The New, Frugal Me

That's right. Over the last year I've determined one thing...I would like to have financial stability as I grow older. Sure, everyone thinks that but apparently many, many people don't practice it. The national savings rate is floating between slightly positive, zero, and negative. How do people expect to grow old, retire, and relax when they are spending their 20s, 30s, and 40s spending more than they earn? Sure, some people will say that they have put their money into their house. And that was great for the last 5 years. And, I guess if you were smart enough to invest in stocks starting in 1995 and switch to real estate in 2000 then it's been a great 10 year run. But, as we saw with the stock bust in 2000-2001 and the possible housing troubles on the horizon, those moments don't last forever (no matter how many realtors want people to believe that housing prices will go up 15% a year until 2020)

After reading and thinking about it, this all has scared me (financially) straight. I see way too many people driving a car way too expensive for them, wearing clothes they really don't need, eating out multiple times a week or eating at the finest establishments, or even just going to a bar a couple times a week and throwing down $100 or more per visit. I can't blame them. I was the same way. I bought a car that was more than I should have bought. I bought expensive clothes that I wore once or twice and never again. I went out and bought numerous drinks at the bar and more. Sure, it was fun, but that expensive fun is over.

It's not that I don't have fun anymore but now I go out to casual dining places with friends and I buy clothes that I like and I know I will wear. I even sold my car and am driving a much less expensive car. The car still gets me where I need to go. So what if I can't beat the next guy off the line? If I can retire a year before him in 30 years or so, that's fine with me.

If it sounds like a boring existence to you then you are probably still enjoying the "finer" things in life. And let me say, if you can do that and still retire at 50 with a healthy nest egg then congratulations. All I know is that in the last year I have managed to save almost 3 times as much as I saved in my first 4 years out of college (not counting my 401k). Looking down the road, that feels pretty darn good.