I received a lot of interesting comments earlier this week from the posts “What do you splurge on?” and “Why are you frugal, or semi-frugal, or resourceful?” These topics will be part of an ongoing discussion about how we are each shaping our lives and responding to individual and global circumstances. Everyone has a lot to contribute based on their own unique perspective.
I’m not sure why I was so hesitant about using the word “frugal” to describe myself. I think it’s partly because I have had at least a couple of spendthrift stages in my past, even if they were short. The other thing is I think it does have a little bit of a negative connotation, and some people consider it synonymous with “cheap.” But according to Merriam-Webster, the definition of frugal is: characterized by or reflecting economy in the use of resources. There’s nothing bad about that. Not wasting resources is both good and necessary, for individuals and for the collective.
Also, when I said I might hesitate in calling myself a Frugalista, I’d forgotten that I already HAVE called myself that, in a post back in March. Blame it on middle age, or wine, but my memory has some lapses these days. I knew I was a Frugalista when I read this Oxford University Press definition: “a person who leads a frugal lifestyle, but stays fashionable and healthy by swapping clothes, buying second-hand, growing own produce, etc.” I don’t actually grow my own produce, but I’m starting small with an herb garden, two tomato plants, and a lemon tree. And splurging on travel and spa visits doesn’t affect my Frugalista status.
So I say “yes” to everything frugal. In my view, like most things, it only becomes negative when taken to an extreme. Now my only question is: What are we going to call the guys who live the frugal but fabulous lifestyle? Frugalistos? I wonder if Natalie McNeal, of The Frugalista Files and the original Frugalista, would have an answer. I think I’ll ask her… In the meantime, what do you think? What’s the best name for a male Frugalista? Are you a Frugalista/Frugalisto? Please share your thoughts in the Comments section.
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