Frugal Framnett

From Gather Little By Little:

Anyway, I think you get the idea. I am sure I could sit here and list examples on both sides of the frugal fence for hours, but I think the examples above show how we’re frugal in some areas but not in others. I find it very interesting to listen and read about different peoples frugal and not so frugal practices. Doing so makes me realize that being frugal isn’t a set line in the sand, yet more of a very personal set of choices. I also think being frugal is very relevant. For example, compared to Lynnae and Jenn am I frugal? No, probably not. Compared to others though, I am very very frugal.

Reading through GLBL’s post I get the notion he is conflating frugal with miserly. In my opinion though, frugal is about wise management of one’s resource and that includes time as well as money.

For example, he talks about not making his own detergent. My guess is, if a person shops wisely, they will not be able to make detergent as cheaply as they can buy it. In any event, are you going to reinvent every wheel? No, you have to prioritize.

For example, I have been making my own bread and just started making my own pasta. However, I like good food and want as much input to the food as possible (even contemplating learning how to malt barley for my beer making), but I am not going to do the same with detergent and soaps.

GLBLGuy also notes he does not always buy generic saying: I buy generic/store brands, but not always, but I certainly do try to. I’ve found with some there is no difference, while with others there is a huge difference.. The key is to discern what generic items are going to be inferior and which ones are going to be the same. This comes down to understanding the definition of commodity (a good & future topic here). For example, aspirin is a simple chemical and the process for making aspirin is well understood. When you buy a brand name over a generic name you are not getting a better product you are buying the name — which I hope you understand adds very little value. However, those items that require a human input or a human touch then you are going to notice differences. For example, comparing jars of generic spaghetti sauce vs. a name brands you will likely notice a huge difference, but regular tomato sauce you will probably see no difference. In fact, with plain vegetables the generic brand and the name brand could very well be canned by the same canner & process.

Frugality is about prioritizing and focusing on the high priorities and skimping on the low priorities.