A common thread through both the articles and posts here is that of the Compound Effect (book here:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/159315724X?keywords=the%20compound%20effect&qid=1445367773&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1), which basically holds that everyday decisions, when compounded over time, can add up to significant changes. MMM has wrote about this on a variety of things--cheaper car payment = more can be invested; brew your own coffee = $10/week x 52 weeks x 8% return for 20 years of investments = tons of money; public schools vs. private schools = huge amounts of money for the schooling years of kids.
And I generally agree with that compound principle--but only for the "big ticket" items (car, house, public school, etc.). As for the small stuff?
I think the compound effect of time is significantly more important than the compound effect of money, and I think that gets lost in the way of this community's emphasis on frugality. For an example, I saw a thread on here once about making your own "minute rice." Basically it went something like this: get a 2 lb. bag of brown rice, a couple bouillon cubes, seasonings, etc.; make the rice, wrap it in saran wrap, let it cool, freeze it, and boom--you have minute rice. And that would save me about $2/pound of rice. And if you eat a lot of rice (which I do), then that's a lot of money over a lifetime.
So I tried this for two weekends and it probably took about 45 minutes each weekend. Honestly, that's not worth $2.00. I would rather be doing so many other things during that time, and maybe even doing some work related to starting my own law firm by next summer (i.e., doing something productive that would lead to a potential increase in income, which is far more likely to lead me to financial independence than saving $2 at the grocery store).
And I think a lot of posters on here could use the reminder that
time saved can be more important than money saved.
Our ultimate collective goal, as I see it, is to become financially independent. But when people are willing to spend hours doing something to save a couple dollars, they are a slave to money in the same way that a person in credit card debt is (i.e., it stresses them out/they think too much about it). That's not ideal when trying to become financially independent.
So the point of this post is to just remind people to not only consider the compound effect of money, but also consider the compound effect of time. Some things that cost a fraction more are simply worth the expense so you can do other things that will lead you to (a) spending more time with loved ones and (b) potentially using that time to achieve financial independence sooner.