Frugality

Frugality is the practice of
# acquiring goods and services in a restrained manner, and
# resourcefully using already owned economic goods and services, to
# achieve a longer term goal. [John L. Lastovicka, Lance A. Bettencourt, Renee Shaw Hughner, Ronald J. Kuntze "Lifestyle of the Tight and Frugal: Theory and Measurement", The Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 26, No. 1. (June 1999), pp 85-98.]

trategies for frugality

Common strategies of frugality include the reduction of waste, curbing costly habits, suppressing instant gratification by means of fiscal self-restraint, seeking efficiency, avoiding traps, defying expensive social norms, embracing free (as in gratis) options, using barter, and staying well-informed about local circumstances and both market and product/service realities.

Philosophy

Frugality in the context of certain belief systems, is a philosophy in which one does not trust, or is deeply wary of "expert" knowledge, often from commercial markets or corporate cultures, claiming to know what is in the best economic, material, or spiritual interests of the individual. [Child, Hamilton: "How to Succeed in Business," Gazetteer and Business Directory of Ontario County, N.Y., for 1867-8, Page 91 e.g. H. Child, 1867]

Different spiritual communities consider frugality to be a virtue or a spiritual discipline. [Austin, Richard Cartwright: "Environmental Theology", Page 169. Creekside Press, 1990] The Religious Society of Friends and the Puritans are examples of such groups. [Mecklin, John M.: "An Introduction to Social Ethics, The Social Conscience in a Democracy", Page 254. Harcourt, Brace and Howe, 1920] The basic philosophy behind this is the idea that people ought to save money in order to allocate it to more charitable purposes, such as helping others in need. [Watkinson, William L.: "Frugality in the Spiritual Life", Page 7. F. H. Revell company, 1908]

There are also environmentalists who consider frugality to be a virtue [Swain, George Fillmore; "Conservation of Water by Storage", Page 26 e.g. Yale University Press, 1915] through which humans can make use of their ancestral skills as hunter-gatherers, carrying little and needing little, and finding meaning in nature instead of man-made conventions or religion. Henry David Thoreau expressed a similar philosophy in "Walden", with his zest for self-reliance and minimal possessions while simply living in the woods. [Thoreau, Henry David: "Walden", Page 184 e.g. T. Y. Crowell & co, 1910]

References

ee also

* Intentional living
* Miserliness
* Over-consumption
* Simple living