Frugal fatigue

[mira]

Constant self-deprivation can be wearing; especially when it's involuntary. Planning and saving for occasional splurges might help, if it's not.

I definitely agree with this. For example, I no longer feel guilty for eating out every so often, or when we go on a trip for a couple days. It's much less stressful than having to cart food around with us sometimes, and to me, that's worth the extra cash.

[ApatheticNoMore]

The commercials for brand new cars are just so enticing! And look at all the channels from Cable, with speed galore on internet, and nifty iPads and other devices! Oh, look! A Whatamacallit! It slices! It dices! It even lets the dog out! Wow! Oh, WOW!

None of that stuff tempts. But if one is really into cars I suppose there is the appeal - I'm more they are a means (sometimes the most convenient one unfortunately) of transportation - as long as they run. "Don't have to be ashamed of the car I drive, I'm glad to be here happy to be alive ..." [Traveling Wilbury's]

I do ocassionally get fixated on something, totally OCD, I'll get obsessed with a particular something I've seen - a particular skillet, or bowl, or chair or something - obsessed. Eventually I'll end up getting it in that case since it's consuming way too much mental energy being obsessed with it. I don't do much advertising, but I'll see stuff still (Amazon recommendations are one really bad idea as far as obsessions go, the other really bad idea is going to stores ) and get obsessed.

It's just that, sometimes the shiny new toys are so pretty, and I am so tired of taking the bus to work, or borrowing DVD's from the library.

I do admire that. I drive, not wanting the near 3 hour or so commute public transit would take.

No. As tired as I get of caring for my money and reducing my carbon footprint, I have to drag myself back down to earth. My rent will sure-as-shooting go up next year

ugh, mine's been stable at least - something I more than take into account when I think of moving which I do but ...

Or clothing. I've more or less achieved my goal of wearing a uniform to work: khaki slacks, a blue Oxford shirt, and brown shoes. Funny thing, nobody seems to notice that I wear the same thing every day--or if they do, they haven't commented.

They do. A joke told at my father's funeral was they thought he only had one pair of shoes until one day he wore two left feet and they realized he really had multiple pairs of the exact same shoe .

[jrb3]

Look at all that money in my savings account! Just 'cuz it's there, I really shouldn't spend it. Should I?

I guess it comes down to keeping grounded in WHY you are being frugal.
Sometimes, the answer is YES.

For me, I also have the occasional need to remind myself why.
Every several years, when I see I've made great progress, I find I also need to reset my vision, re-articulate what I (and my household) find fulfilling.
That's where I am right now, and why I'm back onto the forums here.

Glad you're here!

[pcooley]

My weakness is high-quality, handmade items. I don't buy them often, but I get fixated on them. (Currently, it's the Tanner Goods Rucksack). These items are nice, but they are insanely expensive from the standpoint of frugality. Luckily, the things I end up desiring do not reach the heights of the cost of a new car. I am pretty good, in general, about not buying. It's actually a fairly small set of items that interest me - bicycles, backpacks, jackets (wool, waxed cotton, or both), various coffee makers (from espresso to chemex), fountain pens, etc. However, I always find myself wanting best-in-class among those items. The Rene Herse bicycles for example. I just checked, and the current price for frame, fork, and rack is $7500. There are always those Mont Blanc Meisterstuck pens to obsess over.

I guess it's good that the few things I do obsess over cost such a great deal because it assures that I will never buy them. I am curious about whatever mechanism it is within me that wants such things. I'm not trying to impress anyone with my good taste. I want to own very few things, but I want those things to be just the right thing. Granted, if I were rich, I would want a house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, paintings by Picasso, and my own private railway car. Maybe my frugal fatigue takes the form of wanting things that are *just* out of reach.

Edited to add - I also want a Borough Furnace skillet. With my bicycle, rucksack, fountain pen, and skillet, I should be all set.

[ApatheticNoMore]

It's actually a fairly small set of items that interest me - bicycles, backpacks, jackets (wool, waxed cotton, or both), various coffee makers (from espresso to chemex), fountain pens, etc.

yes with me the fixations when I get them are usually just household stuff like cooking utensils or blankets and stuff. So not a category of stuff that will bankrupt me anyway.

Granted, if I were rich, I would want a house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright

but those houses are notoriously falling apart! Yea, pretty ... but not sturdy.

Edited to add - I also want a Borough Furnace skillet.

Sheesh I thought I had an expensive skillet at about $140 - ahem made in France of course - it's a HUGE skillet though at least.