The writer of the book I’m currently reading, Jonni McCoy, is not a financial planner or anything like that. According to the introduction she is a regular middle-class mom living in an expensive part of the country who simply wanted to be home with her kids. Since a higher income wasn’t possible, she had to find ways to make the money they had work harder. That’s why this book appeals to me right now. There is not much possibility of us coming into more money in the immediate future. Hopefully someday, but not today. Probably not tomorrow either. So, we need to stretch our dollars further.
To some, the words “saving” and “delayed gratification” and “used, er… pre-owned” are foreign. The notion of spending and needing less is kind of an old-fashioned idea in today’s society. Our country is all about bigger, better, newer, faster, flashier, and RIGHT NOW. As I’ve been mulling over the ideas presented in this book and how to make it work for me, I’m realizing that the first step is to change my mentality. Before any of this can work, I need to get in the right frame of mind.
Generally speaking, I think I could say that I do fairly well. I don’t buy a lot of “stuff”: magazines, clothing, drinks, home decor, movies, etc. However, I am all about anything that will make my life easier, such as pre-packaged and frozen convenience meals and snacks, or the occasional fast food run when we’re just too blasted tired to try to cook anything at home. While I may be making my life easier in the short term by throwing a frozen pre-packaged burrito in the microwave, I need to look at the big picture and realize that I’m not making my life easier in the long run. The more money I spend on convenience items, the more money I am going to have to make to pay for them, which means the more I am going to have to work. The more I work, the less time I have to cook a real dinner, which means I will default to a convenience item. It’s a vicious, vicious cycle, people.
So far the book has been focusing almost entirely on food expenses, since that is probably the biggest spending opportunity for most Americans. I remember putting together a spreadsheet several months ago of our monthly expenses and discovering that we were spending more than $400 a month on groceries. $400+ a month! For two and a half people! I about gagged on my frozen burrito when I saw that number. Since then I’ve been trying to make more of an effort in my meal planning so we can cut down on the cost, but truth be told I haven’t exactly followed up and stayed on top of keeping track to see if its made a difference.
I’m hoping that if I start applying the ideas in Miserly Moms that I will be able to actually make some headway. So, it begins! Ms. Jonni has outlined Eleven Miserly Guidelines to get me on the way to financial freedom. Guideline #1: Don’t confuse frugality with depriving yourself. And the bottom line to doing that? Make sure your goals are worth more than anything else. Is being debt-free your priority? Quitting your job? Maybe having a family? Maybe it’s having more money to go see the world? Whatever it is, it has to be better than anything else. Better than getting your nails done regularly. Better than take-out three times a week. Better than a giant Diet Coke from the gas station every day.
For me, I want to be able to spend more time with my family. That’s better than all the hair highlights in the world. Yep, mind over matter. I can do this.
What do you think? What makes being frugal worth it to you?
Ahhhhhh. Yes, the last couple of paragraphs really hit home for me. One time Janelle told me, “Don’t give up what you want, for what you want at the moment.” That’s really stuck with me. But it’s true. Would I rather spend $40 on sushi or save it for a trip with the boy? Hm. I am bad at saving money. But maybe you could join that Deals-To-Meals site where it tells you the cheapest places to buy your normal groceries. Good luck! Keep us posted on what you find out and what has worked for you, along with your progress, etc.