Frugal living gets hyped up as simple, but honestly, it’s tougher than it sounds. Let’s uncover five of the most common things that trip people up on the frugal path.
Motivation
This will surprise no one: motivation to live a new lifestyle isn’t easy to find. But that’s partly because you aren’t supposed to find motivation. It’s something you create. And without enough of it, your good intentions go nowhere, and you’re back to rationalizing splurges or ignoring your bank account.
Motivate yourself by being an active participant in your goals. Track your wins, no matter how small, and search for support and accountability. You need to keep your goals and expectations specific and simple, especially when just starting.
Not Knowing Where To Start
If you’re used to spending your cash on a whim, then working on your finances sounds like exactly that: work. Feelings of overwhelm surrounding money manifest similarly to a lack of motivation. You’re more likely to give everything up or solely focus on accruing knowledge and never actually using it.
Good news: reading this is an excellent place to start! But other than that, we recommend starting at the start line. The more rudimentary and beginner-friendly, the better. Use a simple system and meet yourself halfway. Forgive yourself for not being perfect and be flexible with your goals to build confidence and meet them.
Convenience
You know you shouldn’t buy lunch at work again. But you just don’t have the time to meal prep this week. There are a million spinning plates in the air right now, and if you dare prioritize frugality, they’ll all come crashing down. Everything sounds like a good idea, but who has the time?
If saving money matters to you, there’s only one way out of this: you have to make the time, even if it feels like a hassle. For example, if you often opt for takeout because you don’t have the energy to go grocery shopping, plan your trips at a better time. Even having your groceries delivered is arguably a more frugal option if you’d otherwise rely on food delivery apps!
Social Pressure
Aside from frugal-focused influencers, most of us go on social media and immediately see the lives we “should” have. Those lives cost much, much more than we can afford. But this doesn’t just happen on social media. Even spending time with our friends can make us cave to overspending to match their pace.
Conquering this involves deprogramming yourself. Be upfront about your goals, both to yourself and to the people in your life. Most of them will likely be supportive (or at least should be), and a few will probably even be inspired to do the same. And remember to spend your money on what you value, not what the algorithm tells you is cool at the time.
Emotional Spending
“Retail therapy” is a little too normalized. Buying things solely because you’re stressed or bored is a slippery slope, and one that many people struggle to crawl back up because of looming credit card debt. If you’re someone who catches yourself aimlessly scrolling and buying or regretting most of your purchases, this is likely your undoing.
Pause before you buy something. Give yourself at least 24 hours and ask yourself if this is something you really want or need. And while you’re at it, find other ways to help ride your emotional waves, like going to the gym or calling a friend, to help release you from the grip of emotional spending.
