Being Cheap Makes Life Rich

A lot of us were scared last March when we were all forced to grind to a halt. Incomes dried up and many found themselves carefully meal planning to make ends meet.

Interestingly enough, many are still meal planning down to the last spinach leaf. Not because they have to, but because they like it. They like that the grocery bill is half what it used to be. They like that they rarely throw food away anymore. They like the nightly walks and the little nest egg piling up as they put out less.

The pressure to embrace frugality has been building: It takes more than $230,000 to raise one child to age 18 (not including college), while wages have remained largely stagnant — not to mention disproportionately low for the many millennials trying to be adults while burdened with student debt.

Add to that the painful reality that participating in our disposable economy results in filling landfills and oceans with yesterday’s fast fashion and plastic toys, causing a global threat.

Now most people tend to say that as long as they bring in enough to cover the bills, being frugal feels healthy, like they’re taking care of themselves.

The question is: Will this way of life stick?

Experts say it can but we have to shift our mindset about spending, saving, and what really makes us feel good.

Saving isn’t self-denial — it’s self care

Many single moms were caught with almost no savings and no income, bills coming in, and kids relying on them. They had to watch every expense, figure out how to get a forbearance on their mortgage, and find food that would stretch the farthest. They now have the skills to build a buffer that will make their future much easier and less stressful.

Spendy doesn’t equal special

We took for granted that we paid for experiences, particularly special ones — family outings, date nights, birthdays. But we’ve recently discovered that dining out doesn’t compare to our Taco Night at home.

Many have realized that shopping locally from small-business websites is a richer, more satisfying experience. This is especially true when taking into consideration that some local small businesses might not survive.

The pandemic made it clear for the first time just how inter-connected we are to that coffee shop or little cafe down the street.

Let’s keep in mind that, in the process of reusing and sharing, we reduce the amount of waste in landfills.

Most of us spent our lives working so hard in order to pay for the car, the house, the stuff — and we never had time to do what really mattered to us.

Whatever we do, I hope we don’t lose the progress we’ve made toward understanding what being truly rich feels like — Annie Raser-Rowland