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Are you feeling stressed about your inability to spend the way you want to? Are you losing the strength and energy to resist the urge to splurge?

According to a poll conducted by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC), 66% of Americans are suffering from “frugal fatigue.” In a nutshell, people are sick and tired of the pressure of living below their means.

Can you blame them? For many, there is nothing readily desirable about creating a budget, examining your spending regularly and essentially cutting coupons and pinching pennies. It is unfortunate, however, that American’s see some of the fundamental principles for wealth creation as such a hassle. Living below ones means should not be a strategy that we pull out only to weather a recession. These principles should technically be our way of life. I’m not saying that we must create a lifestyle of deprivation, but I am saying that we exercise discipline in all circumstances, i.e. in and out of a recession.

I believe the number one issue is that people have been forced to live differently as opposed to having a mindset shift and realizing for themselves that their behavior needed modification. Despite how you “got in” on frugality, the question is now that you’ve been here, where do you go from here once the economy begins to look up? How do you live the life you want, but maintain the lessons you’ve learned?

Whether you are suffering from frugal fatigue or not, I suggest creating both a written and visual plan for your life in a place where you can access it daily. Whether you use a dream journal, vision board or any other method you can think of is totally up to you – the point is to just use SOMETHING! No matter how strong-willed you are, everyone has a moment here and there where they want to just give discipline the peace sign and do what they feel like doing – no matter how detrimental to their progress. But, when you keep the vision you have for your life at the forefront of your mind, it becomes much easier to control yourself and stay focused.

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