Sooner or later, you are going to ask yourself that question...and why not?
Perhaps you have finally paid off all of your debt and find yourself with extra money each month. Maybe you made the decision to "tighten the belt" after all the recent news of the declining economy. But now your moment of panic is over and you are feeling more secure?
Can things go back to normal now?
But what is normal?
Gasoline:
When gas prices went through the roof, I cut back my driving drastically. With the exception of grocery shopping and church, I really didn't go anywhere. The result was that I was able to get by without increasing my gas budget AND it kept me out of the stores and away from temptation. Now that gas is so much cheaper, I'm still staying home. The result? I've actually decreased my gas budget and put the excess towards our Christmas fund. Oh - and it's better for the environment as well!
Groceries:
while we never went on full "Rice & Beans Mode", I have learned to get way more creative with recipes. I still found a way to get plenty of veggies in to our meals...I just get them through free frozen veggies! I started making more and more things from scratch. My children have been loving the baked goods that I make for ⅓ the price of the packaged stuff. It's been a win-win situation. Sure, it requires a some extra time each week, but that time is now spent making more foods with simple ingredients and less preservatives (despite what some people may think)
Savings:
my husband has always been good about putting 15% of his income in his 401K (as was I when I was working), but we never had any other savings. The car needed new brakes? We put it on the credit card and swore that we would have it paid off in a few months. But then something else happened and we would have to whip out the card again...and the balance started growing. When the heat went out on my car a few weeks ago, it was nice to know that we had the cash in our savings to just pull out. Instead of going out and buying a new suede jacket, why not put that $100 towards the next appliance repair or (Heaven forbid!) for when the TV breaks! College fund?
Public Perception:
I know what the neighbors are saying about me! I'm The Crazy Coupon Lady. I'm the one who comes home with 18 boxes of Fiber One Pop Tarts and somehow paid nothing for them (or got paid to take them out of the store). Or they make comments about your older car. It would just be so nice to "fit in" again, wouldn't it? But seriously - do you really care what others think of you? Are you willing to start overspending again just so that your "friends" won't make cracks about you? As long as you haven't crossed the line from "frugal" to "annoying cheapskate", just keep doing what you are doing and the heck with what people think!
Only you can decide when it is time to loosen up on the frugality and to what degree.
But even when you find yourself with some wiggle room, ask yourself this:
"Why would I ever want to go back to paying full-price for anything again or wasting resources?"
Frugal is the new Black. It's Cool!