Guest post by Jennifer of The Intentional Mom
When my husband and I started our frugal journey more than 20 years ago, we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into.
We didn’t realize what a commitment to frugal living would really take and we had no idea everything it would encompass. But at the same time, we had no idea that living a frugal life would benefit us in ways that extended far beyond our finances.
As we reach the point where we are almost completely debt free, I think we are both so amazed at how much we have benefited from the skills we have learned. In fact, I would even say that our frugal lifestyle blessed our marriage!
It’s true… and it can bless yours as well.
Here’s how our frugal lifestyle benefits our marriage far beyond our family budget:
1. We learned to be a team.
We were newly married when we took Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University class. We were still learning what it meant to be married at the time, but embarking on our frugal journey forced us to become teammates who were working toward winning at a common goal.
After 20 years and eight kids, we have been called to be teammates in so many ways, even if it’s just getting through dinner!
The skills we learned being frugal teammates were an excellent foundation upon which to build.
2. We learned to lift one another up.
Maintaining a frugal lifestyle all these years hasn’t always been easy.
It’s amazing to me that when one of us it tempted to spend, the other one is often able to step up and be the strong one! When my husband struggled with a certain aspect of being frugal, it provided the opportunity for me to carry the burden in that area until he was through his own personal challenge with it. He has done the same for me at times as well.
3. We learned that doing hard stuff is easier together.
When you learn to tackle hard things in one area of life, it gives you confidence to take on hard things in another area. The hard stuff is never fun to go through, but it is much easier when you are going through the hard stuff together.
4. We were able to be a strong and united example to our kids.
Being like-minded with your spouse in any area only enhances your marriage, and our commitment to how we did and didn’t spend our money paints a beautiful picture of unity for our kids.
We don’t agree on everything, and there are times that we are anything but a united front, but being on the same page in our frugal journey is an excellent way to show our kids how a marriage is truly designed to be.
5. We learned to make do with very little.
Because we already had numerous frugal skills in place, times of financial hardship didn’t scare us and they didn’t break us. We knew we had what it took to survive.
We had perfected the skills we needed to put into practice when we had no choice but to be frugal.
6. We have been able to bless others.
There really is nothing better than blessing the lives of those around us. Thanks to the money we save, we are able to bless others in ways both great and small — and we’re able to do it together!
Being frugal and saving money is beneficial in so many ways, but it has been amazing to reflect back and see just how greatly it has enriched our marriage as well.
Are you looking to enhance your marriage in a creative way? Try embracing a frugal lifestyle and see your commitment to one another blossom!
Jennifer is a busy, homeschooling mom of eight who enjoys keeping a home, living an active lifestyle, and loving the little and not so little people in her life. Her mission is helping other moms find contentment in living intentionally every day over at her blog, The Intentional Mom.
Yes yes yes yes!! I’ve seen the same fruits in my marriage. By committing to our debt free journey, my husband and I have been in so much more communication. Not just about the money we are spending, but the goals we are setting and reaching for our marriage and our family. A definite unexpected blessing!
Thanks for this post we also live a frugal lifestyle and have seen so many benefits to our marriage. We are able to reach our saving goals easily. Yes sometimes we might disagree on certain things but we appreciate our differences ” no two mind are alike” but in the end we always work as team.
Thanks for helping me think back about what it gave us too. The biggest gift it gave us was a better way to connect and spend time together. Instead of going to theme parks, the mall and movies, we took long walks together, curled up with books in each other’s arms and learned to cook great meals we enjoyed in front of a fire. Now that we’re debt-free, we still find we enjoy these activities more than artificially created experiences. Oh and we added kayaking together for summer weekends.
I think sometimes it is so easy to only see the hard stuff during times of trial, but it is always beneficial to see the good, too. Sounds like you made some really amazing memories during that time, and it is so amazing to hear that you’re still enjoying those same things!