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Thursday, October 18, 2012

Thrifty Thursday - the art of frugality

When you think of artists, you think of creativity...a person's ability to express a thought or idea onto paper or other medium, in music or writing.  Dictionary.com gives this definition of creativity -



1.the state or quality of being creative.  (no surprise there!)
2.the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.; originality, progressiveness, or imagination: the need for creativity in modern industry; creativity in the performing arts.
3.the process by which one utilizes creative  ability: Extensive reading stimulated his creativity.
By this definition, frugality is an art form  :)   You are finding novel ways to solve everyday problems and developing new ideas and solutions.  It takes creativity to work with a limited budget and make the best use of your money.  
I think back to my first apartment as a newlywed.  We were "starving students", living on very little money and trying to furnish our first home.  We had to figure out what was most important for our comfort and what would give us the most use for our money.  You'd think we would have chosen a bed.  Wrong.  Sleeping on the floor with sleeping bags and blankets was surprisingly comfortable.  The first thing we bought was a card table and two chairs.  A table made it possible for us to do our homework (try typing on the floor!), it gave me a place to sew and work on projects, and of course, we could eat at the table.  It was also compact and portable so wouldn't take up much space when we eventually moved.  
To hold our clothes, we turned cardboard boxes on their sides, taped them together and had instant shelves.  Like most other college students, we made bookshelves out of bricks and boards.  Bedsheets were used as curtains.   It was a happy time of our lives and laid the foundation for being frugal to this day.  

Before you run out and spend a bunch of money to buy something, think about what you already have at your disposal and see if there's a less expensive alternative.  Can you repurpose something?  Can you do without?  Can you find it used?  Be creative! 

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