Being frugal is being smart about your money. No matter how much you earn, it’s still best to be wise and save as much as you can while you’re able to work. In this way, you can allocate a greater portion of your savings to other important expenses such as healthcare insurance, rainy day emergency funds, and the like. The money that you’ve set aside can also be useful for other ventures such as capital investments and the like – helping you grow your wealth.
To have a substantial amount saved up in your piggy bank, you’ll need to start taking steps to become prudent with how you spend your money now. Listed below are the habits that you can develop to be frugal in life:
- Look For Sale Offers Online
Before you head to the store to purchase an item you like, you should hold your horses and keep them at bay first and consider checking them out online. While buying in-store allows you to see the product itself, there’s plenty of discount and sale offers you can find online, allowing you to save money.
Apart from the latest gadgets, clothing and apparel, and furniture and other home fixtures, you can even shop your groceries online and enjoy steep discounts. You can check the web for offers such as those from Woolies Catalogue or any supermarket near you and look for any promotions they currently have. With this, you can save money when buying for your household’s essential needs.
- Consider Pre-loved Items
Unless an item requires a severe need for sanitation, you should go for buying pre-loved items instead of purchasing new ones. This should allow you to save money as they’re usually cheaper.
As you shop for used items, you should set your expectations as they might not be in their best condition. They might come with slight issues such as stains, a missing button or two, and the like. But these concerns can easily be addressed by a quick DIY or do-it-yourself repair at home.
Pre-loved items are usually available at your local thrift shop, on an online marketplace listing, or from friends or family. However, when buying pre-loved items, it’s advised of you to confirm if the item is in a workable condition so you won’t be wasting your money on something that you’ll just throw out.
- Cook At Home
While it’s more convenient to order your food before heading home for lunch, it’s recommended that you switch to cooking at home instead. This way, you can save money and at the same time learn a new skill.
Ordering food takeout at a restaurant or fast-food store can be costly especially if it’s for plenty of people. To allow yourself to cut down on expenses, you should cook and prepare your meals at home instead. Moreover, it’ll enable you to take full control of every aspect of a dish such as taste, ingredients used, and the like. In this way, you can ensure that you consume dishes that are entirely healthy and monosodium glutamate or MSG-free.
- Think Thrice Before Purchasing Something
No matter how much you like and can afford a product, you should never immediately buy it out of impulse. With whatever you spend your money on, you should always think thrice if you need it or it’ll just be another unnecessary entry you’ll be adding to your growing expenses sheet.
Ideally, you should contemplate if can you live without purchasing the product. If you do really need to buy one specific item, try to look for a cheaper alternative that offers the same specifications and make.
- Adhere To A Strict Budget Plan
Before you begin enjoying your hard-earned money, it’s advisable for you to craft and stick to your budget plan. Ideally, you should adjust your budget depending on how much you earn monthly.
To build your budget plan, you should know how much you specifically earn every time you receive your paycheck. After getting the total number, you should deduct your rent, electricity, water, gas, and grocery bills. With the remaining money, you ought to place at least 80% of it into your bank account and the rest for your pocket money for any discretionary expenses. In this way, you can limit what you spend and be able to save more.
- Transact Only In Cash
It’s said that there are plenty of efficient payment methods available today. While it’s convenient to pay using your debit or credit card, you should cut that habit and pay in cash as an alternative. Paying using your card may keep you away from being aware of your expenses. You’d be surprised with the amount of money you have left when you check for your remaining balance.
To allow yourself to keep track of everything you spend, purchasing in cash will be beneficial. Moreover, with money in your pocket, you’ll be more aware of how much you have left to spend. It’ll be in your discretion if you’re willing to spend them all or save up a part of it.
- Grow Your Own Home Garden
One way you can reduce your grocery bills is by growing your produce at home. This will allow you to ensure that your fruits, vegetables, and herbs grow in a healthy environment free from pesticides and other harmful chemicals.
You can begin by researching which types of plants you can grow in your area as some may require a specific environment to thrive. As you grow your produce, you should always be on the lookout for any pests, rodents, and the like which can harm them. Use only organic products to rid your garden plot of harmful pests.
While it can be an added work, the amount of money saved by growing and harvesting your own food will be worth it.
Conclusion
Leading a frugal lifestyle can be difficult to start. But once you allow yourself to have a positive mindset about it while sticking to your newfound way of living, it’ll feel as natural as breathing. With the simple thrift hacks mentioned above, you’ll be able to save money which can be useful for other important personal and household expenses.
