Frugal Friday: It Start's with Your Attitude

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You may be disappointed that I'm not starting off with a tip that's going to save you hundreds of dollars. However, I'm going to tell you the key to living frugally. So here it goes, the key to living on a shoe string budget, pinching every penny, saving tons of money is...be content with what you have. I hope you are not too disappointed, but that is where you start. Attitude is everything when it comes to everything.

I am learning (I use the present tense because it is a continual process for me.) to be content. I have to learn to be content with all areas of my life, but it is especially hard when it comes to money. I grew up in a family where saving money was important. It was important because having a good amount of money was important to financial security. So to me, having lots of money saved up made me feel content. Unfortunately, the opposite is true. Having little to no money saved up made me feel insecure. I would stress out when I would look at our bank account information. I didn't feel secure. It was unhealthy and a product of my lack of faith and trust in God as provider. God has been working on me to change what makes me feel secure. I quit looking at our bank account. I let Paul do that since he doesn't freak out about it like I do. I'm learning that I can trust in God completely. I'm learning that contentment is a by-product of trust in God.

The apostle Paul explains in best in Philippians 4:11-13, "Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." I'm going to get on a little soapbox here, but it has often bothered me how vicariously people use Philippians 4:13. I say that as someone who has been guilty of just that. I remember praying, "I can do all things through Christ who strenghthens me," as I was getting ready to take a test that I didn't study for well in high school. The ALL THINGS part of that verse is the key. Everything we do, we can do only by and through the authority of Jesus Christ. So "all things" means I can learn to not worry about finances. I can be content with our humble circumstances and actually enjoy it.

So, learning to be content is going to save you hundreds. If you don't have to buy a lot of things to make you feel good, then you will save money by enjoying what you already have. If you learn to be content to make something that you would have normally bought, then you will save money. I could go on. I promise that I will be sharing more concrete ways of frugal living, but like I said before, the key to frugal living is being content.