There are many reasons people struggle with saving money. Many factors that we are sometimes are unaware of. In this article we will discuss some of these reasons. 11 reasons you are struggling to save money 1.Cost of living It would be an injustice to talk about saving money without acknowledging the cost of living. The inflation rate keeps rising which means prices are hiking while our income remains the same. High costs of living, such as housing, healthcare, and education, leave little room for saving after meeting essential needs. 2. You don't Budget (or stick to it) A budget is to your finances what water is to your body. You might survive a day or two without it but in a long term you will feel the effects. Without a clear budget, it's challenging to track income, expenses, and savings. Overspending becomes common, making it difficult to save 3. You live beyond your means Spending more than you earn will leave you with nothing to save. Spending more than w...
So, you are considering a frugal lifestyle and wondering what you should avoid doing?
Or maybe you are already in the lifestyle but looking to improve on some things?
That’s understandable. It is important to know what you are getting into and the obstacles that you might face along the way.
When I started living frugally, I made a few mistakes. Mistakes that could have been avoided. Partly because I was naïve and partly because social media created an unrealistic image of what it means to be frugal. I was so damn excited about frugality that I messed up. A lot!
I have compiled the list of things NOT do when becoming frugal. Things that I wish I knew when I first started.
1. Have unrealistic expectations
It is easy to get carried away when starting in frugal life.
How could you not?
Those Dave Ramsey stories on Instagram about people who saved $100 000.00 in 6 months. The couple that bought a house cash. It is admirable and desirable. I understand why one might have high expectations when starting on the frugal lifestyle.
I certainly did. I changed my life drastically. I cut my costs by 50%. I was so excited I saved a lot that month. It was all good until it was the 10th and I was barely surviving. I was back in the situation that made me try frugal lifestyle in the first place.
The truth is, unless you already have a substantial monthly income, you will NOT be able to save five thousand Rands a month. It will probably take months to save up to ten thousand Rands. Even a year.
Adjust your expectations accordingly. Understand that you will not be a millionaire from frugality (again, unless you were already making that much).
2. Make drastic changes
As mentioned above, it is easy to get carried away. But don’t. Start small. Cut out a few expenses and gradually ease into bigger savings. Do not start cutting your costs by a half (like I did). Or change your lifestyle drastically. You will hate it. The lifestyle will feel like a sacrifice. Like a punishment.
You will probably save for a few months then quit. You will dread the end of the month. That shouldn’t happen.
Baby steps will take you far in frugality. Do not rush the process. Start cutting minimal costs. Start by the expenses that wouldn’t make much difference singularly but so make a huge difference cumulatively.
3. Not tracking your expenses
Most guidelines about frugal lifestyle will stress the importance of budgeting but not tracking your expenses. Here is the thing, in order to improve your spending, you should know what you are spending on. It is easy to say, “I will spend this much on these items”, but it would not make much difference unless you track your spending.
Tracking your expenses allows you to know exactly where your money goes. Make a spread sheet it if you have to. Budgeting is a forecast. It is what you will do. It doesn’t address the current and past situations.
Auditing your expenses helps pick up those expenses that seemed important at a time but were actually a waste of money.
4. Seeking perfection
The first few months in the debt-free community will be trial and error. You will stumble. Some things that most people do in the lifestyle might not work for you. Some you’ll think will work until you try them out.
Frugality isn’t just about money but psychology too. You will have to change your mindset and adapt to a new lifestyle. That takes time.
Don’t beat yourself up when you stumble. Allow yourself to learn as you go. The Instagram couple that saved $50 000 in two months didn’t start there. Let the transition happen organically. The aim is to be debt-free and happy, not miserable. Think of the process as the school grades. There are stages to go through before you are in varsity.
Do not compare yourself to everyone else.
5. Too many automatic savings accounts
One of the most popular advises about frugal lifestyle is to have funds. Emergency funds, Medical fund, Pension fund and all the other funds you can think of. While this is a good advice, it is easy to blow it out of proportion.
Making over ambitious savings that will lead to brokenness is not a way to go about it. When overdoing it, you will end up over drafting your accounts or transferring the money back to your bank account which will lead to service fees thus losing money.
I would suggest that you start with one account to deposit your savings. Moderately and affordably deposit into this account for six months before dividing it into the different funds. This way you will establish how much you can afford to save and, because everything goes to one account, you will be able to see the difference in your account.
6. Spending money to be frugal
There are so many items that are labelled as frugal on the world wide web. From spending journals and budgeting tools to coffee machines and bookcases. You know them. You have heard about them.
A few weeks ago, I came across a Youtube video titled “20 things I bought to be frugal”.
The curious George in me couldn’t help but click on the video. It was very informative and had a lot of advices that I noted down myself. However, as I analyzed my notes, I realized most of the things I could do without. While they sounded better in the moment, they would be a useless and careless use of my money.
And that’s one of the things that one might do. Listening to all these experts that have been frugal for years it is easy to take their word for it. But remember frugality is about being mindful of your spending. The aim is to save money and not spend it. Do not fall into the trap of spending to be frugal.
It cost nothing to be frugal.
7. Stockpiling
Buying items that are on sale is one the best frugal hacks there is out there. Paying less for items you need is advisable in frugality. However, on sale is NOT on sale if you do not need it.
While buying in bulk might seem like a great way to save money, it doesn’t help you in any way to buy more items than you need because they are cheaper than usual. You will end up spending more than you should for items you do not even need.
If you don't need it, do not buy it!
I hope this article was helpful. Enjoy your frugal journey
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