You only go around once in life. We never know how much time we left in this life. All that we know is that we have the present. So why not be able to enjoy the present? Being frugal does not preclude enjoying of life. Being frugal has to do with living within one’s means. Being frugal includes being systematic in savings. Being frugal also means balancing the two extremes of being a spendthrift and being parsimonious (in a bad sense).
A spendthrift is one who spends money indiscriminately and profusely. Someone who is parsimonious is excessive in their attachment to their property and will spend less than is necessary or honorable. Both of these extremes are to be avoided. Frugality would mean that we spend only what is necessary and also means that we not only pay our bills in full but when required to leave a tip, we do so adequately. A parsimonious man would not tip anyone.
It is good to save money but not to the exclusion of the enjoyment of life. Solomon gave us the following wisdom from Ecclesiastes 9:7-9, "Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works. 8Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no ointment. 9Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun." Enjoy yourself and have a good time. Spend your discretionary income on what you want.
Discretionary income is money you have left over once you have met all of your necessary expenditures. Necessary expenditures includes not only your bills but first and foremost God’s tithe (which is your first obligation to be paid) and your savings. The priority is to pay God first, pay yourself second, and pay your creditors third. Anything left over is yours to do with as you wish. This is the land of wants. The needs are met, now go and have a good time.
Does God want us to have a good time? Deuteronomy 14:22-26 provides the answer, "Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year. 23And thou shalt eat before the LORD thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the LORD thy God always. 24And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the place be too far from thee, which the LORD thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the LORD thy God hath blessed thee: 25Then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose: 26And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household." The LORD here gives the Israelites the right to celebrate by having a feast of whatsoever they desire and they were to rejoice for what the LORD had provided for them.
One way to accomplish having discretionary income to spend on vacations, trips, or other wants is to allocate your savings in a sixty, twenty, twenty fashion. Sixty percent should be for long term investing or savings. This amount should never be touched but allowed to grow. Twenty percent should be for an emergency fund. An emergency fund is what it says it is for unseen emergencies that arise such as an unexpected vehicle repair. The final twenty percent is a want fund. This is money you spend on whatever you want to. Say that you save one hundred dollars a week. Sixty dollars would go for into your long term fund, twenty dollars for emergency fund, and twenty dollars just to blow on whatever you want to. By following this plan over the course of a year, you would have three thousand one hundred twenty dollars in your long term fund, one thousand forty dollars in your emergency fund and zero in your fun fund. You will have spent all one thousand forty dollars having a good time.
Man needs to have releases. Without having a release valve, he will simply blow off steam in a wrong fashion. All work and no play makes Jack a stressed out mess. Paul taught us this important principle in 1 Timothy 6:7, "For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out." Everything that we accumulate in this physical world, we are going to leave it behind. Being too attached to our physical property is not an enviable spiritual attitude to possess. Parsimony is covetousness. Being covetous is breaking the Tenth Commandment.
Spending money is an emotional experience. Being frugal takes the emotion out of spending money. At the same time, we cannot deny the emotional side of our being. This is why it is essential to establish a fun fund. When I was not as wise as I am now i.e. learned from making bad decisions, I would limit how much my family could spend on an item on the menu at a restaurant. This can take all the fun out of going out to eat. Now, I say choose whatever you want on the menu. I have not quite got to allowing the dessert part yet but maybe I can bring myself to it at some point. Usually, we are to full from the main fare to want to add to it by having dessert. Discretionary income is meant to be spent currently.
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