Word-Of-the-Week #2015: Frugal
January 22, 2026 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on Word-Of-the-Week #2015: Frugal
Frugal – practicing economy; living without waste; thrifty.
Do you consider yourself to be frugal? Do you use coupons? Do you love a good deal?
I am re-running this WOW since I think it’s a great follow up to the last 2 on wealth and prosperity.
I have a post card on my desk that reads, “frugal is such an ugly word.” It cracks me up every time I see it. And it spurred to revisit this word when one of my acquaintances laughed out loud when I said, “I am working on not being so frugal.” She clearly has no idea how frugal I am!
For many years I took my recycling to the center to get my deposit money back. Do you know how many cans and bottles it takes to make $8?
I subscribe to “The Friends & Family Plan” when it comes to home repairs. Many providers offer discounts when you give them referrals and/or pay in cash.
All the people that truly know me well know I love a “bargain.” I don’t like paying full retail! When I was remodeling our home I told the salesperson I was “Looking for top of the line economy.” That usually evoked a smile or a laugh. I still do it today!
And when we took our grandkids shopping for their birthday presents they knew that if they bought items on sale they got more. For Christmas we put money in their 529 college fund. They got enough “stuff” and I feel it’s our responsibility to teach them how to save and spend.
For every international flight we’ve used points and flew in either first or business class. Frugal doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy being comfortable! It all comes down on ROI – Return on Investment. It’s very personal. What is most important to you?
Don’t get me wrong as I love spending money. I just hate wasting it more! I’ve also learned the hard way that buying the best quality products cost more up front but are cheaper in the long run. Perfect examples of that are luggage, blenders, and tools. Or anything you use a lot.
And this excerpt from Zina Kumok on “The Cult of Frugality – Why Being Frugal Doesn’t Work” speaks volumes.
“Every day, people choose not to spend money on something that could change their lives – like a Master’s degree, investment opportunities, or a new business idea. They get so wrapped up in daily financial decisions like whether to buy brand-mane or generic salsa that they forget about the big picture.
My husband used to fall into this extreme frugality trap. For years he avoided buying fresh vegetables, preferring to buy cheaper ingredients to make pasta and sandwiches. After developing a daily exercise habit, he slowly loosened the reins. Now, we eat fresh veggies with every meal and have a salad at least once a day. Our grocery bill is slightly more than it used to be, be we consider it an investment in our health. Turns out this thinking makes good financial sense as well. A report published by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that, “People in bad health work less, earn less, face higher medical expenses, die earlier, and accumulate much less wealth compared to those in good health.”
If you’re avoiding exercise because a $40 gym membership is expensive, you’re actually costing yourself hundreds of thousands of dollars in the long run. Skipping spinach because it doesn’t last as long as a bag of rice, is actually the less frugal decision.”
Being frugal doesn’t mean you can’t have some periodic splurges and luxuries. It’s WHY you can! As my dear sweet friend Sandra says, “The people I know that have a WHOLE LOT OF MONEY have a healthy respect for it.”
This week think about what frugal means to you. How do you spend your money? Are you investing wisely when it comes to your health? Do you talk to your staff, your kids, and/or your grandkids about spending and saving?
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Word-Of-the-Week #2013: Wealth
January 8, 2026 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on Word-Of-the-Week #2013: Wealth
Wealth – an abundance of valuable material possessions or resources; riches.
Have you ever wondered how wealthy people achieve all they have? Do you subscribe to monthly subscriptions that you hardly ever use? How much of your attention is focused on attaining the level of wealth you want?
This week features the first half of Jordan Cooper’s article, “Mark Cuban says if you want to build real wealth, eliminate these 7 expenses immediately. Here’s to having a truly Happy & Prosperous New Year!
- Most people sabotage their own wealth-building by spending money on things that provide zero return.
“Mark Cuban didn’t build billions by spending carelessly. One of his most consistent messages over the years has been simple: most people sabotage their own wealth-building by spending money on things that provide zero return.
1) Credit card interest
Cuban has said repeatedly that paying credit card interest is the fastest way to stay poor. If you’re carrying balances and paying 20%+ interest, you’re working backwards financially.
He’s not subtle about this. Cuban calls credit card debt a trap that makes banks rich while keeping you broke. Every dollar you pay in interest is a dollar that could be invested or saved.
His advice is simple: stop using credit cards you can’t pay off monthly. If you have balances, attacking that debt becomes your first priority before any other financial goal.
This makes people defensive because credit card debt feels normal. But Cuban’s point is that normal financial behavior keeps you average. Building wealth requires different choices.
2) New cars and auto loans
Cuban drove the same car for years even after becoming wealthy. He’s repeatedly said that buying new cars is one of the biggest wealth destroyers for regular people.
Cars depreciate the moment you drive them off the lot. Taking on auto loans means paying interest on something that’s actively losing value. It’s financial self-sabotage.
His recommendation is to buy used, pay cash when possible, and drive cars into the ground. The money saved on car payments and depreciation can be invested, where it actually grows instead of evaporating.
I’ve watched people making $50,000 a year buy $40,000 cars on loans. Cuban would call this insanity, and he’d be right. That monthly payment is stolen wealth.
3) Subscription services you barely use
Cuban talks about subscription creep constantly. That $10 here, $15 there adds up to hundreds of dollars monthly for services people barely use.
Streaming services, gym memberships, software subscriptions, meal kits, subscription boxes. Each one seems small, but together they’re a significant drain.
His advice is to audit subscriptions quarterly and ruthlessly cut anything you’re not actively using. If you haven’t been to the gym in three months, cancel it. If you’re not watching a streaming service, kill it.
When I finally audited my own subscriptions last year, I found $80 monthly going to services I’d forgotten about. That’s nearly $1,000 annually wasted on nothing.
4) Luxury items for status signaling
Cuban has talked about how destructive status spending is for wealth building. Designer clothes, luxury brands, expensive watches bought to impress others are wealth killers.
He famously wore the same shoes for years despite being a billionaire. His point was that spending money to signal status is money that could be building actual wealth instead.
The people trying to look rich are usually the furthest from it. Real wealth building requires being comfortable looking average while your money works for you invisibly.
This is probably the hardest expense to eliminate because status signaling feels good. But Cuban’s point is clear: choose between looking wealthy and becoming wealthy.”
This week’s focus is on building wealth. Are you making investments or depleting your savings potential? How long do you typically own your cars? How would it feel to have no credit card debt?
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Word-Of-the-Week #2012: Release
December 18, 2025 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on Word-Of-the-Week #2012: Release
Release – to consciously free yourself by letting go and moving on.
How easy is it for you to let go of anything that no longer serves you?
Once again, Steve Strauss, author of STEVE’S 3-MINUTE COACHING, sent a very thought-provoking piece!
Distinction: Let Go vs. Get Over
(Distinctions are subtleties of language that, when gotten, cause a shift in a belief, behavior, value, or attitude.)
Have you ever felt upset about something and had someone say to you, “Get over it”? Or even said it to yourself? While “Get over it” is a common phrase for change, it doesn’t have a wonderful success record.
The reason is that it takes effort, energy, and repetition to finally be clear. Get over it keeps focusing on the issue – exactly what you don’t want!
To Let Go takes almost no energy. Imagine opening your hand to let go of an item. Letting go is a process of relaxing.
Choose to stop letting anything that no longer serves you disturb you. You immediately stop using the energy you are using to hold on.
This applies to many topics—physical (like weight), financial (such as debt), emotional (worry), and personal (relationships).
Let Go releases. Get Over pushes away.
(To prepare for writing an S3MC, I check all past issues. This helps me see if I’ve already covered that topic. With fifteen hundred-plus issues over 30+ years, I cannot recall them all. This search showed over 100 issues contain the words ‘let go,’ so I must think it’s important!)
Coaching Point: What have you Let Go of recently?See all past issues and subscribe here Steve’s 3-Minute Coaching
Copyright © 2025 Steve Straus, All rights reserved.
This week’s is all about being able to release. What we think about we bring about. Do you ever say, “Get over it?” How would it feel to say, “Let go of it” instead?
This one spoke to me as it is something I am currently working on! I am taking a break for then next 2 weeks for the holidays. Because frankly, I don’t want to add more mail to your inbox!
I hope you take a break too and release your electronic gadgets and experience being present. Here’s to truly Happy & FUN Holidays!
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Word-Of-the-Week #2011: Enough
December 11, 2025 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on Word-Of-the-Week #2011: Enough
Enough – having as much as you need.
Are you content with what you have and where you are in your life?
This week features another great WOW from Sam Horn.
ANECDOTE
There is a wisdom in being content with what we already have – instead of constantly seeking MORE and somehow believing it will make us happier.
Look around right now. Say, “I am enough. I have enough.”
Did your shoulders just drop? Your jaw unclench? Did you let out a heartfelt sigh and feel the tension drain from your body?
That’s how being present feels.
Kind of the opposite of the daily rush to do more and have more, isn’t it?
Some people believe contentment is passive, like we’re settling, giving up.
I think it is a state of appreciation and it’s not mutually exclusive with aspiration.
We can appreciate and aspire at the same time. It’s not one or the other. We can have a combination of BOTH.
Where are you on the Continuum of Contentment?
I am right smack dab in the middle. I have one foot in the NOW and one foot in the NEXT.
Part of me is content with where I am, who I am, and what I’m doing… Part of me is looking ahead to where I want to go, who I want to be, what I want to do.
Being in the now and in the next is a special kind of abundance.
ACTION
- Today, promise yourself you’ll be in the NOW and NEXT… Because it really is the best of both worlds.
- I’ve compiled some of my favorite quotes about mindfulness, presence, and how we can be happier right here, right now.
- Feel free to print your favorite(s) and post them where they’re in sight, in mind. They might just be the right words at the right time to drop into the now… Now.
This week’s focus is about having enough. How would it feel to live in the best of both worlds? Can you appreciate all that you have now? Is there a part of you that aspires to do more?
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Word-Of-the-Week #2010: Holidays
December 6, 2025 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on Word-Of-the-Week #2010: Holidays
Holidays – that “special” time of year that brings joy and/or stress.
I didn’t send a WOW on Thanksgiving intentionally. I figured everyone needed a break including myself. Then when I attempted to post this week’s WOW my website crashed. Sorry for being late with this. Hope you’re having FUN weekend!
How do the holidays make you feel? Do you travel to be with your family? Do you spend time with family that lives out of town? Or do you leave town, so you don’t have to be around any of them?
Since we are “full on” in the Holiday Season, I am taking the liberty of running this past WOW. Long time subscriber John always makes me belly laugh when he replies to my WOW’s. This is what he wrote after my WOW on family.
“I recall a quote from an elderly Aunt of mine back in the 50′s that always stuck in my mind which occurred after a family “tiff” during the annual Thanksgiving family get-together many, many years ago.
Three members of the family were particularly known for getting on each others last nerve. During a particularly “animated discussion” my Aunt, who was known to enjoy her homemade Elderberry wine, stood up and proclaimed, “A toast to Thanksgiving, that special time of the year that we get together to remind us why we all moved apart.”
The saying goes, “You don’t get to pick your family, but you do get to pick your friends.” You may not be able to control their behavior, but you can control yours. You can either choose to not be reactive or to not be around them. My mother used to tell me to “ignore your brother” a lot. As I have gotten older, I am seriously questioning that statement. Is it in anyone’s best interest to ignore certain behavior? What message does that send?
This week’s focus is on the Holidays. Do they make you feel festive and/or joyous? Or do you feel stress? In a perfect world what could you do to make them more joyful? What behavior could you change to reduce your stress?
And just for a little FUN, stressed spelled backwards is desserts! Maybe you need more of those. Here’s to having a wonderful Holiday Season!
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