What Being Thrifty Means To Me

I know that a thrifty lifestyle means many different things to many different people.  But today I thought I would share what living a thrifty lifestyle means to me.

Thrifty = using money or other resources carefully and not wastefully

Frugal = sparing or economical with regard to money or food.

Miserly = hoarding wealth while spending as little as possible

Spendthrift = one who spends money in an extravagant and irresponsible way

I chose to be thrifty.   I like the idea of being careful with my money and resources.  Conscious of my choices and the reasons behind why I make them.  I am not frugal.  I don't wish to be sparing in any facet of my life.  Miserly sounds like a terrible way to spend my time.  I threw in spendthrift just for a fun contrast.

It is not my goal in life to go without or deprive myself or my family of anything for the sake of saving money.  I don't feel thrifty people, or frugal people for that matter, should have to give up something that is important to them.

The reality for me is this.  I am a single woman raising two wonderful and beautiful daughters.  We are a single income family and therefore it is really important for me to manage my finances well and make sure we live within our means.

I'm not, by nature, an extravagant person, but I do like to have nice things.  I prefer quality over cheap and am willing to pay extra for something that will last longer and perform better.  I'm also patient, in most cases, and willing to wait until I can best afford things in order to have what I truly want.

Our home is small, but nice.  We keep it neat, tidy and well maintained.  Our home is filled with nice furnishings.  Nothing over the top but stylish and functional.  There are lots of little touches about our home that speak of us.  Our style, our interests, our accomplishments, our goals.  It is warm in the winter, cool in the summer and very comfortable.  It is also quite affordable.

Surprisingly, we are currently a three car family.  I drive a nice car and I own a truck.  I also own a second car that I plan to have my oldest daughter use when she gets her driver's license next year.  Two of our vehicles are paid for and have been for years and years.  My car is new and I'm making payments.  I wanted a new car, it fit well within our budget, I got a really good deal on it, so I bought it.

I work for a good company that treats its employees extremely well.  I make a decent wage but I am far from executive earnings.  In fact, after taking a wage survey recently, I was firmly planted in the lower class.  At the conclusion of the survey one of the descriptions of lower class included the words poverty level.  I certainly don't feel like I live a life of poverty.  Far from it, I'd say.

Thrifty simply means to me that I take care in how I choose to spend my money.  It doesn't mean I squeeze every penny until it screams PLEASE STOP!  It doesn't mean going without on a regular basis.

In my blog I will continue to share the various ways I make it all work out on a day to day basis.  Since I began my blog in 2011 it has been such a pleasure sharing what I do and hearing how you all are doing your thing.  We learn from each other.

I hope to continue with this blog for a long time to come.