Frugal Living – A necessity, habit and lifestyle. Will it save expenses & still allow Luxury?

‘Summer bachelors, like summer breezes, are never as cool as they pretend to be.’ Very aptly stated by Nora Ephron. Aligning to Nora’s quote, there are tons of things that actually matter a lot less than they seem to be.

It is always better to have a lot of money in your pocket and a lot of time in your hands rather than having a lot of stuff in your closet. Isn’t it? Frugality means the exact same. Spending smart ultimately results in a fruitful, happier, wealthier, wiser and a sorted lifestyle. Mindful expenditure is the key to today’s cost of living. You must have heard, if you buy something that has a discount of Rs.300 on 1000Rs. Then you are not saving 300, you are spending 700. Just like any habit takes around 21 days to initially get installed into our routine, frugal living can be practiced majorly throughout all areas of our lifestyle.

Start small; achieve great, ‘stick to this quote while practically implementing frugal living in your daily routine. Start with making your coffee on your own instead of stepping out for one. From preparing all meals, lunchboxes at home to talking walks to travel around the city streets for groceries, start compounding step-by-step.

For an instance, frugal living is depicted from my gardening practice. I never buy plants from the local plant vendor. Instead I grow them from cuttings collected from friends, family, neighbours or any random garden that I happen to visit. With this simple practice, I have converted my little gallery into a mini jungle. Also watching out for discounts on clothes, groceries, gym memberships will help in the long run.

Some Frugal Living hacks to Elevate Your Finances:

- Cutting out on ‘eating out’. Eating out, not only damages your health severely but also adds up in depleting your balances.

- Find a reasonable place to live. Luxury is not in spending more; luxury is living clean and hygienic in whatever space.

- Unsubscribe to all the entertainment channels that you don’t watch.

- Workout by yourself, be self-motivated instead of paying thousands in the gym.

- Restrict partying every weekend, instead try visiting your friend at his place or call him at yours. This will save you huge entry amounts for that seemingly lavish club & its savoring delicious yet unhealthy snacks & drinks.

- Invest smartly. Instead of modifying and flaunting the petrol fueled dashing bike, try investing in a bicycle. This will save you from the clutches of petrol costs as well as keep you in fabulous shape.

- Avoid going to the salon for treatments, try natural homemade facials using ingredients from the kitchen. Remember, more the natural, more the beautiful!

- Visit the wholesaler market once in a week to buy veggies or groceries. They offer discounted prices as compared to the local vendors.

- Carry your own water bottle wherever you go.

These things will help you spend less than you earn and will indirectly make you able to save a lot. Go on budget trips, visit all places, stay in a reasonable cottage, avoid taxies, and travel via. Public transport.

Track! Track! Track all the expenses monthly to be proud of your own that how far you have come by changing a fewer choices. I have learnt a lot of frugal living from my father. He takes us on hiking every Sunday at a fort nearby, where I usually see people eating out, whereas my father only allows us to have the refreshing lemon water once you have reached the top as a token of appreciation.

Gift yourself materialistic things for your victories or wins that will help you achieve the next one. I was gifted a parker pen in the ninth grade for scoring good marks. With that same pen I wrote my board exams and came out with flying colors.

Start with small habits in saving money wherever you can. Use the saved money to go to places you always wanted to, eat from a restaurant you always dreamed of eating from o grab that branded active wear for your gym training.

Be mindful and keep tracking your expenses. Because in today’s era, less is more & simple is attractive!

- written by Neha Shilamkar