Frugal living is not about being a cheapskate, tightwad, penny pincher, or any other negative term you might have heard. It’s about being intelligent in all of your financial dealings. It’s about being smart about purchases, property sales, money management, and investments.
It’s particularly concerned with taking control of your spending. It’s about beating the allure of consumerism that permeates our society. Through billions of dollars in advertising, we have been brainwashed into believing we must buy certain products or services to be happy, fulfilled, successful, or even respected. What a crock!
The goal of purchases is to get the best quality at the lowest cost. The objective of property sales is to provide the best quality for the highest “fair” price. The goals of money management and investments are to ensure transparency, integrity, and superior performance.
The driving force behind it is the quest to create and maintain financial independence and security as soon as possible. It is also the desire to have a high-quality lifestyle along the way.
Information is your source of power. By gaining knowledge about money matters, you control the game.
As the author of this article, you might ask, “Have you always been frugal?” “Have you ever been in debt?” My answers would be, “Almost always,” and “Almost never.” This is a natural ability for me. Using these skills to improve the quality of my life, however, is something I had to learn through research, study, and practice.
As you will discover, it’s a mindset created by knowledge. Once you learn the benefits and motivation behind this way of living, it will be easy and fun for you to put it into practice.