I grew up poor. Everyone I knew was poor or barely getting by. It took me a lifetime to realize over-frugality can also be self-destructive.
My extended family members use to trade stories of working dangerous jobs or getting mugged and laugh it off. That was until my aunt got shot in the head working the late shift at a convenience store. She was in the news and the community and the hospital paid all her medical bills; but she was never the same after that.
Growing up gambling was a mysterious force that ran through my family. They worked hard. Like their bodies were physically wrecked and they saved and saved. They would often spend so much time at work or at their side hustles, they would neglect their children who would teach themselves how to cook because no adult was at home. And yet, they would blow their entire savings in a weekend in Las Vegas. Or sometimes came back even in debt.
Now, I would say that frugality is not a moral imperative. Being poor is not a virtue. Sometimes fate deals it to you. But no job is worth wrecking your health. And it is not a sin to spend a little on something that makes life a bit sweeter.
My extended family members use to trade stories of working dangerous jobs or getting mugged and laugh it off. That was until my aunt got shot in the head working the late shift at a convenience store. She was in the news and the community and the hospital paid all her medical bills; but she was never the same after that.
Growing up gambling was a mysterious force that ran through my family. They worked hard. Like their bodies were physically wrecked and they saved and saved. They would often spend so much time at work or at their side hustles, they would neglect their children who would teach themselves how to cook because no adult was at home. And yet, they would blow their entire savings in a weekend in Las Vegas. Or sometimes came back even in debt.
Now, I would say that frugality is not a moral imperative. Being poor is not a virtue. Sometimes fate deals it to you. But no job is worth wrecking your health. And it is not a sin to spend a little on something that makes life a bit sweeter.