I’m Douglas Antrim the founder of start saving money today
I’m frugal for a reason. I’m frugal because I want to do more with my life than work, go home, and be a couch potato. If we’re going to accomplish
anything, we need to have a plan. Have you ever heard that before? Most of us don’t have an unlimited amount of money or time. I certainly meet that criteria. Therefore, I need to plan for my money and my time. Yes, we need to be organized. We need to save for what we need and want. That requires organization. I’m frugal because I want more from life.
As I grew up, my parents didn’t have much money. My father was an unemployed school teacher. He worked side jobs to pay the bills. Because my parents never knew how much money was going to be available, they saved every penny they could (and I mean every penny). We always had almost enough, but that’s all.
As I got older, I began to realize time could be traded for money. I could hardly wait to join the workforce. When I turned sixteen, I landed my first job. Guess what? I wasted most of the money I earned at that job. Yes, I was a typical teenager. I didn’t want to be miserly like my parents. They never spent a penny they didn’t have to. I, on the other hand, spent everything I earned. I hadn’t learned good money management skills. (Or, maybe it was teenage rebellion?)
At eighteen, I joined the US Army. My bad money habits went with me. Even though the pay was good, after my time in service, I had nothing to show for it except an honorable discharge. Of course, an honorable discharge is a good thing, but you can’t eat it or buy a house with it. I returned home where I met the girl who would become my wife. Shortly thereafter, we got married.
As a married man, I didn’t just want a job. I wanted a future. Unfortunately, I didn’t find it at home. So, I joined the Navy. Within a few months of being married, I was stationed in Charleston, SC. We spent the next thirteen years there.
Charleston is where I discovered frugality. At my first command, a Chief Petty Officer, who tended to look out for the wellbeing of younger sailors, took an interest in me. Through conversations, he knew I’d need some financial guidance if I was going to have a successful Navy career. (Did you know you can get kicked out of the Navy if you have too many money problems that lead to legal actions?) Anyway, that Chief began to teach me the principles of financial responsibility and frugality. Over the years, I’ve built on the advice he gave me (like tracking expenses and having a budget). Being frugal is planning your money, your time, and your future.
I’ll finish up the story of my military career at the end of this post. Right now, I’d like to give you a sample of the some of the frugal practices I use. You can find more information on them if you click on the links I’ve provided:
- I track my expenses. I always carry a spending journal with me. Spending journals allow you to see where, when, and how much you spend. They can help you determine both good and bad spending habits. They are essential to developing a budget.
- I live by a budget. Your budget outlines when and how you should spend your money.
- I save money for emergencies. (It’s always possible the unexpected will happen.)
- I save money buying used cars. While others make car payment of hundreds of dollars a month, I save that money. The savings can go for another (paid for) car in the future or any number of other expenses. By the way, here’s my checklist for buying a quality used car.
- I save money on groceries. There are more ways than one to do this, sales, coupons, and menus among them.
- For all my purchases, I pay cash or use a cashback credit card that I payoff immediately.
- I stay debt free.
As I said, the above is a sample of my frugal living practices. They are aids to using my money to do more than just live today. They are helping me finance the future I want, something more comfortable than my childhood. I’ve posted on these practices and others. I’ll continue to do so because I want you to see how they can benefit your life, too.
Now, I want to finish the story about my military career. I left the service, again. At this point, between the Army and the Navy, I’d completed 16 years in our armed forces. Well, almost everyone knows that 20 years of service is the threshold for receiving military retirement, so it may seem somewhat foolish that I left with only 4 years to go. At the time, it didn’t seem so. I’d been offered a job that should have increased my income considerably. Due to the fluctuation of the economy at the time, things did not go as expected, and that job just sort of evaporated. (I was very glad I had been living a frugal lifestyle and had some savings.) Several years passed—several jobs, also—some better than others. Through all of those years I lived frugally. I saved money for my future, but was behind on what I had anticipated my savings would be. Then, it came to my attention that I was still within the age limits to enter the Army Reserve. In November of 2010, I joined the military for the third time. I retired in October of 2015 after surpassing the 20-year service mark.
Finishing my military career meant that I’d receive an additional retirement check. “Additional” because I do have a 401(k) and will be eligible for full Social Security when I reach the age of 66 and 2. In the last paragraph, I mentioned that I’d fallen behind on my savings goals. That means I was lagging in preparations for my future. A monthly military retirement check replaces much of the money I’d hoped to have accumulated. Also, I benefit from the military health care system for retirees. (Health insurance is expensive.)
That brings me up to now. I do receive a monthly retirement check from the Army, and since I haven’t yet reached full retirement age for Social Security, I have a day job (OK, a night job) too. I also blog on being frugal which is another stream of income. I’ve included my story in this post so you can get to know me, but also because I want to say “life happens” whether you’re frugal or not. But, if you’re fugal, you’re actively working to make your money go farther, so you’re better prepared to meet financial challenges. You plan the use of your time and money and you’re open to opportunities that can expand and augment their effectiveness.
Oh! What do I want to do with my future? When I retire, I want to have the means to spend time exploring Southeast Asia. I was there for a while when I was in the military and thought it a beautiful place. I’m planning to have the financial resources to experience it at leisure. And, of course, I’ll want to have funds for a comfortable living when I return home.
By the way, being frugal isn’t the same as being cheap. It’s about planning to have rather than about making ends meet. And, it’s the less stressful of those two ways of managing finances. I’ve lived both ways and I prefer being frugal. I believe being frugal is the best financial decision I could have ever made. I’m glad I made it. I’m frugal and I’m more than happy with my lifestyle. I think being frugal would be a good decision for you too.
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