Frugal Fatigue . . . For Sixty Plus Years

I finally discovered the name of a problem this week that I have had for sixty plus years. It was on one of the morning television shows that it was called by name: frugal fatigue. While the name perhaps is new, brought about by the Great Recession of the past two and one-half years, the symptoms have been around forever. It's realizing that one should save money in order to pay bills and certainly not go out and buy a new car, a new house, or take a nice vacation. It's very difficult to live with that notion.

It started for me as the child of a single mother where money was always tight. I used to dream about finding change--quarters, nickels, dimes--in the grass. It was something I yearned for: to have my own money to buy a Coke if I wanted one. Later, as I began earning my own money, again my budget was very tight. After all, I had an apartment to pay for, food to buy, utilities to pay, and insurance premiums to pay. One of the greatest moments of my life occurred when I was nineteen and won a contest promoted by one of the local radio stations. I received $100 to buy some new clothes. It was a dream come true.

After marriage, my husband and I were students at the University of Mississippi in the late 1960's. We were blessed to receive the loans and grants we needed to pay tuition and buy books, but there was little left over for any fun purchases. We also had a new baby girl who needed money for formula, baby food, clothes, doctor, etc. In our thirties, we spent extra money on private school tuition for our two little ones. We sent them to a Christian secondary school for a total of twenty-two years. In addition, I received my doctorate, paying for every hour of education myself. Then came college tuition and expenses for the growing young adults in our family.

Finally, both children were fully educated, and my husband could take additional college classes to work on his CPA. It was then that he was downsized at age 57 from his position at a local hospital. He has now been retired for thirteen years; I have been retired for five. It seems as if, historically, we have always been in a recession in the U. S., which did not help our frugal fatigue either.

The good news is that our family has been healthy, the children have children, the children have good jobs and are taking care of their families, but nonetheless they are also now experiencing frugal fatigue. My daughter has told me through the years that one day she expected me to just leave and live at the foot of Pike's Pike in a cabin alone. She might still be right. Frugal fatigue over a sixty plus period is causing me to consider quite stongly the idea of getting into my 2004 Vibe and driving west with my credit card in tow. After all, I have a few thousand dollars left before my limit is reached.

A Tale of Two Men

We recently learned of the death of physical fitness expert Jack LaLanne who lived to be in his early nineties. Of course, he exercised every day of his life and ate healthy foods. In the day before our society became obsessed with fitness, we used to think he was an oddity. Today, however, we would expect no less of a long life span for Jack.

On the other hand, my father-in-law is still relatively healthy and is also in his nineties. For years his diet was fried chicken and mashed potatoes with gravy every Sunday, bacon and eggs every morning, and lots of fast food carry-outs. He also has a history of heart attacks in his family since his mother and two brothers died of the disease. He has never exercised. Who can determine the lifespan of a man (or woman)? We normally think lifestyle combined with good healthy food will lead to a long life, but he is an anomaly.

But still . . . with our desire to live forever on this earth . . . we continue to do our best to count calories, to cut portions, and to exercise. Who knows . . . perhaps it will truly help to extend our quality of life as we age.