It is a common misperception that living a frugal lifestyle involves painful sacrifice. While the sacrifices made initially may be painful, once frugality becomes a habit, the pain subsides altogether.
Probably the biggest sacrifice you will have to make is giving up the word "want." In truth, most of the things we believe we need are nothing but wants.
Consider something as simple as lunch. We need to eat but that purpose is served just as well by a brown bag from home as twenty bucks dropped at a restaurant every day. We think we "need" to go grab lunch but the fact is that the expensive lunch out is motivated either by laziness or ego as in the need to be seen as doing well by being able to afford regular lunches out.
What is the true sacrifice here? It is not in the act of bringing lunch from home. The true sacrifice is of peace of mind when cash is short to pay the bills because of the lunches that were "needed."
Granted, nights out are fewer and farther between. Personally, I have not considered that much of a sacrifice as I have little patience for dealing with drunks in a club, or a crowd at a concert. While a sacrifice was made there, I have found a multitude of other activities to take its place.
There is one thing you will need when making such frugal choices. The need to be at peace with yourself is paramount. If you are not comfortable in your own skin and in your own company, a frugal lifestyle will be much more challenging. If constant outside stimulation or attention from outside parties are an integral part of your daily life, the change to a frugal lifestyle will be a much larger adjustment. Give it time, you will get there.
Tomorrow we look at the biggest obstacle that I have observed.
Stay tuned!
Love,
Jerri
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