THE IMPORTANCE OF SAVING MONEY

The frugal possess a valuable asset, foresight. Foresight is the idea of thinking ahead prior to taking an action. This means that the frugal have an understanding of economics. The frugal begin knowing that we live in a world of scarcity. The goods that we see in the market did not magically appear. They were produced through work. The most important phase of economic activity is production. If nothing is produced, nothing can be consumed.

Goods in the market have prices. These prices are there so that we can make rational decisions in our purchases. Prices are informational. What a frugal shopper will do is to make himself aware of what the price is for things that he buys. The frugal have developed price awareness. The frugal knows where he can get the best deal and that is where he will buy his goods. Grocery stores put out weekly flyers with their sale items listed.

When purchasing a large ticket item, it pays to shop around for the best deal. It may take going to all the stores that sell a particular item. If you can save $100 on a purchase, it will be worth the effort and gas expended. The frugal understand that their funds are a scarce resource. He cannot print off more money, like the government, without being thrown in jail. He must budget his money. He does not want to spend more for an item than he has to.

When you save money on your purchases, you will have money left over to spend on other items. This means that your money will go farther. This is called stretching your budget. An item that we all use is toilet paper. Some people will buy the Cadillac of toilet paper. I have found a 12 Double Roll pack of toilet paper at Kroger for $3.95. Last time I bought toilet paper at Wal-Mart it cost $5.84. I saved $2.07 plus tax. I can take this $2.07 savings and spend it on something else that I want. To me toilet paper is toilet paper.

When you save money on a multiplicity of goods that you normally purchase, then you will have money left over to spend on some luxury item that you may have been saving for. All of this takes pre-planning. Once you understand the importance of saving money, you can make a game out of it. You can demonstrate your deftness when it comes to your shopping. It is an acquired skill to save money and an important one at that. First, though you must understand mentally the concept of saving money and its importance in the long run. Don’t be shortsighted.

DEBT CAUSES PHYSICAL PAIN

The subjective precedes the objective every time. This means that the spiritual comes before the physical. Man is made in the image of God. This image is a spiritual or ethical image. Physical pain sometimes has a spiritual source. A negative spiritual condition will result in negative emotions being demonstrated. The opposite is also true. A positive spiritual condition will be manifested by positive emotions.

Some debt is unavoidable at times. The key to staying out of debt is self control. Usually, when someone is deep in debt, it is a direct result of someone who cannot control their purchases of goods and services. Rather than being frugal, they are spendthrifts. Their spending is an emotional release. It makes them feel better about themselves because they have an inadequate personality. They have not discovered the true source of joy.

Debt is a form of death. Excessive debt leads to bankruptcy and poverty. This is a situation of financial death and ultimately of the ability to make a living. Once someone begins down the road to debt, it seems as though there is no way off. The lure of debt is the ability to get money instantaneously. The problem is that this money has to be paid back. Not paying back just debts renders the borrower a thief. This is the message of Psalm 37:21, "The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again..." Stealing is death to the soul.

Being deep in debt engenders the negative emotion of anxiety. Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary defines anxiety as, "Concern or solicitude respecting some event, future or uncertain, which disturbs the mind, and keeps it in a state of painful uneasiness." When someone is anxious, they are consumed by what is causing their pain. They can think of nothing else. This pain is a constant gnawing pain.

The frugal are well aware of the dangers of debt. While they may take on some debt for business purposes or a mortgage, they will try and keep this debt load at a manageable level. They will avoid excessive debt. The best situation is to be debt free. This frees the frugal from the negative emotions, especially anxiety. The frugal take the advice of Paul in Philippians 4:6, "Be careful for nothing..." The Amplified Bible renders this portion of this verse as, "Do not fret, or have anxiety about anything."

Not being in debt brings the opposite emotion of anxiety, it brings peace of mind. Those who have peace of mind can think of how to earn more money or concentrate upon other things than how they are going to pay their bills. The frugal do not suffer mental pain like those deep in debt and therefore, they will not suffer from physical pain. Being deep in debt causes unneeded stress and those under stress do not think well. It is a vicious cycle being deep in debt. The pain is not worth it. The frugal know this in advance and avoid debt as much as possible.

QUALITY OR QUANTITY?

I think about things to write about when I go to the store. The reason for this is because the store is where the frugal spend their hard earned money. They are not on unemployment or using food stamps. The frugal believe in earning their way through life. They do not believe the world owes them a living. The frugal are industrious and hate laziness. The frugal are achievement oriented. When they go to work, they get the job done.

I shop mainly at Wal-Mart because their prices are the lowest and the quality of their products is adequate in most cases. For example, I have spent $3,350 at Wal-Mart and the next grocery store I have spent the most at is Kroger at a paltry $665. I have spent over five times more at Wal-Mart! However, this does not mean that I will give all my money to Wal-Mart. Kroger, at times, has superior quality over Wal-Mart.

Price is an important factor in being frugal, but it is not the only factor. Prices are objective, but our decisions regarding the products we buy is subjective. If we buy something based solely on price, we will get what we pay for. Economic law states that more will be demanded at less price. This means that luxury items will demand a higher price. They are luxury items because of their scarcity. Those items that are in abundance usually are of less quality.

Quantity is objectively determined and quality is subjectively determined. You have to look not only at the quantity but you must determine its quality. For instance, you can buy two pounds of bread at a cheaper price than you can buy a 100% Whole Wheat loaf of bread. You save money, but there is no comparison to quality and nutritional value. At some point, nutrition has to matter. If you buy junk food, it will have an effect upon your health and budget. While you saved some money, your health may suffer and in the long run cost you more.

Generally, Kroger has better quality produce than Wal-Mart. My wife loves navel oranges. We bought a four pound bag at Wal-Mart. There was a lot in the bag, but they were small. I just bought an eight pound bag of navel oranges at Kroger. They are much bigger than the ones that I bought at Wal-Mart. I eat an apple every day. The best quality apples that I have found are Cameo apples sold only at Kroger. These apples remain crunchy for a long time and taste like apples. If you buy something that is low quality, you may end up throwing it out and wasting money.

Part of eating food is not only for health reasons, but also for enjoyment. Food is to be enjoyed. Eating has an emotional aspect to it. I would rather eat something I enjoyed rather than eating something that is cheap, but lacks any quality. Psychologically, we must feel that we not only got a good quantity, but that we also got good quality. The frugal think when they shop. The frugal want quantity, but they prefer quality over quantity.

BAD EXAMPLES OF FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

The media is in the business of using bad examples. Negativity sells. No one wants to read a story about someone who overcame the odds and succeeded. This does not sell. Wisdom is not something that people are interested in. They want the dirt on someone. They compare themselves to a loser and say to themselves, at least I am not as bad as he is. When they have to compare themselves to a successful man, they do not measure up and thus for them, ignorance is bliss.

If you believe the media does not have an agenda, then there is no hope for you. You are willingly deceived. The media reports on effects, not causes. They are not interested in getting to the bottom of anything. They would not have anything to report if the news was all good. They need bad news and so they go looking for bad examples. Bad examples are good for the frugal. Bad examples show us what to avoid.

A recent Associated Press article was titled "More drivers running on empty." Here is a representative quote from this article, "With gas prices hovering at $4 a gallon, motorists like Saba are putting less fuel in their tanks — then coming up empty on the highway." This is an example of poor planning. Those who do this are seeking to evade reality. No matter what, high fuel prices are here to stay for awhile.

Nothing is going to change gas prices in the short term. We must accept the reality of the situation. Gas is a commodity. It is a necessity. It has to be part of one’s budget. With the price being what it is, it behooves the frugal to increase the amount allocated to gas in his budget. This is being realistic. The increase in the price of gas is incremental. It does not comprise one’s entire budget. Incremental rises in a necessity of one’s budget requires a corresponding incremental increase in funds allocated to that budget item. This means that something must be cut back to make the budget work.

Those who are running out of gas demonstrate that they do not understand financial matters. They do not have a budget. They lack planning and preparation. They do not know how many miles their car gets per gallon. They are running on empty because they do not understand that finance is first and foremost a spiritual enterprise. Demonstrating foresight is a spiritual exercise. The frugal plan ahead and do not run on empty.