Do you believe you’re a frugal person? Or do you fully intend to be, but aren’t sure what needs to be done? Truthfully, it isn’t easy to be thrifty at all times, so today we’re going to give you some tips on what to do and what to avoid if you want to spare money.
Visualize Your End Goal
There are many ways to start your journey towards making less costly decisions, but visualizing frugality is definitely helpful. Namely, you need to have a clear goal in mind. Do you just want to save up a certain amount of money? Do you have more long-term goals? It’s important to see an end in your mind’s eye and work your way towards it.
Make an initial plan, decide how much you’re allowed to spend per day or week and stick to it. We know it’s easier said than done, but you have to start somewhere.
Prioritize and Learn to Say No
It’s quite simple: you need to realize that being thrifty is your number one goal. That means saying no to certain pleasures, unfortunately. Missing a cousin’s birthday party may not be your favourite decision, but realizing that you don’t have to attend every single event will help you get there. It’s okay to say no – especially if you feel like the something you’re saying no to is threatening to wear your wallet thin.
Stop Spending Money on Fast Food
Perhaps all of this sounds way too vague. How about some concrete advice? Let’s see. You know what’s also making damages to your wallet? Frequently buying fast food. You don’t even realize how much cash can be splurged on this quick meal solutions – not to mention the health issues. Solution? Strive to prepare your own food as often as possible.
Say Goodbye to Cable TV
All right, here’s a supposedly tricky one, but not really. You probably regularly pay your cable TV bill. But how much time do you spend watching it? If you have a steady 9 to 5 job, chances are you’re only able to catch up on your TV only late in the evening. Do you really need TV for that? Wouldn’t you rather watch exactly what you’re in the mood for?
The alternative to cable is Netflix – and other such services – which are significantly less costly and can turn out to be a much smarter investment. Give it a shot; you may yet be surprised.
Forget about Brands
Brands are flashy, brands are attractive, brands will make you broke. If you look at things realistically, you can’t have all the best things in life; make it so that on ly the things you deem the most important are those where you’ll stay true to the number one brands. The rest? Get generic products and save up.
Make a Yard Sale
Step one: clean out your closet. Step two: make a yard sale and make a buck on the side. Naturally, yard sales aren’t just done on your front lawns these days – you can use the internet for it, too. Go to eBay, Craigslist and similar sites, put your unused stuff up for auction and say goodbye to both a physical and psychological baggage. Not only is this something a thrifty person would do, but it’s actually healthy in a number of ways!
Avoid Online Shopping and Games
If you strive to be frugal at all times, you should steer clear from impulsive and hasty shopping decisions and splurging on the internet. That means, saying no to online shops for the most part, as well as online gambling portals, as you tend to lose sight of planning there and spend money a bit more recklessly then planned.
Say Yes to Cash and See You Later to Credit Cards
Did you know people actually tend to spend more when using credit or debit cards? If you’re looking for yet another way to be thrifty, pay cash. Unlike card, which can be a significant accomplice in splurging, cash lets you plan ahead and when the dough runs out, you wait for your next scheduled payment. Simple as that.
Good Luck!
We hope you’ll manage to take away a useful tip or two from this article. As long as you make a realistic plan, stick to it and ditch certain unnecessary services and habits that actually eat out at your wallet, you may indeed find yourself living a completely different life to just a few months ago. What’s left to say than… good luck!
