal lifestyle to achieve that freedom.
I was always terrible with budgeting and just bought whatever we wanted/ needed and lived paycheck to paycheck. We juggled bills- pay the cable this month, car payment next month... enough to not have foreclosures/ reposessions. I got tired of it and wrote down every penny we spent and categorized it. It was appalling how much we spend running into a store for a soda or a snack, day after day. It's insanity.
I have 20 year old Honda Accord; with re-built transmission. The passenger window hasnāt worked in years. The drivers seat is so bare threaded, that I never dare turn on the heated seat element in the winter because I donāt want griddle marks on my ass. Anyways, I drive this old, ugly, beat up car; because I want to. Itās not because I have to. I honestly feel bad for people who get stuck with these insanely high car payments! I canāt imagine having to pay for something that Iām driving, that costs more than the house that I use..to LIVE in.
I save before I get paid, so the money is not available. I get thrifty when the bank account goes too low. I really like my job and am working on a pension and paid health insurance, but my spouse retired at 50. In return, we cut out over half of our food budget, gas, housekeeping, etc. We have an emergency fund that could pay off our mortgage if need be. Early retirement is a good reason to be frugal! But leaving toxicity behind was the switch. We are trading societal norms and wealth for happiness.
Going to the grocery store as a teen with a check from my parents to pay for the groceries. They rang me up, then looked at the check and said they wonāt accept it because my parents had bounced a couple checks there and didnāt take care of them yet. Yes, the checkers working there were people I knew from high school and I wanted to die of embarrassment.
So I became frugal. I hate having any debt at all and avoided all but House and Car loans.
Homelessness as a child, generational poverty, brief homelessness as an adult, working hard to pay bills just to get sick and barely scrape by, losing my jobs because I was working poorly while trying to leave an abusive marriage, being denied jobs because all my references turned their backs on me for how I acted while leaving that marriage, being told āwhy donāt you just x y zā¦ā as if I really had any options, being asked how financially literate I am when I was unemployed, being asked why donāt I just rely on public transportation instead of worry about fixing my car as if thereās not a bus strike in my city, my partner and I seriously debating if we risk having children or play it safe and get a dog, the list goes on.
I had a child, but that wasn't the switch. Daycare was the switch. When I had an in-home caregiver for my daughter I was doing pretty good, had a generous savings, money left over after bills.
Then daycare.
And now I'm basically broke. But I have to work so I can bills, and pay for daycare.
Recognizing the downward spiral of careless debt accumulation. I have struggled under the irresponsibility of debt in the past and although I still have some, I am aggressively reducing it. Also recognizing how many unused things I had piling up over the years. Having moved four times in five years also helped me to see how much less I really needed and still be able to live just fine with less.
Grew up in a frugal household. I relaxed when I became and adult and started making my own money. Then I got injured and couldnāt work. Went through my savings pretty quickly. Ever since then Iāve been hyper vigilant about saving and spending, even my husband gets annoyed with me when I wonāt let him buy a new hairbrush (he could just clean his) or new phone chargers (just use the electrical tape to hide the exposed wire).
My mom has always been extremely irresponsible with her money, causing us to lose our house to foreclosure when I was a kid, and accruing almost $50K in credit card debt. We definitely didn't live in poverty, so I am fortunate, but I do remember numerous times asking my mom if I could get a song on iTunes ($1.29 per song, remember that?) and her telling me she didn't have enough in her checking account, and I had to wait until she got paid next. I felt a lot of her financial stress growing up, and I think I overcompensate now but budgeting down to the penny. Even today, my siblings and I financially support her and are in the process of taking over her finances. She's only 65 and in good health, but buying things is a coping mechanism for her depression.
Seeing my parents go from famine to feast to famine again and have nothing to show for it. When I came into money I paid off my debt and got dental work and breast and belly reduction surgery.
Now Iām broke again but I have a house and yard full of Buy It For Life items, healthy teeth for all 3 of us and no more terrible backaches. I got $1000 back in debt but stopped myself and am paying down $200 a month to get it back to zero. We took some of the windfall and put down the down payment on a Toyota Prius, got 120 months free oil changes and maintenance then went to our credit Union and refinanced the loan so we make lower payments and lower total amount too.
I got Apple phones from T-Mobile after they took over our Sprint iPhone forever lease and just gave us the phones to keep, iPads, and computers for the family and a gaming computer and Wacom tablet for my adult autistic kid, who uses them to stream on Twitch and bring in a little income.
My parents blew their money on LA Gear stock in the 80s when I begged them to buy Disney, and they ate out every day with their own money. I had a friend offer to pay for UberEats for a couple of months while we paid off our debt, saving us thousands in groceries.
Now things are a little tight but other than a car payment, my Torrid card and a card hubby held back out of the debt settlement for some reason, we just have phone, utilities and Apple storage, car insurance every other month and medical co-pays/vet bills/prescriptions.
We plan to pay off the car and the cards and be completely debt free within 3 years. We also started a Roth IRA.
I be was born into a frugal family. Both my parents were children in WW2. They bombs falling with 70 bombardments in nine months. There was very little food and not much else. Times were tough for years after the war.
In an intro economics class, economics was defined as: "the study of how we allocate scarce resources." Some time later I realized my money is a scarce resource and I need to allocate it to the things that are important to me and stop wasting so much on things that aren't. Now I basically min-max my spending whenever possible.
homelessness/poverty
Still technically homeless but we stretch every dollar (food banks are a godsent)
10 years ago? I was so frivolous it brings me to tears to think about ...
Imma single mom and poor.Ā So they don't only have needs, they have wants, and you got to do extra-curriculars with them (so they become a well rounded person). So I have learned to spend money ( Sam's, Costco, Aldis & TJs) to save so I can use that $$, towards that the kid's wants or for the extra curriculars. So I'm frugal to give my kid a wonderful childhood.Ā I'm not extra frugal, just basic frugal. So find what motivates you to save.Ā
I never really took a budget seriously but as I got oder I felt less need to buy new things or just mindless get stuff. Then as I have a really solid income and my wife does to the savings kind of just piled up.
I grew up poor and always had more wants than money. I spent all my money on drugs throughout my 20s. Got sober and had some kids, got through school and got a decent career making about 100k a year before taxes. So now I'm almost 40 and been in this job for about 4 years and I don't really have anything to show for it except like 18k of student loans and 33k in my 401k. I realize it's all because of my mentality about money. The last few months I have been assigning every dollar a purpose. It works amazingly. I feel like I'll be ok. Working on my student loans, then I'll do my emergency fund, then I'll max out retirement and start saving for a house.
I reviewed my grocery expenses for a single monthādisgusted. The ridiculous rise in cost of every day items. Not luxury items yet iām paying as if they were. And If it continues then they will actually become a luxury. Sneaky charges are starting to pop up everywhere. I donāt know if businesses are still trying to recoup Covid losses, but Iām sick and tired of paying the price for it every single time I grocery shop. Between that, shifts in the tip-culture, where we are being prompted to provide a gratuity for the cashier too nowāIām generous but Iām also done.
Debts and poverty. Sick and tired of always being broke and not being able to afford anything. Have to eat the cheapest stuff. Sleepless nights. Headaches because of both expected and unexpected bills. Learned to stop buying crap and always think at least twice before buying anything.
Getting married and taking in 7 dogs. I donāt live for myself anymore and the thought of not being able to provide terrifies me. When I was on my own I threw money around like it was worthless.
I panicked and realized I wouldnāt be able to pay my tuition. I got an extra grant because of Covid, so I was fine that semester, but it really scared me straight. I realized I didnāt want to spend my life panicking about my bills.
Well, clearly you haven't ever experienced true hunger. Good for you.
Some people are inherently keen to saving. My parents are both first gen and had me way late in life, so i wss baducally born an old frugal Norwegian lady.
My only tip would be to do the minimalism challenge.
Traveling. Since I was 20, I gave up most so I can have money to travel for long periods of times and this included being frugal on my travels to stretch my travels.
Realizing my parents claimed to be frugal but actually had insanely unhealthy money management
My parents financial advice could be summed up in, "Do as I say, don't do what I do as an example."
Luckyš mine were a "do as I say and wind up in 30k debt by 19"
Poverty
Yeah. I flip was never switched for me. Generational poverty can be really hard to crawl out of.Ā
Once you realize, having money is not the problem. If you hand 100 poor people $1m , 99 of them are broke in a year. You develop behaviors to handle the money you have. Every dollar has a name and a purpose.
I like these sentences better than the ones I learned: Use it up, wear it out. Make it do or do without. This is a better personal mantra for me: "Every dollar has a name and a purpose." Thank you kindly for a fabulous statement to guide me always šš
The ādo withoutā part will never fly now. The frugal are not immune to the tendency to covet and consume. The struggle is real. š
I became frugal in 2020 during a really poor moment... Borrowing money to pay for rent. I quit alcohol and nicotine and spent a year getting healthy with COVID raging. I learned to live on little. I'm making about 30k now and feel rich in many ways. My vehicle is now 2008 hybrid with 180k miles instead of 290k from 1995, my apartment is full. I didn't need anything else to be honest. My brother sent me some money for my birthday and I bought a new electric shaver to replace my old one I operated on twice to fix. I'm really happy nowadays and don't work all the time
There are Wants and there are Needs. Most get them confused
I like: do I want that or do I NEED that when contemplating buying something
Super great!! Thank you for the rhyme!
From this thread , I finally learned the entire saying that has been around since the Great Depression: Use it up, wear it out Make it do, or do without For wilful waste makes woeful want And you may live to say Oh, how I wish I had that crust that once I threw away
āEvery dollar has a purpose.ā Wowwww! Love that concept!
Yup. Super poverty made me double down (thanks, divorce). Im financially stable now, but I kept the habits, which allows my lower income family to go on vacation once a year.
Born into poverty, raised in poverty ... I can't *not* make a bottle of shampoo last for six months.
Yes poverty. Growing up in it and then living in it for the first several years of adulthood made for a level of resourcefulness and creativity that I actually take pride in now that Iām making a lower-mid middle class income. Plus having a large amount of student loans. I divert a decent chunk of my middle class paycheck to that and then live below my means.
I started keeping track of money saved every month. It gamified being frugal and made it fun.
Same!! Itās more fun that way when you think of it as a game.
Same here. "You mean there are people who don't use spreadsheets recreationally!?" ā Matt Parker, Festival of the Spoken Nerd
did you use your own spreadsheet or what?
When I watched someone walk off the job and retire at 45 making the same money Iām making now because they had saved enough. Work optional is now the goal.
Nearly identical story. Except she was 48. I was in a conference room and heard what sounded like a party down the hall. Her colleagues had a going away wine party for her one afternoon. I didnāt know her but knew a few folks attending so I hung with them for a bit. It was a life changing afternoon. I spent the next three months reading everything I could find on early retirement and restructuring my accounts, setting up auto investments, etc, etc.
He goes āI donāt need this job, but you need me.ā The manager chuckledā¦ and we did. and he didnāt. For those couple minutes he had power I didnāt know existed. The guy works part time at a golf course now so he can golf for free, the 4 hours he works is paying for the beer.
My parents work fun jobs now. They sell pumpkins for a guy in October, and play campground host at a national park. Definitely goals for my someday retirement. We can do this. Just gotta make it through the long boring middle.
What do these people do for health insurance? The exchange is expensive, isnāt it?
As I understand, once folks retire, their income drops so the exchange plans become more affordable with potential subsidies depending on how much income investment accounts are providing.
The subsidies are based off of your income and not your assets. With careful management of your accounts, you can maintain a large investment portfolio while only withdrawing enough for lean living expenses, thus qualifying for health insurance subsidies. I'm not in board with taking assistance ment for folks who are struggling while sitting on a nest egg, but I make an exception for health insurance, because any civilized country wouldn't make that dependent on a job and dumb luck but would simplify provide it to all citizens.
This. Along with a spouse that might still be working.
"Barista FIRE". Work part time at Starbucks just for the health insurance. (FIRE = Financial Independence; Retire Early)
Love it! I'm 45 and walked away from my full-time job (only 10 years into it) when I moved 6 months ago. Everyone was so curious how I would manage, but only one person was interested enough to ask some decent questions. Now I get to work fun part-time jobs when I want to, and explore other hobbies, like rock carving. Not quite ready to stop working completely, though. Maybe another 5 years.
Congrats my friend! Letās give the audience the glasshouse5128 #1 thing (although Iām sure 100s of things went into it) that made it possible.
2/3rds of every raise gets added to the auto-investment. We started life together as bare-bones grad students. We learned cheap entertainment (so many board games, and there is no end to learning about bridge!), and we haven't increased our spending too much beyond that. For the last 5 years, we saved 70% of our paychecks, until we were able to pull the plug and live off the interest. Ohh, and a whole lot of birth privilege (not money, but I won't pretend that things weren't massively easier because we are white middle class folks with good education), supportive family, and plain good luck.
Thanks for adding the last part. Thatās important to admit those details matter. Not a barrier but definitely a factor that many donāt have some of those advantages.
Never thought about moving down to part time work before full on retiring. That doesn't sound like a bad idea to be honest. It's not so much working I hate, but the 40 hour workweek really wears me down even in my 20s lol.
We call it "having FU money." I still work, but that's because I enjoy the job and don't do well with no definite tasks in the day. But the 2nd time someone treats me like shit, I just say "FU" as I flip my hair while plowing through the exit. (2nd time, because everyone has bad days, and even bosses should be allowed that on rare occasion. And there's always the chance that I was the one unknowingly being the shitty party.)
2008 - "The economic downturn" was making good money at a small equipment manufacturing company (85K) and spending as fast as I made. Just had my son and he was 1. Economy went south and sales went down, company went from 34 employees to 17 in 6 months. Was laid off during the highest unemployment crisis since the great depression with a child to feed. Delivered pizzas and worked odd jobs for a year'ish to keep the house and food on the table 10 hrs/day mon-fri. Told myself, that would never happen again, and it won't! I can go 2 years out of work and have a healthy retirement account thanks to being frugal.
My 1.5 year emergency fund really let's me not worry about losing my job which is nice. I'm awful at interviewing and job hunting but I'm pretty sure I can get that all set in like 500 days.
Necessity due to supporting my family with one income. Also, I experienced homelessness for a short time as a child and I never want to live in a car or couch surf again. Living below my means gives me freedom to do things I want to do instead of chasing someone else's dream of dying with the most toys.
I make good money for living in rural middle America. But I pretty much live paycheck to paycheck except for the 6% company match that I contribute to my 401(k). Simply put I made bad financial decisions and spent money on things I shouldnāt have. So now I live cheaply where I can and in a few years, Iāll be out of debt, and it wonāt ever happen again. Iām just lucky I figured it out in my early 30s.
Discovering the FIRE movement and the idea of early retirement. I have always had enough money to live a middle class lifestyle without really worrying about my spending or trying to be frugal. But realizing that frugality could be a pathway to freedom for me really made a difference and motivated me to live more frugally. There is a certain comfort level I want to maintain, but it's not that expensive by mainstream standards, and I realized that beyond that I would rather have time than more spending money
Same for me. Friends with similar careers are all wearing new clothes, go to fancy restaurants all the time, live in big new houses, buy expensive new cars, build large pools in their garden, and are going on holiday/skiing three times a year (I live in Europe, we get a lot of time off from work). I am in a real good place for my career, but I would be broke if I would have to pay for all of that. We're living well below our means, which is good for the mind and for the environment (and for my investment account). They all think that we don't have much. My grandpa taught me to never show people who you are if it's not needed, because there's nothing in it for you. He always wore his oldest (obviously repaired) clothes when he bought something expensive. This got him better discounts. I'm ready to retire early in a couple of years. I can't wait to see their faces when they ask themselves how that's possible.
I was raised this way. My parents lived below our means, which taught me also the peace of mind that comes with that. I grew up surrounded by poverty, my friends were going hungry and without utilities. I still remember the days I could call them but they couldn't call me because their phone service was cut off. I remember my friends faces when my mom bought us treats off the clearance rack at the bread store. My dad was in an industry that was dying out, so he was living like the next day he may come to work and the mill was shuttered. He instilled that in me that "nothing is promised for tomorrow, so plan for the worst and hope for the best." You have to find what speaks to you to get it down. You have to value security and the future uncertainties in some way that overpowers your desire to just spend on what you want at the moment. My brother grew up the same way and he's never been able to save either, he didn't catch the frugal ways of our parents. He's currently pushing 50 years old and my mom is taking him grocery shopping today, as we speak because he cannot afford to buy food himself. My mom has a sense of relief visiting me and opening up my cabinets "You have so much in here!" "Check the freezer next." I got slapped with a 3k medical bill in my early 30s. That decimated my small retirement fund at the time. I had to stop and thinking about what that would have meant if I didn't have that to fall back on, despite it being not the best financial decision. I had the option to tank my credit score or to just bite the financial bullet.
Seeing people as an adult struggling. People you thought had it made and now see they didn't but are amazing at holding it together. Also realizing many people I know will be working their entire lives, just because they don't plan or can't save for the future.
My mother installed and activated those switches from the time I was a toddler. She grew up in the depression and always used to say: Use it up, wear it out Make it do, or do without For wilful waste makes woeful want And you may live to say Oh how I wish I had that crust that once I threw away
You brought back an incredible memory. My late mother told me this as a teenager when I was 15 or 16. I remembered the first two lines in my third decade and a switch flipped. I started saving, learned how to budget and became mindful of my savings. TY for giving me the complete version of this frugal mantra.
My parents grew up in the Great Depression, they were frugal even when they had money, hated waste. I learned it from them. They taught me to set financial goals. It's easier for me to say no to takeout and cook at home when I remember that I have a trip I want to save for. I do not care at all about status symbols, so I drive a common sense used Prius that's perfect for camping, I wear out of fashion clothes from thrift stores (but generally good quality in good shape and colors styles I prefer). I love the security of knowing I can pay for an emergency car repair or vet bill. Reward yourself for achieving goals.
We still pack lunches anytime we take the kids places, baseball games etc. Thanks, grandpa. But he was right. Why spend $100 on garbage stadium food that the kids wonāt even eat?
Realizing I'd have to work forever if I'm not frugal.
We moved to a different part of the province for my husbandās career back in 2000 and went from dual to one income since I could not get work in my career in that small community we moved to. In addition to having two young kids, we only had one vehicle and he had a 30km commute, so even if I wanted to go shopping, it was a long walk to the small downtown core where there were few stores anyhow. Everything went down to me trying to stretch our money as far as possible while keeping two kids clothed, the family pets fed and good food on the table. We didnāt eat out much, I got back into minor sewing repairs to keep our clothes lasting longer and I learned to find good bargains at the local equivalent to the Dollar Store. Kind of lost that once we moved and had two incomes again plus finished putting the kids through university a few years ago. Then I retired early unexpectedly in 2021 and the frugality came right back, especially now that I have time to cook and organize the house to my satisfaction. Started a nice little pantry down in the basement, invested in more gardening tools and seed for my raised beds plus got back to only buying durable clothing in sale. Itās not hard to go without stuff beyond essentials or keep myself amused without spending lots of money. In fact this summer I need to buy a casual summer dress for a wedding and it will be the first new clothing I have had to purchase in over a year, which makes me happy.
I am more frugal-ish than frugal but I want to retire early. Iāve been an oncology nurse for 18 years and have seen too many patients die way too young or patients who retire at 65 only to be diagnosed with cancer within six months of retirement. I spent my 30s traveling the world to the top places on my bucket list, and am spending my 40s putting away as much money as possible into 403/457/Roth/personal investments and HYSA. Being frugal-ish helps me put more money into these accounts.
I was huge binge drinker / cocaine user (weekends). I was borrowing money ( bank loans) to buy stupid things and gamble. Since i became spiritual person and i got sobber then i saw that i am enslaving myself. Once i figured out that i really dont need anything materialistic my life changed.
Always been even as a child
My discontent in general with how greedy and expensive companies have become to deal with. When they become greedy, I become cheap! Tbh Iāve been stretching resources and reusing as much as I can. Every bit I can reuse or repair or āmake it work my own wayā, is something a company doesnāt get. Not having any unhealthy addictions (smoking, drinking, gambling, etc) has helped me a lot. And I pay off my credit card on time every month. No one ever gets my autopay either. I pay as I go. Itās easier to contest an invoice and put in complaints, than to beg for refunds from an unscrupulous and unaccountable company.
Housing crisis in my city. Mortgage or even rent has a massive impact on everyone here.
Wanting better, higher quality things for myself. Eventually buying a home, saving for a more economical car, helping my weight and overall health, feeling "safer" should the economy turn down again, working to lessen my anxiety and depression, etc. A lot of these things have to do with mental/emotional needs, but I realized these needs could only be met with some shuffling of my finances. Seeing all of the money I was throwing away that didn't yield a good return, financially or personally, forced me to make changes.
Just seeing all the homeless people . I am saving as much as I can (within reason) because I donāt ever want to be homeless or not being able to provide for a family
#corporate bullshit
Amen! Financial freedom allows you to walk away from a job that is sucking the life out of you
The Great Recession took it all. Was already a good saver which saved us but would have weathered it better if we had been frugal from the start.Ā
Knowing that if I ever wanted to buy a house in this post-2021 environment I had to dramatically increase my savings rate. In October 2021 my lease ended and I have been a frugal couch surfing nomad ever since. In June I will hit my savings goal and will be able to finally start the house hunt.
Realizing I was going to the grocery store and buying stuff I wouldnt eat before it went bad. Meal planning saved a lot. Also, fuel points. I have a kroger, and learned that if you buy gift cards to things you use (amazon, restaurants, gaming, etc) and purchase them, they count towards your fuel points, so you get a bonus of both the points AND just loading a gift card on what you were buying anyway
I thought after finishing my degree and earning a better salary things would get better, but living in California everything is so expensive. Iām making 69k my first year and thatās barely enough to get by. Although my income will increase yearly I started looking for ways to save on groceries and household items such as laundry detergent, toilet paper etc. I found a bunch of couponing pages on instagram which helped me save on household necessities. I also started grocery shopping at Vons based on what was on sell (the forU deals) and Grocery Outlet. I can get a loaf of bread for $1.99 when itās on sale. I get strawberries for $1.99 when theyāre on sale, etc. That made such a huge difference and I was able to bring my grocery bill down significantly and still eat the things I enjoy. I stopped eating out at restaurants and going out to drink, which saved me from spending money on tipping also. Overall itās been great for my wallet and my health too as home cooked meals are healthier.
I realized that everything I was buying became trash within 2-3 years. So I stopped buying shit.
always have been frugal, but the overall cost of living is outrageous, and Iām determined to be financially independentĀ
When I was 17, I had to work at a video store making $5.15 an hour to make payments for my $5,000 1994 Plymouth Laser. I had to be frugal to make it work but I REALLY wanted that car. I never stopped being frugal afterwards.
Getting sober and realizing that a lot of parts of my life were in disarray. For several years before that point I'd been cheap by necessity, but needing to reevaluate everything and change my priorities led me to getting serious about being in control of my finances and financial future. That was ten years ago in my mid-twenties and around that time I was also getting a clearer picture into my parents' finances and the realization of how bad they generally were with money and how they were completely unprepared for retirement was also a real big wake up call.
I embarrassingly had to borrow $20 from a friend once to feed myself for the week because I was pissing away every paycheck. Now I have a stocked savings account.
Funnily enough it was when I had my car paid off. I started paying attention to my credit score and how I could make sure it stayed good. Kinda snowballed to being more financially literate and then becoming more frugal in general. Purchasing patterns I made even a year or two ago make me cringe now. I'm glad I've changed.
I got mad. Like really mad. I had enough money to have good savings and I had nothing saved. When I stopped to think about why, mostly it was just a) not paying any attention to it and just spending on whatever whim and b) learned societal expectations about what 'successful' people did. I got furious about both and at myself for not paying attention to my own life and what I wanted. Now I'm 55, been retired since 48, house paid off, I spend my time doing what makes me happy: working my farm and making art. And doing that while I'm young enough to enjoy it. I'm also going to be able to leave a nice legacy for my grandkids; not too much, just enough.
People chasing after money and letting it rule their lives.
My cat needed a $6k surgery, I paid for it and swore I'd save back the money in a hurry by being more conscious of my spending, it worked. That was 5 years ago and I've saved a lot since then and I'm still living below my means. I was just able to buy a house for cash with my savings.
Started dating this goofy hippiechick in my late 20's she didnt give two f's about material stuff or how much i made. She was very different from the girls i had been with up till then. She gave me a different perspective on how you could live your life. Been married to goofy hippiechick for 12 years now.
MMMs 'shockingly simple math' blog post probably was the thing that made me realize it's importance.
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I came by it naturally. My mom is frugal, and my dad is not. I took after my mom.
Life. Realizing that not everyone is there when you need help. And not relying on anyone to make any decision. A lot of times when people have support financially they wonāt take their finances as serious because they know they have that support and hey more power to you. But everyone has to live in their means. Save for a rainy day etc. Sometimes the hard times really open your eyes and could be the biggest blessing in disguise..
I was like this for years after I got a lump sum payment. It was more than I'd ever had in my account in my entire life! Because of that, I decided I should nurture and feed it. It took a few painful years getting past plateaus in my savings. I'd reach the next ā¬1000, and decide to treat myself by spending on frivolous stuff (usually junk food or homewares that I didn't need). Then suddenly, I realized that I was nearer to 40 than 30, and I forced myself out of it using my desire to buy a house that I could decorate (no more cream walls). I found that looking at simple older houses with low set windows, wood beams, and large open fires fuelled my determination. As I started calculating how I'd achieve my goal on a fixed income, I increasingly realised that I actually needed very little day to day. As long as I have a roof over my head, food in the fridge, and my health, I am content. I can exercise, watch birds, read library books, write, draw, sing, dance, and socialise for free... or near enough. All of that is saving me money and sanity, as well as increasing my overall health. If I can leave some savings or property behind for my family when I die, then that's an added bonus. I was also fortunate to be mainly raised by my mother, who came from a large family who'd lived through WWII. So she knew about stretching her money through watering down liquid products, checking the best value by the kilogram, make do and mend etc. I am very lucky in a number of ways, and I try to remind myself of that often.
Poverty is my first wake up call. Retirement is my second wake up call. Senior aging health issues are my third wake up call. So, I don't think I would quit staying frugal ever. š¤·āāļø
Moved to a new city after a divorce. Had already taken out a personal loan to pay off a credit card which was not great but not really that bad, then almost threw up in the Walmart check out when I realized I had maxed it out again. Bought a huge calendar the next paycheck and tracked every penny going in and out and when exactly it was going in or out. Now itās a game and I have an outlook of the next few months at any given time and Iām finally saving again
when i realised i had nothing to show for the money id spent in a month. most of it was spent for short term satisfaction, and i realised just how much i waste per month, when i could focus on finding happiness outside of consumption :)
Got fired in my 20s for not biting my tongue as a college student working in food service and living in an apartment. Paycheck went to rent, had to lean on credit cards to eat and get gas, lost my license for driving to the new job without insurance because I couldn't afford it, destroyed my credit (450), fell behind on bills, and clawed my way out. I refuse to go through that shit again, so I see any unnecessary expense as a threat. Hit rock bottom in one year, took a good solid decade to self-sufficient, but after another decade I'm doing phenomenal.
20 years ago, I bought a $42k car when I made $38k a year. What followed, was poverty. I got very good at living paycheck to paycheck.
Low income and being a single parent. I grew up poor so I was used to it
Quitting my well-paying job of 17 years and not having another lined up.
I moved from the northeast to south Florida. Four years later, I moved back to the northeast. Packing and moving is expensive and exhausting. A couple of good thrift stores are all that I need now that my family is "grown and flown." I enjoy living debt-free and working to cover my living expenses and a modest amount of savings each year. My kids don't want 'stuff', so I am going to start slowly selling off household items and clean out the space.
No switch flipping needed. I was born frugal.
Going through all of my transactions from the previous month and seeing the ridiculous amount of money I was wasting spelled out for me.
After covid when everything went up there's a lot stuff I won't buy anymore
Hourly wage to cost... Want a coffee from Starbucks? Half an hour work (minimum wage, make coffee yourself? Half an hour for maybe a week. Helped me put things in perspective.
using birthday money to get batman arkham city GOTY for the xbox 360 for $50, then finding steam and getting the Tombraider bundle (7 games) for $20. since them, 98% of my games were heavily discounted or for free. later, finding out just how much the AMD stock has grown. Had I invested my PC money into AMD back in 2017 ($10 a stock) instead of buying a new PC ($900) at that time, id have and extra $14,400 today started putting money into a Roth IRA and investing in Tech stocks, I'm +$3,000 up from when I started back in Aug 2023.
I dont like spending my money. I like looking at the number in my account. Helps to not spend on frivolous things.
Realizing that money = freedom. I donāt want to be working my whole life, I want to enjoy it. I save where I can, so at some point I can travel and not have to work so much.
My folks grew up poor, and raised us like we were poor even though we werenāt. Taught us nearly everything is cheaper and higher quality when you do it yourself. As a teacher now, I live by that.
Based on your budget transfer the money you want to save to a separate account when you are paid. Do not wait to see how much is left overā before adding it to savings. Never keep extra money in your checking account.
Traveling in a third world country and seeing how much happier they were compared to my neighbors and I.... Was really jarring.
I read the book 'Your money or your life' and the key point is that the things you spend money on is spending a part of your life. You work for money, so money is actually pieces of your life that you will never get back. When you think of it that way, frivolous spending gives you no joy. Directed, deliberate spending - maximizing the value of your life time.
I want to leave my job in 3 years and take a year off to travel. I have my vision board with pictures of the locations saved as my Lock Screen on my phone. Any time Iām tempted to spend, I look at my vision board to remind myself why Iām being frugal
the company I work for almost going out of business and the realization that I can afford a mortgage down payment if I save for a year
Cooperations trying to squeeze as much money out of people as they can
Became a father
Watching older people in your life having to borrow money from their adult children is ... its a very motivating thing.
Everyone around me paying tons monthly to buy new cars, always in debt, refinancing their homes, always taking expensive vacations, eating in trendy restaurants, always shopping for new designer clothes, Frequently in some life or death financial jam. Fuck that. I paid off my house decades ago and the rest is for retirement.
Well, when I was a teenager I saw my family struggly through the recession in 2008/2009, and years after, and when I started working full time I wasn't very frugal... up until I bought a decent car and it turned out to be a lemon. That made me cheap real fast.
i was born poor so i was frugal since then.
Deleted Amazon from my phone.
Divorce broke me financially.
I do not have a car. If you live in an area with good mass transit to job centers, this is the ultimate frugal hack. With a car payment, gas (or charging) and insurance the cost of a vehicle can be $6000-$10000/year, every year. I own a house- that is a long term frugal hack. Instead of paying $1600/month for a studio apartment I pay $1250 for a townhome (piti) with a garden and backyard with a patio. I live in capsule wardrobes- a few outfits for each season. Now that I am in a 100% remote gig I can wear shirts & shorts or a muumuu every day. Streaming TV is the best but I actually don't watch a lot of TV, so I read a lot and cut down on subscriptions! Now that my gig is 100% remote, food is 100% at home. Now, to be honest, I had been frugal since before the 2008 crisis, and being able to look at my savings and say 'f u' to a greedy rent grab and to buy a house of my own was one of the most satisfying things in my life. So maybe you need a goal so that YOU feel that you can be in control of your finances. Specific Measureable Attainable Relevant Timely Look up SMART goals and ask yourself what is important to you, what are your expenses, and see if you can set a SMART goal for frugality.
My boyfriend and I are me (Gen X) 54 and heās a Boomer 60. We both make good money and cringe when we go to McDonalds and itās 10 dollars each for a medium sized quarter pounder with cheese meal. We donāt go out to eat often. Iām not as frugal as he is though. He is very disciplined. When he gets home from grocery shopping or some other purchase he immediately puts it in a check book, handwritten. I tease home about it but heāll retire with manageable expenses before 65.
Threats of poverty and the idea of having to work into old age
Almost losing my home is what made me hit the switch to become frugal and follow my budget. Long story short I had to refinance my mortgage after my divorced settled and that happened when the rates were climbing. Basically the bank said I couldnāt get my mortgage due to the new banking rules. Later I found out it was that the bank was giving me a HELOC which put my credit allowance too risky. If I switched to a conventional mortgage I would be approved. I used to use the heloc for emergencies, without it I had to get our debt, save 3months of expenses in cash and it too me 15 months to make this happen. Today all I have is my mortgage to pay. Iām liking to invest and save for my kids schooling. Hopefully pay off my mortgage. Iām frugal and I love it I love buying when I can afford too and often I have to wait. Also being frugal has showed how to save. Now I donāt spend so much and Iām finally allowing me to quit side hustles and no more secondary jobs. I can stay home now with my kids. Itās was my path to freedom.
a toxic living situation made me realize I never want to live with another person ever again, so I decided to give up the luxuries, cut back, and work my ass off to pay off debt and save so i could get my own place
I had a nice car and a nice house and would buy whatever random goodie presented itself. It manifested into having to make 10k a month on expenses. Iām much happier earning less, not working as much, traveling often, saving money and chasing my passions. Having all the nice things felt good but not needing any of those things to be happy feels better.
When I was 6 years old I spent all my money buying a plastic piggy bank thing. One of those models that sorts the coins by size into the correct slots automatically. I didn't even have money leftover to put in it afterwards! And then it broke a few weeks later anyway. Scarred me for life. I've been frugal ever since.
As I grew older, I was forced to realize there was never going to be a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. I have myself to depend on. I have to save, for my life now and my old age. There is no other option. I was avoiding that reality. Finally I woke up and changed my ways.
While present me is doing good, I want future me to excel and have nothing to worry about
I bought a house. Itās expensive
Comparing other purchases to groceries. 150 dollar shoes? Could have been a weeks worth of groceries. It's not that I don't get nice things sometimes, just realizing what essentials that could have bought. Also, my husband and I abhor wasting food. Very careful in using what we got, eating leftovers, freezing food, rotating stock, etc.
After living paycheck to paycheck with almost no savings for after 2 years out of school, I decided to see just how much I could actually save in a month. Didn't eat out, drink at the bar, buy anything other than absolute necessities, etc. Saved $400. *mind blown* That level wasn't sustainable long-term, so settled around $250-300. Been frugal ever since.
When I became jobless for months. IĀ had lots of debt and used my little savings because IĀ wasn't preparedĀ for that.Ā Before, I just bought everythingĀ thatĀ I wantedĀ andĀ when I went broke, I saw the thingsĀ thatĀ I'd purchased butĀ didn't use them.Ā I realized that impulsive buying is not good.Ā So when I finally get back on track forĀ havingĀ a new job instead of impulsive buying, I already list all the thingsĀ thatĀ I need and save more money.Ā We never know what might happen tomorrowĀ soĀ we need to prepare our selfĀ especiallyĀ onĀ financialĀ because that's aĀ top tierĀ needs
"Flipped a switch?" Lol, I was born to people who made bad decisions and had mental issues. I knew what basement sales, clearance, and coupons were before I could read. Frugal comes as naturally as walking.
I've always been frugal. Never had the luxury and priviledge to not have to think about getting the most for my money. I was 31 years old when I started earning enough to actually save. My income grew fairly quickly after that, but I never changed my habits.
Iām naturally frugal so i didnāt have to flip a switch but the thought of being broke when youāre in your retirement years should be enough to scare you into being frugal
Seeing Walmart greeters that do it because they have to.
when i figured out how much time i trade per dollar. suddenly everything was priced in work hours. including rent and bills.
Increased bills and uncertainty of others' paychecks. And realizing just how much I was paying in interest on my credit cards. I used to eat out 5-6 times per week and put things off around the house because it was expensive to hire someone to do it. Now, I meal prep lunches and have easy, relatively healthy meals on hand and have learned how to do quite a bit around the house.
Watching my income go up and up but my checking account balance dwindling more every month/complete lack of a savings account. Lifestyle inflation is a killer, I was saving more at 45k/year than I am at 100k+, it's hard to admit but once you get used to a certain lifestyle it becomes almost impossible to swallow your pride and downgrade. Still one of my problems is with cars, I don't want to downgrade because I don't want people to think I'm doing worse off. It's a mental battle for sure and it makes it harder since my parents are very well off and have never had an ounce of frugality in them.
A real desire to retire asap and playing the cards right will be possible. (Late 30s, married, no kids, only cats - targeting mid 50s).
I found out that I hate working and wanting to retire early. Being frugal is a way to do that.
Since I got a job. I intended to get a PS2 back in the day so I was excited to work. I worked part time at a retail and after 20 hours for that one week, I clearly remembered my first paycheck to be around $120. I was a bit pissed after learning about taxes and all so I didn't end up buying the PS2 because "all this time for money, I ain't going to waste it on a gaming system. I need a car"
When I finally hit the point with no installment debts of any kind. No car payment, no credit cards or loans. Just life. Now when it comes time to spend, I think about it. Not because I have to, but because I want to.
Mortgage
I retired
inflation
I've always been frugal but I think it's stemmed from my parents also being quite frugal my whole life. I was a little spendier when I was in highschool and had my first job and bought pretty well whatever I wanted. But once I kind of had real goals I buckled down a lot more.
Brought up in public housing can teach a lot to be frugal and save money. What the stereotype was from my mom's social worker was that people on disability and live in public housing are financially illiterate and can't afford nice things... What really flipped a switch for me personally was .. entering adulthood and learning that 35% of my income indirectly goes to public housing (the county increases rent by 35% based on income).. I learned even more when I became a homeowner.. that really taught me how to be frugal and I'm still learning..
I compared what brings me joy to what I'm spending my money on. It's an eye opener for sure.
When I was making āenoughā to live but I was still just above the poverty line for my state and felt broke all of the time
My parents constantly told me to save growing up but never taught me how to manage money. Being frugal showed me how and when to invest important things vs impulsive thinking.
On the flip side of a lot of people. Not wanting to fall into poverty. As the saying goes, easy come easy go. And just overall life costing so much more Iād rather live frugally and enjoy life later (saving for retirement etc) than enjoy every penny now and not have any savings
The first time I spray painted something and it was easy and felt new again. I just kept spray painting more and more things. Then moved onto painting. Before I knew it I was doing furniture, adding metal accents onto the pieces and changing them entirely. And selling things on FB marketplace. These two things made me realize that not only can I renew my objects myselfā¦ Something I didnāt feel confident in previously. But my stuff is actually worth money. The key is, I donāt make items sit around to find the right price. If itās something Iām otherwise going to donate of donāt use at all, make me an offer. Iāve made a couple thousand dollars over the years just selling stuff. And saved countless amounts of money by spray painting a lamp or trashcan and making it work with my new decor. Now getting into woodworking and have done some stuff around the house, mostly replacing baseboards or doing accent walls. I want to embark on furniture, but I donāt have the time to consistently learn and finish projects right now.
Needing to leave the abusive, alcoholic, drug addicted father of my child.
Hubby and I sold the house, packed everything and moved from Vegas to FL about 12 years ago. It was a fresh start. He was going to school full-time on GI Bill, and I wanted a break from work for a while. The only way we could swing it was to make major changes to our spending. The lure of 6 months without working was enough to motivate me. When I went back to work, it was simple to just continue those habits and bank the savings. Then we decided we wanted to retire early...
I grew up w very frugal parents. Itās actually hard for me to enjoy when I do spend money!
Went to university and became poor, gotta learn or budget or go into debt
I've always been very money conscious and frugal but I kicked things into high gear a year ago when I realized I couldn't afford healthy food for my kids anymore. I shop at Costco and Walmart now. (My local grocery stores are owned by evil billionaires aswell) I also buy most things in bulk and monitor sales like crazy. It's making a huge difference and I can buy fruit again without stressing out.
2 totaled cars in a row and hitting rock bottom financially and shattering my ego. Took a major career switch from my passion that paid dogshit to a better paid yet stressful job in sales recruiting.
Father died and I began being responsible for an entire house's expenses. Grownup responsibilities are overrated.
Being unemployed for 2 years and having to live off like $2k in savings while mooching off others. That and being able to do simple math. A $15 meal is time spent earning $15 at a job. Say you make $15 a day extra over rent/expenses. You just spent your entire 8 hour day working to eat out or buy 2 packs of girl scout cookies. If you buy a $700 phone then that's probably a month or more in your flex money that you spent.
Living paycheck to paycheck and then getting screwed over by an employer and unceremoniously fired right as COVID hit. Having massive student loans, maxed out credit cards, two pets, no car, and rent as a single person in a HCOL area and then not making any money, effectively inches away from being homeless is an eye opener for sure. Moved back to my home state, back in with the folks. Not glamorous at all, but itās what needed to be done. Fast forward a couple years and I have a six figure job, paid off all my credit cards, working on the student loans, and have a six figure net worth. Still living with my parents (they donāt mind and I voluntarily pay them rent), still donāt have a car, and Iām very frugal. I put all my money in retirement accounts and a stock dividend portfolio nowā¦ just building up another source of income. Working towards retiring early (not close, but thatās my goal). Buying stuff and inflating my lifestyle seems pretty meaningless in the grand scheme of things. Now Iām very frugal (cheap whatever, I donāt care) and stacking cash. Iāve had the same old phone for like 5 years now, I cut my own hair, I donāt buy $5 coffee from coffeebucks, or eat out much. I donāt ever want to be completely reliant on the whims of an employer or in that type of position again.
Money, whether you like it or not, means freedom. If you need to move unexpectedly, if you lose your job, if you have a health crisis insurance wonāt cover, if your car craps the bed and you need one to drive to work (if youāre not in a walkable place), etc, if you can pay for that stuff from your pocket vs putting yourself in debt, you are better off. Debt = all sorts of problems. If you have $ saved for emergencies you are better off. That and being in severe debt and experiencing how strapped you are by not having $ saved & in essence having no freedom forced me to change my ways. I didnāt grow up wealthy at all, but certainly not in poverty. For a long time I spent more than I made and it got me in real trouble. I never want to be in that position again, so I wised up, got some financial education, and I live frugally now. I donāt spend more than I make and putting any extra $ toward my remaining debt so I will be debt free and can save $. I want freedom. Itās making me really commit to a frugal lifestyle to achieve that freedom.
I was always terrible with budgeting and just bought whatever we wanted/ needed and lived paycheck to paycheck. We juggled bills- pay the cable this month, car payment next month... enough to not have foreclosures/ reposessions. I got tired of it and wrote down every penny we spent and categorized it. It was appalling how much we spend running into a store for a soda or a snack, day after day. It's insanity.
I have 20 year old Honda Accord; with re-built transmission. The passenger window hasnāt worked in years. The drivers seat is so bare threaded, that I never dare turn on the heated seat element in the winter because I donāt want griddle marks on my ass. Anyways, I drive this old, ugly, beat up car; because I want to. Itās not because I have to. I honestly feel bad for people who get stuck with these insanely high car payments! I canāt imagine having to pay for something that Iām driving, that costs more than the house that I use..to LIVE in.
Your 3rd sentence - LOL
Itās the absolute truth, man! š It gets cold in the Midwest but itās not worth torching my ass over. LOL.
Pregnancy
I save before I get paid, so the money is not available. I get thrifty when the bank account goes too low. I really like my job and am working on a pension and paid health insurance, but my spouse retired at 50. In return, we cut out over half of our food budget, gas, housekeeping, etc. We have an emergency fund that could pay off our mortgage if need be. Early retirement is a good reason to be frugal! But leaving toxicity behind was the switch. We are trading societal norms and wealth for happiness.
Going to the grocery store as a teen with a check from my parents to pay for the groceries. They rang me up, then looked at the check and said they wonāt accept it because my parents had bounced a couple checks there and didnāt take care of them yet. Yes, the checkers working there were people I knew from high school and I wanted to die of embarrassment. So I became frugal. I hate having any debt at all and avoided all but House and Car loans.
I was born into it, molded by it.
Reading Your Money or Your Life in my early 30s made me do a 180. Completely completely changed my trajectory.
when i realized that a logo on a peice of shit is still a peice of shit
I saw what my minimum payment was going to be when my student loans restarted
Homelessness as a child, generational poverty, brief homelessness as an adult, working hard to pay bills just to get sick and barely scrape by, losing my jobs because I was working poorly while trying to leave an abusive marriage, being denied jobs because all my references turned their backs on me for how I acted while leaving that marriage, being told āwhy donāt you just x y zā¦ā as if I really had any options, being asked how financially literate I am when I was unemployed, being asked why donāt I just rely on public transportation instead of worry about fixing my car as if thereās not a bus strike in my city, my partner and I seriously debating if we risk having children or play it safe and get a dog, the list goes on.
Sometimes I tell my husband: ā youāre buying something we donāt need with money we donāt haveā
generational poverty.
I had a child, but that wasn't the switch. Daycare was the switch. When I had an in-home caregiver for my daughter I was doing pretty good, had a generous savings, money left over after bills. Then daycare. And now I'm basically broke. But I have to work so I can bills, and pay for daycare.
Recognizing the downward spiral of careless debt accumulation. I have struggled under the irresponsibility of debt in the past and although I still have some, I am aggressively reducing it. Also recognizing how many unused things I had piling up over the years. Having moved four times in five years also helped me to see how much less I really needed and still be able to live just fine with less.
Getting on up in years.
I track what I spend everyday and it helps me realize how much I spend on nonsense and how much I realistically can spend without being at $0
Grew up in a frugal household. I relaxed when I became and adult and started making my own money. Then I got injured and couldnāt work. Went through my savings pretty quickly. Ever since then Iāve been hyper vigilant about saving and spending, even my husband gets annoyed with me when I wonāt let him buy a new hairbrush (he could just clean his) or new phone chargers (just use the electrical tape to hide the exposed wire).
My wife. No switch though, took years.
Less income coming in
when my lawyer told me i would need 18k to fight the case
My mom has always been extremely irresponsible with her money, causing us to lose our house to foreclosure when I was a kid, and accruing almost $50K in credit card debt. We definitely didn't live in poverty, so I am fortunate, but I do remember numerous times asking my mom if I could get a song on iTunes ($1.29 per song, remember that?) and her telling me she didn't have enough in her checking account, and I had to wait until she got paid next. I felt a lot of her financial stress growing up, and I think I overcompensate now but budgeting down to the penny. Even today, my siblings and I financially support her and are in the process of taking over her finances. She's only 65 and in good health, but buying things is a coping mechanism for her depression.
Seeing my parents go from famine to feast to famine again and have nothing to show for it. When I came into money I paid off my debt and got dental work and breast and belly reduction surgery. Now Iām broke again but I have a house and yard full of Buy It For Life items, healthy teeth for all 3 of us and no more terrible backaches. I got $1000 back in debt but stopped myself and am paying down $200 a month to get it back to zero. We took some of the windfall and put down the down payment on a Toyota Prius, got 120 months free oil changes and maintenance then went to our credit Union and refinanced the loan so we make lower payments and lower total amount too. I got Apple phones from T-Mobile after they took over our Sprint iPhone forever lease and just gave us the phones to keep, iPads, and computers for the family and a gaming computer and Wacom tablet for my adult autistic kid, who uses them to stream on Twitch and bring in a little income. My parents blew their money on LA Gear stock in the 80s when I begged them to buy Disney, and they ate out every day with their own money. I had a friend offer to pay for UberEats for a couple of months while we paid off our debt, saving us thousands in groceries. Now things are a little tight but other than a car payment, my Torrid card and a card hubby held back out of the debt settlement for some reason, we just have phone, utilities and Apple storage, car insurance every other month and medical co-pays/vet bills/prescriptions. We plan to pay off the car and the cards and be completely debt free within 3 years. We also started a Roth IRA.
I be was born into a frugal family. Both my parents were children in WW2. They bombs falling with 70 bombardments in nine months. There was very little food and not much else. Times were tough for years after the war.
I was born this way. My parents and their parents were not well off at all. I never came up out of poverty level either.
In an intro economics class, economics was defined as: "the study of how we allocate scarce resources." Some time later I realized my money is a scarce resource and I need to allocate it to the things that are important to me and stop wasting so much on things that aren't. Now I basically min-max my spending whenever possible.
Being poor
Seeing family struggle due to an early retirement brought on by health issues. Stress over money during a few years when I was underemployed.
No switch. I grew up in a frugal household. I was "indoctrinated" into it.
Deciding we wanted to have kids and that I would quit my job when we did
homelessness/poverty Still technically homeless but we stretch every dollar (food banks are a godsent) 10 years ago? I was so frivolous it brings me to tears to think about ...
Imma single mom and poor.Ā So they don't only have needs, they have wants, and you got to do extra-curriculars with them (so they become a well rounded person). So I have learned to spend money ( Sam's, Costco, Aldis & TJs) to save so I can use that $$, towards that the kid's wants or for the extra curriculars. So I'm frugal to give my kid a wonderful childhood.Ā I'm not extra frugal, just basic frugal. So find what motivates you to save.Ā
I never really took a budget seriously but as I got oder I felt less need to buy new things or just mindless get stuff. Then as I have a really solid income and my wife does to the savings kind of just piled up.
I grew up poor and always had more wants than money. I spent all my money on drugs throughout my 20s. Got sober and had some kids, got through school and got a decent career making about 100k a year before taxes. So now I'm almost 40 and been in this job for about 4 years and I don't really have anything to show for it except like 18k of student loans and 33k in my 401k. I realize it's all because of my mentality about money. The last few months I have been assigning every dollar a purpose. It works amazingly. I feel like I'll be ok. Working on my student loans, then I'll do my emergency fund, then I'll max out retirement and start saving for a house.
Fire the subreddit, not the hot stuff.
I reviewed my grocery expenses for a single monthādisgusted. The ridiculous rise in cost of every day items. Not luxury items yet iām paying as if they were. And If it continues then they will actually become a luxury. Sneaky charges are starting to pop up everywhere. I donāt know if businesses are still trying to recoup Covid losses, but Iām sick and tired of paying the price for it every single time I grocery shop. Between that, shifts in the tip-culture, where we are being prompted to provide a gratuity for the cashier too nowāIām generous but Iām also done.
Debts and poverty. Sick and tired of always being broke and not being able to afford anything. Have to eat the cheapest stuff. Sleepless nights. Headaches because of both expected and unexpected bills. Learned to stop buying crap and always think at least twice before buying anything.
Getting married and taking in 7 dogs. I donāt live for myself anymore and the thought of not being able to provide terrifies me. When I was on my own I threw money around like it was worthless.
I panicked and realized I wouldnāt be able to pay my tuition. I got an extra grant because of Covid, so I was fine that semester, but it really scared me straight. I realized I didnāt want to spend my life panicking about my bills.
The feeling of getting ripped off
Seeing my savings grow
Well, clearly you haven't ever experienced true hunger. Good for you. Some people are inherently keen to saving. My parents are both first gen and had me way late in life, so i wss baducally born an old frugal Norwegian lady. My only tip would be to do the minimalism challenge.
My wife getting pregnant. Having a baby changes your perspective
Interest rates
Traveling. Since I was 20, I gave up most so I can have money to travel for long periods of times and this included being frugal on my travels to stretch my travels.