Benefits of Frugality

I've been reading The Millionaire Next Door. It's really interesting and it has got me thinking a lot about why Ben and I want to build wealth. We've talked a lot about it and the three main reasons for us are to put it back into Ben's business (for example, he wants a really nice computer that he's waiting to buy until after our house is paid off or someday he'd like to make his own game engine, when we have enough money that he can dump the time and money into that), so we can travel all the time, and so we can do some of the really fun giving things that we want to do.

Reading the book, though, reminded me of something I used to think about back when we were first listening to Dave Ramsey. Dave Ramsey's big thing is to live like no one else now so that later you can live and give like no one else later. Even though I believed in that principle, I didn't actually know why. I thought, if you are using debt to do the things you want already want (Ben and I weren't, I was just trying to logic it out from someone else's point of view) then aren't you already living the good life?

This book has really helped me see the benefits of living frugally to build wealth that you are later able to enjoy more fully. These are just some that come to mind.

Peace
Financial peace. You aren't worried that you aren't going to have enough left on your credit card to fill up your car with enough gas to get home. You're never panicked when you buy food for your family that you just spent the money to pay the light bill. Money becomes something you are in control of and when your life is in control, you feel more peace.

I honestly think this is one of the biggest pros of sticking to a budget and staying out of debt. Life is stressful enough without us unnecessarily adding more stresses because of our lack of self control.

Security
When you are out of debt and in control of your money, you suddenly have money! And you can do things like save three to six months in case something happens and start investing so your wealth grows and you'll be able to actually retire. When that happens, you feel a whole lot more secure.

Imagine it: you have no payments (including your house). You have enough money in the bank that you could live for six months without any sort of income. You have the right kind of insurance and your retirement is ahead of schedule--you're on track to be a millionaire. In this kind of situation, how do you feel if you lose your job? You hate your job and want to take a lower paying job? You want to start your own business? Your car gets totaled? Someone gets really sick? Taxes go way higher? The price of gas or milk skyrockets?

In all of these scenarios, the more secure your finances are, the better off you are. When life is going great, people with debt and no savings can get along fine and think they are doing okay. But when life goes badly, it's going to go much more badly for those type of people because they aren't prepared.

Knowing that if life takes a turn for the worse, you are going to be okay financially because you prepared brings a sense of security that debt will never bring. The book has a case study of two highly specialized doctors, one who is wealthy and one who has almost nothing except his income. The first man is at peace, because the stresses of things like increased taxes or inflation do not press heavily on his day to day life. Those same sort of issues, however, are huge stressors for the second man, because he's one step away from disaster.

You may have to give up some lifestyle things to live below your means and have enough to save/invest, but isn't it worth it, simply for the security of knowing that you can handle whatever life throws your way?

Better relationships
You will have better relationships if you are good with your money. This is especially true of your marriage.

That's because, when you get control of your finances, you're not only eliminating the stress between the two of you that comes from not being sure if you'll be able to pay the next bill, but to be really in control, you have to get on the same page. Doing so brings a sense of unity that might not have been in your marriage before. Ben and my relationship is so strong and I know a huge part of that is the feeling of unity we have in finances and our shared goals and dreams when it comes to our future finances.

Ability to give
This one is so huge. Everyone wants to give, I think. It's an innate thing. Some people are naturally better at it than others (for example, most spenders are more naturally givers than most savers), but everyone likes to give and wants to help others. The problem is, how in the world are you supposed to help others if you can't even keep up with your own life and family? You can't. A drowning person cannot save another. They have to learn to swim first.

The great thing about this, the more wealth you have, the more you're able to give. And as you get out of debt and continue budgeting, you will begin to build wealth.

Of course, you want to be giving all through the process. But at first, it might simply be tithing and not much else as you work to get yourself stable. Ben and I are still working on buying and paying off a house, so we don't give a ton right now. We're not ready financially. We do pay tithing, though, and when we see a need, we try to give as much as we feel we can. We can't wait until our house is paid off, though, and our wealth continues to build. We have so many plans with how we want to give. Right now, we're living like no one else, but soon, we'll be able to give like no one else.

Freedom
Money is just money, right? Nope. If you borrow money, you are literally in bondage. You have to pay that debt back and that is going to influence so much of what you do. Being out of debt with savings and investments, achieved by living below your means, creates freedom.

You have the freedom to choose a job you like. You have the freedom to stay home with the kids. You have the freedom to retire when you want. You have the freedom to travel, to give, to buy nice things without any sort of guilt or worry attached.

About two years ago is when Ben and I first listened to Dave Ramsey's book The Total Money Makeover. His parents had given us a really old copy that they'd listened to years before. We were driving from Orem to Vernal and decided to go ahead and listen.

We loved it. We both already agreed with the principles in the book, it just gave a more black and white view of debt and a step by step plan for handling your money. We were being frugal and didn't have a lot of debt (we had $5,000 in student loans, but no credit cards or car loans or anything) but we weren't on a budget and we weren't making very much money at all.

When we listened to it, we were in a transition from making $18,000 a year (with us both in school and me six months pregnant with Ashtyn) to making $40,000 a year. Our Dave Ramsey conversion seriously couldn't have come at a better time. We felt like we got a double raise because we got a raise and we started budgeting. We felt loaded!

We went through the baby steps really quick. I think we listened for the first time in July. We paid off my student loans before I even graduated and had our emergency fund funded by the end of January (Ashtyn was born in October there). Then we started saving for a down payment on a house.

And boy, it seemed like we would never have enough. Since I was done with school and we were starting our family, we both really wanted a house. But, Ben is the patient one and he helped me be patient, because we really wanted to buy a house when we were ready and be smart about it.

It turns out, waiting to buy a house and getting ourselves secure financially was one of the biggest blessings. A few months later (May of that same year) our landlords' daughter got married and they wanted to live in the basement apartment we were in, so we had to find a new place to live. We decided to take the chance and move to Vernal (where it was way cheaper to live at the time) and take Ben's business from part time to full time.

It was a huge leap. He was currently making $30,000 ish a year from his book. We were confident he could raise his income, but we weren't sure how quickly he could do it. We actually moved in with his sister while we figured it out. It only took a few months for him to get our income up dramatically. His goal for the year with his business was $40,000 and he hit almost $70,000. But that initial leap of faith was scary.

We never could have done it if we'd had any debt, had a house, or didn't have the savings in the bank as a backup. And we never would have done any of that if we hadn't started budgeting. Doing that changed our lives forever. Because we were able to do that, we are living our dream already. We are on track to do live the kind of life we want for the rest of our lives, but we are so happy with where we are at right now. Ben gets his dream job. He loves it. He loves getting up in the morning to work. He loves working in pajamas and showering after lunch if he wants. And he loves how he is in control of his business. I love that I get to be a stay-at-home mom. It's the biggest blessing to me. I love that Ben works here; I can take him food or get his help whenever I need it. We can do date night during the girls' afternoon nap and have him work later if we want, or have him take the day off for holidays. Once we get in a house, we have so many plans for traveling together. We're going to homeschool and Ben can help with things like teaching our kids how to program.

We love our situation and it never would have been this way if we weren't in control of our money. And for that, I will be eternally grateful.