Somehow somewhere the chain of frugality has broken and some people have no idea what frugality is.
While Saving Money by Making Things Last Longer shed light on one aspect of frugal living, Donna Freedman uses a bunch of examples to show how not spending more than you have and making sure you get the best deal is a lot like hypermiling.
to me it’s natural to brown-bag it, use up all leftovers, dry clothes on a rack instead of in the dryer, combine coupons with loss leaders, walk to errands, or use public transit whenever possible. To me, that’s just common sense. To those who didn’t grow up with frugal parents, it’s all new.
She backs that up, or demonstrates that, with practical, down to earth and inspiring examples of getting things for free or stocking up on loss leaders.
And why do it?
Some people who hypermile their cars see it as a kind of challenge: How can I wring every possible mile out of each tank? Others may have to stretch a fill-up because payday is a long way off, or perhaps they want to reduce their oil dependency.
I hypermile my life for all three reasons. It’s a game to see how little I can spend to meet all needs (and some wants). Living prudently helps me conserve funds throughout a pay period, and beyond.
Most important to me is the feeling that I’m not dependent on stuff. I don’t need a constant stream of new and/or expensive items and experiences.
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