Frugal.  Does this word make you excited or does it bother you a little bit?  I’ll be honest, this word used to bother me a lot.

Frugality comes with this connotation of being cheap, never spending money, feeling deprived, making do with what you have to the point of ridiculousness and never having fun.  This word can turn off so many people for that reason.

BUT, as it turns out, frugal living is not all about deprivation and resourcefulness to the point of ridicule.  

To be frugal simply means you are resourceful and intentional with your money.

Now, what this looks like for every person will be totally different.  Being frugal doesn’t mean you never spend money. It means you are very thoughtful about what you choose to spend your money on.  There is an awareness of where your money is and where it is going at all times.

 

Sounds doable, right?

If you have any interest in starting to live frugally, you should know all the benefits you will gain from this new way of living because it will totally change your life for the better.

 

6 Reason Frugal Living Will Make You Happy:

 

1.  You will appreciate what you have.

If you look around your home (clothes, shoes, furniture, dishes, books, entertainment), I bet you don’t even use half of what you own.  This is super common. Most people would be able to sell off 25%-30% of their possessions and never even miss them.

When you live frugally, everything you own has a purpose for your life.  You appreciate the items you have, and you take care of them so they last you as long as possible.  Instead of stuff just being “stuff,” it becomes a functional part of your life. Otherwise, it is just clutter.

You will be thankful for what you have.  This will start to change your heart and you won’t be so driven to constantly go out and get new things.  You won’t want to spend your money on something if you have can make do with what you have at home.

 

2.  You won’t try to keep up with the Joneses.

With frugal living, you will begin to be content with what you have.  Physical items will no longer hold such high value in your mind. The idea that you need the latest and greatest of everything will start to fade away.

This pressure to have what everyone else has will start to lift.  Your stress level will decrease dramatically! Suddenly, you won’t care when the newest gadget comes out, what you have works fine and you aren’t going to stress about getting the new one.  

The focus on stuff will start to diminish, you won’t feel pressure to keep up and your stress will melt away.

 

3.  You will place more value on experiences.

Instead of worrying about all the new stuff you are accumulating in your home, you will be more focused on creating memories with your family.  Material things won’t matter to you anymore. Instead, you will want to DO more to create lasting memories.

You will believe investing in experiences is more worthwhile than investing in objects that will eventually end up in a landfill.  You will be happier with the amazing memories you will be making.

 

4.  You will get out of debt.

It is only natural when you start living frugally, you will want to get out of debt.  If you are being intentional with your money, you will develop this new awareness of your finances.  You will start to budget and not want to be wasteful with your money.

This will lead to debt payoff.  There will be a new focus to get out of debt so you can have more of your money to available to do the things you want to do.  Who wouldn’t want to be debt free?!

 

Related Posts:

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5.  Give to others more generously.

Living frugally will change your mind and your heart.  When you become more aware of your money, how much you have, and what you actually need, you will be able to share your wealth with others.

You will feel overly generous to share your money with others because you will have an abundance.  When you live below your means, you eliminate debt and don’t have the need for a lavish lifestyle. This will allow you to have extra money to give to others.  And you will have fun doing it!

 

6.  You can retire early.

I don’t know about you, but I would LOVE to retire early.  I don’t know that I would mind working when I’m older as long as it was my choice to have a job.  I don’t want to work because I have to.

Frugal living will naturally lead to early retirement because you will be freeing up so much of your income for investing in your future.  When you are focused on frugal, you don’t utilize your entire paycheck on stuff that won’t last, you get out of debt and you focus on retirement.  Instead of wasting your money on material things, you will be using it as a tool to live your very best life.

 

If you have been thinking frugality is this extreme way of living that will keep you deprived, you are wrong.  Sure, there are all kinds of levels of frugal living, but you get choose the one that works for you. The benefits of focusing on frugality are endless!  

 

If you want to get started with this, you just need to start small.  The first step is getting yourself on a written budget. Before you can decide to focus on your money and cut some expenses, you need to know what you have and where it has been going!

 

Related Posts:

Super Quick 10-Minute Budget Setup

How to Set Up a Zero-Based Budget Without Wanting to Rip Your Hair Out

 

Once you have your budget set up, you can start to analyze where you have been spending your money.  Then you can look into cutting costs and minimizing your expenses to put more of your money toward debt payoff, retirement and helping others.  

Do not be overwhelmed.  Frugality is a constant work in progress and you will make it fit your life and your goals.  The point with frugal living is to be intentional with your spending and try to make the most out of what you have.

Frugal does not mean deprived.  Frugal means happy!

 

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