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Monday, December 8, 2014

One of the things about living a frugal life . . .

is that you need to know when to go easy on yourself, and not be quite so frugal.

This past weekend is one such example for my family's life. It was an incredibly busy weekend. Saturday AM my 3 kids and I had to be up at our church, preparing in one way or another, for our church's annual Christmas cantata. We didn't return back home until mid-afternoon, leaving little energy or time for me to do more than lie down for a couple of hours, then get back up to make a dinner for the family. The time at the church really exhausted me, and a nap seemed to take priority over doing laundry.

Early Sunday AM, my 3 kids had to be back at our church for rehearsals, sound-board work, and performing at both regular worship services. We raced home as soon as we could, so my daughters could study for their final exams, I could squeeze in some cooking time, and get everybody back out the door at 2 in the afternoon, to ready for the two evening performances of the cantata. It was a tight, tight squeeze, especially for my daughters.

The cantata itself, took up the entire afternoon and evening, leaving no time for me to do any laundry. The laundry sat in a huge pile on the floor. Yet my family was needing clean things for the coming week. Saturday is my usual laundry day. And when I can't fit it in on Saturday, then I push it to Sunday. This weekend, there was no time to do laundry the frugal way (hanging it all to dry).  So, I decided for this week that clean laundry was more important than saving a few quarters on the dryer.

Life's demands come in spurts. One weekend there just doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day. The next, I'm leisurely hanging and folding laundry. For me, with frugality, I need to know when it's "okay" to take a short-cut, and when I should use my extra time to do something that will save us money. Balance is key, in all things in life.

8 comments:

  1. I was having similar thoughts this morning! I try for frugality overall in my life, but sometimes (and right now I'm in one of those "seasons of life") my time and sanity is worth more to me than a few extra dollars. Grouchy mom who saves $2 may not be worth it in the long run ...

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    1. Hi Kris,
      exactly! I could have skipped a nap on Saturday, or stayed up later at night, to hang laundry. But it would not have been worth the few dollars saved. I also managed to get caught up on laundry by using the dryer, which is also a nice way to begin the week.

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    2. I find that when I work more hours, I'm not quite as frugal as I am when I'm home more. And this time of the year is just so darn busy that if something unexpected gets thrown into the mix, it can send me over the edge with my mood ... trust me, the hamburger and latte from McD's on Saturday was completely necessary ...

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    3. And I hope you thoroughly enjoyed the latte and burger!

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  2. I find this time of year it is easier to spend money because of time constraints. It's something I plan for or at least try not to stress about. I'm sure the cantata was beautiful and well worth the cost of using the dryer.

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    Replies
    1. Hi live and learn,
      I agree -- life is so busy during the Advent season that a lot of the "normal" stuff gets pushed to the side. I should try to plan for it better. And, yes, the cantata was wonderful!

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  3. There is a misconception that being frugal is about not spending, when it really means to spend wisely. Sometimes time and sanity are a bigger premium than money and when that happens the wise and prudent thing to do is invest a little in yourself. Plus you had all the laundry done before Monday. It just doesn't get better than that!

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    Replies
    1. You're so right, Anne!
      And it was great to have all of the laundry done for the first half of the week (I still always seem to have more to do later in the week!)

      Delete

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