Frugality

[Letum]

This post is rated for Non-Political.


Lets start with a nice example of frugality (just because I like it ):

The story goes that Diogenes of Sinope lived in a barrel in Athens with only a
lantern and a bowl. When he saw a beggar eat corn from his hands; Diogenes
threw away his bowl because he did not need it.
Diogenes spent time with the great philosophers of the time and had a
philosophical following himself.
One day, as Diogenes sat in the sun out side his barrel, the emperor Alexander The
Great approached him and asked Diogenes if there was anything he could do for
him. Diogenes said "yes, stand aside, your are blocking the sun".

Diogenes may have been a wild eccentric, but the idea of the frugal life is one that plays a part in every major religion and is usually something that is respected in some way by people regardless of religion and it is something that interests me.
Of course it is also something that the corporate world fights against. A shopping center full of zen monks makes no money!

What do you guys think?
Is there something inherently good about a frugal life?
Is there a kind of spiritual contentedness that can only be found when the material is cast aside?
Is frugality just a kind of laziness that forces other people to work harder?
At what point does frugality become neglect?
Do the frugal miss out on important parts of life? or conversely, do the wealthy miss out on important parts of life?

Perhaps this is a strange topic for a subsim forum, but take it as you will!