What’s the multiplier when it comes to managing our money? Simply put, frugal is green, and green is frugal. Frugality helps create a financial margin of safety. Households can better withstand setbacks with savings, and they have resources to tap into when opportunities emerge. The embrace of a frugal lifestyle calls for thoughtfulness about purchases, choosing quality rather than quantity, creating less waste and doing more with less.
In other words, the multiplier effect is at work since frugal spending habits support and reinforce everyday efforts to live with a sustainability ethic and practices and vice versa.
Chris Farrell is senior economics contributor for “Marketplace” and a commentator for Minnesota Public Radio.
