The term frugal may bring up images of counting toilet paper squares when using the bathroom, adding water to your shampoo bottles, using all the leftovers in the fridge and not throwing out any waste, reusing sandwich bags and aluminum foil, sharing a toothbrush or turning off the water in the shower while shaving.  Some of these examples are frugal and some are extreme cheapskates.  What is the difference?

Many of the big purchases we make are not urgent.  It is not the difference between having a roof over our head or not.  Instead they have to do with convenience.  It is easy to convince ourselves of the urgency behind a big purchase due to this convenience factor.

What is risk?  Most of us would probably say it is “something new or scary with the high likelihood of failure.”  But, it just as equally can have a high likelihood of success as well. Risk is all around us.  Sometimes it shows up obvious, and in your face, other times it is small and fleeting.  If you look at your day and it looks and feels exactly like last week, last month, last year, then you probably aren’t experiencing enough risk. 

We all have our goals and dreams.  Things we daydream about.  The planning, preparing, and research phase is endless and can keep us busy for many years.