Minimalism: The Ultimate Frugality

Frugality has become somewhat of a buzzword in today's economy. Visit the news or surf the blogs--even explore this site--and you will discover tips and tricks to become more frugal.

The majority of the information you will find concerns the active saving of money. These methods include clipping coupons, switching to generic brands, buying in bulk, watching for sales and thrifting; but there is one form of frugality that is being given short shrift, when in fact it is the most frugal of all the methods described.

The Ultimate Frugality is to Stop Buying and Using.

Instead of trying to secure the best deal on a new pair of pants, wear the ones you have and leave the new ones in the store.

Instead of shopping and scouting for a dryer, string a line and hang your clothes out.

Did your dishwasher break? Wash your dishes by hand and sell that heap for scrap!

Has your Car broken down? Walk or ride a bicycle!

Is your electric bill High? Turn everything off when you aren't using it or don't use certain things at all. This goes for water and other utilities as well.

While it is impossible to stop buying entirely, consider that not purchasing something will save you more time, trouble and expense than shopping for the best deal.

For instance, instead of buying paper towels, wash and reuse those cloth ones you have decorating your refrigerator.

Instead of buying bathroom tissue give that mountain of wash cloths an extra use.

Instead of buying the latest and greatest spray cleaner, spritz that mess with the vinegar you already have in your pantry.

This is more than "use it up, wear it out." This is about not bowing to the artificial needs created by advertising.

How many shirts can you wear at once? If you wore a different shirt every single day, how many weeks would it take for you to work through every single shirt in your closet? If you have so many shirts already, do you need another when you don't regularly wear the ones you already have? Do you think that a new shirt will make you prettier or more successful? Acknowledge the real reason for wanting to buy that whatsit and fix the reason instead of throwing money away.

There is a term for the hard-core no-buy-it frugalists; they are called Minimalists because they have realized that it is not just enough to simply hunt out the best bargains but to minimize what they buy, period. Some of these extremists own less than 100 things total--imagine how little you would have to spend if all you needed were 100 things!

Imagine how easy it would be to pack or to move to a different home! Imagine life without storage bills or tripping over piles of stuff!

I'm not asking you to do it, just to consider the possibility.

Consider the possibility that there are things in your life you don't have to buy and just imagine what life would be like with a little less stuff in your shopping cart. Then imagine how much thicker your wallet would be if you made that one simple change.

Just imagine.