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I honestly think I am getting more and more frugal each day; especially since starting this site.  I quesiton buying everything I want anymore.  My wife is pretty good at spending very little on herself too, but when it comes to the kids, she’s been known to splurge.  I have already questioned whether or not I should buy a newer car.  I’ve weighed the pros and cons of it, and am currently still able to push back the urge courtesy of Shopping for a Car, My Money Management, Get Rich Slowly, Louisville, Klontz, and Frugal Journey.  I question buying brand name cereal, new socks, take shorter showers, worry if I turned off the lights, put less kitty litter in the box, wash clothes with less detergent, eat the cheapest meal on the menu when eating out (Nicole Humphrey agrees); heck I’ve even considered just eating the food my kids don’t!  But I really don’t NEED to be that cheap.  I have money, I just seem like I’m feeling like Ebenezer Scrooge.

I have lurked around several of the “Frugal Blogs” for a few months now, and they’ve got some good ideas.  Families has a good blog set up to aggregate the frugality network.  FrugalforLife has a very good blog with good points in it also about living the frugal life.  I’ve considered keeping a separate checking account from my wife (MBH had a good article about this I read last week actually) just so that I can invest more money elsewhere and not get the urge to spend it.  Is that ridiculous?  YES!!!  Ugh, where to go from here.

I really do enjoy saving.  It makes me feel good about what I’m doing and looking to the future I know that it is going to really play out in the years to come.  Being young means having fun and frivilously spending $ like it is going out of style.  I always look at “the glass half full” instead of “half-empty” and in my thinking, I believe having a child early in life has at least given me this insight to see into the future.  It seems like ALL of my friends are spending $ and out every weekend.  I don’t go out, but I leverage it (in my head) with the fact that I AM saving money.  I WILL be successful in building my retirement egg well ahead of my friends that are out.

I feel somewhat left-out when I talk with them anymore because I’m not keeping up on what they talk about.  I’m getting into ETFs, REITs, and stocks, while they’re talking about the $15 martini they had last night at the bar.  Yes, I look at that and think, “wow, where could I have put that $15 to work better for me.” 

But the key to living a lifestyle like this is knowing that you’re securing your financial future, and not letting past influences push your attention in a different direction.  Stick with the plan, saving and invest, and smile in retirement because that’s the finish line you’re looking at there!

Congrats to the aforementioned folks and long live frugality!

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