My Frugal Life: Planning Ahead

The frugal life has taught me many lessons in life - among them, the importance (and pleasure) of organization and planning ahead. I used to be proud of being spontaneous, of living (and buying) on a whim. Now that I can no longer afford to have anything I want at the moment that I want it, I have come to savor the far deeper pleasure of expectation, of waiting for something and looking forward to it. It's slow cooking rather than flash-frying that I enjoy nowadays. My crock pot, constantly in use, is a symbol of a changed life!

Now I save money by booking travel tickets months ahead, keeping an eye out for special offers. I make careful lists at the beginning of each week, working out exactly what we're going to need for a week of meals. I buy in bulk when I can - but am careful not to buy so much that it rots before we can use it. Becoming aware of what food is in season is useful too - as fruit and vegetables are far cheaper (and more delicious) when they are eaten at the right time of year.

Because we have no car, I make a list of all the things I need to do in town - so that when I get the bus in (about once a week), I can do them all in one trip. I keep a chalkboard in the kitchen where I write a "to do list".

Though I have far less money than I used to do, I no longer get that guilty, fretful feeling that used to spoil the too-quick purchase of, for example, yet another unnecessary item of clothing. Now, I just change the buttons on a jacket forgotten in the wardrobe and it looks as good as new. Keeping your shoes mended and carefully polished makes them last years.

I used to rush to work in the morning and buy an expensive lipstick, picked out in two minutes, on the way. Now I know exactly what's in my purse, because details like that are important to me and I hate waste and excess. Furthermore, I know now that one lipstick, carefully chosen, is really, REALLY, enough!

It's been a revelation to me how pleasurable it can be to plan one's daily life rather than be overwhelmed, as I once was, by an avalanche of waste and debt and panic. Though making ends meet is a constant challenge, I feel now as though I've taken control again, that every moment of the daily routine has value in its small way, and when I look out at the world outside our cottage and see the apples on our tree or my washing billowing on the line, I feel a joy and peace unlike anything I ever knew before.

By Lucy from Oxford, UK

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