When it comes to frugality, many people tend to have varying opinions. If I’m to ask members of the Hive community what they think – I know it would indeed be interesting to listen to. The concept of frugality is not one that started today.
Personally, I associate frugality with the idea of placing the right value on things. Yeah, the right value. That is thinking clearly, without emotions or sentiments to cloud your decision making. When it comes to making purchases, one has to be frugal. However, frugality does not mean always going for the cheap option.
Am I frugal?
Delayed gratification is encouraged. Hence, you need to have in mind that when you buy the most expensive things that does not mean they give the most value. Branding comes to play. You wouldn’t expect to buy a product from a well-known brand and expect the same amount from a brand still trying to penetrate the markets.
Although frugality is encouraged, it doesn’t mean attention shouldn’t be given to other factors. I can’t say I just want to be frugal because people would say, “Oh yeah! That’s a frugal person.” There should be an underlying reason why you need to be frugal.
Why am I frugal?
For example, individuals with investment mindset tend to be frugal in order to grow their wealth. Take note, growth of wealth is the reason why they are frugal. If you also want to grow your wealth, then you can consider becoming a frugal investor.
When estimating one’s frugality, you would take into consideration your plan towards investments, where you would want to be years from now, and also the kind of work your are currently doing to a Hive that aim. Your occupation tends to play a big role.
As a frugal individual, you would have a certain amount of money that you set aside, maybe weekly or monthly. It could be a percentage of your salary or income. The money can either be saved in your bank or invested in a low-risk investments.
The good thing about having a target like this is that when it is reached, you can spend the extra money whatever way you like. Then you can be less frugal as compared to before. However, that is when you have got your basic needs and care for other responsibilities.
It’s far easier to spend money than to make money, so you need to try to spend less. As my investor friend would say, the growth of one’s wealth is directly proportional to how one’s income is invested or spent. So if you are able to invest more, the better it is.
When to be frugal
For example, let’s say an individual struggling financially is in an urgent need for a car. He can only afford $15k for a car, if he should spend more that then he would be eating into his investments. Spending less than $15k would be being frugal for him.
But that would not be the case for someone who has about $100k to spend. For the richer individual, he may really need a classy ride. A more expensive car may open more opportunities for him, depending on his business. While spending less $15k on a car would be being frugal for the first individual, it wouldn’t be same for the other person.
That is why what may be frugal for one person, wouldn’t be the same for another. When it comes to frugality, you know yourself better. You should know how to balance needs and wants.
Conclusion
Yeah, it is very important to consider being frugal. Being frugal is one way you plan for your future. You should know when to be frugal and when to be less frugal. There are several misconceptions regarding frugality that people tend to spread. I would be talking about them in subsequent posts.
Extras
Still on frugality, you can be frugal when spending money on advertising platforms. Normally, you advertise products to reach maximum potential. But if you spend unnecessarily, then that is not frugality. Anyway, if you are having problems with Ads, especially the This Page Isn’t Allowed to Advertise notice on Facebook, then you can read more on solving it.
When you have Dispense errors when withdrawing money from ATM, you can also try to resolve them quickly. Hence, that is being frugal with your funds. If you need to convert airtime to cash, then you should head over here. I think I’d explain more some other time.