Being a frugaler means making some sacrifices. We sacrifice in order to save a few bucks. Sometimes, it becomes a bit of an addiction. We get a small high off of the act of saving. While you can certainly have worse addictions, even an addiction to saving can be a bad thing at times.
Taking Frugal to Extremes.
Before you get any funny ideas, I really should let you off the hook. This post isn’t really about flossing with chest hair. (It’s a catchy title though, isn’t it?) I don’t actually know of anyone ever having flossed with chest hair, nor would I suggest it. But, it serves as a good example of a way that people could take saving to an extreme. There’s a growing movement to do things in a sustainable manner, and using things that are renewable (like chest hair) is a big part of that. But, there are extremes. For instance, I’ve read about people who use a special kind of stick that is very fibrous, and they chew on it instead of brushing or flossing. Some things, I’d just rather pay for. Being frugal is good. Being so frugal that you chew on sticks? I’m not going to judge, but it seems a bit too extreme for me.
Finding a Happy Frugal Medium.
There is seldom a cure to any addiction. Overcoming one usually entails years of counseling, and hard work on the part of the addicted. Part of the treatment is usually to completely forgo whatever it is that you’re addicted to. If you’re an alcoholic, drinking any alcohol at all is forbidden. But, I can’t, and won’t, condone abstaining from frugality. Overcoming an addiction to being frugal is just a matter of finding a happy medium where you can still save money, while still living in a way that doesn’t have to include extreme cutbacks.
The Cure to Extreme Frugality.
Without thinking about it too hard, come up with something that you spend money on that you can’t do without. Again, I’m not going to judge. For some, it will be their car. For others, it will be their morning coffee. Now, come up with something that you currently spend money on that you can do without. For some reason, for most people, it’s harder to come up with something we can do without than it is something we can’t do without. Why is that? The answer is that it’s psychological. As frugal people, we’ve thought long and hard on ways to save money and to pay off our debt. In our minds, we’ve analyzed everything that we spend money on. We then justified everything that we spend. In some of those cases, we’ve created justification for ourselves so that we don’t have to get rid of something that we would rather not. So, it’s harder to find something that we know we can do without because, in our minds, we’ve created a justification that makes it something we need. The cure to finding a happy medium and avoiding the extreme frugal addiction is to take a close look at the things we’ve justified and find those things that we’ve created justifications for that really aren’t all that justified. In short, stop lying to yourself. Once you do, you’ll have found several things that you can cut back on, or remove entirely, that will save you money without going to extremes.
It’s just as hard to overcome the addiction of lying to yourself as any other addiction. There should (and maybe is) be a 12-step program for it. Until then, try and be truly honest wit yourself. Understand that you’ll probably slip up once or twice. That’s forgivable. Just recognize that you’ve slipped, and get back on track.
photo credit: Just Add Light
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Anything extreme is unsustainable! I enjoy my once a week Starbucks treat. Is there a suitable substitute. Absolutely! Since I have no debt except for a small mortgage and live on less than my income, it is an indulgence I can live with.
Your are right on here. I am always looking for balance in my life. I gave up the hypermiling thing (aka annoying my ex-GF and anyone else in the car) and just deal with the extra $5 per week in gas costs.
Sometimes you need to spend a little money to be happy, but I am always looking for reasonable ways to save.
I think that’s the key. Indulgences you can live with, and reasonable ways to save.
The title of this post makes me laugh. Excellent point though.
Shows like extreme couponers make me nauseous. Life is about finding balance. We see where extremes have gotten our society in the past, and it is nothing pretty.
I think the happy medium is the way to go too. For us frugal people, the happy medium is probably cheaper than the average consumers though. Everyone has to find their own way.
I’ve flossed with chest hair… what’s wrong with it? hehe… just kidding. ew.
Everyone has their own levels of frugality. One person’s frugal habits is another person’s wasteful spending.
Finding a happy medium is important for long term sustainability of a frugal lifestyle. But I have to admit that I do feel a certain ‘high’ when I can discover a new and unique way to save some cash! Frugality really is my hobby.
I agree anything can be taken too far. But it constantly amazes me how often we are able to fool ourselves that we are being careful with our money.
It helps to have accountability partners who can set us straight.
What do you think about Ramits rant on frugal folks?
To be honest, Dr. Dean, I was a bit offended by Ramit’s video. But, I already knew that I wasn’t one of his target market, so that didn’t surprise me. But, I’d also be lying if I didn’t say that this post wasn’t inspired in some way by that video and his speech. It’s true that us frugal folk take it a bit further than we should. Having fellow bloggers and readers that take us to task when we do something a bit too extreme in either direction does help a lot.
Chest hair is too short. I prefer back hair… Do I need to throw a j/k in there or is it obvious? Love the title!
Balance is definitely the key. So many people work so hard at saving money that the do more harm than good. They can’t see the forest ’cause the trees are in the way.
I also disagree with Ramit’s video about how cutting out the Starbucks is useless. Then again, maybe he’s assuming you’re just buying coffee there, which is in the $2 range, whereas everything I like (Mocha, chai, plus a baked item) ends up costing in the $6 range every time I go. That’s about $125/month if I go every work day. That is a significant amount in my salary range…