A Frugal Flop?

Last week was a frugal flop for my household, thanks in large part to the fact that I felt terribly ill. We didn’t make it to CVS, which means we missed out on quite a few spectacular deals. I never got around to creating a decent shopping list, so we floundered on meal planning almost every day. On Thursday, we caved and got take-out, in spite of the fact that we had defrosted pork chops, because neither Donnie nor I was having much success staying awake long enough to cook. Yesterday I discovered that I accidentally allowed $6 in CVS Extra Bucks to expire, because they were out of date-order in my file. And, I went two whole days without writing a single word.

In years past, I would have spent a ridiculous amount of time berating myself for being such a frugal failure. Thankfully, as I’ve gained more experience with simple living, I’ve learned to go easier on myself. A few un-frugal slip-ups every now and then aren’t going to completely derail Donnie’s and my budget, or invalidate all the hard work we do all year long, trying to live simply and sensibly. We’re never going to achieve a state of frugal perfection, and we shouldn’t even attempt to do so. Frugality is one of many tools we can use to create a happy life, but it isn’t our life’s purpose. Much good can come from frugal living, but an occasional lapse into un-frugal-ness isn’t going to send our finances spiraling out of control.

In that spirit, I hope you will all be gentle with yourselves as you confront the challenges of living on a budget. Making smart money choices is important, but it isn’t everything. By all means, do the best you can, but accept the fact that you will make mistakes. We all do—and we’re all still okay.