Frugality Magazine - Frugal Living Tips for Financial Freedom

Is It Possible To Be Too Frugal?

Every month when I get paid I settle down to crunch the previous month’s numbers and plan for the next.

Over the years that I’ve been doing it the process has got easier and quicker, but there are still a few surprises here and there.

Take groceries as an example.

I consider myself pretty frugal, and I’m always on the lookout for a bargain. I’ve even written a book on the subject of saving money on groceries so it’s very much on my radar.

However I’ve been a little surprised recently how little some other bloggers claim to spend on groceries. And it’s left me wondering if we might somehow be missing a trick. Are we really spending more than necessary or not?

After analyzing our last few grocery shops I decided that the answer is “no”. We make full use of all the various technique and strategies for saving money on groceries, but we don’t compromise on quality. We also, and this is important, don’t compromise on health.

Our groceries consists of lean meats, fruits, basic sources of carbs (pasta, rice etc.) and so on. We of course grow our own veggies so have these on tap. If we did live on pre-made packet foods – which are far cheaper – we could save a ton. Realistically we could probably shave our grocery bill in half again.

But I don’t want to.

Not only would our diets be far less healthy, they’d also be far more boring. To put it another way, saving any more money here would be kind of foolhardy in my opinion.

I’m often asked “is it possible to be too frugal?”, and given the above advantage you might think I’d answer “yes”.

But frugality is different to cheapness. Cheap people just want to spend as little money as possible. They’d be the ones living on noodles and whatever they could buy with coupons for free.

Frugality, I would argue, is about value.

It’s about getting the most for your money, rather than necessarily refusing to spend it. A good qualty coat that lasts you years may therefore work out to be more frugal than a cheap one that costs half as much but falls apart after its first winter. See the difference?

So in answer to the question, I would say “no” it’s not possible to be too frugal. However it is possible to be too cheap, something that can either cost you more in the long run, or take away the pleasure of life.

What do you think? Are there areas of your life where you refuse to economize any more? Do you think it’s possible to be too frugal? Please leave your opinions in the comments section below…

Do you grow your own vegetables? Are you sick of snails eating your crops? If so, here are some proven pest control tips. #gardening #selfsufficiency

Richard

Sun-worshipper and obsessive frugality blogger. For loads more money-saving advice come and join us on Facebook.

Add comment