Frugal Living, Agree Or Not.
Frugal living is a trend nowadays, but why don't I agree? According to friends, frugal living or saving is good or not. Maybe almost everyone will say good, good if we want to be average people, good if we want to live an ordinary life.
This post is not for everyone, this is only for people who don't want to make peace with the situation and only for people who want to achieve something in their life. This post is not for the 80% majority of people.
Sometimes because it can effectively increase the amount of our savings or investment, people do it to a limit that is too extreme. For example, there are people who are so frugal that they just take tissue from a public toilet. There are people who are so frugal, they take a shower at the office. There are people who are so frugal that they buy used clothes. There are people who are so frugal, that they bring a basket every time there is a party invitation. There are people who are so frugal, their house is pitch black. There are also people who are so frugal that they eat food that is not nutritious.
Is this the life we want?
I personally don't want to be like that, but that doesn't mean we have to be extravagant, extravagant and squander wealth.
Actually, for a short period of time, a temporary period if we don't have enough income, a frugal lifestyle is okay.
Why do I disagree with the frugal lifestyle?
The first is an excuse that I made myself, because I don't want to work harder, don't want to work smarter, so I'm at peace with that situation. As I said earlier, if it's okay for a while, maybe it's because our job position is new or just starting out.
However, do not be comfortable in that position, if we have survived for a long time in the Frugal lifestyle especially in extreme conditions. There is something very wrong with us.
Second, frugal life is uncomfortable for me, that's why I don't like it. Who is comfortable wearing old clothes?
Who is comfortable having to take a tissue in a public toilet?
Who is comfortable having to live in a dark house? Anyway, the Frugal lifestyle, let alone the extreme frugal, is not comfortable.
I don't want to live like that, nor do I have any idea of living like that. I want the best in this life, if I buy things, I want the best at that time, not that it has to be branded, but what suits my needs and is good in terms of function. It doesn't mean prestige, it doesn't mean you have to force credit too. Later we will go deeper into this.
Third, if we live Frugal, especially in an extreme sense. It means we have the wrong financial vehicle. This means in short, our income is less. Maybe we're in the wrong place. Maybe we lack skill, lack of connection, lack of effort. Anyway, if it's me, I don't want to make peace with the situation. I don't want to accept fate. The fate before me in this world, I believe 100% is in God's hands.
But when I'm already in this world, fate is 100% in my hands. So if you don't have skills, you can learn more. Lack of connection, search. Less effort, more work. Failed, try again. If you work for 10 years but still have to live frugally, change your financial vehicle, friends.
Fourth, why don't I like it? Frugal life is not a lifestyle. But accept our fate is the average person. I don't want to be an average person. I will try to find a way how to become the top 20 person or become the top 1 person if necessary, and arrive at that position, in my opinion it's not about the money. It's about how we maximize all our potential in this life.
Fifth, frugal life in my opinion programmes us to remain poor, so we have no desire to how to achieve more but instead we have a desire to save more.
How can I be more efficient? So I can save more. Have you ever had this thought? Friends don't get rich by living frugally, you only get rich when you earn so much more.
The truth is that we must reflect on ourselves. How can I earn more?. Earn more, so I can save more.
Sixth, I think Frugal's life is unproductive. Imagine, it's so frugal that we have to go to the cheapest shop. It's so frustrating that you queue up for discounted items or look for flash sales.
Maybe I'm the only person who doesn't like buying things or going somewhere during promos, because if there's a promo, it's definitely crowded. If there's a promo, you'll have to queue, if you queue, it's not productive. My time is wasted, if time is wasted, I lose. Except for the discounted Bitcoin, I'd definitely buy it.
Please name just one person who got rich and successful from a frugal life. Warren Buffet?.. He got rich from investing in stocks, not from living Frugal. Yes If Warren Buffet wants to be portrayed as a frugal life, that's okay. But he is not rich from the frugal life. You can read his biography.
So, what's the solution?
The solution is not to live in luxury, this is not a license for us to live in luxury, let alone just for style. Because in my opinion, being rich is not in the things we have, rich is in our mindset, instead of living super-frugal, I choose to live a minimalist life.
What is the difference?
Thrifty people buy cheap clothes from cheap FO. Because it's cheap, so it has a lot, but it's not durable or long lasting.
Minimalist people buy branded clothes but they are good, durable or long lasting for years.
Because it's a little expensive so have 1 but it's good. For example my jacket which I have worn for 10 years and it still looks good, I can wear it for a long time.
Thrifty people buy laptops with low specs, ultimately unproductive.
Minimalist people buy laptops according to their needs.
Incidentally my need for graphics.
So I bought a laptop that was quite expensive, no problem.
People are stingy on electricity, eventually the house becomes dark and there may be a waiting person.
Minimalist people use electricity as needed without reducing comfort.
So minimalism actually reduces the things we have, but all the things we have are the best in their class and according to needs. It doesn't mean that we are going crazy shopping, so minimalism must know our needs without having to lower our class or degree.
So minimalism knows the value of an item in terms of function and brand. Brands are important in my opinion, because brands are symbols. Brand is about our belief in a product. But not a brand that is over-leveraged, until the goods end up being hundreds of times more expensive.
So minimalism is a lifestyle that does not increase as income increases. Because the cost of living is cheap, what is expensive is prestige. So minimalism is a free mind from all the burdens of unproductive thoughts.
Frugal life is difficult and unproductive, imagine because it's so frugal that we have to take advantage of all that is free so we can take it home. Because of the frustration, we choose to walk rather than take a car or motorbike. It's so frustrating, we spend time in front of our cellphones to find the cheapest online store.
We can use all that thought, energy, and time for more productive things.
So be minimalist not frugal. Next time, we will discuss further, guys.
Thank you.