Frugal Burnoutby Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger 20 Jan 2008 02:35 PM Have you ever experienced frugal burnout? You know, when you just don't feel like being frugal anymore? Maybe you are just tired to death of washing out baggies or hanging laundry. Maybe you have a little bit of envy because someone you know who isn't frugal seems to have it all from fabulous vacations to an amazing home. It happens to the best of us. Frugal burnout may have us seriously questioning our frugal lifestyle. If you are a stay-at-home parent, you might consider going back to work. or maybe you start thinking that it wouldn't be so bad after all to be in debt. If frugal burnout hits you, how will you get out of it? First of all, give yourself permission to relax a little bit. Don't go crazy on spending, but go ahead and give yourself permission to throw that envelope into the recycling bin instead of using it as scrap paper. Buy something small, such as that paperback or cup of coffee you have been wanting. Remember that a frugal lifestyle is a choice. Next, take a deep breath and look around at your blessings, some of which you have because of your frugal lifestyle. Sometimes it is hard to be content with what you have. This is normal. Remember that a frugal lifestyle is a blessing. Think about how your life might be if you weren't frugal. Would your life be better? Would you be sick with worry about debt? Some of those fabulous things that others have come with a sword that hangs over your head. Remember that a frugal lifestyle can give you peace of mind. Do you ever enjoy yourself being frugal? If you made something out of nothing; if you got a thrill at a bargain or a curb shopping find; if you felt a sense of accomplishment when you brought your grocery bill down, then you got something positive from being frugal. Remember that a frugal lifestyle can be a challenge and lots of fun. What do you do when you are in a frugal funk? Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here. Related Articles: Learn more about Mary Ann Romans  Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat. Relevantfrugal tags User Comments Oonie (65) 20 Jan 2008 09:05 PMI do hit frugal burnout but more than that I'm hitting recycling burnout...the amount of paper and cardboard especially just adds up so quickly. But I try to remember--that's exactly WHY I recycle--the fact that my town makes money off of that (and ergo keeps my taxes just a little bit lower) keeps me going. Same thing for the frugal stuff...sometimes I just try to sub one frugal thing for another...If I feel like I can't make dinner at home one more night, I try to either find a gift card someone gave us for a place we can use for take-out, or at least buy scrip from my church so that they make money from my splurge...things like that help some. Your comments about "would your life be better or worse?" are well taken...we've been waiting months for new shelves for our mudroom, because we were "inheriting" them from relatives who were remaking a room in their house and the shelves were still in use. Now that we have them, they were totally worth the wait and I'm even more in love with them because they were free! And I know if I'd broken down and gone to Ikea I wouldn't necessarily have buyer's remorse, but what we got is much nicer and so much easier on the pocketbook.  Mary Ann Romans |
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