What does frugal mean?

It's weird how you can view a word or phrase one way and somebody else can have see it in a totally different way. Lets take the word Frugal for example.  What kind of thoughts do you have when you think of the word frugal?

Do you think of someone in poverty cutting out coupons just they can afford groceries?

Or do you see a total cheapskate who lives like a caveman refusing to open his wallet.  A type of person who wears three sweaters in order to avoid using a heater or one who sits in the dark to avoid using electricity.

Either of those people could be called frugal (though the second example was kinda pushing it).  But to me, being frugal means something a little bit differently.

I think being frugal is about making smarter choices and having priorities.  You really need to think about what is important to you.  This could mean cooking a luxurious meal at home instead of going out or traveling to different places.

Once you set your priorities and decide what is most important to you (assuming all your needs are already met) then frugal living becomes all about making smarter choices.  If you live below your means and spend less then your earn you will have money left over to do what is important to you.

Obviously if you want to spend more time on things that are important to you then you need to spend less time on things you find less important (duh).  That’s where those smart choices come in!

For example, lets say your goal in life is to be a chef.  You need to have good cooking utensils, pots, pans, and so on.  You also need quality ingredients including specialty items that your nearby supermarket doesn't carry.  If you want to cook high quality food at home then you need to plan for more food purchases then someone who is satisfied with just Ramen noodles.

But that’s ok.  If cooking is very important to you then it makes sense that most of your money is spent on it.  You can still be frugal.  You just need to make sure that you spend less money in other categories to make up for the large amount you are spending on groceries.  For example, since you spend most of your time in the kitchen you might not watch that much TV.  If that is the case then you should just switch to basic TV instead of having expensive channel packages.  Take the money you save on television and put it toward buying more delicious ingredients.

Do you see what I mean about priorities and smart decisions?  You don't have to deprive yourself in order to be frugal.  Just choose what is most important and cut out the rest.