What are you saving for?

What are you saving for?

Perhaps to be perfectly grammatically correct, the question should be, “For what are you saving?” In any case, the emphasis is on the for. Please forgive any dangling participles, if that’s what it is.

I’ve just read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, so I’m a bit more sensitive to abuses of the English language. If you’re a Jane Austen fan, the book is hilarious. But I digress.

Although I haven’t found my non-consumer lifestyle, and my previous nearly non-consumer lifestyle to be particularly difficult or full of deprivation, I think it’s important to remember WHY we’re living in this way, if it’s by choice. For many people, a frugal lifestyle is not a choice but a necessity, because of limited income or extreme debt.

For those of you who live this lifestyle by choice, I’d love to know your reasons. Whether you’re a non-consumer or a frugalista, or whether you proudly call yourself cheap, what are your reasons? Is it to lessen your carbon footprint, live a simpler and more meaningful life, not be a dupe to advertisers, or all of the above?

And if you’re consciously trying to save, what are you saving for? A house? A car? A comfortable retirement? College for your kids or grandkids? A trip around the world?

My reasons for being frugal revolve around having the freedom to create my own life. I want to be able to do the work I love, and have time for things I care about, rather than essentially giving away my time in order to be paid a large salary to buy conveniences I need because I only have time to work. The vicious cycle of work and spend.

Now that I’m doing The Compact this year, I love that my choice is also helping me to create a simpler, more meaningful lifestyle on top of lessening my tread on the earth.

At this point, I’m not saving very much. It’s more like I’m trying to learn to live on less so I don’t need to earn as much. But what I do save is all about having the freedom to live the life I choose.

I love the idea of an ING account that lets you set up separate savings accounts for different goals: a vacation, college for your kids, retirement. Short term and long term mixed together in an organized fashion. I’ve always found that there is never any “extra” money for something, no matter how important it is. If you want to take that vacation, you have to start saving for it. And if you ever want to retire, you’ve got to start putting money away as soon as possible.

So, what are you saving for? I’d love to hear about it. What’s your method for saving? Do you have an ING account or separate savings accounts for various goals? Please leave your thoughts in the Comments section.