What motivates your frugality?

Frugal dinner for two. We could have eaten out, but chose to stay in for a home-cooked meal of leftover meatloaf on macaroni (my cheapest pasta shape), smothered with homemade Italian tomato sauce, with garden green beans on the side. Dessert was a home-made apple crisp made with our tree apples.

Today was all about making salsa. I've now put up 16 pints of salsa for this coming year. I'm glad to have scratched salsa off my list. I could buy salsa. The store brands are not that expensive.  However, we like my homemade salsa, and we love that there's always a jar at the ready for meals and snacks. And the $$ savings is nice, too.

So while de-seeding peppers and chopping vegetables I was thinking about all of the reasons we continue to live a frugal life, my motivators for frugality. The list is long, warning. But it sums up why my husband and I have chosen to be frugal.

My reasons are primarily financial (not a surprise), but a few reasons are more ideological. Some reasons have to do with parenting, although one could argue that everything we do that our kids can see is parenting through example. Some reasons have to do with my place in God's kingdom, how I love the world through generosity with what I've been given. Some reasons have to do with my personal fears and what ifs.

In no particular order, here's my list:

• to stretch limited finances to cover all our current needs
• to never go into debt and risk losing what we have gained due to missed loan payments
• to save for our future when we'll be less able to work and may need more hired assistance
• to pay for a few luxuries in our lives - well-maintained home, garden, and car, plus a vacation every few years
• to give generously to those in need and to support our church and missions
• to leave something to our children and causes that we support
• a challenge to do what culture has said is impossible -- American dream on one income
• to allow one person to focus on nurturing the family, home, and giving time to others
• to set an example for my kids and others around me
• to be responsible and pay for the things and services we use
• to save for unforeseen circumstances or needs
• in the past, but pay for education for our children without taking out loans (ours or theirs)
• to offer financial help to any of our family when they need it
• to not be wasteful -- I abhor waste, it really gets to me
• for a mentally, spiritually, and physically healthier lifestyle

I have days when I wonder "why bother? Why not just live my life spending without thinking?" Then I think of my motivations. This (almost) always triggers reason in my mind.

Our motivations have shifted over the years, obviously. In our early years of marriage, being frugal was a matter of survival. Over time we've slowly built up a cushion, so we aren't living on the edge any longer. Our focus has changed from children's basic needs, to older children's educations, and now to our own future retirement. 

I may have missed a motivator or two. But I think my list hits all of the most important reasons for our frugality.

So, what motivates your frugality?

An Autumn Picnic

This was the view we had at the river.

From the kitchen window I could see a sky awash with pink clouds early that morning. I had my fingers crossed that we would have beautiful weather for this day. We were rapidly running out of nice autumn days to enjoy a picnic at the river. It needed to be warm enough that we wouldn't shiver during our lunch on the grass. As it turned out, the gentle warmth from the sunshine melted our cares away.

This small park along the river in the vintage district is virtually unknown to the average shopper and peruser. It never ceases to amaze me that we can have the entire park practically to ourselves. Meanwhile, just up the trail from where we picnic is a cafe with outdoor seating, with exactly the same view that we enjoy at no cost. The wait time for a table on this cafe's patio looked to be at least 30 minutes, with eager diners standing in the doorway as we passed by to the trail which would take us to the river front.

The previous afternoon I'd made a batch of hummus and a batch of pesto to go with dinner. I'd deliberately made enough for leftovers to take to the river the next day. In the morning, we made hummus-pesto-fresh tomato sandwiches on whole wheat bread. We cut up apples, packed some apple-raisin bar cookies and some cubes of cheddar, and made a large thermos of apple-spice tea. The tea was a 50/50 blend of apple cider and black tea plus a pinch of cloves and dash of cinnamon, all heated together. Our al fresco repast was as enjoyable to us as any diner meal would be.

After our lunch we peeked into the various vintage stores then stopped by the pie shop to each select a slice to bring home. Perhaps that doesn't make sense -- we saved by bringing our own lunch, but then spent on pie to take home. Having the assorted slices of pie after dinner was our way of extending the pleasures of the day into the evening. 

Just as the weather forecasters predicted, our lovely warm autumn days washed away with the rainfall Monday morning. 

I don't know why I felt we needed a picnic to mark this autumn. This isn't something we've done in the past. Perhaps this year, with several difficulties, I just felt we needed to celebrate something, anything, celebrate that we are well and here together, celebrate that seasons are cyclical, and we will always return to summer. Maybe we don't need something to celebrate, but we can just enjoy being. Anyway, this was our autumn picnic.