On average, we meet around 80,000 people in our lifetime, and there are 7 billion plus people living in this world, but there will be hardly people who will adopt frugal living and find joy in minimalism. The question will come to your mind as to why I am emphasising frugal living. To understand this, first, we need to understand what cheap living is.
In simple words, Frugal living means adopting a minimalistic lifestyle and saving money. Not buying unnecessary items will help you focus more on the things that matter. It will be the first step towards financial freedom. If you are frugal (a person who adopts a frugal lifestyle), then you will be more attracted to minimalism, which has tremendous benefits mentally and financially. It is directly connected with a minimalistic lifestyle. It helps to understand the difference between needs and wants, and cutting down unnecessary expenses helps to live frugally. It also helps to remove clutter from our living space, which helps enhance mental clarity. But does that mean frugal living is the same as cheap?
Saved frugal living means cutting down the cost of unnecessary items, hence using money economically. In contrast, when someone describes it as cheap, then it is intended to criticise that person because he is unable to spend money. Frugal is also different from stingy; stingy people are also not able to share resources as a good gesture, whereas frugal people leave certain luxuries to live frugally.
Through the help of frugal living, people can achieve goals and be mentally free at the same time; it is not limited here. There are many more advantages of frugal living. Recently, I studied a book called ‘Psychology Of Money’. In one of the chapters, it was mentioned everyone, with or without a goal, should save, and there should be no reason to save money. That’s where frugal living helps.
When we cut down the cost of unnecessary items, we can save a lot of money, which later can be helpful as an emergency fund or to buy a dream house. Saving without damaging experience will also help us to reduce financial pressure and stress, which will help us live a healthy and happy life. We all know day by day that our environment is getting worse, and there are no significant actions taken, but we can take small actions by living frugally. With fewer items we will buy, there is less possibility they will end up in landfill, which will surely help. When someone starts frugal living, then the person will invest in quality over quantity, which will upgrade the living space, and the person will feel richer; it will also help him to develop a creative mindset as well, and the person will be more self-dependent and confident.
Now, exploring the possible advantages of Frugal living, let’s understand the basic technique to dive into the frugal lifestyle.
First of all, people need to understand that it is not a spirit but a marathon; hence, it will take a lot of time, and the person should have the patience to dive into a frugal living mentality.
Making a budget will help cut down unknown expenses, and a person can focus more on main costs like rent, car payments, etc.; hence, the person will have a better understanding of how much excess money he has after spending on necessary things. Cutting down expenses: will be better if the person stops himself from dining out in a fancy restaurant; I understand what it feels like not having the latest tech or going out every Saturday and Sunday, but by not doing this, the person will be able to get frugal living.
Not pushing very hard: is necessary to take the process slow, especially for shopping lovers. As stated in the previous group article.
When we shop, our brain releases dopamine, which makes us happy; hence, for some, this can become an addiction, and as a result, people do lots of rush shopping. Therefore, it is necessary to take the process slow; otherwise, the backlash will be worse.
Recycling does not have any disadvantages; it will help reduce spending further and be beneficial for the environment as well.
Here are some tips to start living frugally. If you want to start frugal living, then it is best to start with a frugal community; it helps to get more ideas and get motivated within it. It also helps to create a mindset with like-minded people, which will support frugal living. If you want to join the frugal community, join here.
Here are some facts and myths about frugal living. (more)
Living a cheap life:
One of the primary myths is that frugal people live cheap lives, but as explained above, cheap is different, whereas frugal living is a way of becoming financially free and at the same time happy. It focuses on only the things we want and helps to reduce unnecessary spending.
Lower quality products:
Some people believe that frugal people buy cheap quality products to save money, but it is the opposite; people will live frugally and buy in less quantity and higher quality, which lasts longer. Frugal people do not have fashion: It is not necessary to spend an enormous amount of money to be fashionable; there are many ways where people can spend wisely and still be in the game of fashion. You can get frugal living fashion ideas from here
Social isolation:
For many people, it leads to an inability to enjoy and go out with friends, but the truth is that it helps to find creative ways to hang out without overspending.
In conclusion, it is a personal choice whether someone wants to be frugal or not. Still, indeed, frugal living comes with tremendous advantages, and with the rising trend of minimalism, frugal living will surely rise.
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