Whatever I'm buying, I'll always look for a bargain. I steer away from designer clothes with absurdly high price tags. I don't buy fashionable clothes that will probably be out of fashion in six months' time. I don't buy fancy expensive furniture that was recommended in some magazine.
Of course there are some exceptions. I'll pay over the odds for a high-quality pair of shoes. I'll shell out a hefty sum for a foreign holiday. I'll dig deep for a really wonderful original painting.
But on the whole I don't splash my money around. I'm not an impulse buyer and I shop strictly for what I want. I don't go in for retail therapy and I don't go in for flashy purchases like jewellery or mountain bikes or upmarket sound systems. My needs are modest.
My mum always prided herself on her frugality, which got more extreme as she got older. She couldn't resist a special offer at the supermarket, or a cut-price holiday deal, or a dirt-cheap winter jacket. Her frugality was a bit of an illusion though, as she was also a hoarder and had bought so many "bargains" that her flat was completely stuffed with them.
But whenever I saw her, she would always tell me gleefully of her latest bit of penny-pinching, and how on-the-ball she had been. All of which was totally unnecessary because she was very well-off, but liked to prove she was a canny shopper who was never conned into wasting money.
I think any sign of luxury actually horrified her.
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For those of you who've read about the Northern Ireland rioting and might be wondering if Jenny and I are safe, yes we're perfectly safe. The mayhem in west Belfast doesn't affect us because we live seven miles away in east Belfast. So worry not!
I am frugal too except when it comes to buying books and other reading material.
ReplyDeleteRamana: We haven't bought many books in the last year because Waterstones in the city centre has been closed for many months. I've been rereading a lot of books, and I've had a few from the library as our book club choices.
DeleteI buy online and kindle books.
DeleteMy parents did not have much money, so we had no choice growing up. Our luxuries were eating out once a week. I had to pay for my college and expenses once I turned 18, so frugality was a way of life for so long. My circumstances have changed at this stage of life, but I still look for bargains and use coupons whenever I can!
ReplyDeleteBijoux: It's hard to lose the habit of looking for bargains, isn't it? My parents never ate out at all, they saw that as classic squandering!
DeleteWe're as frugal as we need to be these days. We have no debt. During this year of COVID, our expenses have actually fallen since we've pretty much stayed home the whole year. My truck is 15 years old, the car is 11, and the camper is 13.
ReplyDeleteNext Friday will be 2 weeks after our second COVID vaccination and we're gonna go shopping and stop somewhere for a meal out.
(Our "shopping" will most likely be "looking." The meal out will only be the second time we've been inside a restaurant since early March 2020. We'll really be splurging...not!)
Mike: We too. We've spent remarkably little in the past year. We've been to our favourite local restaurant just twice, and all the cultural things we usually spend money on have been suspended for many months. No word yet on when our shops and other businesses will be operational again.
Deletethank you Nick! as soon as I heard about it on the news I was worried about you and Jenny! glad to know you're safe. I know how much you love it there and would hate to see it spoiled for you.
ReplyDeleteand being minimalistic... my needs are extremely Few.
so I remain a happy frugal camper.
I think the more materialistic and capitalistic society gets the more I revert to the opposite!
it truly takes very little.
stay safe! xo
Tammy: Yes, we love Northern Ireland. The riots are at the moment just a small blot on the landscape! In fact it's more hooliganism than rioting.
DeleteI'm the same, the more materialistic others get, the more I want to simplify my life to the minimum. Why go chasing after the latest over-priced accessory?
We're not materialistic and are still living below our means, but our greenhouse and the solar heating system on the roof of our house up on the land could never be called frugal...not by any stretch of the imagination. They're life-enhancing, for us that's even better.
ReplyDeleteJean: The greenhouse and solar heating system sound like very worthwhile projects, even if they aren't frugal. And they're life-enhancing, as you say.
DeleteI love your mom's thrill of the hunt. I had to stop buying clothes about ten years ago. When I retired, I wore a lot of my regulars. I gave away some clothes and still I have too many. I don't think it is unusual for bargain hunters to be comfortable financially.
ReplyDeleteWhat I have noticed is that those I've known who have a bit of greed or want a high status house or car sometimes are broke or overspent.
Ann: True, bargain hunters are often well off, but they can't resist a tempting offer. And yes, a lot of those people with flashy possessions have often got into debt in order to impress others.
DeleteI'm glad to hear you are safe. I did wonder.
ReplyDeleteMy father was extremely frugal. So much so that he had savings in more than one bank because the FDIC insurance would only cover up to so much in one bank. I was astounded to learn he had saved so much! But, he lived to be 94 so I suspect he spent most of that. And whatever he might have had left went to my stepmother so I will never actually know. I'm glad we are well off enough now to not need to know.
Linda: It's amazing how much some people have salted away, though they appear to be not especially well-off. My mother had piled up quite a tidy sum by the time she died.
DeleteI wonder how you came to live in Belfast, and when?
ReplyDeleteJoanne: Oh, that's a long story! Basically we'd had enough of London, with its overcrowded public transport and endless traffic jams, its high crime rate, its lack of beautiful scenery and its over-priced property. Jenny comes from an old Irish family and was keen to make a fresh start in Northern Ireland. Also we could buy a large house in Belfast for the price of a poky flat in central London. I wrote all about Belfast in my very first post http://nickhereandnow.blogspot.com/2007/02/sharing-my-life.html
DeleteJoanne: I forgot to say, we moved over here in 2000, so we've been here 21 years and are still very glad we made the move.
DeleteFirst, glad to read that you and Jenny are safe from any rioting, Nick. My family was rather frugal during my childhood, yet I never thought of myself as being "deprived" even though we didn't have a lot of fancy things. We had the basics and then some and that was enough. My husband and I are better off now and yes we have some the techie things like cell phones, iPads, computers, digital cameras but we are not keeping up with the latest and greatest in anything. Our cars are 14 and 16 years old and still work well with regular servicing. They don't have all the modern features but get us to where we're going. We have actually saved $ by being home more, cooking at home and taking local day trips. Our clothing is far from the latest fashions and thrift store finds are always fun.
ReplyDeleteBeatrice: I never felt deprived as a kid either, even though my parents counted the pennies and we never had foreign holidays or central heating or even a fridge until I was a teenager. Our two previous cars here in Belfast were around 15 years old but they got us reliably from A to B and that was all we needed.
DeleteGrowing up in the seventies was a frugal time - old habits die hard. I've just bought my first sofa after 30 years of sitting on my Nan's old one. My back couldn't take it any more and it was time to upgrade - but I did feel a twinge of guilt!
ReplyDeleteSx
P.S The old sofa was probably 60 - 70 years old, and not that pretty - so shabby it couldn't be chic.
Ms Scarlet: We've had our present sofa/sofa bed for many years - bought from John Lewis sometime in the 1990s. It's still in excellent condition.
DeleteI positively hate shopping so it's needs only and thrift shop for clothes, needs again. My friends who thrive on retail therapy baffle me, filling some kind of hole as we all do if we're honest. Same with hairdos and "spoiling" sessions which can add up to an arm and a leg (no pun intended).
ReplyDeleteI use the library and shop only for books I can't access there. And even then it's Abe or another second hand shop.
I sound like a saint but I'm not, I just use my time in other ways.
XO
WWW
www: I also hate shopping, which is why I only shop when there's something I need urgently. Being a bloke, I don't need fancy hairdos or spoiling sessions, so lots of money saved there.
DeleteI'm glad you're ok. I like to save my money and always look for a good deal.
ReplyDeleteMary: Ah yes, the Friday freebies!
DeleteI'm glad you and Jenny are safe. I think we are the same age, frugality was a way of life. Rationing didn't end until 1954 but my mother never managed to shake off the thought that things might be in short supply forever. She knitted, sewed and mended. I had clothes for school, for playing in and for best, and they had to last for as long as possilble, I was taught to look after them. I still look after clothes, shoes etc but now I use everything, no keeping things for 'best', I live in the moment, and if I do see something expensive that I really like I will buy it because life is short and I'm worth it! :-)
ReplyDeletePolly: My mum was the same, always thinking things would be scarce and making everything last. I agree about buying something expensive if you really like it. We have some lovely abstract paintings that were worth forking out for.
DeleteI am mostly frugal. I tend to avoid extravagance, but there are areas in my life where I don't mind spending - travel, for instance. Within reason even there, though.
ReplyDeleteAgent: That's our biggest extravagance as well, travelling. But it's worth every penny. Our guided tour of New Zealand in 2019 was amazing.
DeleteGlad to hear you are safe an do hope those riots end soon.
ReplyDeleteFrugality was a necessity as I was growing up, but it occurred in such a way that I didn't really think of it as a hardship. Habits established just seemed like common sense, continuing throughout my life with some adjustments as the amount of available funds varied. I have often noticed savings in one area allows what some might consider extravagance in another area. I think it comes down to what each of us value and believes to be important. I've noticed some items I think of as luxuries are thought of as necessities by some others.
There's an age 90+ gal I know who is very much into seeking bargains. Anytime we talk she tells me of purchases and cites her savings. Even through the pandemic she shopped multiple stores to achieve her gains as she saw them to be. Considering there was quite a bit of driving involved and our gas prices were quite high, I've had to wonder how much she really saved. She then considers these savings as money she can spend at will and does so with periodic trips to a casino. She only gambles there the amount she has saved and/or designated for such -- stops if she has lost it all on the penny slot machines she plays because the small coin allows her money to last longer.
Joared: Good point about her driving long distances and eating up gas in order to save a dollar or two. But she's very self-disciplined about her gambling - a lot of people would be easily tempted to fritter their money away.
DeleteVery true that one person's necessity is another's luxury. My necessity is books but a lot of people don't read books at all and wouldn't understand that.
It is interesting how often people who go after bargains, are also hoarders. I think that in some strange way they are two sides of the same coin. Do you think that too?
ReplyDeleteJenny: That's an interesting idea. I don't think there's been any serious research into the possible connection. But my mother hoarded things that weren't actually bargain-buys, like newspapers and holiday brochures.
Delete