Be as Frugal and Less Wasteful as Our Parents

Source:http://moneyning.com/frugality/be-as-frugal-and-less-wasteful-as-our-parents/
Once in a while, an event reminds me why we aren’t as frugal as our parents. Yesterday was such a time – my glasses broke. More specifically, the screw that holds the frame together popped out and so did the glass, sending everything flying.

It was actually quite funny. I was writing my review of Ally Bank at the time, and I almost literally said “The bank was eye-popping… literally”. Instead, I went to look for the tiny screw driver and of course, I couldn’t find it.
The Simple Free Fix

Without a screw driver, I was stuck. I couldn’t just leave it there and continue to be blind (and falsely believe that everyone I see are beautiful). I looked around, and the solution was there – tape.
It’s not the prettiest solution, but one that my parents would’ve probably done themselves. No, it wasn’t that they were more clever than i was. My parents, or the previous generations in general:

* Didn’t have the means (or believed) that buying a replacement was necessary.
* Rather fix whenever possible because everything were expensive

Wealth May Play Tricks on Us

You know, just because we can doesn’t mean we should.

* Just because we have a big credit limit doesn’t mean we need to use it
* Just because it’s only a few bucks a month doesn’t mean we can carelessly waste it
* Just because clipping coupons are time consuming doesn’t mean we don’t do it
* Just because we can buy new doesn’t mean used is a bad option
* Just because…

There are countless examples, and if you take away just one thing in this post, it’s this. Think!

Think about whether there are better options out there. Think what the purchase will get you long term and more importantly, think of the money spent and what you did to get it. You may conclude that it’s money well spent, but you may end up realizing that you are actually working twice as long just so you can go out to eat a few times a week.

I’m going to my optometrist to borrow a tiny screw driver now. I really don’t need to buy every time.