Recently, a friend was fretting about her stressful job and the kitchen remodeling project she thought she had to have, when it hit her: those tens of thousands of dollars could stay in the bank and give her some true freedom, a cushion in case her job got to be just too much and she had to quit. She realized that freedom was more important than new cabinets.

Just because we have money doesn’t mean we have to spend it. An increasing number of people are choosing financial freedom over consumerism, becoming part of a growing movement called Living Below Your Means. This liberating financial concept is not about denying ourselves or pinching every penny until it shrieks. Check out a fascinating statistic and learn more about Living Below Your Means, right here:

A nonprofit advocacy group, the Consumer Federation of America, reports that the number of people who reported spending less than their income rose from 56 percent in 1995 to 62 percent in 2001 among Americans who make between $20,000 and $80,000.

Living Below Your Means is about effective cost-cutting that doesn’t make us feel deprived. There are both immediate and long-term payoffs when you live below your means: you get a true sense of control and an expansive sense of freedom and options.

To learn more about living well on less, check out these great websites:

Here is a great brochure put out by the Consumer Literacy Consortium with lots of tips for cutting costs on transportation, insurance, banking, housing, utilities, and shopping: 66 Ways to Save Money.

You can also check out this nationwide campaign to help people pay down debt, build an emergency fund, and save for a home, an education, or retirement: America Saves.