What is frugal?  I don’t mean the definition of the word (although that is also interesting — but that’s another post 😉 ), but the application of the concept.  Specifically, I’m thinking of the fact that what is frugal and what is not varies, depending on the circumstances.  Take, for instance, my family’s timeshare.

We didn’t buy it recently.  It would definitely not have been frugal for us to have purchased a timeshare in the last couple of years.  It would, in fact, have been downright foolish, as we just simply do not have the money to spend on something of that nature.  In our current situation, it would be purely frivolous.  But it’s already bought and paid for.  (We still have to pay an annual maintenance fee, but it is deeded real estate that will be passed down to our children, assuming we continue to keep it.)

When we did purchase it, it was actually with an eye toward frugality.  When my husband was in vocational ministry, he always, always, always, without exception, took all two weeks of his vacation every year.  One of those weeks, we usually spent at home, but for the other week, we went away.  This time was considered necessary for our emotional and mental well-being, to “recharge” us (hubby, in particular), and allow us to come back and continue to minister effectively, without burnout.  This meant that we were already paying every year for lodging, etc., as well as spending the time to figure out where to go, where to stay, and so forth.

Then we went to one of those sales-pitch weekends.  Honestly, we did not expect to buy anything.  In fact, we turned down their first two offers.  But we bought the third option they offered us, which was something of a “budget” option (although still a “gold crown” location, one of the top-of-line resort options).  Our thinking?  Having this condo hotel already “set up” and available for us would take some of the hassle out of vacation planning.

It would not cost us any more than what we were already paying and, in many cases, would actually save us money over what we would otherwise have paid for lodging (especially as our family grew).  (This does not count the initial investment which would, of course, take a little while to “pay for itself.”  But it would have.)  Because we could “bank” our week and trade it, if we so chose, we had thousands of options of places to go.  And, in addition, we got certain “perks” at our home resort that we expected to use, both for our own benefit, and for the benefit of our families and those to whom we ministered.

Our life has taken some unexpected turns since then, and it isn’t working out quite as neatly as we had expected, but if we had continued on that same course, it actually would have been a frugal option. 🙂

(As a complete aside, does anyone know what the “going rate” is for tips to the housekeeping staff in these places?)