Living a frugal lifestyle takes a lot of discipline. You must focus on buying only what you need and limiting costs in every area of your life. However, if you approach it in the right manner, it can be fun and lead to you being financially free.
In this article, you will discover the benefits of living a frugal lifestyle and find tips on ways to live frugally while still being able to afford everything that you need.
What are the Benefits of Living Frugally?
There are several benefits to living a frugal lifestyle aside from just saving more money. Some of these include:
- Obtaining financial freedom –not being tied to a job to support your lifestyle.
- Increased creativity – finding unique ways to save money and reuse items.
- Less focus on material items – you start to see the benefits out of non-material things and experiences.
Do I Need a Budget to Live Frugally?
It is essential to set up a budget and do your best to stick to it. This is how you create discipline and track where you are spending unnecessary spending. You may be surprised where your money is going.
Do I Need to Continuously Review My Budget?
It is essential to review your budget daily, weekly, and monthly. This is how you continuously track your expenses and see where all of your money is going.
You may miss some expenses when you create your first budget. It usually takes a year of continuous review to accurately budget where all of your money is going.
How Do I Save Money on Food When Living Frugally?
There are three keys to saving money on food. These include:
- Shopping at a discount grocery store (Aldi, Costco, Lidl, etc.)
- Cooking in bulk.
- Not eating out.
Why is Shopping at a Discount Grocery Store Beneficial?
Shopping at a discount grocery store will cut your grocery budget in half. Generic versions of brand-name foods can taste as good as the regular brands, but even if they don’t the savings is well worth it.
Why Should I Cook in Bulk to Save Money?
Cooking in bulk ensures that you don’t waste food and always have an easy meal on hand. If you pick one or two days a week to do your cooking, then you will always have a few days’ worth of food in your refrigerator or freezer.
If you have leftover ingredients from a bulk recipe, look at ways you can incorporate those ingredients into another recipe, so you don’t have any waste.
Why Shouldn’t I Eat Out When Eating Frugally?
Even if you are eating at fast-food establishments only, it’s still cheaper to make your own food at home. For example, a double cheeseburger meal costs upwards of $5.
A pound of ground meat, frozen fries, and a 2-liter soda might cost you closer to $10, but you get four to five meals out of that. That’s saving $2.50 to $1 on every single meal!
How Do I Save on Entertainment Costs When Living Frugally?
Your entertainment budget needs to be extremely low when living frugally. To save on money look for free events in your community. You’d be surprised at what you can do for little to no cost. Some popular free community events include:
- Free live music
- Outdoor movies
- Arts and crafts fairs
How Do I Cut Down on Household Expenses When Living Frugally?
Saving on household expenses while living frugally doesn’t need to just be from turning down the heat or turning off all the lights. You can also save on your utilities and other household expenses.
Always keep an eye out for cheaper internet providers or ways to cut down on your energy costs. Shop for used furniture or try refinishing furniture for a new look.
Can I Borrow Money and Still Lead a Frugal Lifestyle?
Borrowing money is something most people, at some point in their lives, will need/want to do. This may be for home renovations, taking that dream vacation, or unexpected, emergency expenses. For some people, this may be a budgeted expense that can easily be added to the monthly budget as another bill to pay. However other people may find this to be a necessity that pops up out of the blue that is much tougher to add to the monthly list of outgoings.
It’s important to not lose track of the end goal when times get financially tough. Just because the budget may be tighter unexpectedly you can still adjust your lifestyle to continue living frugally and be able to borrow money.
Installment loans are a great way to borrow money when sticking to a frugal lifestyle as they are paid back using fixed monthly payments. This makes them easy to budget for moving forward as there are no surprise payments to worry about. If you’re curious about how an installment loan could fit into a frugal lifestyle take a look at the loans offered by SimpleFastLoans to find out all you need to know about installment loans.
Should I Use Coupons When Living Frugally?
Despite your best efforts you are going to need to spend money while living frugally. That’s why it’s important to always look for coupons or good sales on items that you need.
You should never buy an item just because it’s a good deal, but rather wait for a good deal on an item that you have already identified as a need.
Should I Try to Increase My Income While Living Frugally?
The great thing about living frugally is that every dollar you save is truly a dollar earned. That being said the fastest way to reach your financial goals is by earning additional income.
If you have the ability to work a side gig you should consider doing that as a form of additional income. Choose something that you already enjoy doing so that it doesn’t feel like a second job. It’s important to not increase your expenses as you earn additional income, as this negates the point of gaining extra income.
