Living frugal doesn’t have to be hard – and here’s a simple guide on how to enjoy an inexpensive lifestyle.
I admit that I try to live more frugal than most people. I rarely go out. And when I do I always make sure that it’s on a discount, using coupons or sales events, or attending a free event. But I always make sure that I have fun!
My number one rule to living frugally is to think about anything I buy before hand and see if it is truly necessary. This is constantly a battle with my kids, as they are too young to understand, and they have some strong influences from elsewhere that tend to spoil them a little bit (and I admit that I’ve been guilty of that myself at times). But I think that’s what grandparents are for and try to emphasize that we don’t buy too many toys or other things.
Now I’m not just talking about what is necessary to survive. If that were the case, I could live in a shelter in the woods and make and grow everything I needed. Hey, I used to actually think about doing that when I was a kid! But I have other priorities in my life than mere survival – I want to enjoy life, too. So what do I need to do that?
This requires a lot of self understanding, as well as it took a few paradigm shifts for me. Hey, I love my toys – but most of them are useless and don’t really get used after a few weeks or months. So that’s one habit that I stopped, for example. Now if I buy something for entertainment or hobby, it’s going to be something that I will use for months, if not several years. Otherwise it’s just not worth it.
Food is another area that changed greatly for me. I used to eat out at least three times a week. This could be a lunch at work, or even a nice dinner with someone special or a dinner at the pub with friends. Now I rarely eat out. It isn;t really worth the money, and when I do things like go to the pub with friends I limit what I buy a lot more than I once would have.
I also used to have a HUGE chocolate addiction. I would eat at least one bar a day, plus drink at least a litre (quart) of chocolate milk every day. Now I can hardly remember the last time I ate a whole bar in one sitting. And it’s actually rare that I eat it. I still buy chocolate milk, but not so often. And I drink a lot less at once than I used to.
I have also examined how I shop for groceries. This is a lot different than I once did. I admit that I have a bit of a head start on most people, since I spent 15 years without ever eating red meats (these are expensive), and even a while where I was completely vegetarian. So, for me eating with less meat was easy.
I worry more now about the people in my life than I do about the things. I used to think it was really important to have a nice house that was really big. I wanted a beautiful car (actually a nice, new minivan or station wagon is what I wanted. The Volvo station wagon is what I’ve always drooled over). And I wanted the nicest clothes. Now I don’t think that’s the case. All I need in a car is something that really works and gets me where I want to go, but is still big enough for me and the kids. And that’s cool by me!
So, living frugally is a matter of examining what is truly necessary in your life. Perhaps you absolutely need a big SUV to be happy. Or do you? It might require a paradigm shift or two to really understand what is required in life to be happy.
What helped me alot was not only the situation I got myself into, but reading other people’s stuff. One of these was Leo Babauta’s books. I read those mostly through his website, but it’s a lot easier (and won’t take you the months that it took me) if you get his books. It’s pretty much more detailed on the kinds of things that I wrote about above. Learning to simplify and organize your life in a way that makes it less stressful and more balanced. This is something that I think almost everybody could benefit from.
And I love being frugal! It’s amazing how little I can get by on, if I have to, and I still ahve a great, happy life! Most people I meet are so grumpy about the things in their lives. And that’s the whole problem – things – we need to have more simple lvies and less focus on things. Follow the number one rule of frugality – examine if it’s really necessary. And temper that with the number two rule – put those you love before everything else, especially things!
