how to learn creativity

"I'm just not creative."

"I can't think outside of the box."

"How did you come up with that? I would never have thought of it."

Does this sound familiar? I hear comments like these all the time from potential tightwads. It seems that people often feel creativity is something you're either born with or you're not, and if you ain't got it, you ain't got it. That is simply not true. Creativity can be learned, but it is a process--one that doesn't happen overnight.

Recently, I found that we had a need in our kitchen for a new pantry cabinet. Our old one was an impulse purchase from my spendthrift days. It was made of cheap particle board & had been slowly disintegrating piece by piece for years. Now, I realized, it was far too wobbly & unstable for me to feel safe with small children around. First I tied it to the wall in an attempt to save it, but after the door fell off its hinges one day, we decided it needed to be replaced.

First, I priced pantry cabinets at different hardware stores & salvage companies. It seemed that $100 was about the lowest price I was going to find. It was just before Christmas, so yard sale season was a good 4 months off.

A few days later, I was in my basement when I walked for the hundredth time past an old chest of drawers I had stored down there when the creative gears started churning. After a few quick modifications, we now have a useable pantry cabinet in our kitchen for no out-of-pocket money, and with our existing eclectic style, we get many compliments on it.

Eight years ago, though, I once filled my kitchen sink with water to do dishes & a lid fell into the drain trap blocking the water from draining. I tried pulling it out with my fingers, but couldn't reach. I tried a knife, which didn't work. I had no ideas left & didn't know what to do so I left it until my roommate came home & she fixed the problem.

As embarrassing as that story is, I share it to prove a point: once you start "thinking outside the box," a snowball-effect will happen. You will eventually have several solutions for any problem. It often takes years to get to that point, so start small & it will happen on its own.

Anyone can be creative with practice. I assure you. Anyone can be creative with practice.

From now on, at the end of each entry, there will be an exercise for you to do to help you on your frugal journey. When was the last time you got in shape physically by reading a book about exercise? Never. You have to get up, get moving, do it to get yourself in shape. As your personal tightwad trainer, I'm going to give you exercises each time I write to help get you in top financial shape. Now...

Get Moving: We all have mental lists of needs that we have identified. Choose one need that is on your mental list. Brainstorm on paper (or in the comments section) what you might be able to substitute for that item. Consider these questions while you do the exercise:

Do I have items already that might serve the same purpose (with or without modification)?
Could I change my lifestyle or environment so that I don't truly need the item anymore?
Is this an item that I could acquire from friends or family who have stopped using it?

Remember that the point of brainstorming is to write every idea down & not censor yourself until the end.

Annoying but necessary disclaimer: All information contained herein express my opinions only and are based on my health status & location. Each person's situation, health, and local laws & ordinances are different. By all means, use your own common sense & don't do anything you see here if someone more important than me (like your doctor, your local police, your own conscience) would disagree. If you're easily persuaded by everything you read, and you think I might cause you to hurt yourself or break the law, quit reading my site, please.