Just curious who else is living super frugal

[ChickensAreSweet]

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I just started reading Harper Lee's Go Set a Watchman, and I came across one of her observations: If you don't want much, there is always plenty. It made me laugh out loud.

That reminded me of a quote I heard a long time ago- IDK who said it but here it is:

"If you aren't happy with what you have,
then you won't be happy with more."

I like your quote too!

 

[DennisK]

That reminded me of a quote I heard a long time ago- IDK who said it but here it is:

"If you aren't happy with what you have,
then you won't be happy with more."

I like your quote too!

Beautiful!

 

[Arielle]

lol

I have definitely had to change my perception of what is enough. The hard part is that those around me continue to think and want and get EVERYTHING. So we tend to keep to ourselves so as to not announce our frugal ways.

I'm trying to be happy with enough. Sure appreciate more than I did.

Took the poor quality tomatos from the community garden headed for the compost; and picked more crab apples tonight, and ate a few wild grapes--- nothing like the rich flavor of wild grapes!!!

We are making a smoothy of mostly home grown or wild picked things: kale, crabapples and cukes with ice and a bit of sugar free apple drink mix from wally world. Kids take mine, so I now make enough for the 3 of us. An acquired taste!!.

 

[Beekissed]

I think, for the most part, folks who grew up with nothing and were content with that seem to be able to avoid the constant acquisition habits of most of the world, even when they get enough money to acquire. Once you see how little you really need to live and be content, you know you can live that way again and even desire to do so when you look around at everyone smothering in all their possessions.

Every once in awhile I see TV when I travel, and glimpse the HGTV shows where these people have HUGE houses and a few kids and they have "outgrown" their home.

Then you get a look inside the house and realize their homes are extremely spacious, they are just filled with STUFF. Get rid of the stuff and all the sudden they'd have a home they all fit in again! Nope...nothing would have it but they get an even bigger home and you just know that the bigger home will soon be brimming with even more STUFF, making it cramped for the family once more.

Folks who have not learned contentment will never have enough. What a horrible feeling that must be to go through this life always feeling a wanting for more.

I feel so sorry for those folks! I wish there was a switch you could flip on them so they could open their eyes and SEE that, if they weren't happy with what they had, they won't be happy with more of it.

 

[islafarm]

When people realize it's not about stuff, it's about family, relationships, community, faith and trust, then frugality becomes just normal. Stuff replaces loss of those deeper values.

Looking at definitions of frugality, being 'not wasteful' is right alongside being 'prudent' - I think that's key. Frugality for me is about being respectful of the environment, but also for the lives and livelihoods of the folk who made the things we use and eat. If my clothes are old and worn, or I'd rather use the glass pitcher with the chip than buy a new plastic one, for me that brings a sense of satisfaction and appreciation. And a feeling of independence too, not following the herd off the financial cliff

If we replace the word 'want' with the word 'need', it becomes simpler: I may want dozens of things, but in reality I need very few of them. I have 2 feet, why do I need 6 pairs of shoes? Or 2 sets of pans, or seasonal colours for my bathroom towels? Most of the world still live simply, only in the 'first / developed word' are people consuming more than they need. I think being frugal is an antidote to consumerism. It's not a punishment or something to be ashamed of, it's the way normal folk live / have lived for thousands of years.

'Live simply that others may simply live' Gandhi

'Tread lightly on the earth' Quaker tenet

'Manifest plainness, embrace simplicity, reduce selfishness, have few desires.' and 'He who knows he has enough is rich.' Lao Tszu

'Don’t store up treasures for yourself here on earth, where thieves break in and steal, and moths and rust destroy. Store up things for yourself in heaven instead, for where your heart is, that is where your treasure will be.' Jesus

 

[lazy gardener]

Well said, Bee and Isla.

 

[chicksurreal]

We were graciously given some acreage by my FIL years ago and finally decided to get out of the rat race about ten years ago. We purchased an army tent and set it up on the land that we had been given. We decided to build as we could to avoid a mortgage and started out with just that tent and a movable storage unit to store the few things we did keep.

We had no electricity, no well, basically just raw, undefiled land. We drilled a well after the first year and eventually had electricity brought in by APS after 2 years. We lived in that tent for the first three years until we could get a roof on the house we are building. Those were the three best years of my life, I still miss that tent. Lol!

We're still building the house, but it's livable and paid for. Makes a huge difference in my state of mind.

 

[donrae]

My kiddos have finally grasped the idea that their friend's families who have the large houses, new cars and all the new toys aren't rich. They're simply up to their eyeballs in debt.


Change of topic--several of ya'all use the home made laundry detergent. Anyone had success with a home made dishwasher detergent that doesn't leave your glasses cloudy? My sister's on a mission to find something and I told her I'd ask on here.

 

[Beekissed]

We were graciously given some acreage by my FIL years ago and finally decided to get out of the rat race about ten years ago. We purchased an army tent and set it up on the land that we had been given. We decided to build as we could to avoid a mortgage and started out with just that tent and a movable storage unit to store the few things we did keep.

We had no electricity, no well, basically just raw, undefiled land. We drilled a well after the first year and eventually had electricity brought in by APS after 2 years. We lived in that tent for the first three years until we could get a roof on the house we are building. Those were the three best years of my life, I still miss that tent. Lol!

We're still building the house, but it's livable and paid for. Makes a huge difference in my state of mind.

I bet when you tell that to folks they just can't comprehend it and they will assert they "could nevah" live without this or that and be happy, but I've been there and done that and I agree wholeheartedly. Best years of my life were the most simply lived with little or nothing of the world's "comforts".

I applaud you for the wisdom to build slowly and stay out of debt! So many folks want stuff and they want it NOW, regardless of the debt incurred.

 

[Oliver Douglas]

With retirement from a major Aerospace company in Silicon Valley, moving to a less expensive area in the Sierra Nevada's made sense. Bigger, newer home, less property tax, more acreage with a small orchard, less stress. I used to suffer heart episodes (atrial flutter) at least once a week...not any more. It's not so much how frugal you are with cash...you can't take it with you...but how you choose to spend your remaining time with those you love....hustle and bustle...or watching the deer run about the yard, enjoying the cleaner air and seeing the stars at night...even with a bottle of Two Buck Chuck...sitting out on your deck on a warm September night with your spouse and listening to the quiet...beats the big city any day. Having chickens to care for, watching them acting out, is a simple pleasure. Volunteering with the local community...that's real living. Before I retired, I bought a book called "How to Retire, Happy, Wild and Free". Nothing about compiling wealth...just how to spend the rest of your life LIVING....I have learned quite a bit about the folks posting here and their efforts to make do with what they have...congrats to all. I will take their recommendations and stories to heart and try to make our community a better place. The best thing I've learned about having chickens is that our garbage disposal unit is unemployed....the little buzzards will eat anything! Cheers to all who have experienced hardship in their lives and have persevered.