Welcome to the ABCs of Savings! Each day we’ll be discussing another money saving topic, each beginning with a different letter of the alphabet. Be sure to subscribe via RSS or email so you don’t miss any steps along the way. You can read the full alphabet of posts here (updated as they are posted).
Q: Quit Beating Yourself Up
Are you trying to keep up with the Joneses? I’m not talking about the million dollar house and 3.25 children Joneses. I’m talking about the Frugal Joneses. I’m talking about playing the comparison game that we can all fall into from time to time.
I am horrible with this one. I read lots of blogs. I see lots of deals posted. I love to see other people’s shopping trips and ooohhh and aaahhh over how much money they saved. But somewhere in that process, my thinking goes from “Wow! Check out those great deals!” to “Oh…. I didn’t save that much the last time I shopped.”
I have to put on the brakes.
Please tell me that it’s not just me who tends to compare my frugal skills to other people’s. I have a feeling I’m not alone in this one. I used to compare my grocery budget to some of the budgets I saw online. The problem was that I wasn’t compare the bigger picture.
I work three days a week outside the home, and we run a blog design business and this site when I am home. That leaves me very little time to do the actual business of shopping. I’ve cut our grocery bill WAY down from where it was just a couple of years ago. I need to be proud of that. So when I find myself wishing that I could save as much as someone else, I try to quit beating myself up. Instead, I try to pat myself on the back and congratulate myself for the strides we’ve made in reducing the bottom line of what we’re spending.
So is it just me? Or do you need my little reminder too? Let’s all quit beating ourselves up and enjoy the savings that we see on each receipt.
I beat myself up too, but with a newborn and a two year old there’s only so much I can do. My goal is not to be the most frugal person in America. It’s to be smart with my family’s money so I can stay home to be with my kids. And that doesn’t include dragging my kids to 8 stores a day in search of all the best deals. I try to learn what I can from other peoples’ successes and then focus on doing the best I can in the time I have available.
Oh such good advice here, Amy. When you have little ones, you really have to know your limits… and theirs! I like your way of thinking, remembering that you’re saving money to accomplish a goal. Thanks for sharing that!