Simply saying you are a frugal person does not actually make it so. We all like to save money where we can and should do it as often as possible.
But what does it mean to truly be frugal?
My favorite definition of frugal I’ve ever found was this:
fru·gal (froo-guhl) adj : avoiding waste; “an economical meal”; “an economical shopper”; “a frugal farmer”; “a frugal lunch”; “a sparing father and a spending son”; “sparing in their use of heat and light”; “stinting in bestowing gifts”; “thrifty because they remember the great Depression”; “`scotch’ is used only informally”
Avoiding waste. Such a simple thought, but in honesty, being frugal does go beyond simply avoiding waste.
In fact, being frugal should surround your entire life. If you are a truly frugal individual you will exude it. Your friends and family will know this about you, perhaps even a strange might notice.
The act of being frugal is not simply a verb. It is a way of life. It is a mindset. When you decide that you are going to work at being a frugal person you will need to adapt situations to fit that lifestyle. You will need to prepare yourself both inside and out.
It’s almost a training of sorts. At first, you might even need to make lists of things you need to do.
1.) Clip coupons every Sunday. And eventually you will be clipping coupons without fail anytime of the week.
2.) Spend time looking through sale ads. This will become second nature over time, you will find yourself paying attention to commercials more often, you will look at ads for everything from clothing to toiletries and food. You will know who has the cheapest items and which week.
3.) Sell all your extras and “don’t needs”. If you don’t need it, sell it. There are all sorts of places to sell your extra stuff – from software, dvd’s, CD’s and books – Amazon.com is one place. Ebay of course is another absolutely wonderful place to sell things. Consignment shops, garage sales and flea markets are a few others. Once you eliminate clutter and “stuff” from your life, living frugally becomes easier as you can see what you have and don’t have.
Just tell yourself each morning when you wake up – “I will have a more frugal day today. I will try a new way to save money today.” Then visit our frugal blog or the deals forums and start learning some new ways to save!!
Nicole Humphrey writes articles for the Scrapbooking Blog and for the Frugal Blog. She also guest blogs on a variety of topics. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.
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