As a kid my parents lived paycheck to paycheck. They went through multiple bankruptcies because they made didn't make the right choices. At we kept bouncing between being lower middle class and being below the poverty line. We had to pass on things we enjoyed many times because Dad was laid off and my mom was a spend thrift. When things went well she's buy tons of crap and save nothing, and when things went poorly she'd suddenly become frugal and find a way to keep us just barely afloat. At times her mother had to bail us out because we hit hard times and had no savings. The apartment we lived in was shit and not up to code or safe, but it was insanely cheap so we lived there my entire childhood.

I'm frugal because I don't want to live that way ever again. I never want to be in a position where I don't have enough money and have to chose between rent and food one week. I don't want to have to raise a child and have to raid their college savings to keep food on the table when things eventually go south. If I have a child I want to be a good example of how to manage finances and not the prime example of what not to do.

I'm frugal, because my parents weren't, and I don't want to end up like them.