Play it again, Mama:Thriftyness vs. Frugality

I was recently challenged by a post from Kristen at We are THAT Family commenting on The Difference Between Thrifty and Frugal. I wasn't challenged so much to live off the grid, so to speak, rather to revisit my issue of spending.

In the past 9 days, we've had our offer on a house accept and 2 days later had our second car go into the garage. While a second car is a recognizable luxury, it's one that has almost become a necessity in my life. I didn't realize how much I depended on that car until I found myself without. And facing 10 days and thousands of dollars of work. Add these two things together and it's been a lot of soul searching this past week.

As my husband has taken it on to be the bread winner, allowing me the liberty of staying at home with the kids, I've always thought of my contribution to be in the area of frugality. While my days are far from easy, I have had some time to bargain shop, clip coupons, and generally penny pinch. What was once a chore, quickly became fun for me. How far could I stretch my husband's pay check? How far could it go?

And then somewhere along the way, my frugality became thriftiness. I learned how to stockpile shampoo and toothpaste, how to purchase some higher end items for less, and picked up some luxury items for myself along the way. All at a fraction of the cost. However, there were still some loses. Somethings that just weren't necessities. Somethings were just fun.

So I'm just thinking through this idea. Check out the original post. Tell me what you think.