When we think rich, the things that come to our mind will be people who can buy things without even a second thought.

But there are a few groups of people who have become rich by living frugally.

A guy in his twenties will often say, “We’ve got one life and we don’t know when we are going to die, so why waste our time on saving for the future and not living today.”

This is a sure-fire way to live an uncertain life and will not make you wealthy.

The same guy, after turning thirty, will search Google for “how to stop my overspending habits?“

Well, for starters!

Warren Buffett lives in the same house for 60+ years that he bought in 1958, he’ll keep using the same wheel until it’s no longer fit for the road.

I am not saying his frugality made him so rich, but his frugal living is also one of the reasons for it.

I’m sure that frugal living is a cornerstone of one’s building called “personal finance,” and this post is about it.

Let’s dive deep into it.

Define Frugal

Frugality is sometimes given a bad name like living a cheap lifestyle.

The meaning of frugal is wrongly consumed by most people. They often confuse it with “miser” and “deprived”.

• Miser: unwilling to spend or stingy with their money.
• Deprived: not even having the basic things in life.
• Frugal: living below your means without feeling deprived and miser.
  
  

Using the available resources, owning less stuff (not necessarily cheap), spending mostly on needs, and avoiding unnecessary purchases (wants) are all words that can represent frugality.

“Frugality is the cornerstone of wealth.”

       – Joshua Sheats

Benefits of frugal living

• If your earning potential is limited, frugal thinking makes you do the budget, manage the cash efficiently and cut back on your spending (unnecessary).
  
  
• The main advantage of living frugally is that it’ll make you feel rich until you become the actual rich.
  • You’ll keep more of your money, and you’ll always be in surplus.
  • It gives you the confidence to face any unforeseen emergency expenses.
  • Surplus savings will make you think about investing the idle cash in hand. That’s where you start your investment portfolio and the first step towards financial independence.
    
    

• Have you ever done the math on your retirement? Do you know how much wealth you need?
  You’ll have a heart attack after seeing the numbers.
  • Nowadays, early retirement is the new normal. If you’re a person who seeks early retirement, then you must embrace frugality.
  • For a frugal person, the retirement numbers will be a little less as their needs are very few, but still quite a big number.
    
    

• Your return percentage is not going to make you rich on any investment. It always depends on the principal amount you’ve put in. For that, you need a frugal mindset to save and that will give you an opportunity to invest more principal for the future.

  • For example: two guys are investing in two different funds for 15 years.
    One gets an 8% return, and another gets a 12% return…
    Who has generated more money now?

    Don’t think, you can’t answer this… It depends on the principal…
    Whoever has invested more gets more money irrespective of the return percentage.

• Financial contentment: in a frugal lifestyle, you’ll be focused on how to live within your means, rather than comparing your financial situation to others’..
  • You lose your desire to keep up with them and begin to enjoy the contentment you have achieved.
    
    

Know when to switch

Saving and investing are an important aspect of retirement, but excessive frugality will also lead to harm. Knowing when to switch from being frugal or not, is a good trait one must adapt.

As I said for Buffett, a frugal mindset could be one of the reasons for you to become rich. At the same time, I’m not saying to live like a monk.

The guy in his twenties also got a point; “we’ve got one life, just one.” So, make the most of it and feed yourself from time to time for your “wants”.

You don’t always need to be too strict on yourself, get loose sometimes from frugality and have all the fun when needed.

Closure

Can frugal living make you rich? The answers are “yes” and “no.”

Frugality is one of the reasons for building wealth, it does make a difference in your personal financial journey.

However, relying solely on your salary and frugality will not make you wealthy until you find additional sources of income to pump in money on equity.

So, why not keep it in the mix? time to time at least to feed your wants.

Turn the frugal switch on and off when needed, but not often.

Until next time,
Peranesh xx