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Understanding how to live a frugal life might seem a little overwhelming. You want to get your finances in shape but you’re not sure how to even start.
If you take away anything from this article, remember that the habits of frugal people are often formed and found in the small, mundane things. The everyday choices.
Everyone wants to add frugal living to their lifestyle that has a massive impact, but most of us struggle to realize that it’s a bunch of small things that are continuously done that really add up.
In order to make wise financial decision let’s take a look at several habits of frugal people that you can copy and apply to your own life.
How to develop a frugal mindset
First things first.
How do you develop a frugal mindset? The simple answer: learn from others who are frugal and start living on less than you make.
It’s also a shift in the way that you view money. Money transforms from a symbol of status to a tool that can provide you with the benefits or outcomes you want.
Frugal living means you recognize your wants versus needs and spend your money more on the needs than the wants.
Read through the book Your Money or Your Life to transform the way that you think about and relate to money!
How do you live a frugal life?
What makes a person frugal? How do they manage to find ways to save money or budget their money?
It’s not as hard as you think. If anything it’s little things that are done daily that quickly add up. Here are a list of things that frugal people do that you should consider adding to your own lifestyle.
1. Meal Plan
There’s nothing worse than working a long day in the office, only to come back to a fridge or pantry filled with food but no plan. What can you make with what you have? What do you even have in the first place?
Most times when you don’t have a meal plan, you’re far more tempted to eat out or order in. Frugal people know how to plan their meals to make sure that they don’t put themselves in this predicament. Don’t put yourself into a temptation zone in the first place, and you’ll be amazed at the results.
Not sure how to meal plan? That’s okay! Check out a great meal plan service for recipe ideas and grocery lists.
We’ve all been overwhelmed at the grocery store without a plan. The $5 Meal Plan takes the guesswork out of grocery shopping and meal planning. You can even grab 2 weeks for free using my link.
2. Learn to say no
There have been many times in my life where the fear of missing out (major FOMO) has prevented me from saying no. I didn’t understand that saying no isn’t actually as big of a deal as we make it. If anything, it can be a major blessing in disguise.
Over the years I’ve realized how important it is to learn what is important to you and to say yes to those things. Find your priorities but know that not everything can be a priority at the same time.
Learn to be intentional about what you say yes to and it will amaze you. You can even cut back on spending (and going out) by inviting friends over, eating at home, hanging out in public spaces like parks or going on hikes.
3. Don’t keep up with the Joneses
Since we’re talking about learning how to say no… one of life’s most important lessons is learning how to stop trying to keep up with the Joneses. Want to know a secret? Nobody keeps up!
You’ll be a lot happier (and save a heck of a lot more money and time) if you figure out what your financial goals are rather than relying on what others say you need or want.
Stay within your means and learn the value of what you have. Don’t buy things to impress people, buy them because it’s what you need or have saved up for.
4. Don’t turn Special Treats into Common events
You know those Dairy Queen runs that you made with the family growing up? Or whichever ice cream shop was in your town. Those were fun treats that you looked forward to once a week, once a month, whatever the timeline might have been.
There’s a reason those trips were a treat: they didn’t happen everyday. In order for something to be a special treat, it cannot be a common event. It will lose the “special-ness” if it’s done all of the time.
Don’t turn your Starbucks, ice cream, or nail salon trips into a common every day or week event. Sure, it’s important to have nice things and to ‘treat yo’self” but it’s also important to keep things special.
These treats cost money. It’s important that you have them, but make sure you keep them in check.
5. Learn about money and aren’t afraid to keep learning
The one thing that I find in my frugal friends is their love of self development and learning. They never feel that they have “arrived” and that there’s nothing else that they can do to grow.
Prioritize personal development in your life. Read good books, listen to podcasts, find mentors, take a class. Know that changing your money mindset is a daily and weekly process, not a one-and-done shift.
Add Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover to your reading list to start learning how to get control of your finances and live a more frugal life.
6. They never leave money on the table
Frugal people always check to make sure they’re getting the best deal or cashing in on any savings they can find. Whether it’s searching for coupons through an app like Ibotta (highly recommend to save money on day to day things) or finding cash back services like Ebates or Honey.
Ebates is a great cash back option. If you’re looking to find a site that works to get you cash back at hundreds of different retailers that you’re most likely already buying from, this is for you! Grab an easy $10 if you sign up through this link.
7. They buy used
In the rat race of keeping up with the Joneses, we often buy things we don’t need at prices that we never thought we would. And, more often than not, these items end up getting sold at hefty markdowns when people are looking to trade up or realize they didn’t need these things.
Frugal people take advantage of the marked down price of high-ticket items. They don’t like to buy at full price when they know there is a cheaper option that works just as well.
You can often find items up to 20-30% off their retail value. Imagine all of the money that you could save by buying secondhand. And this can be for items that are like-new quality.
8. Repair before replacing
Frugal people know that they should assess the situation or the damage to an item before they toss it out. Is it possible to fix it first? Can they call a service in to fix it? If so, it’s probably cheaper to do that than to buy something brand new.
Learn to make repairs around the house whether it’s sewing on a button for that nice blouse or calling in a plumber to fix that water leak under the sink.
Just because something needs to be fixed, doesn’t make it past saving. Assess the damage, check out the options and make a decision with those solutions in mind. Don’t buy new just because you don’t want to deal with finding a solution, it’s so much more costly!
9. Frugal people avoid waste
I used to make fun of those people who somehow mastered squeezing out every last drop of that toothpaste or hair cream. To me it was more frustrating to be out of something than to realize that you paid for every last drop of that product and should use it as such.
There are so many products that we often throw out before they’re old, throw out when there’s some left, or even just get tired of. Being frugal means that you don’t contribute to waste. You re-purpose items or products that have multiple uses. You benefit from the last drop.
It might not seem like it, but even the smallest of things add up.
10. Eat leftovers
Eating your leftovers is right up there meal planning. Frugal people know that it’s extremely important to not waste food but to re-purpose the food for a later time. It’s not only eaten in the moment, it’s used until it’s gone.
Shred your leftover chicken to make tacos. Take that leftover pizza to work the next day. It might not seem like much but this frugal habit prevents waste and saves you money and time.
Throwing away leftovers is throwing away money. We’ve all been there. We have the leftovers from the restaurant we went to yesterday but we want variety, right? So we end up ordering out and have now paid for more food that we didn’t need. Those are habits that add up over time.
Frugal people know this simple habit helps decrease their food bill. Get creative with those leftovers! You can have variety and save money.
Related: How to stop eating out and save money
11. They seek out like-minded friends
Frugal people know that they can’t be constantly surrounded by their “spending” friends. If they were, they know that they would be tempted to spend more money often.
That doesn’t mean to cut these people out of your life, but it does mean you need to realize you have different habits. And the saying about you being the average of your five closest friends is the real deal.
Find budget friends. Ones that have similar goals or intentions to save money. Have dinner parties. Enjoy free activities together.
It’s okay to splurge here and there but don’t surround yourself with friends who have negative spending habits and money mindsets. It’s okay to be friends with them but know that only having these friends could send you back to that kind of lifestyle if you let it.
What’s the difference between frugal and cheap?
One of the questions that most people have when it comes to a frugal lifestyle is: what’s the difference between frugal and cheap?
And it’s important to note these differences, as they truly are different.
- Cheap is spending less; frugal is about prioritizing what you spend so you can have more of what matters to you.
- Cheap worries more about price tag; frugal looks for the value of an item.
- Frugal people know that sometimes, for some items, it’s actually more beneficial to pay the higher cost due to quality and value.
- Frugal people are generous with their money and believe in giving; cheap often puts money over people.
Can being frugal make you rich?
Another popular question on your road to a frugal lifestyle might be whether or not being frugal can make you rich. The answer is a faltering yes and no.
Frugal living can only take you so far in building wealth. I think that there is essentially a “floor” to living frugally. You can only cut your spending so much and you’ll always have necessities to pay for. It’s important to realize that frugal living will help you to save money but it won’t invest that money for you to build even more wealth early on.
Being frugal is important, but treat it like the tool it is: to learn how to shift your money mindset and spending. It doesn’t take the place of building wealth, making more money or investing.
The importance of learning how to live a frugal lifestyle starts with your everyday habits. Frugal people prioritize what’s most important to them and live a life of intention with their money.
If you’re not used to some of these habits, that’s okay. They don’t have to be implemented right away. You can choose one or a few to slowly incorporate into your day-to-day life. Once you’ve incorporated a few, watch your savings add up along with a sharp decrease in overwhelm and clutter from your lifestyle.
Being frugal is a journey, and it’s important to study the habits of frugal people to try and find ways to live a similar life that is beneficial to you.
What is one thing that you’re going to implement from the above list to live a more frugal lifestyle? Have you ever given anything up to become more frugal?
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