What To Do When Frugal Doesn’t Come Naturally

As much as we’d like to pretend otherwise, being frugal just doesn’t come naturally to some people. I know it didn’t for me. In fact, it took me many, many years! Becoming frugal takes work if it’s not a lifestyle that you grew up in. It isn’t something that can be done overnight, it’s a process. It also isn’t something that you set up once and then walk away from. With that being said, frugality is a skill that can be learned if you’re willing. If you’re one of those people that wasn’t raised frugal or frugality just doesn’t come naturally, take heart because there are a few things you can do to help yourself learn how to be frugal.

Learn How To Be Frugal

To start, you’ll need to get your mind in the right place.
You can’t do a complete lifestyle change, and living frugally is a new lifestyle, without taking a bit of time to re-center your mind. To help, think of why you want to save money, how saving money will help your family, what a great example you’ll be to your kids, where you see yourself in 5 years and so on. You’ll need to draw on those thoughts when frugality really becomes hard for you.

As you start your frugal living lifestyle, take it upon yourself to learn everything that you can.
Read your favorite frugal living and money saving blogs. Here’s my list of some of my favorite frugal living sites. Read books that will inspire you like the Millionaire Next Door or M iserly Moms: Living Well On Less In A Tough Economy. Join Facebook Groups like Dave Ramsey-Budgeting or The Non-Consumer Advocate so you can connect with like minded people. The more you immerse yourself in frugality, the more inspired you’ll be to live a frugal lifestyle. Also, you’ll start to notice when you’re facing an opportunity to save versus spend.

Set yourself up for success by reducing temptation.
Some people freeze their credit cards in blocks of ice so they won’t be tempted by them. Some people stay out of the mall or Target and shop elsewhere if that’s their problem. Some people limit their time on Pinterest if that’s what triggers their “I gotta have XYZ” and then overspend. Whatever it is for you, do what you need to do to limit temptation!

If frugality doesn’t come naturally to you, you’ll be embarking on a journey like you’ve never seen before, but it is so worth it. At the end of your journey, you’ll be living well, within your means and building a future not only for your family now, but a legacy that your kids will pass to theirs and so on.

The biggest thing to remember though is that what you’re facing isn’t an insurmountable mountain. It’s just something that you’re new to and something that you must learn about, but you can absolutely do it. Hundreds of thousands of people do it all the time and you can too. When you’re discouraged or frustrated, step back from it all, take a nice hot bubble bath, go for a hike or do whatever you like to do and just relax. Then start again.

For the newly frugal, it’s easy to become overwhelmed, but if you allow yourself time to learn, time to dream and time to plan, you’ll be picking up frugal habits left and right before you know it!

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