Do you know how to answer the question, “what is frugal living?” How about “how to live frugally?” I was sitting on my couch the other night doing a bit of blog planning when I realized that blogs like mine spend the majority of our time telling you to be frugal. It is rare though for us to actually explain what that means.
Google defines the word frugal as “sparing or economical with regard to money or food.” or “simple and plain and costing little.” Seems pretty open and close, right? Wrong.
What Is Frugal Living
The truth is that learning how to live frugally can be downright hard if you aren’t used to it. It can take time to learn, you will make mistakes and you will get discouraged.
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But if you aren’t sure how to answer the question, “what is frugal living” in the first place, you’re pretty well doomed before you start.
How to Live Frugally
So, I sat there on my couch that night and realized I needed to help you see it. There are so many misconceptions about what frugal living really is and how to live frugally that it can be easy to confuse yourself; or even talk yourself right out of it.
But first?
Frugal Living is not making yourself miserable.
Frugal living doesn’t mean you have to stay home all the time.
Frugality does not mean you can’t have fun.
It doesn’t mean you must look or live a like a bum.
It is not extreme measures to save money such as what you see on shows like Extreme Cheapskates…unless you want to live that way.
Living frugally does sometimes take out of the box thinking when it comes to ways to save money.
Now that we are clear on those things, let’s chat about what is frugal living and how to live frugally.
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How to Live a Frugal Life
Be ready to make a few frugal changes for the greater good of your family’s bank accounts.
Recognize that learning how to live frugally has more benefits than downfalls.
As you are learning, make sure to teach your kids how to live frugally and how to manage money as well.
As you get into the groove of a frugal life, you should always be on the lookout for new frugal tips that can help you save even more.
This could be buying your clothes secondhand from a consignment store.
Side Note: One of my places to buy used clothing for myself and my girls is my favorite online consignment stores ThredUp. If you have never checked them out, you can do so HERE.
When you sign up for a new ThredUp account, you’ll be able to shop and you’ll score a FREE credit ranging from $10-$25 depending on what their current promotion is.
ThredUp is also a great way to sell kids clothes online too if you do have clothes that you or your kids have outgrown. Just be sure to check my tips for selling kids clothes HERE before you send your first batch in.
It could also be ditching expensive disposable products in favor of reusable ones. This includes cloth pads ladies!
Or learning how to haggle for a good price.
Or switching to DIY cleaning recipes and DIY beauty products.
You could even drop cable for Hulu and change your cell phone plan to a much cheaper option.
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How to Live on a Budget
Frugality isn’t just about saving money. It’s also about budgeting. Make sure you’ve taken the time to create a budget that works for you and your family.
You could even learn a new budget method to save you even more money.
and then create a bill payment schedule.
If you don’t have enough money in your income, find ways to earn free gift cards or start a side hustle to bring in extra money.
You should also find ways to pay off debt
but don’t forget to actually work on raising your credit score at the same time.
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Once that is done, take the time to find new ways to reuse things you normally toss.
then find ways to reduce food waste in your home.
After that, teach yourself a new frugal skill that will save you money.
This includes doing things like hunting or fishing for food to save money on groceries.
Foraging for food saves you money too.
When I first began to remove as many processed chemicals from our home, one of the first areas I began with was our food. These days, I love to eat organic foods and supplies, but I hate the cost.
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As does learning frugal lessons from those that lived through The Great Depression.
Then switch savings accounts to a high-yield savings account.
Save an emergency fund and for goals you have in life.
Then learn to invest that money with a service like Acorns or Personal Capital.
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What does it mean to live frugally?
At some point, you will think you have put into practice every frugal tip you possibly could. When you get to that point, you will know.
It’s at that spot in your life that it is easiest to figure out what it means to live frugally.Why?
Because being wise about your saving and spending means you know when to continue finding ways to save.
That is when you will need to look at things a bit differently.
Like how losing weight and getting healthy can help you save money.
Or finding a few extreme frugal living tips to help you save. Especially extreme frugality for your electric bill since it’s usually one of the highest a family has.
You might even want to downsize your home like I did when my daughter and I moved into a hotel full-time.
Finally, make sure you’re setting great financial goals for your family. It does you no good to work toward saving money if you don’t have any clue what you’re working toward.
I get it…so what IS frugal living and how do I live frugally?
I know, this post was rather long, but the truth is that the answer to the questions “how to live frugally” and “what is frugal living” is that they are simple tasks you do to save money.
It doesn’t need to be some huge production. If it saves you money and time and does not harm your family, it’s frugal. Easy as that.
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