Being frugal still means living the good life. But did you know that a little self-rationing could bring you greater rewards?
We can learn a lot from previous generations. To them, rationing food and other goods wasn’t a hardship, just a way of life. They carefully considered what was available and how to make it last. They grew or purchased food in season, or only when it was available inexpensively.
In our day and age, we are blessed with a wealth of easy to access goods. If I want an organic tomato in the middle of winter, I can get one. If I need 20 pounds of sugar, ditto. But this isn’t always the best thing for the budget.
Self-rationing can get your spending under control and increase your savings. This doesn’t mean that you have to deprive yourself or your family of what is needed. It just means that you stay in control of what you have available.
For example, this week we were running low on raw sugar, which we prefer instead of white sugar. Rather than making a special trip out to purchase our sugar in bulk, we just had to make due. If I wanted to make muffins, for example, I could use honey as a sweetener. If I needed the sugar to last the week for coffee, I could start paying attention to how much I used per cup.
Self-rationing sounds harsh, but really it is just the terminology. We self-ration every day when we practice meal planning. And how many times have you stretched out a meal to feed everyone when company unexpectedly comes by?
Self-rationing can apply to products other than goods as well. I remember as a child only allowing myself to read a certain number of pages each day in a book, in order to make it last longer. Since today I have easy access to a free library plus a family, home and work that takes most of my time, rationing books is no longer necessary.
Perhaps you could ration the number of movies you rent per week, the number of new outfits you purchase per month or the amount of laundry detergent you use (by optimizing the sorting to get only full loads). I know a family that seriously rations the hot water they use.
Start with simple areas in your life for self rationing. Maybe you could challenge yourself to use less gas by combining errands and walking more often, for example. What do you think?
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