Frugality. It’s a word that, for many people, screams deprivation and even poverty. I get letters from readers who say they’ve had it with trying to live below their means and never having anything they love. “What’s the point if all of this deprivation if it just makes me feel even more miserable?” was the way one woman closed her letter.

Years ago I had a frugality wake-up call -- something I admit to needing from time to time. It's so easy to get sloppy in a country where we are surrounded by abundance and a seemingly endless supply of everything.