I have sometimes felt a sense of obligation to take advantage of a deal because it's a moneymaker or simply a really amazing deal. After recently blogging about a money-making deal, I was trying to figure out how in the world it was going to fit in my own shopping.
As I was thinking--and stressing--about it, I finally realized I don't have to do it. (That may seem simple and obvious, but sometimes I require a knock on the head. :-) )
As great as it is to save money, find bargains, and be frugal, it's important to keep it in perspective. People are matter more. There's nothing that requires us to take advantage of every opportunity in front of us. (Whether it be time or money constraints that are the limiting factor.)
So, my encouragement today is to keep frugality in perspective. Frugality can be a life-saver. But getting good deals is not worth damaging relationships or living life in a constant state of stress.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
9 comments:
Excellent thoughts! I need to remind myself that it's ok for coupons to expire even when they make the items free. I try to plan and limit my shopping trips for these excellent deals. or I find that I'm always thinking about them and planning to squeeze just one more stop in. It's so easy to let it get out of control and neglect the things that are most important.
Thank you for this most important reminder,
Valerie
So, so true! When I first started finding deals on the internet I tried to get them all but then I was running ragged! It's not always worth it!
I'm learning this too! I do not HAVE to run to Walgreens 1st thing Monday morning & we will not DIE without all the items that are great deals.
(Stupid Snow Days have been teaching me this)
Great post. I was stressing today over not getting all the close-to-free stuff I could this week, since I'm busy getting ready for a trip. You're right - it's not the most important thing. I need to relax and get ready for my trip.
Thanks. :)
Jennifer
You're exactly right! I belong to HotCouponWorld.com, and this week, the big THING is that there's free cereal at Safeway.
As much as FREE is my favorite price... I have a ton of cereal. Seriously. A ton! It gets to be free or nearly free -all- the time.
So...I asked, "Huh, do I really want free cereal?" and all the HCWers were like, "YES DUH IT'S FREE!" but ...
Waste not, want not, right? That should be a couponer's first thought when thinking about fitting excess in. If you don't NEED IT and won't NEED IT in the next six months...don't stress :)
You are so right. When I began using coupons I felt like I "HAD" to get the bargain. This is what works for me. In the winter money is esp. tight because our business is seasonal to summer (we own an ice company) I stock up on things in the summer when we have a little room to play with the money. This is when I do the ECB's at CVS or rebates at Walgreens. It doesn't hurt our finances so much to wait for that money to come back in. I also try to stock up on freezer items and canned goods. In the winter, I spend my funds on good deals on groceries and parishables. I will still get some of the deals that let me get items free or nearly free with little to no money out of pocket. It's all about what works for you family and not stressing the small stuff ;-)
and I thought I was the only one losing sleep over all this :)
This is so, so true. I had an incident the other night where I was talking about sending a gift to my Aunt because my Uncle just died.
We were talking about various gifts and I kept saying "That's too much. I could totally make that for so much less".
I had to stop for a minute and assess the situation.
MY UNCLE JUST DIED!!!
I think it is time to put my frugal ways aside for the moment.
Thanks for the reminder.
Jessica
Thanks so much for this post! I sometimes find myself trying to get a deal on something that I will never use and that even if it is free isn't worth having more stuff. I have been thinking about this a lot and found your post encouraging.
Post a Comment