Living frugally is quite popular in some parts of the world, and not just poor ones. Some people have adopted this lifestyle out of consciousness towards the environment, while others just like the idea of saving money. In any case, while it can be great to have a mindset that’s constantly looking for opportunities for saving, it can also be harmful in some regards.
You have to be careful not to let things go too far, because some people go their entire lives cutting corners in all the wrong places, suffering in multiple ways as a result, and not even realizing that anything is wrong with that situation in the first place.
Being Cheaper Isn’t Always Smart
One simple truth you need to realize is that the cheaper option isn’t always the smarter one, even when your goal is to save money. People who’ve lived in poverty for a long time usually come to this realization one way or another – paradoxically, it can be more expensive to be poor. And this can stack up quickly.
Understanding the difference between situations in this regard takes experience, and you will have to experiment with your life a little to figure out where it’s appropriate to cut down on your expenses, and where it’s not advisable. But let’s take a look at some more concrete examples of how this comes into play in the average person’s life.
How Saving Money Can Cost You More
A pair of shoes can be a simple way to illustrate the problem. A cheap one can cost a dozen dollars or even less if you’re really frugal – but how long will they last? Most people buy these types of shoes expecting to throw them out a couple of months later. On the other hand, a quality pair of well-made shoes can easily cost a hundred dollars just for a basic model. But with proper care and maintenance, they’re practically indestructible.
This applies to many things in life. From small details like your clothes, to major purchases like real cars and homes. Cutting corners can save you a lot of money in the short term, but when you calculate its actual impact on your finances down the road, you’ll often come to the realization that it’s simply not worth it.
Never Underestimate Debt Repayment!
One particular area where some people seem to encounter trouble is debt repayment. A loan can be quite useful for getting out of some sticky financial situations on short notice. But you should not take it lightly, and you should never underestimate the implications it can have on your finances! Even a smaller loan, when ignored, can have some pretty bad effects in the long term.
And in most cases, that’s perfectly avoidable, as long as you pay attention to things like deadlines and total amount owed. Many people make the mistake of believing that they can safely postpone these things for a month or two and get back to them later. But the realization they often come to is that they should have never let these things stack up in the first place.
Treating Purchases Like Investments into Your Future
A good way to approach your finances if you want to improve yourself in this regard, is to start treating each purchase you make like an investment. Into yourself, into your future, into your long-term financial stability and satisfaction. Consider how this purchase is going to affect you in the immediate sense, and also how it could come back to bite you later on. There are many factors that play into this, and we often don’t consider them when thinking about these situations from the perspective of a regular consumer buying something.
How to Compare Prices
You might also not be as good at comparing prices as you may think you are. There are various intricacies that come into play here, and using the internet to its full potential is crucial if you don’t want to miss out on anything. You need to follow historic trends, look up regional price differences (these can apply even for digital products!), and browse some discussion forums and other communities to see what people are saying about these products.
In most cases, there is a lot of information out there that you don’t even realize you have at your disposal. And if you go with the default offers you get as your first search result, you’re not going to have a good time. This is a common mistake that many people keep repeating, even today, when we have such convenient and widespread access to the internet and all its information. Don’t let this happen to you, and make sure that you do your homework properly before deciding to minimize your expenses in any “clever” way.
