There comes a time in every thrifty person’s life where it strikes you that something you’ve done in the name of frugality has backfired and should be discontinued. I’ve discussed saving money with friends who shared the consensus that being frugal, especially being frugal to the extreme and making everything from scratch, simply is not worth it. I strongly disagree with this stance and plan to challenge the assumption that frugality doesn’t pay in a future post.
Today I’ll be sharing some thoughts on frugal measures that become counter productive and realizing when you’ve got to shake things up a bit.

It’s Not as Frugal as it Sounds!

Convinced that baby wipes were a waste of money, I started rinsing my baby’s bum under the tap during each diaper change. I was quite taken aback when, as a result of this change, our monthly water bill increased by more money than I’d ever spent on baby wipes. Oops. I’ve since switched to cloth wipes, sure that now I’ll really be saving money.

We bought chickens and rabbits with the hopes of saving money. We mistakenly assumed that the chickens would provide us with eggs and the rabbits would breed, allowing us to sell the babies to pet shops. Unfortunately the eggs never arrived and most of the babies died; in the meantime we spent too much money feeding these animals (even if it was just cheap vegetables and grains). We’ve since downsized to a 515 square foot apartment with no yard; the animals are gone and we’re saving money.

Sometimes we do things because we think it’ll save us money. We have to make sure not to get stuck in a rut and assume that what we’re doing truly is cost effective. Do the math. Keep track of your spending carefully. Don’t assume that frugality is one size fits all; just because something is saving someone money doesn’t mean that it will be worthwhile for you. Everyone’s situation is different; what is cheap one one place can be expensive in another.
If you have no laundry facilities at home, it may not be cost effective for you to cloth diaper. If you raise livestock, it may not make sense for you to rely on vegetarian sources of protein. If, like myself, you are the type to forget to water plants, it may not make sense for you to buy seedlings to grow your own vegetables. If the raw ingredients for certain foods cost more than the prepared store bought product, it may not pay for you to make your own tomato paste or peanut butter.

Use an spreadsheet (Open Office has a free alternative to Microsoft’s Excel) to track your expenses. (I’ll elaborate on this in another post.) See if your changes have truly helped you save, or if they’ve merely rerouted your spending.

If you notice that your “frugal habits” are costing you more money, don’t stubbornly insist on repeating your mistake- find a different way that actually saves you money.

Increased Income with Increased Spending

I’m a stay at home mom, not looking to work outside the home, as minimal as our income currently remains. When I had just one child, I worked many hours in the hopes of bringing in more income, but was exhausted from my 60 hour work week and 2.5 hour daily commute that I ended up spending nearly all the extra income on convenience items and babysitters. I vowed to never again do something that extreme, and came to the conclusion that making money doesn’t always pay.

Increased Income but Collapsing

Recently I was offered a translation job at 25% above minimum wage. Always looking to earn an extra buck or two, I accepted and planned on translating the documents in my spare time. The employers were in a rush to get the project done, but I had so much on my plate already.

I was already watching children in my at home daycare, taking care of my children full time, nursing a needy baby round the clock, working 2 cleaning jobs, cooking for my family from scratch, trying to keep up with housework like laundry and dish washing, and writing daily blog posts for you readers. (Whew, I get tired just writing all that.)
My sons are not good sleepers and my husband was getting home from work near midnight, so I was only able to actually work on my translation job once 2.5 year old Lee would go to sleep at 11 pm. I was working until 2 am, waking up at 6:30 am with the baby, and I was on the verge of collapsing. A woman cannot survive on 4.5 hours of interrupted sleep indefinitely.
This second foray into making extra cash proved as disastrous as the first. I didn’t spend any more money this time, but my sanity was paying the price.
If you’re trying to increase your income in the name of frugality, but you’re wiped out from all the extra work, that frugality is backfiring. A little extra money is not worth your happiness and sanity. You and your family will be paying the price.

Deprivation is Detrimental

The Goal of Frugality