My Love of Living a Frugal Lifestyle For some reason, it seems that frugality is often associated with deprivation and being cheap. In my opinion, true frugality is anything but this. Frugality is about having more experiences. It's about living more on a little less. Ever since discovering the world of personal finance about four years ago, I've become totally fascinated by the power of frugality. It's a lifestyle I've teamed to embrace. I love living a frugal lifestyle because my efforts have resulted in additional benefits that go beyond the immediate impact of cash savings. It has turned me into a more goal-oriented, resourceful and appreciative person. Frugality leads me to focus on my priorities. My commitment to being frugal started with identifying my motivation for embracing the lifestyle. Why am I willing to give up a shopping trip to the mall? What makes me unwilling to eat out for birthday celebrations these few years? Evidently, I need to place the top priority on paying off my student loans by next year! Frugality inspires me to constantly evaluate the choices I'm making in order of importance.
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One other reward is that frugality has helped me to appreciate what I have, which has nothing to do with money. When I choose to live with less, I begin to respect what I already have. I take better care of the things I own and this attitude extends to appreciating the beauty of life itself. I often experience this enhanced level of thankfulness for the wonders of nature and the items I value, thanks to my frugal mindset（思维方式）. It sounds cliché, yet the more grateful I feel, the less I want. To sum up, I take great pride in my present frugal living. Cutting back unnecessary purchases and throwing away the non-value stuff makes room for what's really important. I've learned to handle budget related problems more resourcefully, repairing and reusing old items for a more sustainable, greener way of living. Spending less but appreciating what I have encourages me to live a richer life. In many cases, one doesn't need to spend money to be happy.
【正确答案】：【参考答案】【Being frugal also offers me more chances to display my resourcefulness. Instead of dashing to the store to replace something broken, I’ve developed a reflex of first fixing it myself, finding a low-cost alternative or trying to make do without. I look for ways to reuse things before throwing them away. Re-purposing or recycling the stuff has become a great way to save money as well as to live a greener life. Whenever a piece of clothing becomes too worn to wear, I cut it up into rags for room cleaning instead of throwing it away. As a plus, my DIY skills have also improved a great deal.】
