Frugal is the practice of
- acquiring goods and services in a restrained manner, and
- resourcefully using already owned economic goods and services, to
- achieve a longer term goal.
Common strategies of frugality include the reduction of
wasteWaste is unwanted or unusable material.In living organisms, waste is the unwanted substances or toxins that are expelled from them. More commonly, waste refers to the materials that are disposed of in a system of waste management.Waste is directly linked to human development, both technologically...
, curbing costly
habitHabituation is the psychological process in humans and animals in which there is a decrease in psychological response and behavioral response to a stimulus after repeated exposure to that stimulus over a duration of time.- Background :...
s, suppressing instant
gratificationGratification is the positive emotional reactionof happiness in response to a fulfillment of a desire. Maturity is often defined as the ability of deferred gratification , and progress as the real or imagined perception of movement towards gratification...
by means of fiscal self-restraint, seeking
efficiencyEconomic efficiency is used to refer to a number of related concepts. It is the using of resources in such a way as to maximize the production of goods and services...
, avoiding traps, defying expensive social norms, embracing cost-free options, using
barterBartering is a medium in which goods or services are directly exchanged for other goods and/or services without a common unit of exchange . It can be bilateral or multilateral, and usually exists parallel to monetary systems in most developed countries, though to a very limited extent...
, and staying well-informed about local circumstances and both market and product/service realities.
Frugality in the context of certain belief systems, is a
philosophyPhilosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing these questions by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on reasoned...
in which one does not trust (or is deeply wary of) "expert" knowledge, often from commercial markets or corporate cultures, claiming to know what is in the best economic, material, or spiritual interests of the individual.
Different spiritual communities consider frugality to be a virtue or a spiritual discipline.
Frugal is the practice of
- acquiring goods and services in a restrained manner, and
- resourcefully using already owned economic goods and services, to
- achieve a longer term goal.
Strategies for frugality
Common strategies of frugality include the reduction of
wasteWaste is unwanted or unusable material.In living organisms, waste is the unwanted substances or toxins that are expelled from them. More commonly, waste refers to the materials that are disposed of in a system of waste management.Waste is directly linked to human development, both technologically...
, curbing costly
habitHabituation is the psychological process in humans and animals in which there is a decrease in psychological response and behavioral response to a stimulus after repeated exposure to that stimulus over a duration of time.- Background :...
s, suppressing instant
gratificationGratification is the positive emotional reactionof happiness in response to a fulfillment of a desire. Maturity is often defined as the ability of deferred gratification , and progress as the real or imagined perception of movement towards gratification...
by means of fiscal self-restraint, seeking
efficiencyEconomic efficiency is used to refer to a number of related concepts. It is the using of resources in such a way as to maximize the production of goods and services...
, avoiding traps, defying expensive social norms, embracing cost-free options, using
barterBartering is a medium in which goods or services are directly exchanged for other goods and/or services without a common unit of exchange . It can be bilateral or multilateral, and usually exists parallel to monetary systems in most developed countries, though to a very limited extent...
, and staying well-informed about local circumstances and both market and product/service realities.
Philosophy
Frugality in the context of certain belief systems, is a
philosophyPhilosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing these questions by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on reasoned...
in which one does not trust (or is deeply wary of) "expert" knowledge, often from commercial markets or corporate cultures, claiming to know what is in the best economic, material, or spiritual interests of the individual.
Different spiritual communities consider frugality to be a virtue or a spiritual discipline. The
Religious Society of FriendsThe Religious Society of Friends is a religious movement, whose members are known as Friends or Quakers. The roots of this movement are with some 17th century Christian English dissenters, but today the movement has branched out into many independent national and regional organizations, called...
and the
PuritanA Puritan of 16th and 17th-century England was an associate of any number of religious groups advocating for more "purity" of worship and doctrine, as well as personal and group piety. Puritans felt that the English Reformation had not gone far enough, and that the Church of England was tolerant...
s are examples of such groups. The basic philosophy behind this is the idea that people ought to save money in order to allocate it to more charitable purposes, such as helping others in need.
There are also environmentalists who consider frugality to be a virtue through which humans can make use of their ancestral skills as hunter-gatherers, carrying little and needing little, and finding meaning in nature instead of man-made conventions or religion.
Henry David ThoreauHenry David Thoreau was an American author, poet, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, historian, philosopher, and leading transcendentalist...
expressed a similar philosophy in
WaldenWalden by Henry David Thoreau is an American classic. The work is part personal declaration of independence, social experiment, voyage of spiritual discovery, and manual for self reliance....
, with his zest for self-reliance and minimal possessions while
living simplySimple living is a lifestyle characterized by minimizing the "more is better" pursuit of wealth and consumption...
in the woods.
See also
- Intentional living
Intentional living is a term used in a variety of contexts including religious, ethical and values-oriented contexts as well as coaching, personal transformation, and leadership training practices and programs...
- Miser
A miser or cheapskate is a person who is reluctant to spend money, sometimes to the point of forgoing even basic comforts. The term derives from the Latin miser, meaning "poor" or "wretched," comparable to the modern word "miserable"....
liness
- Over-consumption
Over-consumption is a theory related to overpopulation, referring to situations where per capita consumption is so high that even in spite of a moderate population density, sustainability is not achieved....
- Simple living
Simple living is a lifestyle characterized by minimizing the "more is better" pursuit of wealth and consumption...
- Conspicuous thrift