The pleasures of frugality

Frugality is often viewed from the perspective of deprivation and frustration, when in fact it means prioritizing quality of life over standard of living.

The following article is a reflection on what frugality really is. It is a free translation of the very beautiful passage "the pleasures of frugality" in chapter 6 of the book "Your money or your life" by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez.

Frugality (or voluntary simplicity) is not just an attitude of economy in the spending of resources. On the contrary, it can be seen as taking advantage of the virtue of to receive good value from every minute of our lives and from every thing we use.

To be frugal is to enjoy and appreciate what one has. Someone who owns 10 suits but always feels like they have nothing to wear is probably a spendthrift. On the other hand, someone who owns 10 suits and wears each one for years is frugal. Wastefulness does not depend on the number of possessions but manifests itself in the inability to know how to enjoy them.

Hedonism and frugality are two opposite ways of enjoying what one has. Hedonism manifests itself in the pleasure of the senses and involves excessive consumption of the material world and a continuous search for more and more. On the other hand, Frugal people get value from everything, a dandelion or a bouquet of roses, a single strawberry or a gourmet meal.

Being frugal means having a high ratio of pleasure to material things. If you get one unit of joy for every material possession, you are frugal. But if it takes you 10 possessions to start feeling pleasure, you are missing out on life.

The mentality in our society of "more is better and there is never enough" misses the concept of frugality not only because of excess, but also because of not knowing how to appreciate what we already have. Very often, So-called materialistic people do not value possessions in themselves but what they symbolize: social status, conquest, success, power.

The interesting thing is that we don't necessarily need to own something to appreciate it: often, we just need to use it. Being frugal also means knowing how to take advantage of something you don't have. Think for example of a book borrowed from the library or a rental car. Too often we behave like feudal lords who accumulate as many possessions as possible and lock them away within the walls of their fortresses.

Being frugal means not wanting to appropriate everything, but learning to share and exchange, knowing how to give and receive. If one manages to be content with "enough", it also means that there is something left for others.

Frugality is the Greek concept of the golden mean. It is the reasonable use of money, time, energy, space and possessions. Frugality is neither too much nor too little, just right. It is the peak of the happiness curve.

Being frugal is not being stingy, it is using your money wisely in order to get the most pleasure for each unit of energy and time spent. Time becomes increasingly scarce and precious at the end of our lives. Let us use it well today so that we will not have regrets when it is too late.

Let us be aware of the purpose of each expense. Respecting your money means respecting your time and energy, and therefore respecting yourself.

If money does not buy happiness, frugality can bring it closer.