Creative Frugality

, by Sung Kim, from allposters

For some reason, there is a great deal of talk about the hardships of the past, and mostly in a good light. Two elderly people have recently talked to me about this, even though I doubt very much they know of this series on modern frugality. One family was telling me that it was just about impossible to find work when he was very young, so he and his wife followed the harvest. Wherever they could pick fruit or berries, they went. He was describing how difficult it was, and yet, because they were not tied down to a lot of financial obligations (having no money to do so in the first place), they were free to go and find work. He said that in spite of his own childhood spent in austere circumstances, his memories of all those times are ones of great happiness. After picking fruit all day, the children jumped in the river and swam.

I visited my grand-uncle on his 99th birthday and took a printed photograph of his family. He told me, "If you had only seen how those people lived, you would not have believed it. They had nothing." Yet, he told me that they found many innovative ways to live. He also expressed the fact that there was a lot laughing about, and humor seemed to be one of the marks of character in those days. He was able to point to each of the 9 people in the photographs and tell something about their personality and the things they liked to do

Cottage by James Lee from allposters

There seemed to be an unwritten formula in these families, that made them come alive in the worst of times. Complaining was not cultivated as much as it is today. It was considered ungrateful to despise their lives. They did not, however, consider lack of money or material things the "worst" of times. They were difficult financially but not as bad as the break down of the family. Lack of money did not seem to break down the family as much as it does today. They had an inner resolve and deeply held Biblical beliefs that kept their family loyalties strong.

Most of them knew the scriptures and identified with strongly with the phrases and the historical accounts of the Bible. Some of those accounts took place in a barren land, where water was hard to find. Some of the work was back-breaking. Some of the prominent characters followed the harvest. One thing that many people learned is that planting and cultivating a piece of dirt brought more prosperity to it. Once barren land could have a foot of loam on it in only a few years if it had been cultivated. In some ways, I think our attitudes respond the same way!

They were able to be creative. It is interesting to "paint your way out of" just about anything. I would encourage a viewing of the artists featured in this post today. Just type in their names at allposters.com. When I was growing up, we often were stuck out on the homestead, not having much, for a long time, but drawing was always encouraged. In drawing, you can go anywhere in the world and do anything you want. Developing such a skill is very important to the mind, to lift one out of their current situation.

Writing your way out of something is just as absorbing. The best loved stories, including "Anne of Green Gables," were written by women who were confined to the home because they had to care for someone around the clock.

Singing your way out of something is more uplifting than going on a shopping spree. It is fun to buy things when circumstances enable it, but when not, singing can get a person through a lot of hardship. One of my favorite things to do when I have a huge pile of things to wash or sort through or fold, etc., is to have a younger person in the family sit down and tell me the words in a song book, helping me to learn all the verses of a song. It helps them learn to read and sing and it helps me get through some of the more time-consuming tasks.

Giving your way out of the circumstances is also a very interesting concept. When trying to cut back and be more frugal, giving to others is an activity that distracts us from our lack of money. No matter how frugal we get, there always seems to be a creative way to serve others. I have noticed that people are starved to come to visit other people. They just are not doing that as much these days. One lady I know always has someone over, at least for a cup of tea and a scone. She does not do much real cooking otherwise, but she has become an expert at making a pot of hot tea and scones. She gets her house all cleaned up and calls someone over and the two of them talk of whatever is lovely in their lives.

Working your way out of circumstances will not only improve the mind, but change the circumstances. Houses can always be improved through cleaning and arranging, and yards can always be kept spic and span as if they were surrounding a castle.

Being at home does not necessarily mean you will not have money. This is what people do not always understand. It means, instead, that you will not spend it as freely. You will find more ways to put it away, and more excuses to save it. You will find more substitutes for things you might have bought.

Porch, by Erin Derner

Creative frugality requires looking at things in a different way. Sometimes we have more than we think we do, but we are stuck in a mind set that it can only be used one way or cannot be changed.