18 March

One for @[1240225973:2048:Nell] 🙂 Frugality is an important thing for me, but it’s a difficult topic because how people spend their money is a powerful part of their psychology and personality. In boom times, the dominant psychology is euphoria, money is literally no object. Australia like the rest of the world is coming off a prolonged boom, and the evidence is everywhere: - ridiculous house prices - huge amounts of meals eaten in restaurants rather than at home - exorbitant prices for education and health - enormous numbers of service industries to do the jobs like yard maintenance that people would traditionally have done themselves - hugely inflated prices for things that would normally have been seen as robbery, like foods and drinks and entertainment (the famous smashed avocado on toast selling for $10 and upwards, and people spending $20+ for lunch without blinking an eye) Etc. The opposite of this euphoria is penny pinching. But there’s a middle way, and that’s frugality. Rediscovering value-for-money, being aware of what’s a ridiculous amount to spend and what isn’t. Money stops being a status thing and becomes a tool again, that’s all.