Frugal rewards come easy when living simply.
I never dreamed that our years of living frugally and downsizing would bring us so many rewards, but it has! The frugal reward of living a simpler life can be seen in our faces every day.
I wake up with a smile on my face looking forward to the day and my hubby hops out of bed anxious to go to a job he loves. Believe me, that was not us a few years ago when we were trapped in a consumerist lifestyle that was draining the life out of the both of us.
Cutting back and learning to live with less was contagious, so much so that the more we cut back, the more we gained peace-of-mind.
Our rewards may be different than yours, but here is a list of the things we feel we gained by changing our life:
- We appreciate the beauty around us. – Living in the country changes a person. It makes you aware of the little things in life like a hummingbird or the site of a new litter of rabbits.
- It made us better problem solvers. – When we lived in the city the big box store was in our backyard so being creative was never an option we would just go to the store and buy what we needed. Now we re-use and make do with what we have first, and going to the store is the last result or in most cases, we do without.
- We are always busy. – We never have a problem with insomnia since the to-do list is never-ending. There is something wonderful about going to bed dog-tired, it makes us feel like we have accomplished an honest day’s work. Gone are the days filled with endless phone calls, emails, and clients. Now they are filled with shovels, tractors and feed bags.
- No more stressful days. – Don’t get me wrong, stress still does try to sneak its way into our lives, but now we choose what we allow to creep in and what we turn away. It is much easier to walk away from a stubborn pig then it is a stubborn co-worker.
- We downsized to simple. – When we left that big house in the city, we also left hordes of things that had no use or sentimental value to us. Whatever is in our house now has to serve a purpose or it doesn’t stay. We have a true sense of freedom from owning less. I think they call it minimalistic living…we just call it life!
- Focus. – I am the first one to admit I get overwhelmed quickly, but once we moved to the country I became calmer and more focused.
- We are healthier. – We long ago gave up rush-hour traffic; store-bought cleaners and hormone-laden meats for clean country air; all-natural cleaners and farm-raised meat and vegetables.
- We spend less. – Other than the cost of setting up our homestead we live on very little. We raise much of our food, use recycled items and do not rely on credit.
Living simple is not for everyone, but the frugal rewards we get every day is such a blessing to us.
Now we do what we want rather than what we have to do…that is our reward!
Thanks for stopping by!
Tracy Lynn
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I could not have said it better myself Tracy. There is something about living simple and in the country. My family just don’t understand why hanging clothes out or cleaning out a chicken house brings such joy to my life. They say that I am making life a lot harder on myself but I believe they are the ones that has it hard. I live a blessed life and thank God everyday for it. By the way what do you do everyday that keeps you so busy? Beth
Beth,
We ave gotten some flack over the years but we had to get broad shoulders at times! What do I do to keep busy….right now we are working on building a picket fence out of used pallets, planting a fall garden, repairs to the chicken houses, preparing to butcher pigs, mowing 5 acres of grass, planting fall field plots, canning hot peppers, and my afternoons are spent writing for this blog. I sort of keep pretty busy:)
Oh gosh, yea I would say you keep pretty busy…What are you planting this year for the fall? I have got to get with it myself or its going to be too late. Wanting to plant spinach, beets and carrots. We just got our meat chicks in today so we will be butchering them in about 4 weeks. I love this time of year. Where are you putting the picket fence?
Beth,
My fall planting list is pretty big, beets, collards, spinach, cabbage and I even started some flowers that take a long time to put out in the spring. Hubby is building a picket fence around my kitchen garden to keep the chickens out of it. They tend to destroy everything that is in there!
Sounds wonderful! The stress of outdoor and home projects is always so much better for me than the stress of phone calls and outside work.
I totally agree…I will take pig splattering mud on me any day over a upset co-worker!
Yes! We love living in the country too, the quiet evenings and waking up to the sun streaming through the (un-blinded) windows are some of the most wonderful things I’ve ever experienced. Lovely post!
We love our windows un-blinded as well! We live in the middle of nowhere and our lab would alert us if anyone was near the house. I just love the country!
I’m very attracted to the minimalistic lifestyle you speak of. I particularly like that statement that if it doesn’t serve a purpose it doesn’t stay!
I am going to invite my husband to read this. It made me dream of a simpler life. I’m so glad you share with us at the Home Matters Linky party.
The more clutter I rid from my life the calmer I feel. It has become a life changing way of life for us.
I live in Sumter, SC so I’m curious about what part of the state you live in. I love the idea of simple living but can’t seem to figure out how to get there.
Pamela,
We live between Lexington and Aiken in Batesburg, SC. I know how hard it is to get started changing your life…I am working on a blog post about some easy steps to get you started, so watch for it. Thanks for stopping by and I am excited you live fair;y close to me.
You are so right. We lived in (what I called) a “city” house for a long time. It hurt my soul to live there. I just love it in the country, and I couldn’t live any other way.
I love your mindset, Tracy. It is so inspiring! I can so relate to so much of what you say. God bless you. 🙂
I love this. We are in the process of simplifying our lives, too, so this post was really inspirational. Living in the country will definitely change you for the better! 🙂
Well put. So glad that you and hubby made the transition. Your decision is its own reward!
Absolutely love this post. There are so many great reasons to live more simply! I’d love it if you shared your link at Simply Natural Saturdays!
I love this! It is inspiring. Exactly the way I want to live. Thank you for this post.
Thank you for this post, Tracy! I love your list of rewards that you are reaping for your simple life choice. I’ve recently left my work and we are now living on a much smaller income than most would consider enough. However, we find ourselves being more grateful for what we have and in the end, it’s enough. Here’s to living simply and happily 🙂
Isn’t amazing how you can learn to live on any amount. I remember when we owned our own business and were making triple what we are now and always thought we needed more. It has been freeing to downsize and live more frugally. We appreciate things so much more now.