Plenty of advice on how to be financially independent starts by learning how to save your money. Although some would say that it’s a bit of easy advice to follow, then either they’ve lived quite a blessed life or they may be ignorant about the hardships of budgeting.
Basically, budgeting is an underrated skill that you shouldn’t take for granted.
On that note, if you’re one of the people who have heard of this advice numerous times but don’t know how to go about it, then read on. In this article, you’ll find six frugal spending ideas that are sure to help you save more money.
1. Consider your priorities
To be able to spend your money wisely, you first need to set your priorities. When you know your priorities, you can better set your goals. Plus, you have a better understanding of the confines that you have to work with.
The most basic priorities that you should keep in mind are utilities like water and electricity, food, and ‒ if you’re paying for someone’s school fees ‒ education. Of course, you also have to prioritize paying your debts if you have any.
Knowing your priorities helps you keep track of your spending better. Your monthly expenditures should go to your priorities a majority of the time.
2. Spend within your budget
Speaking of monthly expenditures, you should also make it a habit to spend only within your budget. By identifying what are your priorities, then you can have a better idea of what your spending budget for other non-essentials should be.
Nobody is saying that you should live a dull life and not enjoy yourself, but it doesn’t mean you should go overboard and spend money that you don’t have any business spending.
Check whether you’re spending money on things that you don’t even use. As soon as you identify these things, you can cut these out of your life better.
3. Invest more in high-quality items
Although it is interesting to buy the shiniest and newest and prettiest items that you see on store shelves, you should make sure that what you’re purchasing will last you a long time.
It’s an investment to yourself when you make sure that you buy high-quality items. Not only will they last a long time, but the quality of their work should not reduce. Whether it’s for cars or even just simple items such as bags or shoes, you will do yourself a favor when you only buy items that don’t become run down after a few uses.
It’s tempting to buy the cheapest item in the market, but the costs will accumulate if you find yourself having to buy a new one over and over. Plus, buying cheap items may be detrimental to your safety or health.
4. Practice recycling and reuse
One way that you can live a frugal lifestyle is by practicing a more sustainable way of living.
You can start this sustainable lifestyle by practicing recycling and reusing your items. If it’s an item that is single-use only, then consider looking for reusable versions of the item. Searching on the internet can help you find an alternative item.
Not only will this make your life more sustainable and spend less money, but you are also helping the environment. Check out recycling centers in your area. You can even try donating some of your items so that others can reuse it.
There are a lot of ways you can recycle and reuse your items. You need only to seek out these solutions for yourself.
5. Avoid frequent dine outs
Dine-outs are an attractive option for a lot of people who don’t have the time to cook for themselves or don’t know how to cook well. This is one of the main reasons people are choosing to eat out more instead of cooking at home.
However, this can have a huge effect on your budget because eating out at restaurants isn’t cheap, or if it is cheap then it’s likely that the food isn’t all that good for your health. Cooking your food at home will not only be cheaper, but it’s also an excellent skill to have.
Learning how to cook can be a form of meditation as you flit about in the kitchen. It can make you feel relaxed and at peace, while at the same time, you get food out of it too!
6. Set money aside for your savings
At The Dollar Genie Blog, there is a big emphasis on the importance of keeping some savings aside out of a chunk of your salary.
One of the main reasons it’s important is because you need to have funds that you can tap into if you have an emergency. Emergency situations don’t happen during convenient times, and they’re stressful events too. Having money set aside can help alleviate some of the stress that happens when you’re in an emergency.
Aside from that, savings help cushion you if you want to invest your money in other things that can have certain risks to them. There are many benefits to having savings so make sure you get a chunk of your salary into your savings every month.
It’s hard to spend frugally but it’s even harder not to have any money. By spending the time to live a frugal lifestyle now, your future self will thank you all the more. It doesn’t have to be such a big sacrifice to live a frugal life, and these spending ideas are sure to have shown you that.
