Comments on: Frugal materialism.

By: Do You Have Deep Clutter? « Michelle's space

Do You Have Deep Clutter? « Michelle's space — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 21:45:44 +0000

[...] June 1, 2010 by Michelle Mains No blog to speak of this month due to a hectic travel schedule, but I will leave you this insightful article from the wonderful site, Goodlife Zen. Provocative reading, regardless of the state of your house or office! As one of my former pastors liked to say, "Show me your checkbook and your calendar, and I’ll show you your Gods." And on another note, fantastic article about "Frugal Materialism". Enjoy! 7 Sources of Deep Clutter Frugal Materialism [...]

By: steven@hundredgoals

steven@hundredgoals — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 15:25:03 +0000

I am one of those people who thought that minimalism and frugality went hand in hand…in many ways, I still feel this way. I think one can lead to the other. When you are frugal, you understand that material possessions are only as important as filling a need or a want (and frugal folks are acutely aware of what constitutes a want). Frugal people aren’t running around the shopping malls in a blind fit searching for satisfaction through consumption but rather are meticulous in their spending choices because they put their money where their priorities are. That is what I love so much about frugality, that it doesn’t restrict anything but instead, eliminates the fluff, allowing us to focus on what we value. Whether that is gardening, quilting, Star Wars memorabilia or, in my case, world domination…errr, travel.

Still, I think it is almost natural to see a shift towards a more minimalist way of thinking. Maybe people won’t find themselves purging their homes of everything they own in order to create a Zen surrounding but the thinking of a minimalist is definately there. From my own experiences, I find myself saying, “I don’t need that,” more often than not. Is it frugality or minimalism? I think it is more of a minimalist mindset than a frugal one, since my focus is more of whether or not I can live without whatever widget I am considering buying. If it were frugality, I think the internal dialogue would sound something more like, “I need (or want) this but maybe I can find it elsewhere for a better price or of higher quality. I’ll do some research and come back to it.”

Of course, frugal folks aren’t necessarily minimalists, like you pointed out in the article, but I do think there are traces of both in all of us.

Great article!!!

By: Andrea | Learning to Live Small

Andrea | Learning to Live Small — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 02:15:33 +0000

Beautifully put! Love your phrase “frugal materialism”!

Having worked as a home stylist and having and artsy bent, I love to live in an environment that I consider beautiful and creative. However, since growing more and more aware of the effects of consumption on the environment (and my pocketbook!), I’ve begun to take a different approach – reusing, recycling & remaking.

It allows me to change things up from time to time without spending much money at all. But best of all is that I’m stretching my creative muscles!

By: Carnival of Personal Finance #260: Forces of Nature Edition • Rainy-Day Saver

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 12:12:47 +0000

[...] Freedman from Surviving and Thriving believes in Frugal materialism — meaning that you don’t have to be a minimalist to be frugal. You can spend your money [...]

By: Carnival of Personal Finance #260 : Carnival of Personal Finance

Carnival of Personal Finance #260 : Carnival of Personal Finance — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 08:42:37 +0000

[...] Surviving and Thriving: Frugal materialism [...]

By: Red

Red — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 04:06:44 +0000

Agreed! As long as your materialism isn’t causing you to spiral into debt, I don’t really care what you do with your money. I’ve been guilty of being an aspiring minimalist snob before because it feels like so many of my friends have money troubles but think it’s fine to hoard clothes and books like they’ll be lost without them. It’s all about attitude though, not the actual possessions.

By: shari

shari — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 03:46:45 +0000

OMG – I splurged and purged this weekend. As well as remorsefully returned – but I felt better afterward. Thanks for the great post – these things definitely help me focus more on the mindful part of consumption!

By: haverwench

haverwench — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 00:12:33 +0000

Thank you, thank you, thank you for saying this out loud! (Er, I mean in print. Or pixels.) So many people seem to be fixated on this idea that frugality means *giving up* things, even things you enjoy. Not a bit of it! Frugality means not wasting your money and your time on the things you *don’t* care about, so you have more money and time to spend on the things you *do* care about. The way I like to put it is that frugality is about abundance, not scarcity. It’s not having less; it’s getting more for less. I think I’ve made this point more than once in my blog, and I know Amy Dacyczyn made it repeatedly in her Tightwad Gazette books, but somehow it never seems to get through to the general public.

By: rosa rugosa

rosa rugosa — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 00:07:32 +0000

Yes! My sister does that – and this describes it very well!

By: Kimberly Caron-Lohman

Kimberly Caron-Lohman — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 21:25:00 +0000

Splurging and purging, that’s priceless!!! I’ve been guilty of that on more than one (or a dozen) occasion… love the idea of frugal materialism… I’ve been reading many blogs on minimalism lately and I’m drawn, but I don’t think I’m a 100 or 79 thing gal. I like my toaster and coffee pot and my craft stuff and prefer a nice throw rug over my bare wooden floors….. or at least I would if I had any bare wooden floors, which I want but currently don’t have…..