Where Frugality and Simplicity Intersect

I love Simple Mom. Her slogan is "Live simply, Stay sane." Boy, do I need that! She recently had a guest post entitled Where Frugality and Simplicty Intersect by Meredith at Like Merchant Ships (another excellent blog) that I just had to share with you in its entirety; all credit goes to Meredith:

If you read Real Simple magazine, you’ve probably noted: simple doesn’t come cheap. And frugal techniques are often not simple at all. How do we make budget meet balance? Here are 3 tricks for finding the place where frugality and simplicity intersect.

1. Embrace “good enough.”
Living within a budget forces me to admit that makeshift solutions are often just right—not only in expense, but in energy, too. Good enough helps me just let go.

So I mix up a custom color by combining recycled paints? Good enough. I didn’t lose my wallet (or a week) obsessing over paint chips.

If you’re lucky, good enough can become even better. When I simplified birthday party plans - no time for a frosted cake masterpiece - I asked the six-year-old to design a Lego decoration instead. He beamed with pride, I saved money, and we both enjoyed a stress-free morning.

2. Pare down.
When your budget is cut, so is your schedule. My inner alpha-mom frets about violin lessons and Irish dance class; meanwhile, the kids are building robots out of scrap wood and loving every minute of it.

Our schedule reflects family time as top priority, and our budget gives us a built-in excuse for saying, “No thanks, not tonight.”

Likewise, paring down your schedule creates space for all those money-saving activities you always thought you’d do. That Saturday afternoon with nowhere to go but the mall? Cook a restaurant-quality meal in your kitchen—and double the recipe for the freezer while you’re at it.

3. Go without.
An unpopular notion in popular culture, going without is the quickest way to save money and live simply. What would you eliminate first if you suddenly lost an income? Is that something you could go without right now, in order to spend time with family or build a nest egg?

Going without is not a poverty mindset. Perhaps, like me, you forgot to pick up paper towels at the grocery…for the third time in a row. Out of necessity you noticed that dishcloths soak better than Bounty, anyway. You begin to question that big basket of essentials beneath the kitchen sink. Your grocery list just became a whole lot simpler.

Experiment with your spending patterns. Veer from the expected commitments. And when you see simplicity crossing frugality’s path, draw a big red X on that spot.

You’ll want to return there again and again.

Thanks Meredith! We needed that!