Scarcity Mindset

There’s a fine line between being frugal and being too cheap.

I tap-danced all along this line during my late teens and early twenties, as I found my way in the world. I remember living in my first apartment—my share of the rent was $162.50—and it was the first time I’d be responsible for 100% of my expenses and my budget.

I realized immediately that I could control how much money I spent every month. Rent was set, but utilities, food, clothing, and any other expense could be considered discretionary, at least to a degree.

My desire to be frugal certainly arose from the world in which I grew up. My folks weren’t poor, but they were hard-working teachers whose own parents had lived through the Great Depression. I’m certain that the trauma my grandparents lived through during that time had a profound impact on my family.

Unfortunately, it was all too easy to slip into being too cheap: either not buying the things I needed in order to have a better life, or not investing in things that ma…