Frugal Living- Going from Necessity to Habit

Have you ever been about to run out of something, and tried to make it last a little longer?

Like squeezing the last little drop of toothpaste out of the tube, because you were almost out and did not want to or could not make it to the store at 5:30 a.m.?

Or tried to get the last bit of peanut butter out of the jar to make a sandwich?

Or (and hopefully this doesn’t offend anyone) had that uncomfortable realization that you were down to the last few sheets of toilet paper on the roll and did not have time to go to the store before you might need it?

Unless you have been super-organized your whole life and always have a supply of daily necessities and food, you have probably lived “frugal by necessity” and may not have even thought about it when you did.

In fact, you may currently subscribe to the philosophy that you would rather focus on “big savings” than “little savings”. But were those times that you had to skimp because you physically did not have any more of the item you were using or eating really that bad?

Probably not.

Even if you have an extra toothpaste tube, or an extra jar of whatever condiment you are spreading on your sandwich, it really does not take any effort to “use up” the last of something, nor does it really take any additional time.

Not being wasteful is a good thing anyway. It saves you money and reduces the amount of garbage you introduce into the waste stream, even if it is over a long period of time.

Delaying gratification by making things last a little longer or “spreading it a little thin” isn’t so bad either. Putting 2 pieces of ham on your sandwich instead of 3 probably isn’t going to make you hungry before dinner.

Living frugal on a regular basis is not that different than living frugal when you have to out of necessity. And in this economy, you never know if you may have to out of real necessity, not just because you ran out of something, so it certainly can’t hurt to give it a try.