Day Nine: Frugality

It is Monday, and I am taking some time away from the daily slog to continue documenting my 'month of discipline'. Yesterday, I wrote about another of Ben Franklin's areas of self-improvement, resolution, which I believe is of critical importance to my quest for self-discipline because with perfect resolve, one can do exactly what they say they will do. Today, I move on the next of Ben Franklin's areas of self-improvement: "FRUGALITY. Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing."

Generally, I feel like I do a decent job of meeting this area already, as I live simply and beneath my means, but there is always room for improvement. I recently signed up for mint.com, which is a personal finance website that allows you to track your expenditures. It is easy to see how much money one wastes on trivialities and conveniences such as fast food or alcohol.

The phrase 'conveniences' illustrates how self-discipline can relate to frugality: Often, we spend more because we are lazy or are unwilling to put off to later what we desire now. In other words, we pay more sometimes because we are unable to delay gratification. For example, after a workout I often eat at the restraunt within the gym because I am hungry right then. I could save money, however, by waiting fifteen minutes until I am home, or by taking the time to pack a lunch earlier. This requires effort, and thus self-discipline.

A quick glance at mint reveals that I spend a lot of money eating out at restaurants and on weekends at bars. So, a good goal related to frugality is to minimize eating out and drinking out. I already am looking to minimize how much I drink, which indirectly reflects how much I am spending on alcohol; however, I am not explicitly tracking when I eat out. So, this suggests that I should add to my metrics: I will note whenever I eat out at a restaurant to raise my own awareness and gain the ability to track my progress.

It is also informative to look at minimizing my recurring costs, such as cable bills, cell-phone bills, and insurance. Although small changes to recurring costs may seem minor, they add up over the long term. For example, I am currently paying $15/month for text messaging. This is $180/year for a service that the cell-phone companies are completely gouging me on (the amount of data required to send a text message is minimal). Also, I pay $10/month for cable, although I watch very little TV. This is $120/year for a small convenience. So, by cutting out these two sinful allowances, I can save $300/year, with which I can buy something much more meaningful than I get for either of these two services.

However, it is difficult to completely stop texting because it would have social penalties. But, by switching to a lower text plan, I will force myself to  depend on text messages less. Thus, I will change my text plan immediately, with the goal of eventually removing it completely. I will also return my cable box, to both save money, and so that I have less reason to waste time watching TV.