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HomeBlog BudgetingThe Top Reasons People Are Afraid of Frugality and Why They’re Wrong
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The Top Reasons People Are Afraid of Frugality and Why They’re Wrong

September 15, 2016 by National Debt Relief

woman putting a coin in a piggy bankWhen it comes to frugality have you ever stopped to think that shaving your utility bill by $100 a month is the same as getting a $100 a month raise? Well, it’s true. Every penny you can save is the same as getting a raise in that amount. Chop your monthly grocery bill by $50 and that’s another $50 in your pocket. Who wouldn’t want an extra $100 or even $50?

 

Whenever you find ways to save money this is being frugal. Unfortunately, when most people think about being frugal that’s not what they think. They assume that to live frugally means giving up a lot and making painful, radical changes that don’t add up to that much money. They see living frugal as a bottomless pit in which they’re constantly dumping effort and getting practically nothing in return. I mean, who would want to fool around with that?

Among the fears that most people have about frugality here are the five top, which are totally wrong, and keep people from harnessing the power of a great personal finance tool.

#1: It’s just a lot of extra work!

One of the biggest problems is that when people think about frugality they think about spending hour after hour clipping coupons and saving small bits of food in plastic bags they’ve hand washed. Fortunately, the tactics for being frugal don’t really add any extra work. For example, you could make meals in advance and then freeze them. We cook up a meatloaf that’s big enough for three meals, eat it twice and then freeze the rest for a third meal. This can also mean buying ingredients in bulk, which saves money. When you then need a quick meal all you need to do is take a container out of the freezer, put its contents into your slow cooker, set it on low and then have a fast, easy home-cooked meal waiting when you get home. Here’s another example. When you have to replace a lightbulb get one of those new energy-efficient ones. They cost a bit more but they’ll last a whole lot longer.

#2: Frugality would mean giving up the stuff I like

If there’s stuff you really care about like a hobby and you give it up, that’s not being frugal. It’s being cheap. What frugality is all about is getting the maximum amount for each dollar you spend. It’s not about depriving yourself of the stuff you love. It’s about two things – cutting out the stuff that aren’t really that important to you and finding less expensive ways to do the things that are important to your life.

One of the ways frugality gets its bad name is when you read about things such as a person cutting out her morning latte, which means cutting out something of real importance. You don’t need to cut out those things. If a morning latte brings joy to your life don’t eliminate them. Focus instead on the changes you can make that don’t involve sacrifice like making sure your thermostat is set down when you go to work or being sure your tires are properly inflated to save on gas.

#3: You’re not going to save much money anyway

You can actually make powdered laundry soap yourself at home while watching TV. Experts say this would save you about $.20 per load. If you fixate on that $.20 you’re going to think it’s not worth the effort. I mean, why not just buy detergent at the grocery store? But here’s the thing. If you save that $.20 over and over pretty soon the savings goes to six dollars or seven dollars and it’s cost you just a few minutes of your time. Wouldn’t you trade a couple of minutes for seven dollars?

It’s true that some efforts at frugality won’t save you much money. However, some of them can save you a lot of money. This is especially true of things that are repeated time after time like energy improvement where you get the benefit every month when you open your energy bill.

#4: I don’t want to live like a homeless person

Frugality doesn’t mean living in a hut, rarely getting haircuts and never buying any clothes. As we’ve noted these things are not frugality. They are being cheap. Frugality is all about maximizing the value of your money. This doesn’t mean you buy the cheapest thing. And, of course, it doesn’t mean that you abandon basic sanitation or health. Don’t do anything that’s socially disruptive or self-damaging to save a dollar. That’s not frugality and it’s not healthy.

Smiling woman hugging sack of groceries#5: I won’t buy store brands – they’re terrible

Many people just assume that a store brand product is inferior to a brand name product. They look at two items side-by-side and choose the one whose name they recognize, assuming it’s better, because they’ve never heard of the store brand product. This often leads to a sense that store brands must not be terribly good at all. However, this is simply not true. What’s true in most cases is that the store brand item is functionally identical to its brand name brother. You may notice a difference in an item occasionally but probably not very often.

Here’s an example of this. You could buy Del Monte green beans or the store brand green beans. Chances are you won’t be able to tell any difference between the two except you’ll save $.60 or $.70 by buying the store brand. The same is true of cereal. If your store sells golden grahams under its own name, it will probably have exactly the same ingredients as brand name “Golden Grahams” and it’s likely that they’ll taste the same – but for a $1.25 or a $1.50 less. Again, you might wonder if it’s worth saving $.60 on green beans or $1.25 on a box of cereal but if you do this on a continuing basis the money adds up. Pretty soon that $.60 you save today is six dollars and that $1.25 is more than $10. This is not being cheap. It’s being frugal.

There’s also a philosophy called minimalist living, which is another way to live frugally. The following video explains minimalist living and how it would save you money.

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Easy National Debt Relief Caller: April Transcribed WE 1/17/2021 April: Our call may get recorded. What financial concerns had led you to seek out National Debt Relief's services? RILEY: I guess just not being able to pay my debt. April: What had you choose National Debt Relief over other companies that provide the same service? RILEY: Really just researching online. Everything that I had read about them seemed pretty positive. April: What service or program did National Debt Relief help you to get through? Like a payment or consolidation program, anything like that? RILEY: I just do bi-monthly payment to them, and then they reach out to my debt account, I guess, that negotiated everything for me. So, it’s pretty easy. April: Can you walk me through the process of what you went through to enroll for the services? RILEY: God, it's been like two years, so I kinda don't really remember. I just had to fill out some stuff online and then talk to them on the phone. I had to give them all my account information and everything. And then they worked out a payment plan for me. And they communicate with me like once a month with my statement. And whenever they have communication with my accounts, they have called me and had me verify before they've done anything and whatnot. April: That sounds like a really good service there. RILEY: Yeah. April: At this point, are you still in the program or have you completed it at this point? RILEY: I'm almost done. It was, I think, a two-year plan. So, yeah, I think I just have one other account that I'm paying on. April: How about any interactions with the negotiators? You said they will call you at any time that there was maybe an account activity that they want to confirm with you first. RILEY: Uh-huh [yes]. April: So, how is the interaction with them when they reach out to you and you're able to discuss with them? How is that interaction? RILEY: It's been super easy and positive for me and relieves a lot of stress and anxiety. So, yeah, it’s been very easy. April: And then how has National Debt Relief been able to work with you in terms of your payment plan? RILEY: I basically just told them what I could afford, and they figured it out. And they have offered COVID relief if I need to stop payment for the time being or whatever. Fortunately, I haven't had to do that. So, I don't really know how that would have worked, but that was an option. But they're always like, “Call us if you can't make payment, and we'll figure something out for you.” April: What are your thoughts about the cost in relation to the quality of the service you received? RILEY: I'm really happy with the program. [unclear 0:04:22] as far as I know. I don't have any complaints. April: Has working with National Debt Relief impacted your life? RILEY: Yeah. April: How would you say that it's impacted your life at this point? RILEY: It just has relieved a ton of pressure and stress, financial stress, anxiety. I'm not living paycheck to paycheck now to pay my interest, so that’s been nice. April: Have you had other experiences to National Debt Relief that perhaps you want to share with us in regards to your experience with them? RILEY: No. I think that’s it. April: On a scale of 1 to 5, where would you rate National Debt Relief, if 5 stars is that you recommend to your friends and 1 star is you're very dissatisfied? RILEY: I would say 5. April: In a few words, how would you summarize overall the National Debt Relief in your experience with them? RILEY: Just easy and stress-free. April: Would it be okay for us to also utilize your commentary as a review that we can publish for National Debt Relief? And that would go to public webpage here, but that's to help other consumers make good choices if they're also in the same market. RILEY: I guess. Would it have my first and last name? I don’t— April: Only the first name. And if that's an issue, we do the first letter. RILEY: [unclear 0:06:03] you want my full name. April: Not at all. So, we only do the first name as an option. We can also do the first letter. So, it's really up to you on which option you prefer. But just the first name. We don't do last name. We don't post anything personal like your phone number. RILEY: Yeah. I think you can use my first name. April: I do offer a link that we can also send you with a direct link to your review. So, once it's published, you also get to see directly. Is that something you would like to have sent to your email? RILEY: No.

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