Smart Money Management Through Frugal Living
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Smart money management is essentially about knowing when to hold on or let go of hard-earned money

The mere mention of the word frugality sometimes automatically connotes some form of sacrifice or deprivation.  In truth, frugal living is about making smarter choices in relation to the management of goods that are consumable such as food, money , and time,  However, money management remains to be the primary concern when aiming to achieve a frugal lifestyle.

What is Frugality?

Frugality is often interchangeably used with thriftiness and economical use of commodities.  A frugal person is known to avoid waste and extravagance in daily living. There is purposeful intent to stay away from lavish expenses that are considered unnecessary.

A person who exercises restraint in buying goods and services is said to be practicing frugality in the sense that he or she only purchases what is actually needed.  The only time that frugal people will willingly give in to buying in excess is if such decision will result to a cost-effective result at the end.  A good example of this is stockpiling on products that are regularly used and currently being offered on a low price.  Assured usage avoids wastage which is often a result of buying items on sale that are not actually needed.

How to Practice Frugal Living

Frugal living in order to be effective is adopted as a lifestyle in itself.  It is not about being unreasonably stingy on one and then being extravagantly lavish on another.  It is essentially about maintaining consistency so that the practice becomes the chosen lifestyle and not a heavy burden to carry everyday.

Stretching our money’s value to its maximum capacity is the goal to be attained.  This simply means finding opportunities to enjoy what is desired without breaking the bank, so to speak.  Most of the time, finding these opportunities is a true test of resourcefulness and creativity.

Where can our money buy more?  There are thrift shops, yard sales, and clearance sales as well as barter boards that can be looked into for possible purchases.  The use of coupons and rebate offerings will not make us any less of a person, just a person with less financial worries to contend with.  It is about living a better life at a lesser monetary cost.

The Rewards of Frugal Living

When people are able to successfully live a frugal but contented life, they are able to provide more for the attainment of their bigger goals such as being able to travel extensively or having a sizable bank account to be able to live comfortably for the rest of their lives.  Being free from debt or having the ability to pay off necessary debts is one of the most desirable effects of leading a frugal lifestyle.   The more a person is able to exercise restraint in unnecessary spending, the more he or she is able to provide for the highly desired things in life.

My Say

Nobody gets to attain what he or she wants without working for it.  Even heirs to enormous wealth will have to do something productive sooner or later to avoid losing everything that has been painstakingly worked for by those who came before them.  In essence, frugal living is determining what a person wants to achieve in life and finding the means to make them happen.  When we are able to manage our money and other resources wisely by “postponing” self-gratification until the opportune time, we stand to enjoy the fruits of our hard work and temperance more.