Thursday, May 16, 2013

"Stealth Frugality": How I Learned the Concepts

Deciding to live well, on a small retiree's budget, meant dredging up some of the frugality skills I learned years ago. Back then, as a stay-at-home mom and wife of a pathologically stingy husband, I needed to learn to do a lot with a little.

Some time in the late 1960s or early 1970s, before I discovered The Tightwad Gazette and Amy Dacyzysn (legendary now in frugality circles), I read a book called Champagne Living on a Beer Budget by Mike and Marilyn Ferguson. Dacyzysn's writing is better known, but I'm glad I discovered the Fergusons first. Their approach to frugality was quite different from that of Dacyzysn, very up-beat and creative.


More recently, I bought a used paperback copy of Champagne Living but did not find it as compelling as I did all those years ago. Back then it was cutting edge stuff... now, it's more mainstream, things we've all heard before. However, it models what I think of as "Stealth frugality," the best kind to use if you want to live a good life in retirement without being annoying or pathetic.

Too often, when I read articles and blogs about frugality, it sounds so depressing. You spend less, but your result... the life you create... is not particularly lovely or inspiring. Savings become your primary focus, and honestly that's not any more appealing than when money and wealth are your focus. They seem like just two sides of the same coin to me.

Stealth Frugality, on the other hand, focuses primarily on having the good things of life, the beautiful and desirable things that make your life a wonderful place to be, with the things that make you feel good. This is easy when you have a lot of money. But it's also possible on that beer budget, too. Living well on a shoestring really is an art, and a very personal one.

Living well on little, but not sinking into the grinding, depressing stinginess that the word "tightwad" brings to mind, definitely requires a new way of thinking. Here are a few of the things I remember learning from Champagne Living on a Beer Budget. These remain the most important elements of a Stealth Frugality skill set:

  • Prioritization - If you don't have all the money in the world, you have to decide which things are the most important to you. This is highly individual. I pay for high speed internet, but not for cable TV, because I just don't like watching TV that much. I like expensive clothes , but get my underwear on sale at K-Mart. We decide what's important... to us, not to other people... and then spend the money we have accordingly.
  • Good taste - You need to become familiar with what quality looks and feels like, or you will find it hard to identify bargains that are of good quality. For example, Marshall's and TJ Maxx have hundreds of handbags, but only a small fraction are of good quality. The good bags often look very like the junkier ones. If you know how to look for quality and good brands, though, you can buy a super-nice leather bag that will look good for years and years, compared to a cheaper one that will look shabby by next year. Even though the good bag may cost two or three times the lower-quality one, your cost-per-use will be far less with the good bag. You can easily learn to tell the difference in quality in everything you buy by reading top-of-the-line fashion and shelter magazines and by browsing at upper-end retail stores.
  • Research skills - Knowing how to get information is still very important when it comes to frugality, but nowadays we mostly use the internet. I've learned so much about how to have and do things for less from websites, blogs, and search engines. For instance, I've found that what drives up the cost of foodie-type cooking is mostly a lot of unusual, difficult-to-find, and expensive ingredients. But by searching the internet for simpler recipes that use good-quality but commonly-available ingredients, I can prepare dishes that cost less, taste delicious, and as a bonus are often of historical interest. Likewise, it's nice to know how to compare the plus-shipping costs of things you buy online. And the internet is full of free, detailed how-to's for everything from plumbing repairs to building furniture.
  • Delayed gratification - Failure to acquire this "skill" is a common downfall of would-be frugalists. One thing I distinctly remember from Champagne Living on a Beer Budget is the dictum to never, ever buy something because you need it right now. Instead, try to find a work-around - borrow, rent, find an alternative. Then buy only when you find a bargain. Buying in need usually means paying full price. Waiting to buy during an end-of-season clearance or off-season sale often allows you to buy top quality for much less. But this requires planning ahead and delayed gratification.
  • Organization and record keeping - You can find lots of lists of what is on sale when, and plan your purchases accordingly. Buy new lawn furniture in the fall, at an end-of-summer clearance, rather than waiting for spring and paying full price. This requires you to plan ahead, anticipate your future needs, and keep lists and calendars. Likewise, you should be keeping lists of gifts you'll need to give, so you can pick up nice things in advance and at a good price. This saves you money, and also allows you to give nicer gifts than you would have otherwise.
  • Thinking outside the box - Creativity is maybe the most important skill you'll need to be really successful at stealth frugality. Once you know what you like, what will make you feel good, creativity and smarts are what will help you figure out how to achieve it, or an acceptable feel-good equivalent that is within your budget. Personally, I'm not very creative, but I borrow other people's creativity, usually found in magazine or newspaper articles or on the internet. I love seeing how people can take a very expensive decorating or fashion look and recreate it on a shoestring. Being good at finding, combining, and/or adapting other people's good ideas is a valid form of creativity.

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