Frugality Can Improve Social Relationships 

Have you ever spent time around people who seemed pleasant enough but at the same time you couldn’t entirely accept as friends? They had great personalities, but you disagreed with their political stands, or maybe it was a lifestyle issue. Like you were frugal, and they were free spenders? You would have liked to develop a friendship, but the difference couldn’t be reconciled. (It is possible they felt the same way in reverse.)

These situations often resolve themselves. You associate with them less and less until there is no relationship–maybe just a pleasant “Hello” as you pass on the street. It’s sad, but it happens all of the time.

I once had some friends that were a little wild. They spent too much money on clothes and dining out. They had expensive cars and expensive hobbies. Eventually, they got tired of asking me to gallivant with them. I’m sure it was because I kept saying, “No, I can’t afford it.” They eventually stopped asking. 

That was ok. I liked them, but we had nothing in common. 

I had my frugal ways and their extravagances. To them, free-spending was preferable. 

I prefer my frugal ways because of the benefits of being frugal. One of those benefits is living debt free. (The people I’ve been talking about went deep into debt when they were young. They’re now at retirement but can’t afford to be unemployed.)

Being frugal also gives you a sense of a larger purpose.  Over the years, instead of lots of spur-of-the-moment spending and paying for expensive cars, clothes, trips, etcetera, with credit, I planned and saved funds for the “big purchases” and built a financial base for my retirement. Now, I’m free to travel and explore the world.

Finding frugal friends helped me develop my financial base. If you’re frugal, having like-minded friends can improve your social relationships because you are all striving for the same thing–financial freedom.

Frugality Can Improve Social Relationships

The free spenders were probably tired of me saying “No” to their persistent invites to join them. I know I got tired of the pressure to conform, even if it was done in a good-humored manner.

After realizing that I would not be a good fit for that group of “spendy” people, I started looking for new friends. People with whom I shared a common philosophy on money and were making solid financial plans for the future.

There’s an old maxim: Birds of a feather flock together. The frugal friends I found were content with hanging out, working on each other’s cars, or playing baseball with our kids at the park.

For me (and my best friends), it was more important to be frugal and save money than go out and run up debt trying to keep up with people who were wannabe jet setters.

How Frugal Living Improved My Social Relationships 

Along with camaraderie, encouraging and supporting each other in our efforts to be frugal was rewarding. Here’s a short list of activities and practices we employed in the attempt:

• We shared tools and home improvement ideas 
• Made food together 
• Went to lectures at the local college 
• We went to the library to research and borrow books 
• We attend free plays at the park
• Traded recipes (Yes, really. Although it was more our wives than us.)

Note: This phase of my life occurred when the Hippy Culture was at its height. We were not Hippies, and we didn’t have a Commune. We all had jobs and our property. Still, sharing and helping each other out was a common practice. That given, my social relationship with my frugal friends was better than what I could have had with the free spenders. 

Conclusion 

Frugal living improved my social relationships because I found others who felt like I do about money and living life. Many of us are still friends, and I still have much more in common with them than I would with people my age who are deep in debt.