I don’t like being frugal. But I love the results
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My stumbleupon button had been sorely neglected for quite a while, and I hit upon this older article on Wise Bread that dares us to take the boring challenge.
Sounds fun? Not in the slightest? Yeah, it really doesn’t sound that much fun to listen to the radio instead of downloading MP3s, or heading to the library instead of heading to the bookstore. Booorrrr-ing.
Frugality is like exercising … a pain in the gluties
Fitness icon Jack LaLanne died this January at age 96. The odds of a male born today reaching 96 are well under 1%. Considering he beat the odds so handily, and that he was fit through the day he died, you’d think Mr. LaLanne loved exercising, right?
Mr. LaLanne said that working out was “a pain in the gluties. But you gotta do it. Dying is easy. Living is tough. I hate working out. Hate it. But I like the results.“
This realization is at the same time comforting (“Oh good! He hated exercising too.”) and disheartening (“Oh darn it! I probably won’t like exercising either.”) It’s also why most people who struggle with their weight will probably do so for the rest of their lives. The odds against people losing substantial weight (10% or more) and keeping it off for 5 years are 20 to 1.
Being frugal can be much the same way. It’s boring, and it’s not something that ever really needs to be enjoyed. To make the analogy with what Mr. LaLanne said, getting into debt is easy, while living beneath one’s means is hard. Just like exercising every day takes discipline, so does being frugal. It can be a grind. But most every thing that is worth doing is a grind. Playing Guitar Hero is fun. Learning to play guitar is a grind.
So be boring, be frugal, and enjoy the results!
4 Responses to “I don’t like being frugal. But I love the results”
By Frugal Living on Apr 26, 2011 | Reply
I actually love being frugal because it teaches me a lot of self discipline and delayed gratification.
By mbhunter on Apr 26, 2011 | Reply
@Frugal Living: Congratulations! I really like the results, but if you love the process too, that’s great.
By TheBudgeteer on Apr 27, 2011 | Reply
Being frugal and exercising are much easier when you can actually see that you are making progress.
Running is a good example. I’m fed up with running around the track. After the first lap, the surroundings look pretty much the same. Running on a pleasant trail provides a sense of momentum and progress that a track cannot, so I can run much farther. It’s a fun adventure instead of being “hard work” or “exercise.”
The trick is making frugality a fun adventure instead of some tedious chore. Budgeting does this. It’s not about the pain of squeezing pennies. It’s about noticing you are one month closer to that important financial goal you have been striving for and feeling a sense of progress and accomplishment.
By 101 Centavos on Jul 23, 2011 | Reply
Use or lose it… We read many a story of people going on spending binges after years of living on gruel and dry crusts of bread.