Frugality is often thought of being able to say no to things that one wants.  I want to eat out at restaurants. Being frugal is denying myself that pleasure.  Being able to restrain yourself from things you want is a important part of being frugal.  However, there is a deeper frugality.  The ideal way to be frugal is to actually want less.

Wanting less is difficult.  Most people are ingrained with natural tendency to want more.  We want more food. We want more house.  We want more cars.  How do you go about wanting less? I believe the strongest argument and most compelling reason to want less is a desire for simplicity.  This desire for simplicity is an over arching theme in many personal finance blogs.  JD at Get Rich Slowly indicated this to be one of his goals in a book review he had of Voluntary Simplicity. The Simple Dollar reflect Trent’s quest for simplicity in it’s name.

While I never had the debt trouble that either JD or Trent may had in the past, I struggle with simplicity more. I’m a “wanter.” I want things. I manage to be relatively frugal because I’m pretty good at good restraining myself, but I still want. I know despite not being a zenBuddhist that to not want is to have.  I strive to get there.