Every Friday is 11 Things day at Living Behind the Curve.

Frugality and simplicity. There are many times when these two concepts, when combined with our need for convenience and our lust for the good life, are at odds with each other. We need to make choices, and sometimes frugality loses. Here are 11 things we know we could do more frugally, but choose not to do:

1. Breaking S.T.P. (Standard Tightwadding Procedure)
It may break the hearts of some hard-core tightwads, but we do not wash baggies, recycle aluminum foil, or change our own oil. This is not driven by convenience or lack of time at home; I have tried all of these at one time or another, but have found that we either prefer our “un-frugal” ways, or the expenses are justified for us.

2. Give me Coffee, Tea, and Beer or Give me Death
We are coffee snobs. We do not re-use grounds or buy cheap coffee. There are several local brands we like, and we stock up when we’re on sale. I’ll drink cheap tea – I’ve found that the local store’s generic iced tea bags work well as hot tea for me – but I love honey in my tea, and I prefer the non-clover varieties. Mer is a beer snob. While we don’t drink often – a case will normally last us 4-6 months – it’s got to be the good stuff. We are blessed to live in the Yuengling state (my apologies to the Commonwealth), so when we’re not springing for something from a smaller brewery such as Flying Fish or Victory, we’ve got classic Yuengling lager and porter as standbys.

3. “The Fizz”
Approximately $40 from our monthly budget goes toward the purchase of sugar-free, carbonated, flavored water – affectionately known as “the Fizz”. Because the water at my office is not drinkable, it is well-worth the expense to me to up my water consumption. It’s also a nice sweet treat that is filling (due to the carbonation) and not bad for us.

4. The Chicken Dance
There was a time, not so long ago, when we purchased whole chickens in bulk (usually $0.39-0.49/lb), sectioned them at home, and used them bone-in, skin-on for all our poultry needs. When we started our adventures in slow-cooking, however, it quickly became clear that de-boning chicken, before or after cooking, was costing us too much time. We now purchase boneless, skinless chicken (usually thighs). This was mostly my decision, but I still feel a bit guilty when we indulge in this luxury.

5. We Haven’t Gone Orange
If we moved the money in our credit union Money Market account to a high-yield savings account with HSBC or ING, we could earn as much as 0.50% more than we do now – but we won’t. The convenience of having all of our accounts in one place, thus simplifying our online banking, is worth the few dollars we may lose, especially considering the low account balance. As that amount grows, and the opportunity cost of staying with our current Money Market grows, we will most likely move most of it to a credit union CD, which consistently has the best rates.

6. Drive me Crazy
Mer and I work within the same general area; our offices are close enough that we could, theoretically, carpool. It would certainly save on gas – we follow the same route for the first 75% of our commutes), but it would add an additional 60-90 minutes to both of our days (due mostly to traffic congestion in the area) – but could be problematic on days when one of us needs to work late, or has a 6:00 class.

7. To Dry or Not to Dry
When we first committed to frugality, there were a few weeks when I hung every single load of our laundry to dry in our basement. It didn’t last. Our dryer is fast and efficient – it was a present from my mom and stepfather when we bought our house last year – and it gets the job done. Every single load (except delicates) gets thrown in the dryer – and I even pay a little extra for lavender vanilla dryer sheets, because I find the scent keeps me calm.

8. Pumping Iron
My job comes with a number of fabulous perks, one of which is a free gym (with trainer) located on the first floor of my office building. And yet, we spent $700 last month on an elliptical trainer, and reorganized our spare bedrooms to make it fit. This is all about convenience for me; I can, and do, hop on the elliptical before or after class, early Saturday mornings, when I’m watching videos on my laptop. It’s been excellent for me so far, and is giving me the opportunity to exercise without driving 45 minutes to the gym, or dedicating 40 minutes to my Pilates routine. I did use one tightwad trick, however: I asked that anyone who planned to get me a birthday gift this year instead contribute toward the purchase – over half the cost of the machine was covered.

9. I Feel Pretty, Oh So Pretty
One of the only “girly” indulgences I have is my hairdresser. Once a month (my hair grows unusually fast), I head downtown to Lords and Ladies, where Karisa shows me pictures of her baby and does fabulous things to my hair. There’s something about being at the salon that allows me to not worry about work, school, the house, etc. for an hour – and so a few months ago, I decided to treat myself to an expanded salon trip and have my hair colored. Not only do I love the extra relaxation this provides every other month, but I’ve found that the process gives me a little extra professional confidence somehow. I also use the salon-quality goo and special color-boosting (now with tourmaline!) shampoo and conditioner – all in the name of relaxation and being just a little girly.

10. Dairy, Dairy Good
I love powdered milk for baking and for thickening dairy sauces in a pinch; it’s great in homemade protein bars. That’s about where its applications end for us – we use fresh dairy for drinking, coffee, and cooking. The only way I’ve found to make the taste more palatable is to make it in advance and let it sit, and we use dairy so infrequently these days that keeping some around is wasteful. I don’t drink milk, but I do adore yogurt; however, until I have a free weekend to mess around with a heating pad and back-episodes of Good Eats, my yogurt comes from the grocery store (or preferably homemade from the Indian market.)

11. Keep it Clean!
Right now, we clean the house ourselves…and it’s icky. Mer smokes in the house, so the dust sticks. There’s cat hair everywhere, and the wood needs polished. I can’t remember the last time I cleaned the windows. Once the credit cards are paid off, we plan to hire a service to come in and clean once weekly. Having the house clean eliminates a great source of stress from our lives and leaves us free to focus on work, school, and the future.

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While many of these may fly in the face of frugality, they all fit our overall outlook – balancing work, calm, happiness, and financial security, all while eliminating stress and focusing on the more important things in life. We prefer to focus on living well, rather than on the extra $6 we spent for chicken this month. How about you? What decisions have you made to simplify your life? Tell us in the comments.