Creative Frugality

What Creative Frugality Is Not

In the minds of some, a very fine line exists between frugality and cheapness. To me, the two are miles apart. I believe people who confuse the two have never seen healthy, positive, goal-directed frugality in action.

Since I founded National Creative Frugality Week several years ago, I’ve been asked many times, "What is creative frugality?" To make this concept a little more concrete, it may be helpful to define what it is not.

Creative frugality is not always going with the cheapest alternative regardless of quality.
It is not compromising your values and integrity in order to save money.
It is not shirking financial responsibilities and thus creating a burden for someone else.
It is not maintaining an attitude of stinginess or greediness.
Creative frugality is not refusing to spend a reasonable amount of money on legitimate needs.
It is certainly not risking health or safety in the name of saving money.
It is definitely not honoring and cherishing money more than relationships.
It is not suffering discomfort or causing your family to suffer discomfort needlessly when you can easily afford whatever would ease the discomfort.
It is not depriving yourself or your family of things or experiences that would bring true joy in order to enjoy the fleeting pleasure of having saved a buck.
And finally, creative frugality is not making money your god by obsessing over it, doing anything to have more of it, and giving it inordinate emphasis in your life.

In contrast, creative frugality is saving more so you have more to give and share with others. It’s taking care of what you have out of gratitude for those blessings. It’s having fun as you look for resourceful ways to make each dollar go farther. In short, creative frugality is looking for ways to enjoy life to the fullest while living and spending within your means.

For more printed and audio products to help you boost your creative frugality,
visit the Counting the Cost Product Catalog.