We’ve all been through periods where we zealously try to save money. We’ll bring our lunch to work for a few weeks in a row, eat noodles a couple times a week and dust off our old financial planning books. It feels great for a time, but it can bite you in the end.
Image: jayfish (Shutterstock).
Trent from The Simple Dollar warns that these binges aren’t sustainable, and you’re just setting yourself up for a crash later.
You begin to miss old hobbies and old treats. You want to go out with friends and live.
So you slip a little. Or, maybe, you slip a lot and you just go on a big spending splurge.
You feel guilty about it and try to reclaim the magic that had you moving in the right direction… but it just feels gone.
These financial binges are just like binge diets. You may lose some weight for a few weeks, but eventually you’ll bounce back to your old ways and gain it back. It’s much better to map out a financial plan that’s sustainable and aligned with your priorities. If you love getting out of the office for lunch, you can anticipate that packing a lunch every day isn’t a sustainable sacrifice, and you can save that money by cutting something else out of your budget that you can actually stick with.
Frugality Binge [The Simple Dollar]
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4 responses to “Avoid Frugality Binges For Sustained Financial Heath”
Or you get off on saving money so much that… well…
I always like to get myself a little ‘treat’ at the end of it, but when I want my ‘treat’ I shop like hell for it! I sometimes pay 20% of retail for some items. Or, I find one used but ‘as new’ where someone else has eaten the depreciation! That way, I save money, get something alot better than I could usually afford AND my bank balance looks better for it! Eat a little now to eat ALOT later!
“If you love getting out of the office for lunch, you can anticipate that packing a lunch every day isn’t a sustainable sacrifice” … What?
I use the microwave at work every day for my packed lunch, then walk out the doors to find a nice sunny spot with some greenery and fresh air. On the occasional friday when we go as a group for lunch to a cafe, etc, colleagues often bring their sandwiches or other lunch with them so we can eat together. Where’s the sacrifice here?
“So you slip a little. Or, maybe, you slip a lot and you just go on a big spending splurge.” That does sound like me. When I’m good at saving, I’m REALLY good at it. I sort of spur myself on by thinking about how well I’ve already done. But then when it’s over.. it’s really over. Sort of like when you slip on a diet.
some people can get so good at being frugal that they become obsessed with it, up to the point where you cant even ask them to do anything because you know how much they are going to complain about spending a single fucking dollar too much.
so yea, i know someone thats over the top frugal, its invaded every single aspect of his life.
i dont see him much anymore.