Born Frugal?

[LivingAlmostLarge]

LOL. But I swear I think part of it is how you are raised. Both our parents are very frugal people and they passed on these habits that are hard to break no matter how much you make.

[MonkeyMama]

Needless to say I grew up hearing arguments about the lack of money and debts etc. So i am more convinced that my environmental upbringing is why I am so frugal rather than it having anything to do with genetics.

True, but there are plenty of people who were raised in similar environments who did not make the same choices that you did. I think personality is a huge element on how you decide to live your life financially.

My dad grew up poor and I think we are somewhat genetically predisposed to frugality. I always assumed my dad was so extremely frugal due to his upbringing. Obviously that was a large part of it. (Though his parents were poor, they had decent financial sense. Frugality was necessary to survive). These days most the people I meet who are the worst with money and have no inclination to save for the future are those who grew up poor. There is largely an element of "I never had nice things and I deserve them now," mixed with not having been raised with any financial sense whatsoever. I have come to appreciate that my own family is unique. I am shocked at by how many people I come across who are adverse to any frugal behaviors because they *grew up poor.* When the reas estate market was sky high I alienated a friend by suggesting they look at a condo instead of a house. She thought I Was looking down on her and talking down to her. I tried to explain that our first home had been a condo, and was why I suggested it, but the damage had been done. In her eyes, life had always been easy for me and I couldn't possibly understand her money problems. Same with buying used cars, buying used clothing, etc. I have come across a lot of people who equate frugality with a negative time in their life and don't want to do anything of the sort. Someone was telling me it was demeaning to have to only drink water (not afford soda, coffee, juice, etc.). ??? I appreciate I don't have those psychological hang ups.

I personally could not live the nice lifestyle that I do live without all of my frugal habits. So I don't have anny issues with being frugal. IT's a means to an end - a very effective means to an end. But, my dh and I are both very cautious, not risk seekers, concerned about today and tomorrow pretty equally. We would never sacrifice tomorrow for the joy of today, nor would we save everything for tomorrow and not live life. Kind of middle the road - very in line with our personalities.

[photo]

I grew up that way. As teenagers, we often say that we never want to be like our parents, so I went through a brief period of not being frugal (not being a spendthrift but also not watching what I spent) and found that I came out way ahead by buying for value and only spending on what I needed or highly desired.

[nick__45]

Strange question you may think. but is it?

I have been reading articles lately where by they suggest that some people are genetically predisposed to be more frugal than others.

This idea is something I'm not sure about. My parents were not rich but they never seemed to watch their money. My father left all the finances up to my mother. By doing this he had no responsibility and so just spent what he liked without worrying. My mother liked the best, which meant that buying cheap brands was not something she liked to even consider.

Needless to say I grew up hearing arguments about the lack of money and debts etc. So i am more convinced that my environmental upbringing is why I am so frugal rather than it having anything to do with genetics.

I completely agree with you on this one. I know most Americans are genetically wasteful and prone to be fatter. I hate to call it what it is but it is a fact of life. We feel entitled as a society and are genetically wasteful. There are a noticeable number of us that are frugal, whether by choice or by necessity, but that is probably less than 1 percent of the population.

However, it is possibly to be raised frugal and stay frugal but that is not an easy thing to do in this country. If one takes a look at our poor portion of society, they actually spend a lot more than the middle class and that is why they stay poor for generations. Since poor people make great voters, they will always get the free handout just enough to stay afloat.

[photo]

I know most Americans are genetically wasteful and prone to be fatter. I hate to call it what it is but it is a fact of life.

Genetically? Hardly.

[WesternHemlock]

Were you guys on here born frugal or made frugal?

I was not born into a frugal family, rather the exact opposite. My mother was always horrible with money and credit, something she got directly from her father (grew up in the Depression, but obviously learned zero from it). Neither one of them taught me anything useful when it came to finances except what not to do about almost anything relating to money.

Being frugal was something I had to learn on my own. My mother, eyebrow deep in debt she will never ever live to repay, still cannot understand why I choose to live without car payments, don't have the newest of everything, don't eat out all the time. She thinks I am stupid and/or deprived for these choices. I wish I were joking.

[bennkar]

Seems there is research on this subject. Who knew I was born this way?

Being Frugal May Be More Genetic Than Learned

[ir_dizzle]

I was raised frugally

I was raised frugally... my mom would always take me to the sales/ clearance rack of any store first and if I had to I would work my way "up" to the higher priced items (this very seldom happened though).

Most of the things I own I bought at a discount - my favorite stores are Ross, Marshalls, and TJ Maxx - I HARDLY EVER pay full price for anything... there are too many alternatives in my opinion...