Live well without busting your budget

By Liz Pulliam Weston

If you've ever been on a really tight budget, you probably instinctively know what I mean by the phrase "frugal burnout."

It's how you feel when everybody else seems to be spending like mad while you're counting the pennies in the change jar. It's resenting that you have to say no when you want to say yes. It's wanting to buy something, just once, without worrying about the consequences.

No matter how worthy your reasons -- paying off debt, saving more or coping with a financial setback such as unemployment -- frugal burnout can make you want to throw in the towel. But the key to making your plan work is sticking to it, and sometimes you need a little help.

That's why I called on the people who post in the Your Money message board for their suggestions about how to live on a budget without feeling deprived. Several have been through tough times -- and some are still in them. Their suggestions have the road-tested feel of people who know what they're talking about.

So read on for some great ideas about living frugally while avoiding drudgery:

Remember why you're saving

One reader made a chart showing her debts and plotted each month's payment so she could have tangible, visual evidence that her balances were going down. She also wrote "Debt free is for me!" on a small card and placed it in her wallet where her credit cards used to go.

"Every time I opened my wallet and paid cash," the reader wrote, "seeing that card made me feel good about what I was doing."

Keeping your goal in mind can help you fight the urge to spend, several readers said. One took trips to the country and vowed she would own a home there one day.

Others think about the day they can be financially independent -- able to retire or pursue other interests.

Even those who are living frugally as a matter of survival can take pride in improving their money skills. One wrote: "Pat yourself on the back when you have made it through one month better than the last."

• Talk back:What's your worst urge to splurge?

Finding support systems also can help beat the frugal blues. There are plenty of Internet sites and message boards devoted to frugal living. You'll probably also be happier if you spend time with people who support your goals, rather than those who deride you for being "cheap."

One 27-year-old newlywed says she and her husband shared Friday dinners with another young couple going through financial hardship.

"It's all about using what you have available . . . but we turned it into a party atmosphere and had a lot of fun."

Live in the moment

Focusing on what you don't have is a recipe for discontent. Instead, concentrate on what you do have.

Rather than fret about not being able to buy a home, for example, one reader vowed to make current surroundings more habitable.

"I'm going to paint all the interior doors, see about replacing some of the bent, rusty screens . . . (and) paint some of my plain wood furniture," the reader vowed. "Consider it practice for when I do get my home!"

Another reader keeps a list of everything she has that she's grateful for and talks about her gratitude with her family.

"My husband and I always say things to each other like, 'Everything important in my life is right here' . . . and other equally sappy stuff," she wrote.

Several readers, in fact, mentioned spending more time with friends and family as a major benefit of frugal living.

Mike in Austin remembers his layoff and the memories he was able to make with his young sons as a "magical experience." With little money but lots of time, he came up with "theme nights" and even posted signs in the house announcing each one. Some of his favorites:

• Movie Night with 99-cent rentals

• Stay Up As Late As You Can Night (as Mike wrote, the idea "sounded great to them, but they couldn't make it past 9 p.m.")

• Baseball Night (in Mike's words, "a grueling father-against-sons game in the front yard."

• Slumber Party Night

• Water Bomb Night

Mike wrote the experience "was like summer camp at home . . . the most valuable memory I may own."

Splurge a little

Even the tightest budget needs a little give, or the whole thing is likely to collapse. And enjoying "life's little pleasures," as one reader puts it, doesn't have to cost a lot, or anything at all.

Some people tie their treats to specific goals, such as paying off a credit card. Others build in a little "splurge money," sometimes as little as $5 to $10 a month, to waste as they please.

Continued: Laugh at your neighbors' overspending

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