All it takes is practice

Hiya peeps. I was reading somewhere that it is hard being frugal, I read a lot and can't remember where I saw it and who said it. It made me think, what is hardship? Is it having no money to spare, or not sure what to buy with the little you have, or is it a hardship because other people seem to be spending and you can't?

I have been frugal for a long time, even before I had even heard of the word frugal. It was not in my vocabulary, but being careful with my spending was, so I have never viewed it as a hardship. For me, having less money makes life easier, because you have fewer choices on what to spend it on.

People who are trying to cut down on their spending are going to find the transition to frugaldom quite daunting, because they are not used to it. Walking past a shop when they normally pop in for a paper or a chocolate bar takes an enormous amount of will power, such is the  embedded habit of buying anything you want.

It's all about changing a habit, and spending is like any other habit, a hard one to break, but not impossible. You have to start somewhere. Frugal living is a learned behaviour, just as over spending, over eating, and over indulging in most things is. Making any changes is hard, you have got to want to do it. You cannot wake up one day and say that's it, I am frugal from this moment on. You could if you are very strong willed, which would be the exception rather than the rule, but like a lot of diets that start on January the 1st, most will fall by the wayside before the 31st. Yes, being frugal is hard, if you haven't been that way inclined before.

But as time goes on, and you make a little progress each day, week, or month, like anything, the more you practice, the easier it gets and the better at it you become. The journey is long it won't happen overnight. Eventually it will be second nature, you will automatically check your bank account before you make a big purchase, rather than say, sod it I'll put it on the card.

Not many of my friends understand me, but they are my friends because they accept me as I am. My lifestyle is different to theirs. They can go to the shops and buy whatever they like. They can surround themselves with nice things, have nice cars, go on holiday. Fine, they have no need to be frugal. But ask them to step into my shoes, or ask me to step into their shoes, and we both would be floundering. They would find it very difficult to cut back on their spending, just as I would struggle to splash the cash.

Frugality is not hard at all for me, because I am used to it, and you can get used to anything if you practice it often enough. People used to ask me, is it hard driving a lorry, quick answer, no it's easy. I would find it hard to learn German, or learn to play the piano, but if I really wanted to do it and practiced it enough, I could probably do it.

If you either want to or need to live a frugal lifestyle, start practicing today. I love it.
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