Posted in Simple and Frugal Living

Are you wondering what genetic simplicity is?  Are there thoughts of where your simplicistic and frugal traits came from running through your mind?  I know, you are reading and thinking about what fabulous researcher has studied this topic and wondering where can you get a copy of her report.

Well, that isn't actually the case.  I do not have any hard facts to back up what I am about to express to you.  All the same, I think there is truth to my hypothesis.  Read on and make up your own mind.

Think about yourself.  Think about your upbringing.  Are you living the same life in the same way as your family did?  The only answer is maybe.  Some folks follow in the footsteps of their parents with good and bad habits for lifestyle and living.  Others, vehemently have dammaged baggage and have created a lifestyle in direct opposition to their upbringing.  Some, may dabble here and there.  These differences are caused by us being created uniquely; each one of us with different gifts, talents, and purpose.  So the question of the day is, can you affect your children your children's choice to live a simple lifestyle?

Upon looking at my own family, I notice that to some degree you can.  Each child has taken this mindset and applied it to his/her life in a unique way.  For example, my oldest has no desire for name brand or fashionable clothing; any jeans and t-shirt will do.  He also enjoys life without a lot of formal to do.  However, he is a spender.  He potentially could be s tuff oriented adult.  One of my daughters is also simple in her day to day look.  While she is not interested in makeup, or the latest hair style and clothing/shoe trend, she does have a style of her own and is somewhat picky about her clothing.  She asks for no specific labels, but low wasted pants are out; shirts that expose her midriff are out; anything that is overly girlie, is also not in her wardrobe; 2 pairs of shoes reside in her closet, sneakers and slip-on flat black sandals, that can be worn casually or for a more formal occaision.  That said, she has never asked to go shopping for new clothes...actually aside from an occiaisonal request for a bookstore, she doesn't ask to go shopping at all.  Christmas lists are sparce, and most years we have to prod her to come up with a list.  She is a money saver.  Both of these children are simple and frugal in their own ways.  How will this manifest itself in their adult lives?  Obviously, I am not certain, so I have looked to other families with adult children.

What I do know is that every family seems to have one child that is the steretypical black sheep, in that he/she seems to enjoy a lifestyle completely set apart from the family.  The rest usually take on much of what is learned in their younger years.  In this I mean that while the children may not choose the same life, but use the same lifestyle principals into their adulthood.  For example, Ma & Pa may have raised their brood on a ranch; and all that that lifestyle entails.  They have observed how Ma & Pa run their home, what they find as priorities, financial tendencies, child rearing practices, discernment regarding acquisition of stuff, etc.  Ma & Pa's adult children may not choose to live on a ranch, but they will, more than likely, choose many of the other lifestyle practices that they were raised with, attempting to tweak them to fit their own family style. 

So, with all this said, it is important for you to include your children on your journey for a simple and frugal lifestyle.  Acknowledge your mistakes and what you have learned from them.  Give fact based explanations of why when you choose a method of accomplishing something.  Let them help with decisions about some things, by giving them the ultimate goal needing to be accomplished and some basic guidelines you need met.  Allow them to work through the process of helping you get from the initial idea to accomplishing the final goal.  You just might find that when your children grow into adulthood, your zest for simplicity might seem genetic as you watch them form their own lives. 

These are my thoughts.