Frugality Sometimes Requires Perseverance

Saving money, reducing debt and being frugal is all about finding little tricks and then turning them into habits. Sometimes the new habit is easy to pick up. For me, shopping at Aldi was an easy habit to pick up. I've never been particularly brand loyal so I was fine with trying the Aldi brands. We found we liked them as much or more as other brands, and the savings were substantial. Easy habit to establish.

Other things though require a bit more time and effort. They take perseverance. My Webster's New Complete Desk Reference defines persevere as "To persist in any purpose or idea; to strive in spite of difficulties or obstacles." Oh, have I had to persevere to establish some of my frugal habits.

Sometimes perseverance is needed because something is just not what you are used to. The first example that comes to my mind personally is water. We have had a water cooler for about five years. It was given to us as a gift when we lived in a city that had terrible tasting drinking water. I am sure it was safe, but when it reeks of chlorine before you get it to your nose it just isn't the most appealing drink.

The tap water here is not bad, but we were used to the bottled water and already had the cooler so we continued getting our 5 gallon jugs of purified water. Then the water cooler stopped working. My first thought was we had to go out and get a new one, but there simply was no money for it. We started drinking our tap water. *gasp* At first I could barely stand the water. Then I found it was ok with a lot of ice, and now I find it perfectly fine. My taste buds have gotten used to the tap water.

Sometimes perseverance is needed because the frugal option is hard work or takes more time. I used disposable diapers with my first child. With the second we needed to make some drastic budget cuts. We invested in cloth diapers, and I quickly found that they are more work. At the time I didn't really have a choice but to persevere. By the time the third child was born, washing diapers had become part of my normal routine. When the fourth was born I didn't even think about not using cloth. Cloth diapers were a well established habit.

Sometimes things just don't work right at first, and you need to give it some time before you decide whether to give up on the idea or not. When something is not going as planned the first time, I set myself a time frame. I will try such and such for one month, and then decide if I want to continue it. Breastfeeding was something like this for me. The first month was horrible. The second month was better, and by the third month it was perfectly natural. Currently, using the Keeper is in the perseverance stage. The first month trying it was a learning experience. Hopefully next month it will be easier.

Few things in life that come easily are worthwhile. Frugality is no different. If you try something and it is hard or doesn't exactly go as planned, set your self a time frame and keep trying. By the end of your time frame, you may find the activity wasn't as hard as you thought and decide to continue. Maybe you find you really hate it and don't want to do it anymore. You may find it has gotten better, but your still not sure. Give it a little more time to decide. If it still isn't working out chuck the idea and move on.

What frugal things have come easy to you? Which have required perseverance?

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