I love your comment, "Being frugal is to be free."
I've felt that my whole life. Know how and being willing to "downside" if needed is a super power.
Another thing I've learned in the past 5 years is that, "Knowing how to make money through self-employment is to be free."
Combining the skills of "Frugal" + "Making Your Own Money" is a very resilient and calming way of life.
One risk is to not be so frugal that your life becomes more stressful. A recent learning example for me was keeping my old work computer for far too long. It was slow and extremely stressful to use. Upgrading to a new and relatively expensive one has saved me countless hours of work and stress. Lesson learned: don't overpay for a tool. Buy the right tool for your needs, but also know when to replace it.
Following your content here on NOSTR!