Several years ago I started a tradition of picking a word to focus on through the new year. This suggestion came from former Catholic Channel host Jennifer Fulwiler who created the “Word of the Year” generator. The first few years I used the generator in hopes the Holy Spirit would give me the “right” word (even if it meant me hitting the generator multiple times to find the “one”). Over the years I’ve transitioned to praying and asking God to put a word on my heart. His choice for me for 2025 was frugal.

Frugal? That certainly was an interesting choice. Friends had words like patience, simplicity, sacrifice or peace. Those I could have easily worked with. But frugal? I had lost my job the previous year so had already gone through an extensive exercise of evaluating our finances and spending habits and looking at ways we could cut back. We shifted to purposeful spending; focusing on what we needed vs. what we wanted. Wasn’t all that part of being “frugal”?

I questioned what it had to do with faith and my relationship with the Lord but resolved myself to embrace it. There had to be something there; God would not have chosen it for me if there wasn’t something to be uncovered. Slowly as the year progressed it became clear.

We cooked more at home rather than eating out. We tried different recipes and enjoyed cooking together. Spending quality time together is a precious gift.

We paid more attention to leftovers and what we had in the freezer and pantry. We built our weekly menus using the same set of ingredients. We cut down on waste and there was much less being thrown out from the refrigerator.

We focused on decluttering and donating to charity. While our monetary contributions were less, we could still ‘give’ to those in need. I found some things that had been packed away and was able to use those to give our home a bit of a refresh. It’s amazing how one small thing can make a significant difference.

For Christmas, I made gifts rather than purchasing them. I used my talents (and the tons of crafting supplies I had accumulated over the years) to create something that was special and meaningful.

With more time on my hands, I volunteered to help with the decorating at our parish. We took apart centerpieces and wreaths and flower arrangements from the previous year and created beautifully renewed pieces by reusing and repurposing.

We became more mindful of how we spent our time. We questioned the time spent on our phones playing games or scrolling on facebook, tik-tok or instagram and how much time were we wasting binge watching shows. We took more notice to how much energy were we wasting on worrying about things out of our control; Things that wouldn’t matter six months from now. We needed to clear the space in our hearts and minds that was holding grudges or being angry or unforgiving.

Yes, being frugal, is about wastefulness but not just from a financial perspective. It encompasses time, energy, thoughts and resources. It strips away the waste and distractions and allows us to refocus on prayer, generosity, gratitude and forgiveness. It definitely brought about a new way of looking at things and we are better for it.

With God you can always expect the unexpected. This year God has placed “extend the reach” on my heart. As with all the previous years’ words, I’m not sure what it quite means yet but I am looking forward to figuring it out with the help of the Holy Spirit!

May the Lord bless you and give you the inspiration and tools you need for a successful and prosperous 2026!

So what’s your word going to be?