Living frugally seems like voluntary poverty. The very word–frugal–sounds cheap. Parsimonious. Ebenezer Scrooge-ish.

Frugal may sound that way, but that’s not really what it means.

Frugal means not wasteful. It’s Latin word root, dating from 1590, actually means “fruit” as in “producing fruit.”

So living frugally means a lifestyle that produces fruit.

And learning to live frugally is directly related to simplicity.

In a practical way, living frugally means buying less. Wasting less. And it also means wanting less. (There’s the rub!)

Hopefully, though, the goal of simplicity is more peace in your life. More time spent doing the things you value and with the people you value.

So, oddly enough, living a frugal life does produce fruit. The kind worth having.