Living a frugal life is not an easy task. You must practice a set of habits and have a strong discipline in order to sustain this life for a very long time. Frugal people behave differently from people around them.
If you want to start a frugal life or are currious about how frugal people live, you have come to the right place.
In this article, you are going to leran about 18 habits of frugal people that are easy to apply and lead to sustainable success.
1. Frugal people love frugal life and value their whys
Frugal people are not frugal by mistake. It is a decision they have made on purpose. They decided to live frugally in an effort to achieve something much greater. For example, people choose to live a frugal life because they want to save money for a big purchase such as a house or a car. Others live a frugal life because they want to pay off their debts and become financially independent.
Either way, they are happy with the life they have chosen. Their WHY is much important than the struggle they go through. Frugal people know that their lives will be much better and fruitful after reaching what they desire.
2. Frugal people document everything
Frugal people are the master of record keeping. In order to manage their lives, they like to document what they do and how they do it. For example, if they have a garden, they know how big the garden is, where they will plant every crop, and how many seeds they will need, etc.
This is how they make sure that no dollar or penny is lost in the process. What the average person considers less important, frugal people treat is very carefully. Nothing passes them without noticing.
3. Frugal people always have meal plans
Meal prep and planning is something most of us never treat very seriously. Who wants to know what they are going to eat every day of the week. Frugal people don’t see it the same way. Frugality is directly in correlation with saving money. One of the greatest ways to save money is to plan all meals and cook as much as possible. Frugal people take it to the next level and some plan for an entire week.
4. Frugal people know how to track their expenses
Many people struggle with money not because they do not make enough of it. But instead, because they don’t know how to save the money they make. Most of us are drawn by the urge of spending. We feel like we need to own everything shiny out there. The average people spend without thinking.
Frugal people think differently. They believe that the money they make should be saved and their expenses should be monitored. They monitor everything and stop spending once they have reached the limit. Their limit you ask? Frugal people are like minimalists. Even the limit they set is so tight that the average person would think they cannot survive on it.
5. They use budget for everything
When it comes to monitoring every expense, the budget plays an important part in this kind of life. Frugal people have the budget for everything as far as money is concerned. If they are going to travel somewhere, they create a budget for the trip.
Most people who live frugally create a master budget. This budget includes their total net income and all of their expenses. In addition, their master budget tracks the difference between actual spending vs target values for every week, month, and year. Furthermore, they have future projections of where they want to be.
On top of this master budget, they create an extra budget for unplanned things that come into their lives. In the end, every penny that comes into and out of their lives is managed. That is how frugal people live.
6. Frugal people can’t shop without a shopping list
The first thing frugal people do is draft a list of things they want to buy. Is it a time to buy more groceries? No problem. They look at what they have and write down what they need to buy to replenish groceries. They cannot go to the store without having a list. The list prevents them from going overboard and spending more than they are supposed to.
One of the main reasons people spend so much when shopping or grocery shopping is impulse shopping. Flashy products displayed at main isles are designed to catch your attention and make you buy them. Impulse shopping causes you to always find a need for a particular product even if you did not go to the market for it.
Frugal people think differently. If an item is not on the list, they will not buy it. No matter how badly they want it, it will not make it into their shopping carts.
7. Frugal people do not buy brand name products
Frugal people understand the value of their money, and therefore, watch where it is spent. When it comes to buying products, they make sure that brand products are not on the list.
By default, brand-name products cost much more than generic products on the market. These products are highly advertised as super products. The hard truth is that brand name products do not perform better than generic brands. Frugal people understand this concept better than anyone else. That is why they never buy brand-name products. They stick to generic brands.
8. They are good at saving
Frugal people are some of the greatest savers. They believe that every penny should be saved and used very carefully. They cannot pass by a penny on the street without picking it up. Every dollar they make is counted and placed where it will never be touched until a big purchase is underway.
9. Frugal people do not eat out very often
Restaurant foods are costly not because they taste better or come in large quantities. But instead, because restaurants include the cost of running their businesses on the check. The money customers pay in restaurants covers all employee’s salaries, food, and all expenses related to running the business. That is why you pay so much money for a small amount of food.
What if you could only pay for the food? In this case, you would save a lot of money. Frugal people understand this simple concept very well. That is why they never spend money in restaurants. Instead, they try other means of eating without going to restaurants. That is by cooking.
10. Frugal people cook all the time
When it comes to cooking every day, you cannot beat frugal people. They prepare every meal to maximize their good savings. They also make enough food to last them enough time with little waste.
Most people do not like cooking due to time constraints or simply because they don’t know-how. This is not the case for frugal people. If they don’t know how to cook, they learn how to. Not knowing how to cook is not a major barrier for them.
11. Frugal people do not buy new cars or other expensive items
Most of us think that luxury items are the most important things we could own. The moment we get a paycheck we start looking for ways to spend it. Should I get a new iPhone? What about an apple watch or a scooter? These are the questions plenty of people ask themselves when they are expecting money.
Frugal people think and act differently. They never buy anything new. Instead of buying a new car or luxury items, they stash the money under the mattress or in savings accounts. Why waste money on cars? They ask. The answer is there is no single reason a person can buy a new car. That is a waste of money.
12. They avoid spending money on alcohol, tobaco products, etc
Frugal people avoid spending too much money on alcohol, tobacco products, or other leisure services. These products are too expensive to them and they bring them little to no value. That is why they only spend their money on things they need or things that bring more wealth and value into their lives.
13. Frugal people do not pay for movie subscriptions such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Disiney, etc
There are millions of people who pay a ton of money for entertainment. They have full subscriptions to most streaming media and newspapers out there. The money they spend could pay for someone’s college.
Frugal people know that saving money and living below their means require an extreme reduction in entertainment. Although they could pay for some services every once in a while, they have a budget on how much they can safely spend. For example, instead of purchasing multiple streaming services at once, they only choose one of them and stick to it. Others choose to go with the basic plans where you could watch movies with ads.
14. Frugal people buy only what they need
Spending extravagantly is not a habit of frugal people. If something is not needed at the moment, it should not be purchased. Frugal people only purchase what they need and they pay the lowest price possible. They check thrift stores, pawnshops, dollar trees, etc until they find the lowest price. That is how they are able to buy only what they need and save money at the same time.
15. They don’t show off
What is the first thing people do after making a lot of money? If you guessed buying expensive things, showing off, and pissing off their friends, you are right. Buying expensive cars, brand-name clothes and electronics, and much more is what most people do.
All these products do nothing more than showing off. The hard truth is that showing off increases expenses. This new lifestyle comes at a huge cost. This is why frugal people don’t show off. They drive the same old car until it can no longer be driven. Frugal people never show their wealth. That is why it is always hard to know whether they have money or not.
16. Frugal people keep coupons close, buy products on discounts, and clearances
Collecting coupons and using them every time you are shopping is not easy. Some people think that using coupons is a sign of poverty. Others don’t even want to touch coupons.
What is true, however, is that those who use coupons save a lot of money on purchases they make. Think of coupons as having a small discount on qualifying purchases. These discounts can help you save money that you can use to achieve financial independence.
Frugal people love coupons and use them on their purchases as much as possible. They navigate through websites looking for coupons and discounted products. If an item they want is not at a discount, they do not buy it. Instead, they wait until what they want is on discount or put on clearance.
17. Frugal people like to fix broken things and DYI a lot
When it comes to living below their means, frugal people take it to the next level. They continue using whatever they have and repair them as many times as possible. If an item is repairable, they repair it themselves. Why pay someone a hundred dollars if you can fix something yourself in a couple of hours?
If there is something they want, frugal people find a way to make it themselves. They tap into the resources they have at hand to make what they want. That is how they manage to live below their means for a very long time.
18. They hangout with other frugal people
By default, each person is the average of people he/she hangs out with. Those who are successful hang out with people who are in the same financial bracket or better. This is because achieving success requires us to copy and replicate what worked for others in our own lives. If you want to be rich, you would need to hang out with rich people, learn how they play the game and do the same thing.
The dark side of frugal living is that it is not easy to achieve such a life or sustain it for a long time. To succeed, one must learn from those who have succeeded and replicate their strategies. That is why frugal people hang out with other frugal people. They help each other to navigate the complexity and challenges that come with this life.
