Why Free and Frugal? Great Question. We wanted to create Free and Frugal as a brand that represents how we want to live out our core values. Read about those under Core Values .
While we love to find things for free ($0), the real value is in BEING personally free. Free represents our Gospel-centered desire to live an unencumbered or unhindered life. (John 8:32, Heb 12:1). We believe God calls and enables believers to be free.
That concept struck us deeply. What does it mean to live free? To be unhindered?
Our best way to describe it is through packing for a trip. Things are helpful right? Toothbrush, yep. Deodorant, yes please. But at some point you start adding a book and a few electronics, then another jacket and pair of shoes, then a second suitcase and a backpack. Eventually, you are lugging this baggage through the airport, sweating and muttering things to yourself in frustration. Somewhere along the way, your packing went from things that helped you to things that weighed you down.
We're not talking about "freedom" in the physical sense, but freedom in the invisible sense. We acknowledge that there are real legal limits on personal freedom like incarceration, commitments like military service, children and... well... marriage. The shackles we want to avoid are the invisible prisons... being hobbled by debt, handcuffed to possessions, trapped by guilt or obligation, or enslaved by habit or addiction.
We want to release or get rid of those things, and break free from:
burdensome physical possessions,
bitterness over childhood hurt, or
burnout from too many commitments or activities.
We don't pretend to have solutions, but we hope to share some of what works for us as we strive to be free.
We get a kick out of good deals, a clear budget, and free stuff. But frugal living is really about focusing on value.
Recognizing the value of what you have,
being clear about what you want,
understanding the full cost of something
and being resourceful and realistic in pursuing it.
It's that holistic view of your financial AND intangible resources, your constraints and options.
We try to balance dollars with sense.
Sometimes financial decisions are simple.
It doesn't make sense to use coupons when they actually cost more... Buy 2 - get 1 Free doesn't help if you can only carry 1.
Time
Timing
Relationship
Wear & Tear
Personal Capacity
Effort to Value
Time Value of Money
Money Value of Time
Something Borrowed
Yours, Mine and Ours: Own/Rent/Hire/Join
To Buy or Not to Buy
Don't freak out... It's just money.
For a deeper dive into these bullet points, go to our Money Matters section and read more under What is Frugal?
We credit much of the framework of our thinking to our parents who greatly influenced our work ethic, love of deal finding, bias toward fixing and salvaging things, and general ability to not buy things we don't need counterbalanced by a tendency to hoard projects we got on sale with intent to repair or repurpose.
We also anchor our values in teachings of the Bible and especially in the words of Jesus. You'll likely see references for verses or stories next to some of the concepts on this site.
We hope that we will be able to model and share the wisdom found in Matthew 6:19-34 where Jesus challenges people not to anchor their life in their money, clothes, food or future, but to find peace in the meeting of faith and faithfulness. We'll apply diligence and excellence in management or stewardship of resources (Matthew 25:14-30), and seek to hold loosely and share generously the possessions and resources in our charge.