The benefits of living frugally are many but being a millionaire is not usually one of them. (Sorry about that!)
Why would I say that?
Because it’s true.
Sure there are plenty of millionaire who are frugal, check out Warren Buffett or the book Millionaire Next Door for your proof.
But there are more frugal people who are normal people like you and I, than those who have millions.
Frugal folk really are exactly the same as you, they’ve just made a few different decisions along the way.
The best thing about this is it means you too can be frugal.
You can be living a frugal life and enjoying it if that is what you choose. The choice is firmly in your court.
Financially Frugal
Being frugal means making good, sensible decisions about your money. It means not going into debt and getting out of it if that is where you are.
If you are currently in debt then this is your frugal 101 – things have to change. You cannot be in debt forever, it’s soul destroying and stressful. You don’t need that in your life.
Getting into debt and staying there means you are spending more than you earn.
For what? Stuff? For a lifestyle that doesn’t make you truly happy?
If this is you then this post is for you. I love being frugal and would love it if you and everyone else also loved being frugal.
What do I have to do to convince you about the importance of frugality and the role it can play in your life? How about these 7 benefits of living frugally for starters?
Of course these aren’t the only benefits but I think they make a great case for everyone to start being more frugal don’t you?
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Is It Worth Being Frugal?
Too right it is! You only have to look at these 7 benefits of living frugally to see it is worth it. These are not the only benefits, why not make a start and see for yourself?
Why Is It Important To Be Frugal?
I believe that you should be able to make life decisions based on what is best for you and your family. Not based on earning a certain income or even being chained to a job forever.
Frugal living helps you break free from those chains.
Related post: 10 Secrets To Lasting Frugal Success
The 7 Best Benefits Of Living Frugally
1. Less Reliant On Each And Every Paycheck
Lurching from paycheck to paycheck is not a fun place to be.
When you spend every penny of what you earn you only ever a paycheck from disaster, and that leads to stress and worry.
Living below your means allows you to free up a portion of your money to be put to good use elsewhere, like:
- Paying off debt
- Building an emergency fund
- Saving for retirement
- Saving for future purchases
Related post: How To Pay Off Debt Fast And Still Have A Life
Difficult Times
It also means when difficult times hit you have a cushion.
Firstly it means you can survive on less money because you don’t spend every paycheck.
Secondly it means you have that emergency fund to fall back on. You have no debt repayments you must meet. For this reason alone it’s got to be worth considering frugal living surely?
Related post: How To Live On Less Money In Difficult Times
2. Helps You To Define What Is Important To You
I didn’t use to be frugal. Like most people I had debt, a low income and too much month for my money.
I had to get frugal to make ends meet.
It wasn’t until a few years later that I actually embraced frugal living rather than wanting to spend more as soon as I earned more (I was a slow learner).
I realized that I had choices and working (or not) until I was 67 was one of them. So I chose not to and prioritized saving as a result.
Whether you have your frugal 101 moment or it creeps up on you like it did me, deciding on your priorities is an incredibly important part of frugal living.
When you commit to frugal living and living below your means you know that you are going to have to prioritize your spending.
You cannot go impulse buying things whenever you feel like it, therein lies the way back to debt. You need to work out what is important to you.
Is having the latest gadget important enough to have less money in your retirement account?
Is being able to live on one income more important that eating out twice a week?
The benefit of living frugally is that your decision making is made easier. No matter what you earn, you only have a finite pot of money so choices have to be made.
Work out what your priorities are so you can focus your spending and saving on them. Impulse purchases go down and your bank balance goes up.
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3. Frees Up Time
Frugal living can often mean undertaking tasks and chores the old fashioned living way. Like making your own bread and mending clothes.
So you might wonder why one of the benefits of frugal living is that it frees up time.
Being on the merry-go-round of constantly spending and wanting new things takes up an enormous amount of time and energy.
Shopping at the mall can take all day and set you back some serious cash. Even if you only spent $20, think how much time it took?
Being frugal in your outlook means you won’t be chasing every hour of overtime, because you can live on what you already make.
You’re not constantly scouring the internet for the next best gadget to buy, the latest fashions and the new trend in interior design.
You can let go of all of that.
It’s not that you won’t spend money, of course you will. But you will plan it and prepare for it at the right time.
4. Opportunity To Learn New Skills
These days you could out-source almost every household task if you wanted to.
From having meals delivered to garden maintenance to DIY (by someone else) you can have the convenience of someone else doing those chores.
But you have to pay for them.
Being frugal means you are much more likely to not outsource these tasks and instead do them yourself.
Sure you might not know how to do some of the DIY tasks that crop up but these are opportunities to learn new skills.
Why pay someone to do something for you that you can do for yourself? Developing your skills is extremely satisfying too.
Who wouldn’t get a great sense of satisfaction when they fixed something broken or redecorated their house themselves?
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5. Helps You Become More Self Sufficient
If you can fix things and make things for yourself, you are less reliant upon others. Relying on others not only costs money, it doesn’t always result in the job being done exactly as you wanted it does it?
Living on less money enables you to save money toward your future allowing you to be less reliant upon working in later life.
Learning new skills and doing your own tasks means you are less reliant upon others to live your life. You can just crack on and do.
6. Reduces Waste
We now live in a very wasteful time.
We think nothing of buying a takeout coffee on our way to work, and throwing the cup away, when we could easily make it at home.
We regularly buy new clothes, not because our old ones have worn out but because we feel like it.
The amount of rubbish each UK adult throws away has increased such we now throw away our own body weight in rubbish every 7 weeks!
In our grandparents time the motto was ‘waste not, want not’.
We now waste a lot and want more.
But when you are frugal you will be more mindful of what you buy and what you throw away. You look to see if you can use something for an alternative use.
Like toilet roll inners as seedling planters. Or old t-shirts as floor cloths.
You don’t have a cupboard full of cleaning products, having streamlined it to just a few. You might even make your own homemade cleaning products.
And you use all your food leftovers to reduce your grocery bill.
Why do this? Because reducing waste just makes sense. If you waste less you buy less to replace it. Thereby spending less money.
Related reading:
How To Save Money By Cutting Your Food Waste To A Minimum
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7. Complements A Simpler Lifestyle
Creating less waste, reusing what you have, doing your own DIY and other tasks around the home all result in a simpler lifestyle.
You are not constantly out spending money, seeking some form of paid entertainment. You are enjoying time at home, gaining satisfaction in a job well done.
A nice loaf of homemade bread smells wonderful but tastes all the better for you having actually made it.
Frugal living is partly about adopting a simpler lifestyle. You spend less money therefore you usually have less stuff. I’m not talking minimalism but definitely less.
You enjoy simple pleasures like growing your own tomatoes, your own herbs on your windowsill.
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More Benefits Of Living Frugally
Needless to say these aren’t the only benefits of being frugal. They’re just the ones I think will help you sit up and take notice.
They are my sales pitch to you for being financially frugal. If you like the idea of these positives then think about all of these ones too:
- Able to give more generously
- Being debt free
- Financially confident
- You have financial security
- Retiring early
- More time for you to do what you want to do
- Free exercise
- Set a great example for friends who are struggling financially and kids
- Strengthens your relationships (money problems being the 2nd biggest reason for divorce)
- You have less stress
- You are no longer envious of what others have
Related post: How To Love Living Within Your Means Every Day
I love Being Frugal
With all of these benefits of living frugally, what is there not to love about frugal living?
If you hadn’t already guess I love being frugal. I have been living a frugal life and enjoying it for many years.
Full disclosure though – I started out being frugal because I HAD to be. Because I didn’t have enough money and it ran out before my next paycheck. Every time.
If you are brand new to frugal living then I’d love to say you’ll love it from day one and every day thereafter but I wouldn’t be being totally honest.
Because being frugal means living life a little different to others.
And if you have been regularly overspending and have debt then you have got to change your lifestyle to become financially frugal.
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the Downsides To Being Frugal
Nothing is perfect, even frugal living isn’t perfect. You gain a huge amount in being frugal but there is a cost.
And the cost is parts of your old life. Because obviously you haven’t been frugal up until now so something has to change to get you there.
So you need to consider these changes:
- Not shopping as a leisure activity
- Paying off your debt (as fast as possible preferably)
- Spending less than you earn
- Not thinking that you should or must have what everyone else has (they have debt remember)
- Saying no to others and yourself when the money isn’t there
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Enjoy Being Frugal
The truth is you don’t need millions to enjoy life, there are many things in my life that I cannot put a monetary value on.
Things like retiring early, moving to my favorite location in the countryside. I couldn’t do these if I still had a mortgage, still had to work to earn money to pay my bills.
These are the benefits of living frugally that were important to us. By being frugal we were able to achieve our goals.
And no, we are not, have never been and never will be, millionaires. We are financially frugal and love our frugal life.
Now I want that for you.
If you are new to basic frugality then why not take advantage of my free email course where I help you build your frugal foundations?
Come and follow me on Pinterest for more money saving hints and frugal tips!
Last Updated on 16th November 2021 by Emma
