A lot of people are living frugally now who weren’t doing so a few years ago. The reason for this is obvious; the recession has caused them to need to cut back on spending. This type of frugal living is considered to be involuntary frugal living. That’s because it is the circumstances surrounding a person’s finances that make these people decide to live frugally.

Not everyone who lives frugally feels this way though. There are a lot of people who engage in voluntary frugality. And you might be surprised how many different reasons there are for the choice to live frugally. Some of the top frugal living philosophies include:

• Desire to simplify. Many people opt to enjoy voluntary simplicity. They avoid spending money on things that will complicate their lives including anything material that is unnecessary and creates debt.
• Eco-friendly mindset. People who choose to be green are people who choose not to waste. These people also aren’t wasting money and so are living frugally.
• Greater purpose in life. People may choose to live frugally so that they can pursue a greater purpose in life. This may be a spiritual purpose or it may simply be a life devoted to creativity.

I am working on being a bit more frugal myself. My main motivation is the desire to save some money to be able to have more freedom in my life. However, I’m also motivated by some of these other reasons including the belief that a simpler life allows us to explore a great purpose while we’re here.

Why do you live frugally?

Tags: Frugal Living, frugal living philosophies, frugality, kathryn vercillo, Personal Finance, save money, voluntary simplicity