I’m going to tell you a secret! Being frugal is powerful!
Why Is Frugality Powerful?
That is a good question. But, happily, there is not only an answer, but a good answer.
First, let’s consider: What is power? What gives you power? What is powerful?
Power: “ability to act or produce an effect”, “possession of control, authority, or influence,” “a source or means of supplying energy”
Powerful: “having great effectiveness,” “potent; efficacious”
I’d say having money in the bank is powerful. Being debt-free is incredibly powerful. Both are powerful. They allow me to do or not do many things, as I choose.
Being debt-free and having money in the bank is doubly powerful. If I am debt-free and have money in the bank, I am not only powerful but free. Free to choose, free to decide.
That’s the most important point: AS I CHOOSE. Not as someone else chooses. As I Choose.
But having little or no money, and/or being in debt, would mean that my power is attenuated or reduced. My power is held in check, or is curbed by my lack of financial strength, or the need to deal with and pay off the debt. Being in debt requires money to pay it off. So being debt-free frees up money that would otherwise to to paying off debt.
One Dollar At A Time
Every dollar I use to pay off debt, makes me one dollar stronger. Every dollar I save or invest makes me that much more powerful.
Investing Is Powerful
But, you say, isn’t investing risky? And I answer, yes, of course, investing is risky. There is no guarantee when it comes to investing. We can try to minimize risk, but… one never knows. So it is important not to be overly ambitious when it comes to investing. That’s my view.
If Investing Involves Risk, Then Why Is Investing Powerful?
Investing is powerful because it has the opportunity for growth. One never will grow anything if one does not put seeds in the ground. These seeds are the possibility of something growing. Some will sprout and grow, some will not. That’s the nature of nature.
But we don’t avoid planting seeds in the face of knowing some will not grow. If we are afraid of losing any and all seeds, we would never plant anything. We plant seeds because we expect some of them will grow, and we accept the reality that some will not.
Similarly, we invest knowing some investments will not grow because we expect some investments will grow. We accept the reality that some investments will not.
Because we know some seeds will fail, we plant many seeds. We do not plant only one seed and depend on it for our food.
Similarly, we do not invest in one thing only and expect it to provide everything we need. We invest in multiple things, spreading around the risk and the potential reward. This is called diversification.
What is your take on frugality? Send a comment here.
The illustration “Parrot on the Branch of a Flowering Rose Bush” is a polychrome woodblock print copy of the Meiji era (ca. 1900) of original designs (ca. 1771) by Itō Jakuchū (1716–1800), a Japanese painter of the mid-Edo period. Courtesy Metropolitan Museum of Art.
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