Frugality: for your inner control freak

Have you ever wondered why some rich people are very frugal? They love telling you about the latest super bargain they got, when you know they could afford the regular price fifty times over. It’s tempting to dismiss them as cheapskates, but that’s not (well, not necessarily) the case: frugality is all about having some control over your life. Frugal shoppers – rich or poor ones – are in control of:

Themselves. They don’t let every little urge turn into an impulse buy. They’re hunters, and they carefully choose not only what they will buy, but how they’ll buy it so that they get the most for their money.
Debt. Frugal shoppers typically don’t allow themselves to carry much, if any, debt. Debt can control your life. Controlling debt prevents that. It’s that simple.
Budgets. A frugal shopper can make a budget and stick to it. While anyone can be temporarily overwhelmed by necessary emergency spending, frugal shoppers have more savings to throw at it and can get back to being debt-free more quickly than people who buy every little intriguing thing they see.

Checklist for frugality

Here are some advantages to being frugal.

Frugal shoppers don’t run out of money before they’ve paid all their bills some months. All bills are paid on time. No calls from creditors or collecting agencies.
Frugal shoppers don’t panic when emergencies require extra funds. They have savings, and if they must go into debt, they know they can get back out of it within a certain time frame.
Frugal shoppers have less clutter to clean up because they buy less stuff.
Frugal shoppers have good credit, whether they use it much or not. Whenever something happens and they do need credit, the banks can’t wait to hand it to them. Yes, even in this economy. Any business that does lending for a living always wants excellent borrowers.