Frugal is fun?

I’m living a frugal chapter, and I’m weirdly enjoying it.

In between steady streams of income, I’m taking to clipping coupons, driving only when absolutely necessary, eating everything in my fridge and pantry before I go grocery shopping again, and depriving myself of all the fun purchases I desire.

It’s been oddly nice cutting consumption and it’s become a game I play alone. How long can I go on this one tank of gas? How savvy can I be with my grocery haul to make this into three weeks’ worth of food? How many days can I go without tapping my credit card?

It’s making me get creative with funny combinations of ingredients to make a meal, inspiring me to filter through more of my wardrobe before I track down quarters to do a load of laundry, and encouraging me to hold off on buying the extra things I’d like, saving them for special occasions.

I’m keeping my newspapers to wrap Christmas gifts.

I’m brainstorming ideas about what I can make or find secondhand for the people I love this holiday season instead of purchasing something new.

I’m thoroughly reading through reviews before buying something I need.

Even the anticipation of indulging myself in something as trivial as lavender-scented Downy dryer sheets (5 whole smackaroonies at Target, but oh my God, they smell amazing) has become tantalizing.

It’s all dorky and sweet things.

Purchases I once made thoughtlessly or on autopilot have now become special choices to consider and contemplate carefully.

I know if I was making the money I’m used to making right now, I’d feel much differently. Splurging on dryer sheets wouldn’t feel the same way as it does now.

So I’m trying to savor this peculiar time when that purchase alone was the exciting talking point of my week.

Granted, I have the immense privilege of being single, entirely in control of my money, and with no one dependent on me making this no-money thing a much easier pill to swallow than it would be for others. I’m well aware of that.

In the same breath, it feels upside-down to savor a time when I’m making less money than I ever have in my working life, however, in the absence of steady income, frugality is showing me what I truly value, and I’m thankful for the lesson.

Apparently, dryer sheets send me through the roof, and with that, I’m officially 2000 years old.