3093: How to Balance Simplicity and Frugality by Julianna Poplin of The Simplicity Habit on Minimalism

[00:00:00] Have you ever noticed how a calm mind can really set the stage for a good night's sleep? That's the idea behind our new podcast, Good Sleep. Greg, our host from Optimal Relationships Daily, is here to help ease you into a peaceful night's rest with some positive affirmations. And these affirmations aren't just comforting. They can help ease anxiety and nurture positive thoughts, setting you up for true good sleep.

[00:00:25] So press play on Good Sleep Tonight, because a good tomorrow starts with a good night's sleep. Just search for Good Sleep in your podcast app and be sure to pick the one from Optimal Living Daily. This is Optimal Finance Daily, How to Balance Simplicity and Frugality by Julianna Poplin of TheSimplicityHabit.com.

[00:00:52] I've run into some bumps along the way in my journey to simplify. One of the problems I faced is how to try and balance simplicity and frugality. For as long as I can recall, I've been a fairly serious bargain hunter. I pride myself on finding the best deals. I've gone to great lengths to find sales where I could also combine coupons to achieve the ultimate deal.

[00:01:20] I enjoy challenging myself to see how little I could pay for a box of cereal or a pair of pants. For the record, I've purchased cereal for under a dollar per box often and once bought four pairs of pants from Kohl's for a total of a dollar. And yes, I saved the receipt and even considered framing it.

[00:01:41] In other words, I've been a lot of time looking at sales flyers, driving to multiple store locations, going to four to six groceries in one week to maximize savings, and spent countless hours hunting online for the best price or coupon. I've shopped at many a garage sale and even put on disposable gloves to basically dumpster dive in a goodwill outlet.

[00:02:06] As I began examining ways to simplify, I had to look at this area of my life because being frugal isn't always simple. Look at all the examples I just listed. I would say it is rarely simple actually. To balance simplicity and frugality, ask yourself these questions. How much time are you spending on it? Are you stressing yourself out? And what is it costing you? How much time are you spending on it?

[00:02:36] Reading reviews and hunting for the best deal, driving to locations, looking for deals for other people. You're always going to pay with something. It will typically either be time or money. Your life circumstances tend to dictate which commodity is more important to you. I still have a tendency to invest the time rather than money. However, I know other people who feel their time is way more important than wasting it on saving a few dollars.

[00:03:07] Neither of these is wrong. It just depends on where you're at and what's more important to you at the time. When you're quantifying the time spent on finding deals, don't forget to include research and travel time. I know I've wasted a lot of both trying to find the best deals. I enjoy sharing my deal-finding abilities with others. If I know a friend or family member is looking for something in particular,

[00:03:34] I can spend a lot of time searching Facebook Marketplace, OfferUp, or Buy Nothing trying to find the ideal item for them. While I do love helping others, I can become almost obsessive about it. So I need to keep my time searching in check. Are you stressing yourself out? Is the deal-hunting process bringing you joy or stressing you out? I've definitely experienced both.

[00:04:02] I can agonize over trying to find just the right item at the right price. I've scoured garage sales, secondhand stores, and estate sales. Admittedly, I do love the thrill of the hunt. I feel victorious when I know I've paid a great price on something. However, sometimes I felt the high of getting a great deal only to realize I just bought something I didn't really need.

[00:04:30] Buying items I don't need or truly love then leads to stress as I've added more items to my home that I now need to maintain. Checking in with my mental and emotional state is key. When deal hunting stops being fun and becomes consuming, I know it's time for me to take a break from it. When I'm buying things I don't need or love for the thrill of the hunt, it's time to take a step back and re-evaluate.

[00:04:57] I'm working on being a more conscious consumer, which means being thoughtful and intentional with what I bring into my home. That's more important to me than scoring a bunch of great deals. Frugality ceases to be an asset when you're buried under a pile of bargain items. Those things become a burden. It isn't frugal to buy unnecessary items, no matter how inexpensive they were.

[00:05:23] They turn into clutter and will cost you mentally and emotionally. Consider the cost. Sometimes cheap is just cheap. Lower price items can be more cheaply made. Saving a few dollars on the front end can cost you more in the long run with needing to repair or replace the item sooner. Also, consider transportation costs. Gas is expensive, and if you're driving far, factor that into the cost of the item.

[00:05:53] For instance, this past weekend, I took my husband and drove an hour north to buy a new-to-me laptop that I'm writing on right now. As I calculated the cost of it, I added in the gas cost as well as the time it would take to pick it up. In this case, it was still worth it to me since I got a practically brand new computer for about half off of retail. Finding the balance between simplicity and frugality.

[00:06:20] The balance between simplicity and frugality can be delicate. Similar to clutter, it's something only you can determine for yourself. If you're a true bargain hunter at heart, like me, it may be a greater challenge. Be mindful of how your time and money are being spent. Consider your mental and emotional state in the process. Stop and ask yourself good questions. Why do I want this? Do I need this?

[00:06:48] Am I spending too much time on this? Etc. Be aware of your motivations and your choices. There is a cost associated with purchasing and ownership. I have to stop and ask myself if I'm reflecting my value for simplicity or if I'm mindlessly shopping to prove my deal-finding abilities. Will I always be frugal? Very likely, yes. But can I figure out how to balance simplicity and frugality? Yes, I think so.

[00:07:18] I just have to keep focused on my mission and reason for why I started on this journey in the first place. One practical change I've made in light of choosing simplicity is I now shop at typically two grocery stores every week, rather than up to six. I also no longer spend my weekends in the summer driving from garage sale to garage sale. I've minimized my shopping and become so much more intentional when I do purchase something.

[00:07:47] Is that always fun? No. But is the end result of more time back and less stress from extra stuff worth it? Totally. Quote, Forget sale price. Everything is 100% off when you don't buy it. Joshua Fields Milburn

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[00:09:05] That's B-E-T-T-E-R-M-E-N-T dot com. Investing involves risk. Performance not guaranteed. I look at simplicity and frugality as two different things that sometimes overlap. For example, you can simplify your closet by building a capsule wardrobe. You'd have minimal amount of clothing that all coordinates well together.

[00:09:31] And this gives you physical space in your closet, as well as mental space by making it easier to decide what to wear. Now, you don't necessarily have to do this frugally. Every piece of clothing in your capsule collection could be super expensive brand name clothing. Or you could build it from hand-me-downs and clothing found at Goodwill stores. I think most things we spend money on have a frugal option, including the ways we simplify our lives.

[00:10:01] And the best way to simplify the way we approach frugality is to focus on optimizing costs for the big three. Housing, transportation, and food. If you can do well here, then you don't have to overcomplicate most other purchases, as you're making up for it in the categories that comprise the biggest piece of most people's budget. I'm not sure that I agree that when you pay more for a quality item, that it necessarily lasts longer.

[00:10:31] However, I've had a very hit or miss experience with buying quality stuff, and I'm doing air quotes over here. So for example, last year, someone gifted me with a really expensive pair of slippers. They were nice, but they literally fell apart in a matter of months. I recently replaced them with slippers that were a quarter of the price, and these cheap ones are holding up so much better.

[00:10:57] Sometimes we think we're paying for quality, but more often than not, we're paying for marketing. That should do it for another edition of Optimal Finance Daily. I'll be back tomorrow as usual, so I'll see you there on the Wednesday show, where your optimal life awaits.