Frugality

Frugality is perhaps best thought of as the ghost at the banquet of modern consumerism. If consumption in the consumer society is characterized by excess and hedonism, frugality represents the antithesis. Frugality values work over leisure, saving over spending; restraint over indulgence, deferred over immediate gratification, and the satisfaction of “needs” over the satisfaction of wants and desires. To be frugal is to be moderate or sparing in the use of money, goods, and resources, with a particular emphasis on careful expenditure and the avoidance of waste. As such, it has an obvious resonance with environmental issues, despite its origins as an approach to economic affairs. Most notably, frugality has been championed by the voluntary simplicity movement and forms an integral part of efforts to ...