oftenwe'retoldthatwehavetosuffernow—giveupwhatwewant—inordertosucceedlater,thatinordertosavewemustsacrifice.giveupinstantgratificationtogetdelayedgratification.butyoucandoboth.foryears,iwasconfusedaboutthis,asireadbooksandwebsitesthatsentmetwodifferentmessages:

　　pleasurelater.thefirstmessagewasthatinordertobesuccessful,inordertobuildwealth,youhavetodelaygratification.youcan'thaveinstantgratificationandbesuccessful.pleasurenow.thesecondmessagewasusuallyfromothersourcesonhappiness,butsometimesfromthesamesource:enjoylifenow,whileyoucan,becauseit'sshortandyouneverknowwhenyourlastdaywillcome.liveeverydaylikeit'syourlast.troubleis,iagreewithbothmessages.andifyoureadthissiteoften,you’llseethatisendbothmessages:livefrugallyandsimply!butalsoenjoylife!

　　that'sbecausei'vereconciledthetwophilosophiesintoone:livelifenowandenjoyittothefullest—withoutdestroyingyourfuture.thekeytodoingthat?findwaystoenjoylifecompletely,utterly,maximally…thatdon’tcostyourfutureverymuch.herearesometipsforactuallylivingthatphilosophy:

　　findfreeorcheappleasures.frugalitydoesnothavetobeboringorrestrictive…ifyouuseyourimagination.becreativeandfindwaystohavefun—loadsofit—withoutspendingmuchmoney.haveapicnicatthepark,gotothebeach,docrafts,boardgames,flyakite,makeart,bakecookies…icouldlistahundredthings,andyoucouldcomeupwithafewhundredmore.makealistofsimplepleasures,andenjoythemtothemaximum.thisisthekeytothewholeideaofenjoyinglifenowwithoutspendingtomorrow'sdollar.seesavorthelittlethings.makesimplifyingfun.i'mabigfanofsimplifyingmylife,fromdeclutteringtocreatingasimplelifestyleineveryway.andtome,thisisgreatfun.igetridofstuff(andpossiblymakemoneysellingit)andhaveablastdoingit.that’sgoodmath.

　　rediscoverwhat’simportant.oftentimeswespendtonsofmoney,shopping,goingout,watchingmovies,eatingout…withoutreallyenjoyinglife.andwhenwestoptothinkaboutit,weneverhavetimeforthethingswereallywanttodo.well,that'sprobablybecauseyourlifeisfilledwiththingsthataren'tveryimportanttoyou.instead,stepbackandreallythinkaboutwhat’simportanttoyou.thengetridoftheother(expensive)stuff,andfocusonwhat'simportant.listentosomestuffonmylist:mywifeandkids,otherfriendsandfamily,reading,writing,exercising,volunteering,spendingquiettimeincontemplation.guesshowmanyofthosethingscostalotofmoney?readmorehere.

　　makepeopleapriority.thisisrelatedtotheabovepoint,butithoughti'dgiveitalittlemoreemphasis.ifyougive"stuff"apriority—stufflikegadgets,nicefurnishings,niceclothes,shoes,jewelry,etc.—thenyouwillspendalotofmoney.butifyoumakepeopleapriority—thepeopleyoulovemost,youclosefriendsandfamily—youdon'tneedtospendadimetoenjoylife.makesometimetovisitwithfriends,oryourparents…andhaveaconversationwiththemthatdoesn'tinvolveeatingoutorgoingtothemovies.justsit,havesomeicedteaorhotcocoa(dependingontheweather),andtalk.telljokesandlaughyourheadsoff.talkaboutbooksyou'veread,moviesyou’vewatched,newthingsgoingoninyourlife,yourhopesanddreams.andmaketimeforyourkidsoryoursignificantother—reallyspendtimewiththem,doingthingsthatdon'tcostmoney.(seespendtimewithfamilyandlovedones,100waystohavefunwithyourkidsand50waystoberomanticonthecheap.)

　　findtimeforyourself.maketimeeveryday,andeveryweek,tospendtimealone.itreallygivesmoremeaningandenjoymenttoyourlife,ratherthanrushingthroughlifewithnotimetothink,tobreathe.forideasonhowtomakethistime,seethesewaystocreatetimeforsolitude.

　　sometimes,splurge.youshouldn'trestrictyourselffromexpensivepleasuresallthetime—it'snotgoodtodevelopthefeelingofdeprivation.topreventthat,onceinawhile,buyyourselfsomething…orbetteryet,giveyourselfadecadenttreat.ilovethingswithdarkchocolateorberries.crepeswithicecreamandberriesareoneofmyfavorites.justdon'tgooverboard…andlearntoenjoythesplurgetothefullest.ifyoutrulytakethetimetoenjoyatreat,youdon'tneedalotofit.trackyoursuccesses.itdoesn'treallymatterhowyoutrackyoursuccess…youcanusegoldstarsforcreatinganewsimplifyingorfrugalfyinghabit,oraspreadsheetcharttotrackyourdecreasingdebtandincreasingsavingsorinvestments.trackingisagreatwaytonotonlyprovidemotivation,butmaketheprocessofchangingfun.

　　rewardyourself.andinordertomakeitmorefun,celebrateeverylittlesuccess!setrewardsforyourself(hopefullynottooexpensive!)alongyourpathtosuccess—celebrateoneday,twodays,threedays,aweek,twoweeks,three,amonth…yougettheidea.volunteer.oneofthemostrewardingthingsformyfamilyhasbeenwhenwehavemanagedtovolunteer.it'sactuallysomethingweonlystarteddoinglastyear,butsincethen,we'vedoneitabunchoftimesinanumberofdifferentways.andwhileitdoesn'tcostadime,itistremendouslysatisfyinginwaysthatmoneycouldneverbuy.readmore.

　　liveinthemoment.learntothinknotsomuchaboutthepastorfuture,butaboutwhatyouaregoingthroughrightnow.bepresent.itmayseemtrite,butit'sthekeytoenjoyinglifetothefullest—withouthavingtospendmoney.thinkaboutit—youcanspendmoneyoneatingout,butifyouarenotreallythinkingaboutwhatyou'reeating,youmaynotenjoyitmuchatall.butifyoucookasimplebutdeliciousmeal,andreallytasteeverybite,itcanbetremendouslyenjoyablewithoutcostingalot.readmore.slowdown.inthesameway,youcan'treallyenjoylifetothefullestifit'srushingpastyoulikeit'sonfastforward.everthinkabouthowquicklyaweek,amonth,orayeargoesby?perhapsyou'reinthefastlanetoomuch.tryslowingdown,andthingswillbelessstressfulandmoreenjoyable.driveslower,eatslower,liveslower.

　　learntofindcheap,coolstuff.callmecrazy,butiloveshoppingatthriftstores.youcanfindsomanycoolthingsthere,anditcostssolittle.garagesalesarethesameway.orcheckoutfreecycle,orread20waystofindfreeorcheapbooks.