What Does Being Frugal Mean To You?

People can be frugal for a number of reasons. For me it was a skill I had to acquire because money is tight, but I have known wealthy people who buy their clothing from Op Shops (second hand goods stores) because they enjoy finding vintage style clothing to add to their wardrobes. For some it’s a way of being able to put extra money aside to save for a holiday or new home, for some it’s the importance of reusing rather than wasting, and for some it’s a learned way of life handed down through generations from a time when money was scarce.

I also tend to begrudge paying money for anything that I can make myself. I am also conscious of the footprint I leave on this Earth, and so in recent times I have starting researching into the art of upstyling/upcycling- reusing and repurposing. When I was younger the thought of reusing “rubbish” or “junk” held very little appeal to me, and attending Trash and Treasure markets and Op Shops bored me.

These days I see the fun and adventure in these things. I love to go on Op Shop crawls, attend Garage Sales, and second hand markets… and oh! the treasures I have found! If you are the creative upcycling type, these places hold a plethora of supplies and inspiration.

Also, much to my husband’s despair, I rarely throw anything away these days. I have a nice collection of empty jars, and recently I cracked a bowl (I can be a little absent minded in the kitchen and poured extremely hot liquid into a cereal bowl when I needed to drain something), I refused to throw the bowl away because I can repurpose it for mosaic tiles. Currently I’m collecting ring pulls from drink cans because I stumbled across the art of making jewellery, bags, clothing etc. out of ring pulls on my dearest Pinterest. This was good timing too since my brother recently decided to start collecting cans to raise money for an organisation he is involved with.

When I can see a creative outlet involved with being frugal it helps me to feel better about my financial situation, which is the point I’ve tried to get across in a few of my past blogs. It helps to take a tight budget and turn it into a challenge or adventure. You could even turn it into a small business! I have seen clothing that has been picked up in Op Shops, altered by someone with some imagination and a sewing machine, then sold for big profit.

Whatever your reason for being frugal is, you can have fun with it. It can save you money, make you money, and teach you to value and appreciate things that perhaps once before you didn’t. It can also help you to reduce for footprint on this Earth by reusing and wasting very little.

Metal Stamped washers made into bracelet.

Above is an example of reusing tap washers to make into a bracelet. This is one I was commissioned to make a few years ago with the names of the woman’s three children on it.

So I’d love to hear from my readers, please leave me a comment and tell me what being frugal means to you, and also any pictures you may have on items you have upcycled, I’d love to see your creations.