Your reasons to be thrifty are going to be different than my reasons, but I think we can all agree on one thing: committing to the thrifty life is a whole lot easier if you know your reasons.
If you are not crystal clear on your reasons for living thrifty then I hope this post inspires you to take a few moments to sit down and write down your reasons for living a thrifty life.
5 Reasons To Be Thrifty
(Links in this post are affiliate links. I will be compensated when you make a purchase by clicking those links. See my disclosure page for more information)
(…or really 5 Reasons Why My Family Is Thrifty)
1. It honors God
I once heard that there are 3,000 verses in the bible dealing with the topic of money…I think how we handle our money as Christians is pretty important to God if He gave it that many verses.
Since my family desires to live a Christ-centered life, we put being a wise steward as our top reason for living a thrifty lifestyle. Regardless of how God may bless, we are always thrifty with it, making sure it stretches as far as possible, and sometimes that means right out of our hands and into the hands of another in giving.
2. It allows us to have more with less
At the time of writing this, our family of five has never once had a 6 figure income year. In fact, there have been many years that we barely made it halfway to one. Yet we have always had our needs met–plus a few splurges–despite our less-than-huge income.
We attribute this to knowing how to stretch a buck to the max. Full price is rarely paid in our household. In fact, 50% off or more is probably the norm for most of our purchases. That means we often make our money go twice as far as the family that pays full price.
3. It allows us to be debt free
I want to make something clear: our family doesn’t think debt is evil. We do, however, think that it can burn you if you are not careful. There is wise debt (a basic home bought for 20% down with a payment of no more than 25% of your take-home pay) and dumb debt (a huge home bought for zero down with a payment of far more than 25% of your take-home pay).
However, thanks to loved ones that we miss greatly–who loved us enough to leave us a financial legacy–and our thrifty ability to make it go as far as possible, we live a debt-free life and enjoy its advantages such as family time gained by fewer hours having to be traded for work to pay bills.
4. It allows us to be generous
Sometimes I fail at this one. I hold my money in a tight fist when I hear the tug at my heart to give, thinking of this bill and that bill we need to pay soon when I should be trusting God to provide just in time and be faithful in giving in to His urgings to help others.
When I do listen and give as He commands, I have never missed the money. In fact, it is the number one thing I love about being thrifty. I can give because I know I can make what I have go further (actually, God does).
5. It is a challenge
I am a very competitive person. I don’t even need another person to compete against…I love challenging myself to do better, be more, and go further.
I love seeing how little I can pay for an outfit and still have people go, “man, you look good in that.” I aim to keep the cost of date night as low as possible and still come home going with that “romantic feeling.”
This is why when I saw a home for $10,000, I had to snap it up and see how we could save money on renovating it. Thankfully my husband likes thrifty challenges too.
The personal challenges never stop in the thrifty life, and I thrive on them.
Available in paperback and Kindle on Amazon–get your copy here
Become A Snail Pacer
Receive a monthly newsletter full of tips for making life changes at a realistic pace.
I am thrifty to give my kids and husband good gifts during the holidays so that I can highlight the good gift of Christ and the resources He’s given us.
Great reason! I love giving gifts to those I love.
Most of mine are the same as yours but I will add that I enjoy the peace I get at night free from worry. Not being concerned about how to pay the bills in the event anything happened. Recently, that happened and I lost my job but we are doing fine on one salary.
A good night sleep is a great reason. Sorry to hear about your job loss.
I am thrifty beacuse that is how I was raised (couponing, finding the best % off sale) and I am passing it on to my children. It is fun to see how much we can save.
I agree it is “how low can you make this purchase go” is a fun game.
All of the things, plus I want to have money when I quit work and not have to be a burden on my family or the government.
Plus, it’s a real adrenaline rush to get a lot for a little.
Great reasons and total love the adrenaline rush of a great deal too.
I’m thrifty so I can stay at home and take care of my health and my family. When I was working I was so sick at the end of the day that the house and my family time were neglected so I could rest up to go back and torture myself the next day. By being very careful with our one income and creatively using our resources I am able to be home and have more of me for all of us. It’s not easy but it makes me feel more at ease. Many people think being thrifty is a constant state of worry over your budget but it’s not worry or stressful. It’s a challenge I find fun and rewarding and the payoff is huge!
I agree! Thrifty is the opposite of worry.
Good Question:
1. My frugality buys my freedom – I was able to leave a really bad job without having another one lined up.
2. Having money in the bank reduces my stress level – my family can weather the ups and downs of life without waking up in the middle of the night wondering how to pay for it all.
3. I enjoy the challenge of seeing how well we can live on less.
P.S. I loved your email today. Isn’t it Saint Theresa’s prayer that has the phrase we are exactly where we are supposed to be in life?
Love the quote and great reasons to be thrifty!
Your reasons really are our top five! BUT I will add that living thrifty in the day-to-day things frees us up to have some bigger fun — like taking an impromptu vacation when there’s a great deal, or splurging on a gift that’s just perfect for someone even though it isn’t within our usual spending range.
Great additions to the list.
I live the thrifty life- because my mom brought me up that way. I try to coupon most shopping adventures. I try to limit spending. It helps balance my husband’s more often spending.
Yes having thrifty parents helps. My mom was very resourceful. I learned a lot of thrifty tips from her.
Congrats Random.org picked your comment as the winner! I will be contacting you shortly by email to get your mailing address to send the Starbucks gift card to. Thanks for taking part in the contest.