2727: Every Once In A While, We’re Less Frugal by Liz of Frugalwoods on Frugality & Saving Money

[00:00:00] Looking to part ways with complicated, expensive, and uncertain shipping?

[00:00:04] Then give your business the edge it needs with USPS Ground Advantage Shipping from the United

[00:00:10] States Postal Service. Keep everything simple with clear, upfront pricing and no unexpected

[00:00:17] surcharges. Keep things affordable with some of the lowest prices out there. And keep it all

[00:00:23] reliable with on-time ground shipments. It's time to turn shipping to your advantage. Learn how at

[00:00:30] usps.com slash advantage. USPS Ground Advantage, simple, affordable, reliable.

[00:00:40] This episode is brought to you by La Quinta by Wyndham. Your work can take you all over the

[00:00:44] place like Texas. You've never been, but it's going to be great because you're staying at

[00:00:49] La Quinta by Wyndham. Their free bright side breakfast will give you energy for the day ahead.

[00:00:53] And after you can unwind using their free high-speed Wi-Fi. Tonight, La Quinta, tomorrow

[00:00:58] you shine. Book your stay today at LQ.com. This is Optimal Finance Daily, episode 2727.

[00:01:07] Every once in a while, we're less frugal by Liz Davidson of frugalwoods.com. And I'm your host

[00:01:14] and personal finance enthusiast, Diana Merriam. Now let's jump right into our next post as we

[00:01:20] optimize your life. Every once in a while, we're less frugal by Liz Davidson of frugalwoods.com.

[00:01:33] We're not using cloth diapers for baby woods. Cue the gasp of shock and mild horror. I fully

[00:01:40] realized this is opposite to most mainstream frugal and environmental philosophies, but you

[00:01:45] know what? It's what I have to do. A crucial element of our successful and joyful frugal

[00:01:51] existence is knowing our limits. We can't frugalize every last thing in our lives, or rather

[00:01:59] we choose not to. Mr. Frugalwoods and I have mapped out a lifestyle that we enjoy, that's

[00:02:05] tenable for long-term and that fully incorporates the things we love most while still enabling us

[00:02:11] to save the vast majority of our income. Knowing our limits. During our preparations for baby woods

[00:02:19] arrival, Mr. Frugalwoods and I agreed to go ultimate frugal on all things baby. Hand-me-down

[00:02:25] clothes, cribs, bibs, toys, strollers, sling, books, etc. Just about every single thing in her nursery

[00:02:33] is used and our expenses show it. We spent a grand total of $20 on baby gear. I'm also very thankful

[00:02:41] to be able to exclusively breastfeed baby woods, which saves us the cost of formula. When it came

[00:02:47] time to consider our diapering options, we were 100% unified in our decision to use disposables.

[00:02:54] We knew and have been proven correct that baby rearing is exhausting, time-consuming,

[00:03:00] amazing and miraculous all at once and usually all within a 30-second period. We're also fans of not

[00:03:07] biting off more than we can chew with any given venture and somehow cloth diapers felt like a

[00:03:13] bridge too far. I know how cloth diapers work and I've used them for my nieces and nephew, but I had

[00:03:19] no desire to incorporate the routine into my own home. In order to be a relatively peaceful, sane

[00:03:26] person, I need time, space and wine. I mean yoga. One of the ways I create that time for myself now

[00:03:34] that I'm mommy woods is through disposable diapers. It might sound ludicrous, but even five extra

[00:03:41] minutes in a day enables me to do things like shower, pet my first child, also known as frugal

[00:03:47] hound, write and make myself coffee. Priorities people. With all things in life, I try to be honest

[00:03:55] about my limits. I absolutely cannot do everything and so there's no reason to try. My intention is

[00:04:02] to set myself up for success to the best of my abilities, which in large part entails recognizing

[00:04:08] what I can't or don't want to do. Don't focus on small returns. Mr. Frugalwoods calculated that we

[00:04:16] might save a hundred bucks or so a year by using cloth diapers. However, the amount of water,

[00:04:22] laundry detergent and energy we use to wash and dry them because you can't hang them outside to

[00:04:27] dry in January in Boston would probably end up canceling out most of the environmental and

[00:04:33] monetary savings. Thus, in many ways, choosing to spend a tad more on disposable diapers is a

[00:04:40] proverbial letting go of the small stuff. Sure, we focus on every line item in our budget, but part

[00:04:46] of that exercise is determining where we'd like to spend more money. You all know we indulge in coffee,

[00:04:53] seltzer, beer, wine. Geez, we really like beverages as well as organic produce and even car ownership.

[00:05:01] Plenty of people in the city exist sans vehicle, but these are thoughtful conscious choices for us

[00:05:08] and are all products of recognizing our limits. I have no desire to live a life without coffee

[00:05:13] or a car, and so we spend in service of those goals. It's very true that how we use our money

[00:05:20] and our time is one of the clearest indicators of what our priorities are, and I'm comfortable with

[00:05:25] the allocations I'm making. Slogging through miserable conditions to squeeze a few more

[00:05:30] dollars of savings isn't worth it in the grand scheme of life, and that slog is different for

[00:05:35] everyone. For example, I know some people cannot fathom cutting their hair at home like Mr. Frugalwoods

[00:05:42] and I do, and that's just fine. We're all unique in what we value, and it's why I firmly believe in

[00:05:48] not judging others for their personal decisions, financial and otherwise. Living a luxuriously

[00:05:54] frugal life is all about knowing what you can frugalize happily and what will make you downright

[00:06:00] frustrated to frugalize. If I feel excited to remove an expense, such as I do with my DIY haircuts,

[00:06:07] then I know it's the right thing to do. Conversely, if the thought of doing without makes me cringe,

[00:06:13] which is what a life without seltzer water would do, then I instinctively know it's not

[00:06:18] a valuable proposition for me. It's also important to consider the margin of actual savings.

[00:06:24] The savings we accrue with some economizing endeavors is so narrow that it's just not worth

[00:06:30] it to us, especially in circumstances where the outlay of time supersedes the realized monetary

[00:06:36] gains. This is a tough thing to calculate, but I've come around to the idea that the cheapest

[00:06:41] route is not always the best for me personally, particularly if there's a significant time or

[00:06:47] quality of life trade-off. Know when it's worth it. In other areas, the savings are so significant

[00:06:54] that it's worth pushing ourselves a tad outside of our comfort zone. Not having a car payment

[00:06:59] is an illustration of that. Frugal Woods Mobile is not the most fabulous of cars, and yeah,

[00:07:05] it would probably be easier if we had a car younger than most college sophomores,

[00:07:10] but the absence of a car payment is transformational to our ability to save over 70%

[00:07:15] of our income. Cloth diapers, on the other hand, would not be. Focusing my energies in areas that

[00:07:22] matter to me and where I can achieve the greatest returns is both fulfilling but also more efficient.

[00:07:29] This desire for efficiency is one of the reasons why Mr. Frugal Woods and I divide up all of our

[00:07:34] household chores so specifically. For example, since he always cooks, he's been able to create

[00:07:41] systems and processes that generate inexpensive, tasty, and healthy meals. There's also a difference

[00:07:47] between knowing my limits and being flat-out lazy. The way I try to protect against sloth is by

[00:07:54] considering how I'm using the time that I've saved. If, for example, I watch hours of TV with the time

[00:08:00] I supposedly saved by paying for the convenience of driving my car, then I'd say that's not a

[00:08:05] particularly purposeful utilization of resources. On the other hand, if I use that time to play with

[00:08:12] baby woods or do some research on homesteading, then I perceive that the expense yielded a worthy

[00:08:18] return on my time. Our own journeys of limitation. We all have diverse limitations that we cope with

[00:08:25] and create in our lives. The key is figuring out these limits and how we can still succeed

[00:08:31] within that self-knowing framework. No one else can set these limits for us. It's a personal

[00:08:37] metric that we have to identify. But accepting these limits leads to a balanced life. A life where

[00:08:43] we're able to do the things we love and not worry about the rest. It's liberating to incorporate

[00:08:49] these limits into our lives because we can't do everything as much as I've tried. A tenant of my

[00:08:55] frugal journey is acknowledging that I'm an imperfect, flawed person and that the futile

[00:09:01] pursuit of perfection only brings distress. What we can do is ruthlessly prioritize what matters

[00:09:07] most to us and find ways to make those priorities and goals come to fruition. You just listened to

[00:09:17] the post titled, Every Once in a While We're Less Frugal by Liz Davidson of frugalwoods.com

[00:09:24] and I'll be right back with my commentary. Looking to part ways with complicated, expensive,

[00:09:30] and uncertain shipping? Then give your business the edge it needs with USPS Ground Advantage

[00:09:36] Shipping from the United States Postal Service. Keep everything simple with clear upfront pricing

[00:09:43] and no unexpected surcharges. Keep things affordable with some of the lowest prices out

[00:09:49] there and keep it all reliable with on-time ground shipments. It's time to turn shipping

[00:09:55] to your advantage. Learn how at USPS.com slash advantage. USPS Ground Advantage, simple,

[00:10:04] affordable, reliable. For a lot of people, it can be stressful and confusing to manage their

[00:10:10] finances. Even I used to feel this way when using different finance apps, but then I tried

[00:10:15] Monarch Money and everything got so much easier. Maybe you're saving for a down payment, a wedding,

[00:10:21] a dream vacation, your kid's college. I found that Monarch makes it so easy to help you reach

[00:10:27] your financial goals, whatever they are. I definitely wouldn't be able to allocate my

[00:10:31] finances or plan as clearly without help from Monarch. In fact, Monarch is the top rated all-in-

[00:10:37] one personal finance app. It gives you a comprehensive view of all of your accounts,

[00:10:42] investments, transactions, and more. Create custom budgets, set goals, and collaborate with your

[00:10:48] partner. And now get an extended 30-day free trial when you go to monarchmoney.com slash OFD.

[00:10:56] After trying out Monarch for myself, I understand why it's the top rated personal finance app.

[00:11:01] And right now get an extended 30-day free trial when you go to monarchmoney.com slash OFD.

[00:11:07] That's monarchmoney.com slash OFD for your extended 30-day free trial.

[00:11:18] I don't think frugality is about never spending money or saving on every single expense.

[00:11:24] For me, it's all about resourcefulness and getting good value out of the money I do spend.

[00:11:29] I've met people who take frugality to the extreme, and I get the sense that it's become a hobby for

[00:11:35] them. The game of saving money or figuring out how to optimize an expense is satisfying in its

[00:11:41] own right, even more so than the money they're actually saving. It's kind of like extreme

[00:11:46] couponing. When you consider the time and effort some people put into couponing, they must be

[00:11:52] enjoying the activity of couponing as part of the payoff. While experimenting with a level of

[00:11:58] frugality that's comfortable, I think it's important to keep in mind your season of life.

[00:12:03] If you're currently drowning in debt and living paycheck to paycheck, then it makes sense to be

[00:12:08] hyper-vigilant about every dollar spent while you work to improve your finances. But if you're

[00:12:13] living below your means, saving and investing for your future, over time saving a few dollars here

[00:12:19] and there has less of an impact on your finances. There does come a point where you can relax a bit.

[00:12:27] And that's a wrap for another Thursday show. Have a great rest of your day,

[00:12:31] and I'll be back tomorrow as usual, where your optimal life awaits.