Why Frugal? Why Thriving?

Welcome to Frugal and Thriving, a website that celebrates all things frugal. I believe that a frugal way of life is the key to happiness. That we can not only survive but thrive on less.

What you will find at Frugal and Thriving

• tips and resources for saving money
• money management resources
• ideas and resources for green, sustainable living
• resources for a life less dependent on big business supplying our needs
• resources for a creative life
• a philosophy of living life according to values and goals, finding happiness beyond consumption of material goods.

What is Frugal?

While there are traditional definitions of being frugal, on this website being frugal is defined as:

Saving money – This is the number definition of frugality. The key to financial success no matter what your income is to spend less than you earn. Considering this, being frugal is necessary whatever you earn. When we save money on the little things, it enables us to spend on what is really important.

Conserving resources and reducing waste – Being frugal is also about conserving resources (natural and individual ones too like time and health) and reducing waste. Renew, reuse, recycle is the frugal mantra. We accept that we’re responsible for our individual impact on the environment.

Emphasising a value driven life – When we have clearly defined values, it’s easy to make choices. For example, we choose to live in a smaller, cheaper house, so that I can stay at home and raise our kids. We are no longer driven to spend on impulse and work overtime to cover this expenditure. We no longer have to keep up with the Joneses. Our lives are purpose driven and we are happier for it.

Intelligent consumption – After 6 years in retail I can tell you that happiness is not found at the shopping centre. Intelligent consumption involves more than reducing the amount of “stuff” that we buy. It’s about reducing waste, considering value as opposed to cost, and taking into account the social and environmental impact that the purchase of goods have.

Independence – when you think about it, we rely on someone else to do almost everything in our lives for us. We rely on someone else to make our food, someone else to make our clothes, someone else to build our shelter, someone else to entertain us. DIY means taking back our independence. Learning and practicing new skills not only ensures we are less dependent on someone else meeting all of our needs, it is a source of pride and increased self-esteem and happiness.

Being frugal is not about being a miser, being stingy or being a cheapskate.

Why Thriving?

Being frugal is both a means to an ends and an end in itself.

Frugality is a means to an ends because by saving money we are able to meet financial goals, such as paying off the mortgage early or going on that overseas trip.

Being frugal is and end in itself because it is a way of life based reducing our negative impact on the world around us, and instead creating a positive and lasting legacy. We become free of the work to consume cycle.

The exciting thing about saving money is that it has a positive impact on every other aspect of our lives. By eating whole foods that we prepare at home, we save money and improve our health. Reducing our electricity consumption reduces our carbon footprint. Turing off the TV and spending quality time with our families improves our relationships. Learning new skills empowers us, increasing our self esteem. All of these things increase our happiness.

There is a correlation between happiness and money. Happiness peaks when we have enough money to meet the basics plus a little extra. More money does not equal happiness. Studies show that happiness in the Western world peaked at the same time as consumption rose. As our so called standard of living increases so does the rate of depression. Some of the happiest nations in the world have much less money than we do.

About the Author

Hi, my name is Melissa, and I live with my husband and cat on the beautiful Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. I am a 30 year old soon to be new mum.

I have always been pretty frugal without knowing it. Necessity dictated that I automatically adopt many of the principles of frugal living: spending less than I earn, recycling, reusing, mending, menu planning, shopping smart. I still wear socks that I first darned about 7 years ago (well, they still do the job)! Necessity certainly encourages creative money skills.

I became conscious of money management after finishing university. Armed with an Arts Degree, I worked as a retail assistant in a department store. I happened across the Rich Dad, Poor Dad book and it was the introduction I needed to a new passion in personal finance.

I already practiced many of the tenants of being frugal. I began learning skills to take our financial situation from living paycheque to paycheque to thriving on less. We make plenty of mistakes along the way, and I still have days where I “want it all” and there is still so much to learn.

I went back to school to study accounting and worked as an accountant. My absolute favourite accounting thing is budgeting. Give me an excel spreadsheet any day and I can be excited for hours.

Starting this website has enabled me to rekindle a lifelong passion – to be a writer. I currently devote my time between writing, "home duties", reading and crafting, looking forward to our new bub, and working as a volunteer for a community education organisation teaching Word, Excel and MYOB for beginners.

I hope that you enjoy Frugal and Thriving and I look forward to hearing from you.

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