What Does It Mean to Live a Frugal Life?

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by Adobestock/Brett

Frugal living doesn’t mean doing without, the Huff family of six built their own homes, took budget vacations, and helped the children to college on a small annual income.

A few years ago an old friend from the East Coast came to visit us. He enjoyed his stay in our modern country house, roamed our wooded hills, rode our saddle horses, swam in our pool, and sunned himself on the terrace of our guest cottage. One evening after dinner — there was wine from a neighboring vineyard — we projected some color pictures of a recent trip to Mexico. This led to lively talk about the year we were soon to spend traveling in Europe. A refugee from a crowded New York City apartment, our guest was obviously impressed with our way of life. In fact, when he got home, he sent us a letter larded with envy.

“You had led me to believe you were a poor man,” he wrote. “Now I know you have been deceiving me. However, I forgive you because I was glad to catch a glimpse of how a millionaire lives.”

My wife Fran and our two youngest daughters were sitting before the picture window in our living room as I read this letter to them. When I got to the word “millionaire,” my daughters burst into giggles. I looked at my wife. Her face was serious. “Shall I disillusion him?” I asked.

As most women, Fran seldom answers a question directly. “The funny thing is that it’s all true,” she said. “We do have these things, and we do take those trips. In fact, I’m not sure that we don’t come closer to living like the rich than the rich do these days.”

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