A Classic Book on Frugality
~ Friday, October 27, 2023 Blog Post ~
Frugal people are eager to save money. They may eat less expensive food that may not taste as good but is more affordable. There are also people who hoard money with the objective of saving and having more money. They do not mind depriving themselves.
Being an extreme saver, I am a part of the statistics of cost-cutting misers. Saving and investing one’s money and building life savings have their purposes. For me, my primary purpose of saving and investing my hard-earned funds is to sustain my present comfortable lifestyle until I am in my greying years. I want to maintain my financial security forever. After all, money is a finite resource that can get depleted if not spent wisely.
In this blog post, I want to share my latest discovery. It is a classic reference material on frugality and saving money, titled “Thrift.” Samuel Smiles wrote this book which was originally published on New Year’s Day 1878.
Mr. Smiles was a British author and government reformer. “Thrift” was published after “Self-Help,” which is his main work released in 1859. In “Self-Help,” Mr. Smiles claimed that irresponsible habits largely caused poverty. He also promoted thriftiness or frugality in his tome.
The author of “Thrift” attacked laissez-faire government and materialism. “Self-Help” has been labeled as “the bible of mid-Victorian liberalism.” This book published before “Thrift” had lasting impacts on British political thought.
I want to share an excerpt from “Thrift” that lauds the financially beneficial habits of saving money and being frugal. This part of Mr. Smiles’s book is on Chapter 6: Methods of Economy. The author sagaciously remarked,
“There is a dignity in the very effort to save with a worthy purpose, even though the attempt should not be crowned with eventual success.
It produces a well-regulated mind; it gives prudence a triumph over extravagance; it gives virtue the mastery over vice; it puts the passions under control; it drives away care; it secures comfort.
Saved money, however little, will serve to dry up many a tear — will ward off many sorrows and heartburnings, which otherwise might prey upon us.
Possessed of a little store of capital, a man walks with a lighter step — his heart beats more cheerily.
When interruption of work or adversity happens, he can meet them; he can recline on his capital, which will either break his fall, or prevent it altogether.
By prudential economy, we can realize the dignity of man; life will be a blessing, and old age an honour.
We can ultimately, under a kind Providence, surrender life, conscious that we have been no burden upon society, but rather, perhaps, an acquisition and ornament to it; conscious, also, that as we have been independent, our children after us, by following our example, and availing themselves of the means we have left behind us, will walk in like manner through the world in happiness and independence.”
I would love to share the entire “Thrift” e-book here in my blog, but the reference material is surely lengthy. Mr. Smiles’s publication on frugality released in the late 1800s informs me that the financially savvy habit of saving some of one’s hard-earned money and being thrifty are time-honored practices. These habits have been proven to be a worthy solution to people’s financial dilemmas. After all, money is a ticket to life, not to mention, money is life.
In relation to the “Thrift” book, I want to include five relevant links here in my blog entry. These online contents are related to extreme saving or frugality. The following five websites feature British financial journalist Martin Lewis’s 2021 programme “Extreme Savers”:
1) Extreme Saving, a YouTube video featuring the excerpt from Jake Desyllas’s book “Job Free: Four Ways to Quit the Rat Race and Achieve Financial Freedom on Your Terms”
2) Jake Desyllas’s book “Job Free: Four Ways to Quit the Rat Race and Achieve Financial Freedom on Your Terms”
3) Martin Lewis’s “Twelve Saves of Christmas” YouTube video
4) Martin Lewis’s “Extreme Savers” programme — Episode 1 of 4
5) News Article: “Martin Lewis is launching a brand new TV show — and it’s his most extreme yet”
Martin Lewis is launching a brand new TV show — and it’s his most extreme yet (From Manchester Evening News)
By Rachel Pugh, March 5, 2020
The money-saving expert has made an exciting announcement
Martin Lewis is known for appearing on TV with all of his best money-saving tips and tricks.
Whether he’s on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, This Morning or the Martin Lewis Money Show, he’s always on hand to give people stellar advice, and over the years has saved people thousands of pounds.
And now Martin has revealed he’s making a brand new show, and it’s the most extreme one yet.
A post on Martin’s website MoneySavingExpert.com reads: “I’m working with ITV on a new show, where we meet the nation’s super-savers, those obsessed by saving money, and particularly those who have built up a real speciality in one area, and can inspire others.
“This is for those both thrifty and nifty. We want to meet you and hear about what you do.”
Martin then confirmed he’s looking for participants who do the following kind of things to save their cash:
- Never waste a drop of water — recycle the shower water into the loo cistern, then use what’s left to water the plants, and of course, only flush the loo for the brown stuff!
- Are an extreme traveller. You focus on price over convenience, crossing the country to cut costs to the absolute minimum, splitting your tickets and more.
- Super-vinegar cleaners. Do you never pay for cleaning products, and instead do it all with the best stuff, home-made?
If you think you’d make a top participant for the show, you can apply by emailing savers@multistory.tv and letting them know why your money-saving tips and tricks are a cut above the rest. Good luck!
Sources and references:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1731101724
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Samuel-Smiles
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-Help_(book)
https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/14418/pg14418-images.html
