The concept of frugality is today appearing as a critic to our current way of life. This concept contains today a meaning that entails a clash with the economic, social and cultural inertia in which we have lived since the dawn of capitalism. In this paper we analyze this concept starting from philology and going through philosophy to finally conclude that as opposed to the reviled concept of austerity, frugality represents something else than a personal attitude. It represents the germ of a cultural transformation, necessary to address the sustainability challenges that humanity is facing today.