Frugal Living: What it is all About

What do you think about the term ‘Frugality’? Is it just that spending less than what you earn? If so, then you’re wrong. It isn’t frugality. It is basic budgeting to save a decent amount every month. I’ll share with you some more details which will help you to see things differently.

Frugality means prioritizing your spending, improving your lifestyle, securing your financial future, and so on.

Benefits of being frugal

There is hardly anyone who hasn’t heard the term ‘Frugality’. But, we hardly know all the benefits of frugal living.

• Frugality means less stress since you won’t have to worry about money all the time.
• By being frugal, you can reduce waste to some extent; You can purchase things that you need and waste less.
• A frugal person can achieve financial freedom and retire early since he/she can manage money better.
• Frugal living teaches you to be disciplined in life and manage time your own way.

What is frugality all about?

Frugality isn’t what it used to be. As I already said, it doesn’t only mean saving as much as you can.

Frugal living means picking and choosing things

Frugal living means picking and choosing where and how to spend, instead of spending without giving it a thought.

Ultimately it’s your money; so, you need to choose where you want to. You shouldn’t be spending since your friends are doing that.

One of the frugality examples can be this:

If you want to buy a big-ticket item, write that wish on a piece of paper and stick it on the fridge. Then, after say about 5 days, check out whether you feel the same urge to buy that item? If so, you can manage your finances to buy that thing.

Believe me, in most cases, you won’t feel the urge to buy that item.

 

 

Frugal living is more of a choice than a necessity

If you find a frugal person, don’t always think that he/she is cash-strapped, rather he/she might have chosen to live like this to achieve financial freedom.

These people want to get the most out of their money. They have a long-term vision to achieve a certain lifestyle.

They might be sacrificing short-term enjoyments for a long-term benefit.

Being frugal means being generous to others

Frugality doesn’t measure your level of generosity. A frugal couple may not get enticed to buy the latest gadget but they allot a certain amount in their monthly budget for charitable giving.

I have seen frugal people tipping the waitstaffs about 15% to 20%, whereas might be saving a nominal amount by choosing a homemade coffee over a Starbucks one.

What a frugal person usually does

Here are a few frugality tips, which you can also follow for a better financial and satisfying life.

Take out more time for things that matter to you the most

Let me discuss this by stating one of the frugality examples. If you want to be apt with the current fashion trend, you’ll spend the time to choose and shop for the latest things. However, being frugal means you shop out of necessity and it’s not a fun thing to do during the weekends.

Shop the items on discounts or clearance sales

Try to shop during the discount times like Independence Day, Memorial Day, etc. A number of items are offered on discount rates during these times.

Whenever you go shopping, check out the clearance racks. You can purchase a number of items from these racks, however, they may not be the latest styles. But does it really matter? Think about it!

Start preparing for Christmas from as early as July!

Isn’t it better to manage your finances and stay out of debt instead of swiping your cards and dealing with credit card debt problems later?

Buy gifts at discount rates throughout the year

We like to present gifts to our near ones during special occasions. So, more or less we know the types of gifts to purchase.

So, when you find these items are at discount rate, purchase them and keep them at your home.

It is better to create a separate storage for such gifts. However, while doing so, make sure these are not perishable gifts.

Do you know certain items are offered at the lowest price just after the holiday season? So, next time, buy gifts and store them for next year. You will thank yourself for making such a decision.

Eat out during special occasions

Give it a thought – The charm of eating out may reduce if you dine at speciality restaurants every now and then. So, save your excitement for special occasions.

You can mark out the dates in the calendar when you’ll reserve a good restaurant to celebrate special occasions. And, for eating out during the weekends, choose not so expensive places to dine.

Use only those coupons which you need

Having coupons don’t mean that you’ll have to use them to buy items that you may not need. Clipping and using coupons is a very good strategy. However, use coupons to buy items that you will need soon.

Before using coupons to buy bulk grocery items, make sure you’d be able to consume them while they are fresh.

Following these tips will help you always stay free of certain problems associated with debt. You will also be able to manage your finances in a better way and secure a better financial future.

This guest post has been kindly contributed by Good Nelly, a financial writer. Good Nelly is associated with Debt Consolidation Care for a long time. She primarily writes financial articles in order to help others manage their finances and solve their monetary problems. Good Nelly has written articles for other websites too. Apart from writing, she loves to travel to new places

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