No one knows what the future will bring. You could find yourself steadily working for 40 years and retired. You could be awash in debt. You could find yourself with a nice inheritance — or flat broke. That’s why it’s important to always watch your finances — not just in times of uncertainty.
Sure, we all had a good scare last year with the recession (which I’m not sure we’re out of, yet). Many people have been losing their jobs as a result, or facing pay cuts, and suddenly realized they were likely living above their means. Household budgets were adjusted, and being frugal suddenly was the thing to do.
Now that the stock market at least is bouncing back and things don’t seem so ominous for the economy, how many people out there are still practicing their frugal ways? I’m willing to guess less than half, with that number dropping as more positive news emerges.
Mr. Saver and I have been lucky — we’re still both employed and have been able to pay our bills and save and spend as we have been. I’d like to think that my frugal ways have helped our cause, but the truth is, there are still things we could work on when it comes to spending less and saving more. We’re still working on paying off our credit card debt and still need to pad our savings account to have 6 months worth of expenses in case of emergency. Our 401(k)s are still being funded, although not to the point that J. Money’s been doing over at Budgets Are Sexy.
I’m still working on ways we can become more frugal. Now that our wedding obligations are done(congrats to the new Mr. & Mrs. Scott Wiese!), we’ll have more cash at our disposal to put toward the credit cards and emergency fund. I’ve been slipping up a bit with missing deals at the grocery store, but I’m ready to get back on track. I’ve still been putting extra toward the mortgage each month, and trying to have a light touch on the heat this season.
I don’t intend to stop being as frugal as I can — it’s just in my blood, I suppose.
