I’m not frugal, I’m a conservationist

Okay, the word frugal for most people brings up images of self-denial, suffering, and like Mr. Pink in the Movie “Reservoir Dogs” does not leave tips at restaurants. So I will not call myself frugal but I’m a conservationist.

Why?

Because… I believe things like time and money are resources not to waste. Also, committing to a frugal -oops, I mean conservationist- lifestyle gives me a huge margin of error in my business. Owning a business is a huge risk. Every decision could create a gain or loss on your P&L statement.

I combat risk by being conservationist – just in case the unexpected happens. Believe me, in business the unexpected happens frequently.

Ester and I moved to a new home. Our new home is beautiful but has some significant advantages over our old home.

For example

Lower Mortgage – This is amazing since we moved from a townhouse to a single family house. Since the townhouse was located in an upscale community, home values were much higher. (Save on mortgage and taxes)

Close to Dojo – We are extremely close to our business. In fact, I walked my dogs there this morning. (Huge savings on Gas and Car Maintenance – over 10,000 miles/yr)

Peer Pressure – When you live in a more upscale area, there is huge levels of social proof that spending and a high consumption lifestyle is acceptable and normal.

Community Association Fees – The association fees at our old home were $115 per month.

Compare prices – A cup of coffee at our old house was almost $2 and a cup of coffee here is $1. I see similar price differences at the grocery store adding up to tons of savings.

I found that being a conservationist gives you a real piece of mind since your cash flow exceeds your expenses. Besides that, we love our new home in it's quite location.