Living a frugal lifestyle is a great way to take control of your finances and save money, but how do you know when to draw the line between being frugal vs cheap?
Based on people’s comments on this particular topic, it is known that cheapskates are not well liked. Most of us don’t want to fall into that category either but we would still like to reap the benefits of frugal living.
Related:
7 HABITS OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE MASTERED SAVING MONEY
10 BEST WAYS TO BE THRIFTY EVERY DAY
THE LIFE OF A FRUGAL MOM (LIVING ON ONE INCOME)
101 WAYS TO BE FRUGAL THIS YEAR!
How to be frugal without being cheap?
One thing to remember is everyone is different and will always have a different opinion on what is frugal vs cheap BUT there are a few questions you can ask yourself to help.
Question #1: Will I hurt someone’s feelings if I do this frugal thing?
Most times when people consider others as cheap it is because they hurt another human in the process. One big cheapskate thing to do is not tipping at restaurants! In this case you are hurting the waitress/waiter.
Question #2: Am I essentially stealing from someone else?
You might be wondering why you would even need to ask yourself this, of course you aren’t a thief! However, you might think that using your neighbors WIFI OR Netflix account is harmless but I can guarantee you they call you cheap behind your back, and you are kinda stealing from them.
(Splitting the bill with your neighbor would be the frugal thing to do)
Question #3: Am I skipping out just to save a buck or is it really just not worth it?
Sometimes this can be a tricky question especially if you do live on a low income. Say your friend invites you to their wedding, you now need to spend money on a hotel, gas, food, and a gift. Cheapskates would decline saying they cannot afford to go.
A frugal person might:
- Carpool
- Split on hotel room
- Not drink (so they can drive home)
- Create a great DIY gift
Essentially a frugal person will save where they can, but not completely opt out of all the “living” life has to offer simply to save some money.
7 ways to be frugal without cramping your style
Since there is such a fine line between being cheap vs frugal here are 7 ways YOU can be frugal without being a cheapskate!
1. Shop thrifty for yourself but not for others
Buying second hand is such a good way to be frugal, however buying second hand items as gifts for others is well, “CHEAP”! There are tons of other ways to save money on gifts then purchasing second hand items.
There is a great gift guide you can check out here, that will help with minimal and frugal gifts.
2. Save on haircuts rather then cutting your own
If you aren’t a hairdresser then cutting your own hair probably doesn’t always turn out as good as you would like and then cutting your kids hair *shudders*.
I consider this a cheap thing to do as you can save money by going to a local beauty school, and for men cuts aren’t really that expensive anyways.
3. Save on trips instead of not going
Naturally we would all love to be able to travel, but in order to save money some don’t go ever. at. all. Now that would be a very boring life so why not just take a frugal approach to travel?
If you take a look at Treehugger they have a great article on How To Travel Frugally.
4. Pay yourself first
When you create your budget most people budget all their money into expenses, debt and savings. They leave nothing for themselves, which in my opinion is a big mistake! You need to pay yourself first so that you have some spending money to enjoy life a bit!
5. Take advantage of discounts
Being frugal, I love discounts! They help my family and I do fun things without breaking the bank. I always check out local deals and I browse Groupon often.
Whenever I buy something I also always shop through Rakuten.
Rakuten is a cash back site that is free to join and earn cash back on your purchases, who doesn’t love free money?!
6. Shop at discount warehouses
Many think if you are thrift shopping you will never have name brand clothing or even nice looking stuff, that is so wrong! You just have to know where to shop!
Find local warehouse stores or discount clothing stores that carry name brand items. You save money and still get the good clothes!
7. Earn free money
Yes, you read that right. Being frugal is also about taking advantage of free money, which now thanks to the internet we have tons of ways to make free money!
3 ways to earn free money:
- Swagbucks: The best online rewards program would have to be Swagbucks, free to join and so many ways to earn SB’s to exchange for gift cards!
- Survey Junkie: The #1 Survey rewards site with up to $50/per survey you are sure to earn some cash quickly! TIP: Create a new email address only for your surveys!
- Sidehustle: Starting a side hustle isn’t exactly free, but you can make a good amount of money from a side hustle, usually much more than you can from surveys.