Frugality is a practice of living on less than you earn, while still enjoying the finer things in life. It's about building your wealth and not going into debt.
In this article, we will explore what it means to be frugal and how you can save more money and live better!
When you think of frugality – what comes to mind?
Maybe it's the image of someone who doesn't have many material possessions and lives in a sparsely furnished apartment.
Someone who eats ramen noodles for dinner every night wears an old pair of jeans and drives an old car.
That is not true at all! In fact, being frugal means that you live well on much less than most people earn each year while still enjoying the finer things in life.
It can also mean spending your money very wisely so you build wealth instead of going into debt.
Frugality simply means living below your means without sacrificing anything important to you or anyone else (and yes, this includes food!)
How do I become frugal?
Like many things in life, being frugal is a habit. It's not an overnight process: you may want to start by tracking your spending for one month or even three months and see where your money goes each month.
It can be very enlightening! This will give you the knowledge of what areas of spending are out of control, so that you can take action and change them immediately – saving more money with every paycheck.
I suggest using something similar to Mint (budgeting tool) but there are several others available on the app store such as YNAB .
If hard core budgeting isn't for you then simply writing down everything you spend during one week will also help identify problem areas like eating out , drinking, or impulse shopping.
Once you know where your money is going each month, it's time to start making changes! This could mean packing a lunch instead of eating out, brown-bagging your coffee instead of buying it every day, or finding creative ways to entertain yourself without spending any money.
There are plenty of free and cheap things to do in every city – so get creative!
What about my lifestyle?
Being frugal doesn't mean that you have to give up everything you enjoy in life. In fact, one of the benefits of being frugal is that you can often save money on things you would normally buy while still enjoying them.
For example: if you love going out to eat , then try cooking your own meals at home. You'll save money on eating out, and you can enjoy a delicious meal that you made yourself!
The main point is – don't feel restricted by being frugal.
It's not just about cutting back on things or doing without; it's more about finding new ways to live better while spending less.
If there are certain pleasures that bring value and happiness into your life – allow yourself to enjoy them without guilt!
How do I save money?
There are so many ways you can use to save more money every month:
- cutting back on expenses,
- creating a budget, and
- tracking your spending.
But there's another way that may work even better for some people – making extra income !
In fact, one of the best things about getting frugal is being able to earn an additional stream of income while enjoying your life!
There are plenty of different ways you can make extra money – check out these ideas :
- start a blog / freelance writing
- get paid surveys online
- sell unwanted items on Craigslist or eBay
- rent out spare space in your home using Airbnb
- start a side hustle (driving for Uber, dog walking, etc.)
There are many more options out there – so find something that you're interested in and go for it!
The bottom line is
Being frugal doesn't have to be hard or restrictive.
You can save more money while still living the life you want – without making any big changes.
Just start small and take things one step at a time. And most importantly, enjoy the journey!