Quality of Life and Frugality
By Matt - Tuesday, May 12th, 2009
Does it make sense to sacrifice our quality of life for the sake of frugality? This is a personal question that each of us has to grapple with to some extent especially if we are trying to cut back our expenses or save for something. How much do we give up in order to save money or pay down our debt? Do we give up everything and exist on a bare minimum or do we afford ourselves a few niceties in life.
One of the things that my wife and I enjoy is a glass of wine or a beer in the evenings. The question is do we give up our evening glass of wine for the sake of saving a few extra dollars a week? If we were in a situation where we are not making ends meet and we’re barely able to pay our bills the answer to this question is quick and obvious, of course.
The question becomes a bit gray in my opinion when it isn’t a matter of necessity. My wife and I are in debt and we have decided to focus our energies and finances on paying this down. We are able to pay all of our bills without too much difficulty but at this rate it will take us a long time to pay down this debt. The question becomes how much do we decide to give up in order to speed this up?
Some authors and financial gurus will say that you need to do everything and give up everything in order to get financially ahead. Although in principle this is a great idea do you want to give up everything that you enjoy because it will save you a few extra dollars?
The reality is it’s a bit of a toss up; if your sin is enjoying a latte from Starbucks that costs you $5 a day over the course of a year this adds up to $1,825 which could be used for a great many other things that would be more enjoyable or beneficial. But if you really enjoy that latte it might make your day to day life less enjoyable. Can you go without the latte? Of course you can. The question is do you need to go without the latte if it’s really important to you?
I think a balance needs to be set, if you are about to give up everything or almost everything for the sake of a financial goal the frugality you’re undertaking should have a purpose. You are choosing to forgo your quality of life for the sake of a financial goal. With a specific goal in mind I am happy to make sacrifices but it’s a choice that everyone has to make. For the sake of our current financial goal we’ll give up some of our niceties but not necessarily all of them. The question that I am still grappling with is how many of them and to what extent because the goal is important to me but so is being able to enjoy my life.
This entry is filed under Commentary, Debt, Financial Situation.
3 Responses to “Quality of Life and Frugality”
1 Val says:
May 16th, 2009
at 11:11 pm
We work on that balance daily – We’ve gone to the U-Brew system; we can produce high quality wines and beers at a fraction of the cost, so we can enjoy them at home more frequently without derailing our budget excessively.
We also have a Starbucks credit card; we pay it off every month, but use the grace period for free and it helps track our spending. It provides for a good amount of free coffee beverages, and we have a refurbished Breville espresso machine for home use that we picked up on EBay.
It’s not just about sacrificing those small pleasures, it’s finding create ways to enjoy them without busting your budget.
cheers
2 Revanche says:
May 29th, 2009
at 5:45 pm
I agree with Val; it’s more about creating ways to pay for those little luxuries than cutting them out entirely when you’re in the gray area. For me, it was through CC rewards and surveys. For you, it might be something different.
3 W. Jackson says:
June 2nd, 2009
at 3:21 pm
That is a good question. There is always something else. A way to spend money. As you stated, forgo the needs for the future you want? The momentary pleasures don’t last long, but your future is greater, isn’t it.
Building on saving and managing my finances for the future is hard. There are things I have cut back on, things that need to be cut back. Still I can’t let it all go.
In order to have the things I want I must sacrifice now.
W. Jackson
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