Some people think that it sucks to be a thrifty, frugal person. But I love it.
Ever since I started working to improve my finances in 2013, I’ve gotten better and better at being frugal. But it is tough sometimes. Why? Well, because a lot of us are not natural savers. We’re spenders at heart. And that’s what we have to work on – our spending habits.
Because I love spending time with money.
It feels good to earn it and it feels good to spend it. But I learned early on that if I spent all my money all the time, I would end up with nothing. So I started learning about personal finance, how to be frugal, and how to not overspend. Eventually, I became a very thrifty, very frugal person.
And now it’s your turn.
In this post I’m going to be talking about both frugality and thriftiness, what it means to be a thrifty, frugal person, finding a good balance between the two, 3 reasons why you need to be thrifty AND frugal, and the 57 habits of thrifty people. So let’s get to it!
What does it mean to be frugal?
Frugality is a way of living in which a person is careful about spending money or only using as much money as necessary.
Being frugal is a lifestyle. A different kind of approach to money. An approach that allows a person to keep hold of their money, but spending some at certain times when necessary. Frugality isn’t being cheap or stingy. It’s simply being careful with the money you have, making wise choices when spending it, and valuing quality over quantity.
A frugal person tries to get the best quality item for the money they spend.
What does it mean to be thrifty?
Thriftiness is a way of living in which a person is careful with their money, by avoiding wasteful behavior and using resources sparingly.
Thriftiness is also a lifestyle, but more so on the cheapskate side of things. This person is more of a Do-it-yourselfer, trying to opt less toward spending money at all if possible.
A thrifty person tries to get the best quality item for as little money as possible.
Find your balance: thrifty vs. frugal
So you really could argue that these two ways of living are the same. They both mean being careful with money and spending less. But I would disagree that they’re the same. While neither thrifty nor frugal are bad, a person can be too thrifty and too frugal. So I believe that every single person should find a good balance between being thrifty and being frugal.
I look at it like a spectrum. With frugality on one end of the spectrum and thriftiness on the other. Therefore, a person who manages their money effectively is a highly thrifty, frugal person.
If you can find a good balance between the two, your personal finances can improve dramatically in a very short period of time.
3 reasons why you need to be thrifty AND frugal
Your spending is out of control: if you’re an overspender like I was, you need to learn how to be thrifty and frugal. Because overspending is bad. Overspending doesn’t allow you to save or invest. And oftentimes, it can cause you to go into debt (if you spend more than you earn). Learning how to be more thrifty and frugal can help you control your money and stop the overspending.
You’re in debt: you’re broke and in debt. You don’t need to be spending anything. You need to learn thriftiness and frugality so that you can use every single extra cent toward your debt.
You want to build wealth: after you fix your finances and get out of debt, you’ll want to use every bit of thriftiness and frugality to start building wealth slowly and surely over time. You CAN do this!
The 57 habits of thrifty and frugal people
1. Like-minded friends
Frugal people don’t tend to gravitate toward those people who are major overspenders. It’s hard to hang out with people who spend a lot of money and don’t know how to do anything else but spend money.
In fact, this has affected me in some of my own personal relationships with old friends. Those buddies continue the same bad habits they’ve had for years and my financial goals and spending habits have changed.
If this starts happening to you, know that it’s okay. Try to find like-minded friends around you. Try to find people who are frugal and are seeking to improve their finances.
2. Don’t borrow money
Frugal people borrow money. Why? Well, we’re careful with how much we spend and borrowing money is reckless and costly. With debt, comes risk. And that’s not careful. Debt also ends up costing you more money in interest and fees. So don’t waste your time or your money. Pay cash and avoid debt like the plague.
If you have debt, get it paid off as quickly as possible!
For more on how to stop borrowing money, check out this post – “How to Stop Borrowing Money: 10 Step Guide to a Debt Free Life”
3. Budget your money
Frugal people budget their money. Plain and simple. Because a budget allows you to control your money so that it doesn’t control you. A budget is also permission to spend your money.
Again, it’s YOUR money. Make sure you know where it goes!
If you’d like to learn more about budgeting, check out this post – “7 Ways a Zero-Based Budget is the Best Budget for Your Money”
4. Always continue learning about money
Frugal people also understand that it’s incredibly important to continue learning about money. There is always more to learn within the personal finance field, and the more you know, the wealthier you can become. So learn everything you can about money, personal finance, budgeting, investing, and…your own personal finance situation.
For more on this, here are “17 Financial Lessons You (Really) Need to Learn This Year.”
5. Understand your personal finance situation
Frugal people always know exactly what their own personal finance situation looks like. Even if it doesn’t look all that great. If you’re frugal, you need to know how much you make, how much your expenses are every month, how much debt you have, how much money you have saved and invested, and your financial net worth.
I want you to know exactly where you stand with money and what your complete financial picture looks like.
6. Don’t be afraid to talk about money
One really awesome frugal habit to have is not being afraid to talk about money and your own personal finance situation. Most people won’t talk about their own personal finances because they’re not doing well – whether it’s crushing debt, massive overspending, or just generally poor financial choices.
I say let’s talk about it all. But you have to be open, honest, and receptive to criticism. And most people don’t want anyone to be critical of their financial choices. However, the more you talk about your finances, the more you can learn, and the quicker you can fix any mistakes.
7. Always pay yourself first
My favorite quote from the great billionaire investor Warren Buffett is, “don’t save what’s left after spending, spend what’s left after saving.”
If you try to spend first before saving or investing, you’ll spend it all and you won’t have anything left to save or invest. But if you save and invest first, then live off the rest, you’ll be fine. With that quote, Buffett is simply telling us to pay ourselves first.
So whether it’s debt repayment, saving, or investing for the future, always do that first, then live off of what’s left.
8. Investing
Frugal people usually make wise choices when it comes to investing because of that careful attitude when it comes to anything with money. You won’t see them investing in cryptocurrency or single stocks. Frugal people understand risk and diversify their investment portfolio with mutual funds, ETFs, and other similar types of fairly conservative investments.
I would also encourage you to find yourself an investment professional or financial advisor. They can help you learn and understand more about investing over the long-term. If you’d like to speak with an investment pro, check out Dave Ramsey’s page here to find yourself one.
9. Saving money
Saving money is an absolute priority for both thrifty and frugal people. That’s because it’s important to have some savings in the bank like an emergency fund and other savings going toward bigger purchases (sinking funds dedicated toward things like your next vehicle or other large purchases). Make sure you’re saving at least some of your money outside of investments and any debt repayment.
10. Save up to buy things
One of the biggest tips that I can give you for learning how to be frugal is to save up for the things you want to buy. Frugal people understand that if you can’t purchase something in full, you can’t afford it. But if you’d still like to purchase the item, you need to save up to buy it.
Unfortunately, that’s not the mindset of most people in this day and age. Most will get a personal loan or simply charge it to their credit card. But that’s not smart. And if you’d like to be frugal, you need to understand that. Then save up for whatever it is you’d like to buy.
Frugal people also understand that, as the old saying goes, “a penny saved is a penny earned.”
So saving even just a little bit of money can really add up over time. If you saved and invested just $1 dollar a day – $30 dollars per month – for 50 years, at 10% interest, you could have over $467,000 dollars. That’s incredible for that small amount of money.
So save up your pennies. Because those pennies can really add up over time!
11. Have an emergency fund
One of the most important concepts in all of personal finance (and a common habit of frugal people) is having a fully funded emergency fund of at least 3-6 months of expenses saved.
This emergency money is insanely important to have, because it’s basically insurance money against emergencies. It’s absolutely going to rain, so you should always have a rainy day fund to cover emergencies that pop up. Emergencies will happen. So get out of debt and get your emergency fund fully funded with 3-6 months of all necessary monthly expenses. If you do that, you can continue to work toward other financial goals with a nice safety net in place.
For more, check out the following posts:
12. Goals
Financial goals are another extremely important thing to have. Without goals, what are you working toward? You shouldn’t work insanely hard just to pay bills and buy things. You need to have money goals for your finances. As for the period of time, I recommend that you have short-term, medium-term, and long-term goals.
Frugal people understand that you not only need financial goals. But that you need to be thrifty and frugal to be able to meet those goals.
So get some financial goals. Learn more here – “How to Make More Realistic Financial Goals in 2022.”
13. Live below your means
Living below your means is yet another important concept to learn if you want to be a frugal person. And the concept is ridiculously simple. You make a certain amount of money – let’s say $3,000 dollars per month. In order to live below your means, or “live on less than you make,” all of your bills and expenses need to be less than $3,000 dollars. If you spend more than you make, you’re “living above your means” and that’s a very dangerous lifestyle.
14. No new cars
Frugal people don’t buy new cars for many different reasons. So let me tell you a few:
First, new cars are EXPENSIVE. New car prices are inflated so that the company and the dealership can make money. Second, they lose a lot of value very quickly. The moment you drive that new car off the lot, the car’s value drops by a few thousand dollars. The average car loses most of it’s value in the first 3-4 years of life. After that, the value tends to hold fairly well in most cars. Third, unless you’re a millionaire AND you can pay cash, you cannot afford a brand new car. You cannot afford to take such a big net worth hit by buying a new car. I don’t care how much you “deserve it.”
Frugal people understand all of the reasons why it’s bad to buy a new car. So they tend to only buy cars that are 2-4 years old, gently used, and they pay CASH. That way, you have a good, quality car with no car payment.
15. Save money on gas
These days, gas is incredibly expensive. So it’s even more important to stress trying save money in your gas budget. There are tons of ways that you can be save on gas including using cash back apps, getting gas at the right times, keeping your car tires properly inflated, using public transportation, or getting a more fuel-efficient vehicle. And those tips are just a few.
Frugal people use all kinds of ways to save money on gas. Check out this post if you’d like to save money on gas – “27 Awesome Ways to Save Money at the Gas Pump [The Guide].”
16. No lottery, cigarettes, alcohol, or other bad habits
Most frugal people understand that vices may be fun, but all of them are expensive. If you want to be more frugal, cut out any and all vices that are costing you everything. Some vices, like smoking, drinking too much, and eating out all the time, are also terrible for your health. And that can cost you more in the long run as well.
If you occasionally eat out or you have a glass of wine one night, that’s fine. But if you’re a daily smoker, alcoholic/binge drinker, or you eat out every day, that’s bad. Bad for your health and bad for your finances. So cut it all out of your life.
17. Don’t keep up with the Joneses
You know the Joneses. They’re the typical family that seems to have it all. A big house, nice cars, the latest tech gadgets, brand new furniture, and a huge TV. They might look rich, but that’s far from the truth. The Joneses are actually completely broke. They’ve borrowed a lot of money and have financed everything they have. They’re barely keeping up with the payments and are one job loss or big emergency away from losing everything.
Frugal people don’t play this game. They know that the Joneses are broke and that if you try to keep up with the constant spending, you’ll end up broke as well.
Live below your means and control your spending. If you do that, you’ll definitely become more frugal and less like the Joneses.
18. Learn to say, “NO!”
“NO!” is one of the most powerful words in the whole world. And it can single-handedly help you fix your finances if you start to master it. It’s pretty simple – just say, “NO!” Now start telling yourself, “NO!” It’s harder than you think at first. But as you become more frugal, and more disciplined, it will get much easier.
If you can learn to tell yourself, “NO!”, you’ll easily start to understand the next concept.
19. Delayed gratification
I love delayed gratification. It’s a very simple concept and something that frugal people know all too well.
You see, most normal people these days want immediate gratification. If they want something, they have to have it right away and then they’re immediately gratified or they experience immediate gratification.
Delayed gratification, according to Brittanica.com, is “the act of resisting an impulse to take an immediately available reward in the hope of obtaining a more-valued reward in the future.” So basically, saying “NO!” to something now, with the reward of saving money, with the hope of being able to buy or have something nicer down the road.
For example: instead of financing brand new cars today, you save your money, invest long-term, and only buy used cars paid for in cash. Once you build a substantial net worth of a million dollars, and some cash savings, you can go out and buy a nicer new car with the cash money you have.
20. Low maintenance, financial minimalist
If you want to be a frugal person, start thinking about financial minimalism and whether you’re a low-maintenance person or not. Most frugal people are low-maintenance, financial minimalists at heart. That’s just a big way of saying that we don’t really need much to be happy.
Frugal people don’t demand a great deal of attention and also don’t need a lot of stuff in their life. Try to be like that.
21. Discipline begets discipline
Frugal people are DISCIPLINED people.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned about personal finance, paying off debt, building wealth, and being frugal, is that nobody else is going to do it for you. So self-discipline is an extremely important skill to learn.
But once you learn it, something interesting happens. Discipline begets discipline. As you become ultra-disciplined in your personal finances, you’ll find that you start becoming more disciplined in other parts of your life including your health, nutrition, exercising, job, and other important life areas.
If you become disciplined in one part of your life, it’s very hard to not be disciplined in other parts of your life.
22. Cooking dinner from scratch
Next up, another important habit that frugal people have is cooking dinner at home, from scratch. If you’re frugal, you know that eating out is expensive and cooking dinner at home is almost always cheaper.
So if you don’t know how to cook, start learning. Cooking at home is how you save A LOT of money in the long run.
23. Meal planning
Meal planning is another fantastic frugal habit to start implementing into your life. This simple habit involves you and a calendar. All you have to do is plan out your meals for the month.
You’ll do this for two reasons: first, it helps you choose what you’ll be eating on certain days. It limits the amount of choices you have to make so that you don’t get overwhelmed by your meals and simply go out to eat instead. Second, meal planning helps you know exactly what you’re eating so that you don’t go out to eat and waste extra money. Making dinner and eating it at home are HUGE money saving strategies that frugal people love.
24. Meal prepping
Meal prepping can go a long way with saving money as well. I LOVE meal prepping because it’s simple and it can help you save thousands of dollars per year.
Meal prepping is simply preparing a bunch of food at once, prepping it into Tupperware or other meal containers, and having food ready to eat for multiple days or weeks (depending on if you freeze it or not).
I try to meal prep as often as possible and it saves me quite a bit of money. Meal prepping is also awesome for the convenience. All it takes is a couple of hours on a Sunday afternoon to make enough meals to last you for an entire week. Hungry? Just open the fridge, heat up a meal, and you’re good to go!
25. Pack your lunch
Speaking of prepping, planning, and cooking dinner, I also want you to pack your lunch EVERY DAY at work or school. If you plan, cook, and prep effectively, you should have this figured out. But I also want you to make sure you have your meals packed for the day. This will help you become more frugal and less reliant on eating out every day at work or school.
While I paid off my $30,000 dollars in student loans, I packed my lunch almost every single day for 40 straight months. I crushed my debt and now I can afford to eat out a little bit. I’m still pretty frugal, though. So my eating out budget is fairly low.
26. Leftovers
Frugal people love leftovers. Because leftover food is still good and it’s a complete waste if it’s thrown away. If you simply eat what’s leftover, you’re not only stretching your dollar out a little farther, but not wasting money either. You see, if you spend $10 dollars on food and eat half of it, but you throw away the other half, you’re basically throwing away $5 dollars worth of food. You wouldn’t simply throw away a $5 dollar bill, so why do that with food?
Besides, leftovers taste just as good anyway.
27. Saving money at the grocery store
A frugal person doesn’t just save money at home. They’re also looking to save as much as possible on any and all groceries they get. And it’s really not that difficult to save money at the grocery store, because there are SO MANY ways to do it.
For a whole bunch of awesome tips on how to save money on groceries, check out this epic post – “47 Tips and Tricks for Saving Money at the Grocery Store.”
28. Make coffee at home
One of the biggest expenses some people have is buying too much coffee. And coffee these days can be insanely expensive. Just ask my wife. She loves to get coffee out. She’s a very thrifty, frugal person, like myself, but she definitely has a coffee budget for Starbucks and other local coffee shops. I was still completely blown away when I paid $7 dollars for one of those drinks.
But she knows that they’re expensive, so most of the time, she’s making coffee at home. Because the best way to save money on coffee. We’ve invested in a nice specialty coffee maker, which helps to make some really great drinks. And she even prefers it sometimes.
So if you want to save more money in your coffee budget, get a decent home coffee maker and brew your own.
29. Save even more money on coffee
Besides making coffee at home, there are a bunch of other ways to save money on coffee. Check out that list here – “27 Insanely Simple Ways to Save Money on Coffee.”
30. Save money on insurance
Another thing that frugal people do is try to save money on their insurances. Now certain insurances are necessary – things like health insurance, car insurance, life insurance (if you have a family), and disability insurance (if you have a family).
But there are A LOT of companies that offer their services these days. So don’t let a certain company take advantage of you. If your insurances are outrageously expensive, find a new company with cheaper rates.
For more info, check out Zander Insurance here to compare rates. They’re an insurance broker, so they work with a bunch of companies to get you the best and cheapest rate available to you!
31. Money-saving apps
A lot of frugal people these days are going digital with their money-saving skills. And they save even more money by using money-saving apps to save on things like gas and groceries.
Some of the best apps I’ve found are GasBuddy, Upside (formerly GetUpside), Fetch Rewards, and Ibotta:
GasBuddy: I used this for years just to find the cheapest gas stations around. Now, they offer cash back when you fill up.
Upside: I LOVE Upside. I’ve used it for a couple of years now and have earned over $400 dollars with it. It’s easy. Fill up your tank. Get cash back.
Fetch Rewards: great cash back app for the grocery store. Buy your groceries and they give you cash back. Pretty easy.
Ibotta: my wife likes Ibotta. You aren’t earning cash back on everything, but you can add stuff to your list and when you purchase that item, Ibotta will give you a dollar or two back. And you can cash out at $20. My wife has made over $100 dollars with this app. Not a lot, but every little bit counts when you’re frugal, right?
32. Community resources
Frugal people love community resources because they’re either free or super cheap. I’m talking about the library, local festivals, local community events, community yard sales, and anything else in your community that’s free. Take advantage of things around you that are free or cheap because some of them can be extremely fun.
33. Using up every drop
One frugal habit that I’ve picked up on since becoming a frugal person is making sure to use things up to the very last drop. Whether we’re talking about toothpaste, shampoo, food and drink, or anything else that you use. If you throw something away before you’ve used it all up, you’re wasting your hard-earned money.
34. Bulk buying
Bulk buying can be extremely frugal if you do it right. But it can be detrimental to your finances if you’re an overspender.
If you bulk buy a few things smartly, you can get large quantities of exactly what you want and need for really good prices. You’ll save a good amount of money over time by doing this.
But if you’re constantly bulk buying everything, even things you don’t need, that can cost you big time. That WON’T save you any money. In fact, you’ll just spend and spend and always be broke.
Only bulk buy things you actually need.
35. Thrift shopping
Thrift shopping can be incredibly thrifty and frugal. Most local Goodwill stores and trendy thrift shops offer incredible prices for decent and other gently used items – clothes, kitchenware, and just about everything else imaginable.
My wife loves heading to the local thrift shops and finding insane deals on clothing. She almost always comes home with a few things, but rarely spends more than $5-10 dollars on what she buys.
Definitely try out thrift shopping if you’ve never done it!
36. Buying things used
Frugal people are never opposed to buying things used. Because if you can find decent stuff for little to nothing, it’s a done deal. Don’t be afraid of used stuff. If there’s nothing wrong with it, and it works fine, see how little you can spend to get it.
37. Garage sales and yard sales
My wife and I love a good yard sale. You can find some crazy steals and deals at the most random houses out there. We’ve found old Pokémon cards, video games, and hot wheel cars that are actually worth a considerable amount of money.
But you can also find some great deals on things that you might want or need. I mean, you never really know what you’ll find at a good yard sale or garage sale. But be careful to not spend too much money on useless junk!
38. Quality and reliability
This habit is more frugal than thrifty. This is truly where a thrifty person and a frugal person differentiate.
Thrifty people buy stuff that works and can get the job done for as cheap as possible.
Frugal people buy for quality and reliability. Because they know the quality and reliability of a product is super important. If you have the thrifty mindset, and choose a cheaper option, it could have disastrous results and your cheap product could break in a short period of time. Frugal people want a quality product that works for a decently long period of time.
So thrifty people choose to save a little bit now. But may have to pay more later. Whereas frugal people spend a little bit more now in order to *hopefully* save more down the road.
I’m more on the frugal side of things these days. I used to be on the thrifty side, but I kept buying cheap stuff that broke. I got sick of it and started buying mostly quality stuff. That stuff lasted. So now, I’m convinced that the frugal approach is best for buying things.
What’s your take?
39. Save on cell phone costs
Most thrifty, frugal people take advantage of cheaper cell phone plans. Especially those that don’t really use their phone all the time. There are companies like T-Mobile and Mint Mobile that might not have the best data speeds, but can still get the job done for a really good price.
Because most people just need a cell phone that works, can text or call, and can occasionally look something up on the internet. And most cheaper carriers these days can provide all of that for super cheap.
40. Keep tech gadgets for extended periods
Aside from most phone carriers offering extended finance periods of 2-3 years now, a lot of people have to have the latest and greatest tech gadgets. In fact, I’ve got a close friend who probably won’t ever get out of that mindset. He HAS TO HAVE the latest tech gadget, whether it’s the new OLED TV (or whatever comes after that), newest smartphone, newest gaming system, or piece of technology that connects to the internet somehow. That mindset is a recipe for debt and disaster. Don’t be like that.
As long as your gadgets work, keep them for extended periods of time. Phones can keep going for 3-4 years or longer (and still work just as good) and gaming systems only come around every decade or so now. And I’ve had one flat screen TV for over 10 years! Keep your gadgets for longer and save more money. That’s what frugal people do.
41. Repair before replacing
Frugal people make this habit a big part of their life. Instead of always replacing something that has a minor defect or issue, we will always try to get the item or issue fixed first. You should ALWAYS try to repair first before replacing something – unless the repair is going to cost MORE than simply buying a new one.
For example, we had an old dryer that served us well. It lasted for over 10 years. And it was already used when I got it in college. But when it started having issues, the repairman gave us a ridiculous quote to fix it. He then told us that it would be better to just buy a new one. We looked at prices and decided that a new one for a similar price was definitely worth it!
Just a few months ago, my buddy had a cracked phone screen. He was going to replace the phone, but decided that a $100 dollar repair instead of a $1,000 dollar new financed phone was definitely the best way to go.
So try to REPAIR first before replacing!
42. DIY lifestyle
And if you do need to repair something, when possible, try to do it yourself (D.I.Y). This DIY mindset is a staple habit among both thrifty and frugal people. Because there really are a lot of things that you can DIY.
When my wife and I had to replace the fill valve in our toilets, we simply watched a couple of videos on YouTube and did it ourselves. We ended up saving hundreds in repair and labor costs by taking just a little bit of time and doing it ourselves. It was also a fun way to spend more time with my wife!
If you can, do it yourself. It can save you hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars over time.
43. Upcycling
My wife LOVES to upcycle. I had no idea this was even a thing until she told me what upcycling was. But the interesting thing? I’ve already been doing this for years and you probably have been, too!
According to Wikipedia, “upcycling, also known as creative reuse, is the process of transforming by-products, waste materials, useless, or unwanted products into new materials or products perceived to be of greater quality, such as artistic value or environmental value.”
I also believe it to be re-using something, like a ripped towel, and making it into outside rags or something else that you can use for a different purpose. I’ve been doing things like that for years.
My wife likes the traditional definition of upcycling and has recycled many different things in our home to use for storage or plant holders.
For more, check out goodhousekeeping.com’s article here for 55 awesome upcycling ideas.
44. Trade services
If you’re trying to find another way to save money, consider developing the habit of trading and bartering services with friends. One of the easiest ways to do this can be swapping babysitting days. You watch your friends’ kids and they watch yours.
Another really simple thing to do is to trade other services as well. If a friend is a good handyman, and you do landscaping, consider trading a few cuts for some handyman services at your home. Or whatever you can think of. Be creative and find ways to trade services and save everybody money!
45. Smaller home
One really interesting habit of frugal people is that most of them tend to have smaller homes. This isn’t rocket science, either. Smaller homes cost less in utilities, property taxes, and overall mortgage costs. So frugal people buy houses that fit their needs and nothing more. Or we sacrifice a little bit so that we can build up wealth, hit financial goals, and eventually get a bigger home down the road.
Don’t be afraid to sacrifice just a little on home size to hit your financial goals!
46. Pay your off home early
Another awesome habit of frugal people? They get their homes paid off early. Why? Well, with ANY debt, comes risk. Frugal people tend to be very careful and cautious, especially with money. So being debt-averse kind of comes with the territory. If you hate debt like I do, you’ll want to get rid of it as fast as possible.
Frugal people normally take the approach of, “if it’s paid off, I’m safe.” And that’s how everybody should look at this. If you have debt on your home, that’s a HUGE risk. If you stopped paying on it, or you couldn’t afford to pay, the bank can take your home. So if you want to be truly frugal, start getting your home paid off.
You’ll have less expenses as well when your home is paid for!
47. Save on utilities
Frugal people, like myself, love to save money on utilities, too! As prices continue to increase, it’s important to find ways to save on this stuff when possible. So I put together a good list of ways to save in your utility budget. Check that out here – “The Complete Guide to Saving Money on Your Utility Bills: 57 Easy Tips.”
48. Stay home
Frugal people are almost always homebodies. And while this might not make us the most fun or social, we love spending time at home and saving money. But you don’t have to be a homebody to be frugal.
If you’re the complete opposite, but still want to become a frugal person, simply set limits on spending and allocate a budget for going out.
49. Buy your children less stuff
Now with this, I’m not saying you shouldn’t buy your kids some stuff. But there is a limit. I love buying my son toys, games, clothes, and other things that make him happy. But my wife and I know that there’s a limit.
Frugal people know that limit. You can buy some stuff, but kids don’t always need toys, games, sweets, and other things ALL THE TIME. Because they’ll get spoiled if you do that. Find a good, frugal balance between always buying stuff for your kids and never buying them anything.
50. Teach kids the value of money
You should also teach kids the value of money. Most parents are horrible money managers and don’t teach their kids anything. Then, those kids grow up and make the same mistakes with money that their parents made. It’s a sad cycle that we have to break.
Starting from when they’re super young, we have to show kids the value of money, the value of hard work, how dangerous debt is, how to pay bills, and how to save up for things. All of those are insanely important. Because if you don’t teach them, they’ll most likely learn bad habits and poor money management. And that does nothing but cause issues down the road.
51. Hustle to make more money
On the flip side of always looking to save, frugal people are always looking to make more money and increase their income. And you can easily do that by working extra overtime hours, working a second job, finding a side hustle, or selling stuff in person or online.
Overtime: if your job allows overtime, take advantage of it. It could mean time and a half over double time pay. Work hard and increase your normal full-time income!
Find another job: a second, part-time job can easily help you make an extra $500-1,000 bucks per month. Any hourly job will work. You might not make as much as a side hustle, maybe $10-15 dollars per hour, but these jobs are easy to get and easy to do.
Find a side hustle: side hustles can easily net you $30-40 dollars per hour, but YOU have to start it and find customers, too. If you can do that, you can easily make $1,000+ dollars per month part-time.
Sell stuff: if you have stuff you don’t want or need, sell it! My wife and I sold about $500 dollars worth of stuff at home before we started getting serious about selling online. After that, we started yard sale and thrift shop flipping to make a little bit of extra money on the side.
52. Frugal people give generously
It’s fairly ironic, but frugal people tend to give quite generously. Even if they’re constantly trying to save, generosity is normally pretty important to those who practice frugality.
If you can’t afford to give more generously, don’t forget that you can do other forms of charity work including giving your time to help out those in need!
53. Learn from past mistakes/the “stupid tax”
Past financial mistakes suck. But no matter what you’ve done, you can ALWAYS bounce back and find financial success. Frugal people understand this and always try to learn from any mistakes they’ve made or will make. Because none of us are perfect. You’re going to do something stupid in your finances eventually. As long as you learn from it. Pay the “stupid tax,” which is the money you’ve lost, and move on. Then don’t ever make that mistake again!
54. Long-term thinking
Frugal people think long-term. Everything that we do, financially, has a purpose to it. Because we’re working on saving money, staying out of debt, and building real wealth. That’s my goal. And other frugal people will tell you that sometimes being frugal is just fun.
Don’t be afraid of starting a goal now and hoping to achieve it well into the future. Remember, “the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.”
55. Less stress
I love being frugal because it just feels less stressful. You’ll be able to see it on the faces of truly frugal people. We’re stress-free because we do well with money. I’m much more positive and happy about things because of that and because I just don’t care what people think about my spending habits.
56. Proud of being frugal
I’m proud of how frugal I’ve become in my life. I’m proud of my wife, too. We both grew up in families that didn’t emphasize learning about money a whole lot. But we learned and turned our finances around.
Unfortunately, with that came some judgment.
We’ve been called cheap, stingy, and a whole bunch of other ridiculous things revolving around money. But my wife and I don’t mind it because we’re frugal people on track to become millionaires by 45 years old.
57. Always look for more ways to be frugal
One thing that frugal people always continue to do is look for more ways to cut expenses, more ways to lower monthly expenses, and more ways to be thrifty or frugal. And there are so many different ways to do this. You just have to find them and see what works for you.
Before you go, check out this epic post on cutting expenses – “101 Ways of Creatively Cutting Expenses to Save a Ton of Money!”
The final say
Frugal living is tough. But it’s worth it. So if you’re an overspender, someone who’s made a few bad financial choices, or someone who wants to just generally fix their personal finances, you need to start learning how to live frugally.
And that starts with the 57 habits in this post. You don’t have to master all 57 habits today. But start with one or two of them and go from there. Over time, as you get more thrifty and more frugal, you’ll start absolutely crushing it in your personal finances. That’s what I want for you. And I know you can do it.
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