<story><title>Frugality Is Non-Linear (2019)</title><url>https://scattered-thoughts.net/writing/frugality-is-non-linear/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>baxtr</author><text>I love frugality as a concept. I learned it from my parents who saved most of their earnings. We did not do any big holidays nor did we have anything brand new. All in all, we had a good life.&lt;p&gt;However, frugality needs to be balanced with living a life worth living. Saving now for later assumes there is later, or even that well-being and health later are given. My mum said to me, shortly before she passed away: &lt;i&gt;“Maybe we saved too much. Maybe we should have lived more.”&lt;/i&gt; That’s something I think of now when making decisions.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>Meandering</author><text>The real consideration is utility. Maybe you don&amp;#x27;t have the nicest car but, it offers the same utility as a premium vehicle. Now, that money saved can be used to acquire more utility than a vehicle provides alone. This is what I consider frugality because the cheapest option can result in a loss of utility when it doesn&amp;#x27;t fulfill it&amp;#x27;s purpose.&lt;p&gt;Saving money is great because it hopefully means you are purchasing the same utility without unnecessary overhead. Strangely enough, not enjoying a daily premium latte might be less frugal in the long run. You&amp;#x27;d have to consider the utility of pleasure experienced over the years versus a few extra grand for your coffin.</text></comment>
<story><title>Frugality Is Non-Linear (2019)</title><url>https://scattered-thoughts.net/writing/frugality-is-non-linear/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>baxtr</author><text>I love frugality as a concept. I learned it from my parents who saved most of their earnings. We did not do any big holidays nor did we have anything brand new. All in all, we had a good life.&lt;p&gt;However, frugality needs to be balanced with living a life worth living. Saving now for later assumes there is later, or even that well-being and health later are given. My mum said to me, shortly before she passed away: &lt;i&gt;“Maybe we saved too much. Maybe we should have lived more.”&lt;/i&gt; That’s something I think of now when making decisions.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>serjester</author><text>My parents grew up in the Soviet Union and received a fairly large nest egg when my grandparents passed.  Having saved their entires lives it was enough to buy a home. Well the Soviet Union collapsed, hyper inflation set in and they ended up buying a couple nice coats with the money. Hearing stories like that I&amp;#x27;ve always thought the future needs to be heavily discounted. The present is certain, the future is not.</text></comment>