frugal living

In today’s world, saving money can be tough. Many of us aren’t earning as much as we used to and the cost of living has gone up. That means what we can save on a regular basis has decreased. Or has it? I’ve fallen victim to “lifestyle creep” where you spend more when you earn more AND everything you’ve previously owned, just isn’t good enough. You need better! (says the world). This is where frugality comes in. The goal of frugal living can be quite simple – save money.

When money is tight you need to cook meals on a budget. That’s done by stocking your pantry with frugal foods. See just what we keep in our pantry to save money.

Like all good conversation topics (joking), this idea came to me when someone asked in a Facebook group “Is there such a thing as a ‘how-cheap-can-I-be? calculator?”. I immediately looked to my husband to see if he could build a fancy pie chart pivot table spreadsheet, and alas, that wasn’t what I got.

Instead, he replied with some no-nonsense advice.

“YA NEED A BUDGET!”

Practical, true. Realistic, yes. But how do you calculate just how frugal can you be?

Let’s take this “how frugal can you be?” question into experiment mode!*

Living frugally does not mean that you need to deprive yourself of everything enjoyable. Yes, you’re out to save money but that doesn’t mean you can’t have stuff. As a frugal minimalist, our life feels luxurious. How?Our basic needs are met and we make our “wants” intentional. We view frugality as already having abundance, not deprivation. We enjoy our frugal lifestyle.

No matter how long you’ve been in your current relationship, I bet you’ve gone on a few (dozen… or hundred) dates with this person. Some have probably been super fancy and impressive. I’m here to tell you that not all dates can come straight from a Hallmark movie. When you’re on a budget or just don’t want to give into lifestyle inflation, cheap date night ideas are a must.