The Joy of Frugality

We are marketed to our entire lives. From the moment we can listen, we are taught to want things. Turn on your television to any channel and you will hear about all the things that you "need". This is not news. The amazing thing about marketing is that it has achieved a certain ubiquity in the American conscious. In fact, I've met people that are uncomfortable when they are taken away from that steady stream of influence.

The truth that is masked by the flood of advertising is this: human beings actually need very little. If you asked the average American teenager how many pairs of shoes they own, you'd get a wide variety of answers, from three to twenty. What neither the questioner or the answerer in that scenario realize is that owning a single pair of shoes is a luxury in most of the world. Anyone who says that owning a car or a truck is a necessity simply needs to visit Thailand, where people carry dining room tables on their bicycle.

If you've ever been camping, then I think you can relate to what I'm saying. And by camping I don't mean parking an RV somewhere. I mean the type of camping where you take your watch off for a week while you fish in a mountain lake. At first you're uncomfortable because you feel like you are missing something. But if you stay away from civilization long enough, usually 2-3 days, then you start to realize something. You don't need to know the exact time. You don't need to check your email. You don't need to purchase something to achieve fulfillment. You don't need to listen to your Ipod or play your Playstation. In fact, you really don't need much of anything.

You find yourself waking with the dawn, or even before dawn. You spend your day concerned with taking care of food, water, and staying warm or cool. You watch the sunset, maybe for the first time in years. After a little while, you find something amazing: joy. You see, camping like this is an example of a frugal lifestyle. For a short time, you are forced to prune from your life all the unnecessary appendages that consume your normal day. Then you return to normal life and forget what you learned away from all of your stuff.

I contend that each of us would be happier with less. I know I'm a lonely voice in saying this, but just imagine the impact this would have on your life if this was true. Moving into a smaller house means a smaller mortgage payment. Reducing the number of cars you own reduces your maintenance costs. Clearing out some of the clutter in your closets frees up space. Eating out less often saves money.

Try an experiment: Go one whole week without making a luxury purchase. Go 7 days without buying an Ipod, a CD, a Blu-ray player, a new scarf, a book, a pair of shoes. In fact, go 7 days without even going into a store, except to purchase gas or groceries. If you really want to go crazy, plan 7 days of meals, purchase all the groceries you need for them, fill up your gas tanks, and go 7 days without going into any store.

Try this experiment, then post a comment and let me know what you found. My wife and I are doing this starting tonight. We're going the grocery store tonight, then we're done for a week. It should be interesting.