Frugality Burnout: I'm Tired of Watching Every Penny

Gentle reader, I admit that I get burned out on frugality at times. I love what our frugality has brought us- our own home (which will hopefully be paid off within the next five years), our fabulous educations, our vacations, our peaceful slumber at night, secure in the knowledge that the bills are paid and the savings are respectable. But sometimes?

Sometimes I get so dang tired of planning, planning, PLANNING everything. I get tired of watching every penny, of having to dig through the racks of thrift store to find something fabulous, rather than just buying a new shirt at the mall. I love our roommate, but there are days when I miss it being just my husband and I. I grow weary waiting for the movies to come to the library, or the latest book to become available for me to read. Of figuring out what to eat based on what we have, not on what sounds yummy. It takes a lot of thought, a lot of planning, and a lot of creativity.

On the best days- in fact, most of the time for me, it is fun! It's a treasure hunt at Goodwill, and in the long run I'd much rather have the house and wear used clothes instead of living in an apartment wearing new clothes. The trade offs are so, so worth it to me in the end. But sometimes my inner five year old just wants to throw a tantrum in front of the store, because I want CANDY and I want it NOW, DARN IT! Except maybe instead of candy, I want new furniture, that really cute skirt I saw at Dillard's and a day at the spa.

I think it is important for frugality bloggers to remind their readers that they feel like this too, sometimes! I always appreciate it when one of my Frugal Heroes does a post on something that they find hard, or that they had a bad week. It reminds me that we are all human, and we all have days when it just seems like too much.

When these funks come over me, there are a few things that help me: