It's time to "cross the road", dodge those "debt-potholes", and "jump the curb" to a more sustainable life strategy!
In the last few posts I've shared what's going wrong for most of us in our current economic climate and what's likely to go really wrong in the near future.
In this post, and the next few, I want to share some of my Elective Frugality strategies that have allowed me, over the last decade or so, to live an abundant, pleasing, happy, and more secure life.
These are things our grandparents knew and practiced, while others are creative ways that I've learned, to "streeetch" my own retirement funds and maintain a savings account while still having extra money left over each month that I can spend on pleasure, occasional luxuries, and/or add to my savings.
Moderation is the first strategy. We've all been way too profligate and lacking in self-regulation when it comes to the wonderful and varied abundance that is available in our global marketplaces. We've spoiled ourselves with unrestrained acquisition and we've taken to heart the media-marketing messages that we need and deserve their products and services. But do we really?
What we really, truly need and deserve is only what we can pay cash for without incurring the risk that debt brings to our well being. It's human nature to want the abundance we see on offer around us, but we need to apply discernment and self-discipline to how much of this bounty we can actually afford to buy...with cash. This strategy is most effective for the eye-candy type of product that beckons to us emotionally that we absolutely do not need.
An emergency item - such as when the refrigerator fails and a new one is needed (if the old one cannot be repaired) - means that we might have to pull cash out of savings. Or, it means that we charge the item to the credit card IF we're able to pay the charge off completely when the statement arrives.
If you cannot pay the whole amount when the statement comes, another tactic is to divide the payment into manageable amounts (NOT the minimum required payment) over the next two or three months...then until that fridge has been paid off, simply don't use that credit card to charge another single item until the balance returns to zero. Try, try to charge only what you can reasonable expect to pay off when the first statement comes.
While credit cards are a debt-trap, they are necessary if one wants to order a product on-line. Use the credit card with moderation and caution. Don't let the credit card use you!
Two of the most important strategies for incorporating Elective Frugality is to realize when we have acquired "enough" stuff...and to be on the alert for when we begin to stray toward the bad and dangerous habit of indebtedness.
It has become all too common a practice to not only carry a debt load, but to compound it. Yet, it's not only possible, but practical, to begin to decrease any debt-load you carry on anything other than a mortgage, and maybe a car payment. It's wise and a worthy goal to carry neither of those either.
Now is the time to begin even though it might seem daunting, impossible even. It gets easier with each recurrent bill you pay off. Then one day you realize that you, too, are debt-free!
Knowing when we've acquired enough material stuff is the key to restraint and the beginning of being able to save enough money to easily weather job loss, illness, and another recession. You can begin this right now even while still in debt by buying less and starting to save a little each month. Make extra payments on your highest interest credit card, too. When that one's paid off, begin on the next one. Each dollar you save, or don't spend, will increase your financial security while you whittle down personal debt.
All other strategies spring from the realization of finally having enough!
Did you know that being able to feel and express gratitude for your abundance and those things you've already acquired, rather than wanting and desiring more stuff, is a recipe for prosperity?
Call it a spiritual law, a mystical law, a cosmic law, or a law of physics that works on both material and non-material planes. The simple mindset of gratitude expands prosperity, abundance, and contentment.
The truth is that when we are in a constant state of wanting something...everything...we'll find ourselves suffering lack and being in want of things we need. It seems that a perpetual mindset of any kind - good or ill - guarantees that we'll attract events and conditions that keep us in that reality. Perhaps it's a form of positive or negative visualization and self-affirmation that we "are what we think". Thus, we need to have a "change of mind" about how we think and the emotions we entertain.
If we express gratitude, that mere emotion and mindset of thankfulness, and one of satiation, seems to create a "vacuum" which acts to attract both abundance and opportunity to fill that space within and around us.
A mind focused on gratitude and appreciation for what we already have attracts creative thinking and positive people who desire to help us achieve our goals or who just happen to have the knowledge or skills needed to set us on our way or help us solve a problem. The answer to a dilemma might also coincidentally be found in a book, magazine, be overheard, or pop up on the Internet. These are examples of the synchronicity that we can entrain into our lives simply by thinking new thoughts and feeling positive emotions.
Gratitude attracts abundance. Charity and service towards others will attract positivity and bounty into your life, as well. I don't mean that you'll become extremely rich, but you will become more prosperous as you express gratitude, save money by reducing debt, and enhance the lives of others. You'll attain the "true wealth" that includes contentment, more time for self and loved ones - you won't need to work such long hours to simply scrape by - and you'll gain security, and happiness, too.
A favorite Elective Frugality strategy for saving money I'd like to share with you concerns clothing.
How much of a wardrobe do we need to purchase and maintain in order to be fashionable and present a pleasing appearance?
The answer will depend upon your particular lifestyle and income. However, the "trend behind the marketing trends" is to create and maintain a "capsule" or "curated" wardrobe. Look up these two new fashion modalities on YouTube and learn how to have a stylish wardrobe for maximum impact at minimal cost! By editing one's closet, one can still be on the forefront of fashionable attire, while saving both money and closet space.
Remember the once commonly held belief that French women maintained a minimal amount of basic black attire which they mixed and matched, and enhanced, with scarves and other accessories for an endlessly stylish look?
Well, I don't know if French women still do, or ever did practice this fashion strategy. Nevertheless, it's a darn good idea! Dressing well, with minimal components composed of quality attire, all while saving money and space is an Elective Frugality strategy.
Elective Frugality is not about buying lots of cheap goods. Rather, it's about buying fewer items of style, quality, and lasting power at discounted prices. A good, expensive wool suit of classic cut, will stand the "fashion-test" of time and will take you out and about for decades. How many varied and stylish ways can you enhance a little black dress?
Some years ago I found a classically fashionable, vintage International Scene (made in Yugoslavia) black wool coat in perfect condition at a local thrift store. It's original price was likely in the hundreds of dollars. Some of these may now be found on eBay between $50 to over $100. Yet, I found mine for $5.00, had it dry cleaned, and secured a few loose buttons with needle and thread. I'm not ashamed to wear this classic-cut coat anywhere.
Yes, an important strategy is to shop for high-quality, gently used clothing at thrift and consignment shops. You'll find quality items for a fraction of their original price.
Instead of buying cheap, flimsy, mass-market items, you'll discover something you can be proud to wear. Simply be prepared to launder or have it dry cleaned and perhaps make minor repairs. Make sure it's in good condition and well-made, not worn or frayed. Thrift shops in or near, so-called "well-to-do" neighborhoods are likely to yield up some great deals on designer clothing.
This strategy of frequenting consignment and thrift shops may at first seem distasteful to some. I'm not sure why, but saving money and having a great, stylish, and interchangeable wardrobe will go far in offsetting initial disdain, and unnecessary elitism...especially when you deposit those conserved dollars into a savings account!
Regardless of your present income, always, always aim for debt- and interest-free methods of living and thriving! Just because you put yourself on a budget does not mean that you can't own quality items.
Pay off debt. Buy less, but buy quality and pay cash! These may be the most important strategies that you can adopt.
What will your nest egg/s become?
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Elective Frugality is the genteel recognition of having acquired enough, and that authentic abundance and real wealth are not money- or thing-based, but are, instead, Soul-founded.
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