I am not just a couponer, I am frugal (ok my friends would say cheap but frugal is so much nicer)! I do my best to save every penny and cut corners where we can. I often get asked is it worth the time, effort and energy you put in to it? I would say y es and no!
The reason I would say Yes
Our family is taken care of - We may not have excess to do whatever we want with but we can
pay our bills, own a home and put food on the table without having to stress out about money every since month because of our frugal lifestyle.
Communication - Since we have always had to watch our money my husband and I have become a money saving team. We communicate very well when it comes to money (ok I did get on him for spending $20 at Hardees last month, but we all have our faults:) The number one reason married couples fight is money... so living a frugal lifestyle will help you not be at each other throats about the bank account!
Money saved- Of course it is worth it when you see you saved more money then you spent or when you get an awesome deal on something you use all the time!
The reason I would say no....
Time: It takes up time that I could be spending with my family. However the truth is at this point it is not an option for our lives so the 1-3 hours a week I spend on our budget, couponing and finding deals is a necessity.
Quality: Sometimes the quality of items is less then ideal when you get them on sale or when you do it the frugal way. For example it killed me to pay someone $15 to cut my 20 month old sons hair, so I did it myself. Now my son looks like a cancer patient, a cute one, but still. So I would have to say sometimes it is not worth it to be frugal and you have to determine where cutting money is worth it and where it is not!
Going without: If we were measuring it by our societies standards my family goes with (in my standards they don't)! Every piece of furniture in our house is used (and most of it was given to us), my husband drives a 1995 Camry, we don't own an ipad, and I don't think we have ever had steak for dinner. I honestly won't look at our family and say we ever go without what we need, but in a world where you must have the latest and greatest of everything, we do go without. HOWEVER we go without material items so that we can make sure we can put a roof over our head and food on the table without going in to debt over some new gadget.
So overall I would have to tell you if you are on the fence about truly taking the leap into a frugal lifestyle and watching every penny, I would tell you to do it. It may seem like a lifestyle that gives you a lot of restrictions but the reality it is give you freedom. It give you freedom from debt and guilt! So take the leap and start saving!
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