Hi everyone I’m new, I’ve always spent all I had . Always paid bills first . But still I’ve never placed much value in money . Well I’m 60 now. Not working on Disability, and I really do want to learn to control impulses and spend wisely. I’m looking at living a Frugal lifestyle as a new project, I’m anxious and excited to start ! Give me your best experiences, tips and advice. Thank you 😊
Spendthrift trying to learn to be wiser with my money !
byu/Last-Anything7556 inFrugal
Posted by Last-Anything7556
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Give every dollar an assignment.
It’s not fun being frugal after being used to spending for a while.
I mean pretty much all luxury expenses you’ll want to get in the habit of living without. Can start will cooking at home, and not buying any junk food at the grocery store. Ingredients to cook only. For me, cutting out spending on clothes and what not is very easy. But for my girlfriend it isn’t. So many setting a budget per month allocating towards clothes. Other expenses, just revisit them in 24 hours and see if you still need it after a pause.
The impulse buying you can truly cut down on with the 24 hour rule. Instead of pressing buy now, press start on a 24 hour timer. Then see if you still want it. Make this a rule for any luxury expenses. You’ll realize that a lot of them are due to you just being excited in the moment.
I’m 50f also on SSDI and married. We are an extremely frugal family. My husband and I rarely ever buy non essential things for ourselves. I mean we’re 50, we’ve accumulated more than we need. Our home and cars are paid off and our monthly bills are around $1,600. Neither of us get any enjoyment out of things so we really don’t have the urge to buy.
I cook at home 2xs a day probably 4-7 days a week and 1x a day 7 days a week. I would say this is where we save most of our money. My husband works mainly from home so gas is pretty cheap for us. He is able to do any home and most car repairs we have. We grow a garden and spend a lot of free time just piddlin in it. I freeze a lot of the veggies we grow so another savings there.
I also love using coupons and rewards for eating out or fast food. I don’t use coupons when I grocery shop.
I had a coupon BOGO for Wendys new frosty. We each got a small. Total was $4 and change. We drove to the riverfront, watched the boats and jet skis. Chatted a bit and had a nice date night for $4 and change.
Good luck on your journey ❤️
Food: Avoid eating out. Cooking at home is significantly cheaper. Eating whole plant based foods is cheaper still. Shopping: Delay purchases. Many purchases are necessary for the home but many are impulse buys. Unless its a necessity, put a 30 day moratorium on unnecessary items. Odds are, the urge will pass and you’ll forget about it. Avoid disposables: Don’t buy paper towels, use rags. Get an attachable bidet (e.g. Tushy) and reduce spending on toilet paper. If you can make it, don’t buy it. That may include things like dressings, sauces, mouthwash, deodorant, processed foods like instant mashed potatoes. Boil and mash it yourself. Turn off lights. Unplug appliances. Keep the temp barely comfortable. Grow your own food, especially herbs. Shop at ethnic markets. Just a few ideas off the top of my head
Try to distinguish between wants and needs, and then stubbornly refuse to pay for wants. You will be fighting your impulses each day but it gets easier over time. When you pause before buying something you want but don’t need and exercise control over the situation, the desire will pass and be replaced with another want another day.
Repeat the process every day, and repeatedly save or invest the money you would have spent but refused to. Eventually you will build good savings habits and instincts, and a bigger bank account.
Also, watch out for subscriptions and major carrier cell phone plans. Use the library, cook at home all the time and make coffee at home, and use prepaid cell phone carriers.
one trick is to pay in cash and walk around with limited cash. studies show that when you pay in cash it has more impact on you and you are more aware of your spending.
also if you are an impulsive buyer avoid temptation places, find yourself other places and activities
make a list for shopping. shop smart according to what is cheap/in season as opposed to what you want
cook for yourself … plenty or recipes are super simple. frozen veggies are your friends and they are peeled and cut.
Thank you everyone
Find the things that bring you joy that don’t cost much or anything, and maximize those! It’ll help reduce the impulse to spend to get joy. For example, I used to “treat myself” after a hard day by getting takeout. Now, I treat myself after a hard day with first a visit to the library for a new book and then taking a nice long bath at home with some tea. Much more affordable and honestly, it brings me more meaningful joy.
Here’s some of my faves:
Bird watching: I love bird watching, it gets me out of the house and moving and costs nothing! I use the app Merlin on my phone to help me identify birds by sound or new birds by sight, and if you already have binoculars, great, but if not, they’re not necessary (and you’ll be able to find some at a thrift store someday most likely!)
Collage: I’ve been hosting collage nights with my friends. It does have some small costs, for the glue and any paints or mediums we want access to, but generally, its us using paper we got for free either in the mail or found out and about and cutting them up and pasting it into new fun things.
Gardening: someone already said this, but I know it costs a bit to start up, but once you have the tools the seeds are quite inexpensive (and often can be saved from the prior years harvest). You can also use compost to help enrich your soil. Its very rewarding to see your efforts bear literal fruits!
Going to the library: The library is so amazing! My local library has so many books, it has board games, it has DVDs, it has a genealogy department where you can research your lineage, it has evening concerts for free, it has book clubs and language learning circles. It even has some passes for the local museums you can rent! Check yours out and see what’s on offer, you can also probably help them start up anything you wish they had but don’t have yet.
Luxurious self care: Taking a long shower, spending the time to really lather up my hair and exfoliate my skin, using my nice soaps, doing a cheap face mask if I’m feeling fancy, and making sure I lotion up thoroughly. All done while listening to some music on my phone through a speaker. Maybe also painting my nails. It makes me feel so pampered but really probably only costs cents overall.