Last year I wrote a post for my friends, The Frugalwoods, called Frugal Friends and Where to Find Them. Today’s post is the sequel.

A couple months ago, a new neighbor came over to chat. He had noticed that Mrs. 1500 and I were out of town and asked us where we’d been. I told him that we were at a financial blogging conference (FinCon). I explained that we write articles about money and that one of our interests is teaching young people about personal finance. I couldn’t stop myself and went down the rabbit hole. Eventually, I mentioned something about compound interest. It was at that time that I noticed my neighbor’s eyes glazing over. I stopped talking and he quickly steered the conversation to his Harley Davidson.

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While Mr. Frugalwoods and I enjoy/attempt to survive our very first month as parents to our daughter, Babywoods, I have a delightful slate of guest posts from my friends lined up for your reading pleasure. Today, please welcome the fabulous Mr. 1500 from 1500 Days To Freedom!

By: Mr. 1500

Are We Outcasts?

I’ve always felt like an outcast. I can get along well enough with my neighbors, but sometimes it’s difficult to find common ground. I don’t keep up with sports, zombie TV shows, or celebrity gossip. I perform my own car maintenance and fix my own stuff when it breaks. I try to use my bike for transportation when the distance is reasonable. Many of the things that I enjoy talking about–including personal finance, energy trends, technology, books, travel and science–are lost on others. However, everything was different for one weekend this past September at the FinCon conference.

At FinCon, I spent time with the Frugalwoods, the Mad Fientist, Jim Collins, J$ and many other like-minded people. We chatted about topics as diverse as alternative energy, real estate investing, and the meaning of happiness. At one party, there was even a heated discussion about investing. None of these conversations would ever happen in my normal circle of friends. It was wonderful. I was with my clan, surrounded by people that my introverted self felt at ease with almost immediately.

Why Frugal Friends Are The Best

frugalvenn_smallRecently, I was thinking back to that weekend and reflecting on the qualities that I so enjoyed in the folks at the conference. Today, I’m here to tell you why Frugal Friends are some of my favorite people in the world.

  • We are real: Everyone knows fake people who hide behind a veneer of possessions like cars and designer clothes. It can be difficult to get to know the real person underneath all of that stuff. If you ever have the pleasure of meeting the Frugalwoods or Jim Collins in person, I’ll bet that they are exactly what you expect. I’ll also bet you’ll feel instantly at ease with them.
  • Solid families: Frugal people know that spending time with friends and family is priority number one. Frugal people cherish their relationships. A frugal friend is a loyal friend who will help you out in a pinch and doesn’t keep score.
  • We’re happy: Frugal people are good with money and therefore, don’t worry about it. For many, money is one of the most stressful things in life and frugal people don’t have this worry. Some frugal folks like Jeremy and Winnie from Go Curry Cracker! spend their time traveling. Many of us are living our dreams. We’re a happy bunch.
  • Hopeless optimists: You can’t plan to retire at 40 and not be optimistic about the state of the world. It’s much more fun to spend time with a group of folks who believe the best days are ahead instead of behind.
  • Critical thinkers and smart: My frugal friends are some of the brightest people I know. Many of them are engineers or work with technology. If I need advice on something like solar panels, travel hacking, or a computer issue, I can usually count on a frugal friend to have the answer.
  • We’re a fun bunch: You may think we’re all nerds, sitting around talking about compound interest, budgets and hypermiling. And you’d be right! However, we know how to have fun too. At the conference, I never stayed up past 1am, but plenty of other folks carried on well into the night. We know how to have a good time.

Frugaltown USA

If I had it my way, all of us frugal folks would live in Frugaltown. The Frugalwoods homestead would be right down the road and we’d all be neighbors.

During summer weekends, there’d be bike rides and hikes in the morning. Our children would play all day. We’d sit around a backyard fire in the evening.

In the winter, we’d snowshoe and sled. We’d have homemade pizza and movie nights at each other’s homes. We’d play Ticket to Ride and other board games.

We’d share ideas, We’d help each other build and grow. Over cold homebrewed beer, we’d discuss ideas and dreams. No one would care about designer clothes, fancy purses, or new cars.

Of course, there is no Frugaltown, but I can dream, can’t I?

And if we can’t have Frugaltown, perhaps we could still have Frugalwoodstock*?

woodstockFINAL

*This is a figment of my wild imagination. Frugalwoodstock is not a thing. Yet…

Mr. 1500 writes about financial independence, practices frugality and dreams about plastic dinosaurs over at 1500days.com. When not writing, he can be found spending time with his family in the mountains of Colorado.

Do you have frugal friends? What qualities attracted you to each other?

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108 Comments

  1. What a fun post, and so true! We have miraculously converted our best friends to frugality, and have some other naturally frugal friends, and they are super fun to be with because they “get it.” They are not constantly inviting us out to expensive restaurants and events. They enjoy biking and camping and homemade pizza nights, too. Many of them we met through our church so they also share the values of family and being generous with time and money.

    1. “We have miraculously converted our best friends to frugality.”

      I’m trying this with some of our friends with mixed results. I’ve tried hypnosis and Jedi mind tricks (“This is not the mall you are looking for”) without much success.

      I’d love to hear how you did it!

      1. I’ve done this as well, and I think the key is to make your friends feel better than they would spending all that money. You can’t convert people with reason and theory. Let them feel first and then just mention the theory, so to speak.
        For example, I invite my friends to work out with me and cook an awesome dinner with them afterwards. Most people feel amazing after 1 hour of yoga and a good chicken curry. Then, when they notice they always sleep so well and feel refreshed after visiting, I just drop something like “yeah, isn’t it awesome, and we don’t even spend money… weird ha?” That worked for me several times, but of course it takes effort and patience.

        1. This is pretty great advice. Same as you, I’ve found that no one wants a lecture. Set a great, strong example and others will follow. Everyone wants to belong, so show them why it’s great to belong with us frugal crazies.

          Also, curry? Where do you live???? 🙂

      2. Perhaps I’m over-attributing, but I think consistently living a good, contented life while quickly meeting financial goals is intriguing to those who know you. But as with anyone, friends have to be ready for advice or it can be misconstrued as judgment.

  2. You made that sound like the perfect neighborhood! Plenty to do and little money needed. I often think that Mini Monster has the most fun when she’s just playing with friends. Kids are so inexpensive. I’m not sure why they have such a bad financial rep 😉
    Note: The Mad Money Monsters would like to reserve our lot now!

    Here’s to a fabulously frugal 2016!
    Mrs. Mad Money Monster

    1. “I often think that Mini Monster has the most fun when she’s just playing with friends.”

      YES! Kids don’t need Disney and all that stuff; they just need quality time with their parents and friends. My favorite childhood memories were never about money.

  3. Well since that haven’t purchased the homestead yet, maybe they could factor an event like this into the property. Hint, hint, hint. A majority of my frugal friends are the ones I have made from my blog, and met for the first time at FinCon. I have a few that live locally.

  4. I suppose we are blessed in that in our community, pretty much everyone is just as you described. Our children do play together during the days-old fashioned play with bikes and forts and wading in the creek. We get together for bonfires or hayrides. We can talk about finances unabashedly (though admittedly, none of us are wealthy). We even have a wonderful bartering system going on! We are living the good life, but sometimes forget it. Thanks for the reminder!

  5. Frugal friends really are good friends. Based on where we live right now, I have many frugal by necessity friends, and I’ve realized that starting to become more frugal (I’m not really a frugal pants like many others) has helped me enjoy time with people from all kinds of backgrounds with much more ease than before.

    I am pretty sure that Frugalwoodstock should totally be a thing. Although in complete honesty, it’s probably best to hold the event in Colorado or Washington State… for legal reasons. I’m sure we can convince the Frugalwoods that the woods of the West are every bit as nice as the woods of the East.

    1. “… it’s probably best to hold the event in Colorado or Washington State… ”

      How about a moving party? Have it in a different part of the world every year?

  6. Frugalwoodstock sounds most excellent! If you keep advertising it, people may actually start show up!

    I haven’t found a good batch of local frugal friends yet. I tried going the broke friend route thinking they don’t have money and I don’t want to spend money, but this has proven to be more frustrating when they spend mindlessly and I know they can’t afford it. Maybe my old friends aren’t a good match for my frugal life. I’m hoping to step out of my comfort zone and let 2016 be the year of new frugal friends.

    1. It is hard to get folks out of their shells. The best way, I think, is to set a really good and strong example. People for the most part are followers. They’ll want to emulate you if you do it right.

  7. Here I was getting ready to plan a trip to Vermont and then….oh, just kidding! Frugaltown sounds exactly what I dream of early retirement sounding like. I only wish I had figured it all out a little earlier so I could be enjoying it with my kids now rather than when they are in High School (says probably everyone!) but; better late than never! For now, I try to fit those lovely days in with my tireless corporate hours…1675 days to go!

  8. I’m already excited about frugalwoodstock… I can almost taste the frugalbrew now! I think you’re on to something with that idea. Let us know when it’s really a thing. It could be summer camp in the Vermont woods for Frugaltons. I wonder how long it would take to bike from Arkansas??

  9. I enjoy some of the frugal activities you write about, I do notice that engineers and technology seem to be a big part of ER. I’m just a guy working at a bank in the back office somewhere. Good thing I like beer, riding my bike, and doing my best to try and fix broken things;). I do like brand names for my clothes, but I buy them all at the thrift store for $3, in fact I just checked my wardrobe for today and i’m checking in at $3 sweater, free polo, $3 pants, free socks(thanks fincon), boxers not from the thrift store, and my fancy shoes, these were $50, I know I know. I’m not sure where I’m going with this but if I don’t get an invitation to Frugalstock, I’m coming anyways and I’m bringing Buffy and Mitch. I need to ask you a questions about a bike I was looking at as well, pretty sure I’m replacing the $35 thrift store ride this year. Well forget it might as well ask here, I was looking at the Trek Crossrip, i’m early in my search but probably buying the bike in March, unless I find it used somewhere for a great price. Thoughts? Loved the comment on the blog by the way and another thing, when are you having the 1500days Extravaganza?

    1. That Crossrip looks like a great bike. Disk brakes are a spectacular innovation.

      The only thing I don’t like are the drop down bar. I have a fancy Cannondale race bike and I wish it had flat bars because I’m never down on the lower part.

      1500 Day Extravaganza? Ha! I’d do it if more than 2 people would show up. In the meantime, you’re always welcome at our place here out here in the West. The West is best. Except for Vermont maybe!

  10. Having met Jim Collins, Mr. Money Mustache, Paula Pant and more wonderful people at the Chautauqua this year, I can say they were almost exactly as I expected. The week I spent with them and other FI-minded folks was one of the best of my life! We had so many awesome conversations that I’ll never be able to have with my coworkers or friends about expense ratios, whether or not to get an MBA and more!

  11. I love how you describe Frugaltown. The funny thing is my partner’s FI plan includes starting a commune-style neighborhood with friends that sounds exactly like Frugaltown. If it happens soon I can let y’all know :).

  12. Sign me up! 🙂

    I tend to have more fun with frugal people. Big spenders seem to lack creativity when it comes to having fun, whereas with frugal folks you’re almost guaranteed to get an experience that’s unique, innovative, and interesting. For example, we’ll usually host b-day parties and get togethers at our house whereas bigger spending friends will have parties at the bowling alley, jump zone kind of places where you rent a space for 1.75 hours and get pushed through the grinder of fun.

    At our house, the kids often remark “this is the most fun we’ve ever had at a bday party”. And all we do is hang out, play games in the back yard, maybe see some wildlife by the lake, and the adults get to kick back and relax too. No loud music or noises, no time limits, just fun. 🙂

    1. This is an awesome point Justin. I’ve been on both sides of the party with my own children. The parties at home where the children are chasing each other around like mad are the best.

  13. Hmmm, I had to think about this one a little bit more. I’m a lot more frugal than my friends and it would be nice if sometimes they understood that more, but honestly, I like friends of all types. For some reason, and maybe it’s just the way I was reading it, being frugal feels almost elitist. And I would never want to feel like I can’t be around other people as much just because they aren’t like me. Just mildly disagreeing. 🙂

    1. I agree, Tonya. And it feels elitist because it is. All the “we’re different from everyone else” talk always makes me uncomfortable. And the assumption that you know what’s best for anyone ALWAYS rubs me the wrong way. Live and let live, and assume that people are acting in the way that makes THEM happy. Let’s not set up walls. I don’t have any frugal friends, besides some family members, and it doesn’t bother me.

      I also tend to think these other people “hiding behind a veneer of possessions” are just straw men that I see bloggers set up constantly. And at any rate, I bet those mysterious “others” are just as smart, optimistic and fun as this lot.

      1. I thought about this a bit and here’s what I came up with. A month ago, my wife and an ex-neighbor had the following conversation:
        Wife: So neighbor, why are you moving off our street?
        Neighbor: It’s the cars. My husband and I can’t take it anymore.
        Wife: The cars???
        Neighbor: Yes. We have new cars, but many of the people who live on this street have old ones. Frankly, we’re embarrassed to invite people over to our home because they have to drive past all of these old cars.

        I can’t make this stuff up. In the last place we lived, we were surrounded by even more severe behavior.

        You call me an elitist, but really it’s the elitist people that I don’t want to be around.

        Now, deep down, I think everyone is good. Even my neighbor who moved for such a ridiculous reason surely has a good heart deep down inside. However, I don’t have the force of personality of someone like MMM to bring it out.

        Norm, I’m happy that you accuse me of using straw man fallacies to prove my point. This means that you haven’t experienced some of the behavior that I have. Don’t move!!

        So Tonya (I had fun talking to you about grunge rock at FinCon St. Louis!) and Norm, I’m sorry that you think I’m an elitist. As someone who laughs hysterically at fart jokes, enjoys getting my hands dirty and listens to 80s hair bands, I’ve never thought of myself that way. I’m sorry that I came across like this. It wasn’t my intention.

        In any case, Happy New Year’s to you both, the FrugalWoods and everyone else here tonight!

      2. Absolutely agree, thank you for pointing this out. I think any title of any blog post that says “Why [adjective] Friends are the Best Friends” is going to sound rather holier-than-thou. Most of my family members and friends are not frugal, but many have the above qualities (fun, smart, optimistic) in spades.

        And a shoutout to Mr. 1500, I don’t think you’re an elitist, and I like your blog. I just wasn’t a fan of this particular post.

  14. I want to go to Frugalwoodstock! We need to start campaigning for to celebrate their first year on the homestead or something!

    Our best friends from college are very frugal. Like haul-their-own-trash frugal. We were all in Montreal for a friend’s wedding and we went out for dessert. I ordered… dessert. My old roommate ordered… mint tea. I thought, “This is why you are both wealthier and skinnier than me.”

    I have since then often substituted mint tea for dessert at home. No immediate results, but at least it’s delicious!

  15. Ha, this was a really cute post. You know, frugaltown USA used to exist. And it still does, in some places – it’s just called “life”.

    Of course it’s not like it used to be. My home town (rural PA) was pretty frugal. But there aren’t that many jobs. So people grow up and move away (like me), to places where people aren’t as frugal. And even in my home town, people started spending money they didn’t have.

    It’s nice to have frugal friends.

    If you ever do Frugalwoodstock in VT, we’ll have to swing by on our every-other-year trip to the East Coast (because you know – frugal – have to combine it with a trip). I’ll bring…two crazy boys and a frisbee. 😛

  16. A parallel to frugality is eating a WFPB whole food plant based diet group.

    In my world, I never or rarely ever meet someone who chooses to eat the way I do. When I’m at a vegan conference I become so happy being around others and they understand me.

    1. Hubs and I eat WFLF(Whole foods low fat-vegan). Other than my husband, we have zero friends that eat like we do. We are going to Spain next month and sharing a house with other cyclists(not vegan)…will be interesting how this plays out.

  17. I know that glazed over look very well. None of my friends have attitudes similar to those in the FI community. They will slave away at jobs they hate until they’re 65, never once considering that their spending habits keep them poor in spirit. Luckily I found this group, and I thank you all for being welcoming. I hope to join you at FinCon in 2017 and perhaps somewhere in Frugaltown USA in 2016.

    1. FInCon is great! Make it a point to sooner than later.

      If you’re not going because of cost, the stuff I learned there more than paid for itself on my blog.

  18. I think this just reminds us all, that no matter your interests, you need to find your community or you will feel an outsider. That is the blessing and the curse of being social creatures!

  19. Ya, most of my friends think being frugal is being cheap. They haven’t gotten it yet.

    I’m all for Frugaltown, USA, but I think we need a St. Frugals, Canada, too, for all my Canadian peeps.

  20. I would love to live in Frugalville! But since I don’t have much money each month at all, but still budget my money anyway, would Frugalville still want me? xD Probably! I bey I would fit right in!

    Since my last friendship as an adult was a bust, I decided that I’m personally not ready for another friendship anytime soon yet. But I would appreciate some frugal friends as long as they weren’t weird or crazy. Like my last first adult friendship. D: Of course, all of us frugal people are weird because we knock down the normal social norms about money, but we are not the bad kind of weird. ^^

    When talking to one of my family menber’s about saving money this Christmas by going to the Dollar Tree for greeting cards, from her reaction, I could tell I was really out of my element! Their family just didn’t live the way I did money wise. And at my other Christmas party I went to, I could tell the host family’s house spent most of their money on pictures of their children because pictures of them were everywhere! Not that that is a bad thing, it’s just that it is so different and abnormal for me. I’m just not used to it. D:;

    So I feel alone in my situation. :C But blogs like the Frugalwoods and the guest bloggers that have been posting on them recently make me feel that I am not so alone! Which is always a good thing! ^^

    I hope everybody has a Happy New Year! C:

    1. Marissa, it makes me really sad to read about your experiences. If you’re in Colorado, we have pot lucks occasionally and would love to have you.

      In the meantime, I suggest you peruse the MMM forums and connect with some folks in your area. Everyone I’ve met through the MMM site have been wonderful people.

      So chin up and here’s to a better 2016!

      1. I know this is a very late reply and I completely forgot about this post (I never git an e-mail you replied to me… D: ), but thank you! It’s so nice to know there are nice people out there that care about me. C:

        Forgive me, but I’m just not into MMM’s blog very much, so I would probably not make very many trips to his forums. D: I’m picky about the blogs I peruse, lol. xD

        As for my 2016, it has been well so far. Still don’t bring in a lot of cash since I live on SSDI, but even though I have so little money each month, budgeting it down to the last cent helps me a lot. I would never do things differently anymore because budgeting has helped me a ton and I’m thankful for it. And I know I am good at saving money since I save money each month by paying myself first without going over the $2000 mark. On SSDI, you can’t have over $2000, so I have to save up to that number only. I’m hoping to get a job soon so I can save over that amount, part time or full time; don’t care at the moment anymore. : ( Just something would be nice. But since my town has a high unemployment rate and my resume is only good enough for these mainstream companys’ “job application black holes”, I probably won’t land a job at those companies anytime soon. But I did get two interviews though since my resume actually landed in two managers’ hands recently. Now I have to call back one company today to see how things are going. Crossing my fingers! > _<;;;

        But besides this, I am very blessed to be living with my mother and have food and a roof over my head. We also get along with each other most of the time, so that is always a good thing to celebrate. ^^ We will be moving to a new place across town into a condo soon and I hope things will get better for me there. We will have no more yard work and in the future, if I ever have enough money to buy a place to live, I would buy a condo as well! They seem like the way to go if you want minimal work around a home. C:

        I hope 2016 has been going well for you so far! ^ o^

  21. You know, come to think of it, after reading this it’s so true! I’ve enjoyed reading so many different FIRE blogs and there’s something to say for positivity and retiring early.

    It’s great being around people that are stable, financially smart, and love having the social connections that we all do. The homestead idea is a great one! Once we reach FIRE, our plan is to travel quite a bit and then possibly settle down with a homestead of our own to build out.

    We are truly a fun bunch! 😀

  22. Frugalstock sounds awesome! Maybe when the Frugalwoods set up their homestead we can all bring our tents! I’m sure Mr SSC would break out his banjo and help teach homebrewing! We have a lack of frugal friends in the real world – that is why I love these online communities!

  23. Definitely Frugalwoods, I like my frugal friends because we have almost the same interests and practices with regard to expenses. And, we share the same topic to talk about. So, they are great and I’d like to keep up with them. Happy New Year to you.

  24. Like Tonya and Norm — although I understand why it’s appealing to imagine living in a world of people just like ourselves — I think the “We are Real” attitude is dangerous. One of my local heroes right now is a woman named Carmen, who just described to me how she blew a huge wad of money on name-brand clothing and electronics for her kids. And then her husband got laid off.

    Carmen works as a cook and a minister at a local shelter/food kitchen where I volunteer once a week. She tells me she buys stuff for her kids because when she was growing up, she ended up resorting to drugs just so she could get nice things, and she wants to protect her kids from that. It’s not the solution I would have chosen, but I can understand why she would do this. She also bought a bunch of “Jordans” for some of the residents of the shelter who have been working hard. She’s a source of comfort and counsel for countless people who come through the door — about half the people who come through the door want to talk to her just to tell her how they’re doing. She’s one of the most outwardly focused, happy, and caring people I know.

    She doesn’t blog, and she doesn’t go to conferences where people talk about investment strategies. And she also isn’t frugal. But I just love love love being in the same room with her.

  25. What an excellent guest post! I had not read any of your blog, and it looks like I have another enjoyable blog to read. I had not heard of Fincon either. Is this something that even folks that do not blog could enjoy? Thanks again for the post!

  26. Hmm, unfortunately I don’t have any frugal friends…the closest I’ve come is one who understands FI but doesn’t seem to be targeting RE based on lifestyle and conversations I’ve had.

    The comment on optimism was interesting as I would not by any stretch consider myself an optimist but with having a FIRE target I can see how deep down, I must be at some level.

    The elitism responses were also interesting, I’ve felt that way about some MMM posts, but never a 1500 one. I’ve also been assured MMM and others are nice as can be in person, hope to meet some of these folks in the future 🙂

    Frugalwoodstock sounds more to me like a US based Chataqua….I like the idea

    1. Hey Ketchup!

      I’m glad you don’t think I’m an elitist! I think I’m a nice person, but then again, I’m biased.

      MMM may come across like that because of his blog voice, but I assure you that he’s a great guy.

      Come to Colorado some day, hang out and find out for yourself!

      1. I was there in November, but missed the MMM get together since I had plans that night. Really enjoyed Colorado, could see myself living there at some point. Didn’t make it to Longmont, but visited Boulder, Denver and stayed in Broomfield. Think I will be back sometime in Spring…

  27. I already want to book my tickets. Frankly, I don’t have a lot of friends that are down with this frugality thing. They all think I am weird because of the blog and I am some financial expert. The truth is I just want to get people to start valuing memories over stuff. I don’t think I will ER b/c I love my job and I think make a difference, but I would certainly love to buy a place in frugaltown and work in spendytown. It would be a great challenge.
    FRGUALSTOCK 2016!

  28. I have recently found this blog. (Thank you Fruglewoods!) Hubs and I have decided we need to take our early retirement plan to the next level. You can accomplished anything with a goal and I am very encouraged by your dedication to your early retirement dream. I have been thinking about frugal friends a lot lately, as we make our plans, I get quite excited, but non frugal friends just look at you like your crazy when you share, thus my desire for more frugal friends. Thank you again for your blog and exposing me to your frugal friends through your guest posts! Congrats on BabyWoods, she will bring you many hours of frugal entertainment over the next several years.

  29. I’ve never even tried to push people in that direction. Occasionally they ask questions which tells me they’re already on the path and I may help a bit.

    We definitely need more frugal friends in our own lives!

    1. Hmmm, I don’t either, but I do try to gently steer people away from bad decisions: “Even though my car has 40,000 miles and its paid off, I’m going to take on debt to get a new one!” “Ummm, may I have your ear for just a second?”

      I haven’t been able to rub off on my family, but we have changed some of the neighbors without even trying. If you’re happy, optimistic and confident, people will gravitate.

      It’s very interesting to watch…

  30. Frugalwoodstock would be awesome! Invite the homesteading crowd too: they know interesting things about self-sufficiency, off-grid living, etc.

    1. Happy New Year back at ya’!

      I too wish that my neighbors had our values. Most of them are great people, but I think some of them would be a lot happier if they stopped pursuing some of the material stuff.

      Hope your 2016 is the best yet!

      1. I wonder if the number of like-minded frugal people out there are actually greater than we realize. It’s just that we are scattered around the country. There is a good showing of people at FinCon, and I have heard that MMM’s meet-ups actually command a decent audience even though many of them are loosely organized a few weeks prior to the events.

        1. I think frugal folks are everywhere! It’s just that we fly under the radar. The spendy types wave their flag by driving shiny cars and living in big houses. Us frugal types don’t care about that stuff, so we don’t stick out as much. This is good, but we are harder to spot!

          I have been training my Frugal Radar for years, but it still needs plenty of work!

  31. I like the feeling when being with my frugal friends. There are so many topics to talk about and I get to be real with them because we have the same interests, likes, and situation. Happy News Year, Frugalwoods!

  32. This post reminded me so much of the cohousing living arrangements that have been so successful in Denmark, and were described in the movie Happiness. There are a few such communities popping up around the United States, but they are currently few and far between. It would be so awesome to start one with a bunch of frugaltons!

  33. My husband and I would definitely come to Frugalwoodstock. We just found your blog a few weeks ago after going down the MMM rabbit hole over the past year. We’re 32 and 33, already living on a property in Southern VT, and exploring the possibility of FIRE or semi-retirement next year along with (hopefully!) becoming new parents and seeing if we are badass enough to homestead. We don’t yet have the frugal on lock-down yet but we’re working on it. Thanks for your blog and congratulations on the new addition!

  34. I wish my friends were frugal! It would make things so much easier and i could save so much more money. It sucks cause my friends always like to go out to eat and have a expensive time, which i also enjoy but id be happy going to a $2 pizzeria and having a good time there! Also, the next girl i date better be frugal like me cause my ex drained my pocket.

  35. I’m living in Hong Kong and I don’t have any frugal friends too…wish there is such an English speaking community here. 🙁

  36. So true and such a great article! Our path to financial freedom was made less difficult when we found our group of friends with similar goals and ideas! When we first paid off our debt and decided to live as frugally as possible, our friends (and even some family members, yikes) were very harsh and judgmental, but once we found our frugal friends, it made our journey less lonely and helped us become reinvigorated!

  37. Frugal friends are best friends because they know how to save more than spend. They are very conscious when spending money. They are living within their means.

  38. I read this and it immediately clicked with me. As a young person, mid 20’s, much of my peers talk about going out (all night), partying, getting drunk, talking about how broke they are but then partying all over again next weekend or financing a brand new car… I find it exhausting and simply tiring. I can only nod and smile so much when a peer tells me how drunk she got last night.

    I have yet to find my people 😛 going to FinCon and meeting all those great people was an awesome step I took recently!

  39. OMG can we please make FrugalwoodStock a thing?? It’s been challenging to find friends who think like we do. I have to admit that it can get lonely. Sometimes it’s hard when people judge you for not having a $600 car payment and cable bill. Stop the madness, people!

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