Recently, I made a few life-changing decisions that have necessitated a significant reduction in my day-to-day expenses. While I navigate these new waters and figure out how I’d like to best deal with a unique set of financial circumstances, I’ll be adhering to what I refer to as an “incredibly frugal lifestyle.”
But does this mean that I will no longer be able to have fun and enjoy my money? Absolutely not!
When it comes to living in a frugal manner, the following action lists highlight what I’ll be doing to ensure I’m putting my best foot forward in an effort to make fun fit into my budget. The first set of actions surrounds the sound financial habits I’ll be maintaining to cut down on money-related stress, which will automatically allow for a greater potential of fun. The second is focused on some creative ways to do more with less (which is always fun for a PF nerd like me!).
Sound Financial Habits That Reduce Money-Related Stress
- Tracking my spending daily. Typically, I track my overall expenses monthly and my miscellaneous spending weekly. Now, I’ll be taking a daily inventory of my spending. Doing so will make it much easier to stay mindful of my budget. It will also avoid any potential end-of-the-month stress because I wasn’t keeping an eye on my finances throughout. You can also use some free online money management sites to help you.
- Cutting back on meals out and gasoline expenses. These are the two categories that have the largest impact on my miscellaneous spending. If I cut back in these categories, I will be able to free up additional cash that can be put to better use (such as beefing up my savings account or paying for unexpected, necessary expenses). In order to cut back on dining out, I’ll be cooking at home more and I’ll reduce car expenses by riding my bike as much as possible.
- Maintaining my retirement savings. Continuous funding of my retirement accounts provides the peace of mind that I’m doing great things for my future. To me, this sense of freedom and motivation is priceless, so I won’t be cutting back my contributions unless it turns out to be absolutely necessary I do so (the only scenario I’d deem “necessary” would be if I could no longer cover my mortgage payments).
Creative Ways to do More with Less
- Seeking out free activities. Luckily, we’re entering one of the best seasons for taking advantage of free, community activities. I plan to take advantage of the free movies, concerts, and workshops that are often held throughout the city all summer long.
- Making social plans that involve running/hiking. Another way to combine fun and free activity is to center my social outings around physical activities I enjoy such as running and hiking. Not only will this help me maintain a healthy lifestyle, but it will give me a built-in stress reducer that will help me navigate this transition period.
- Planning my future vacations. Despite my current reduction in take-home pay, I’m still maintaining my focus on future goals. Part of that is still planning my trip to hike Mount Kilimanjaro in the fall. I’m happy that the trip is already 100% pre-paid because now I can focus my efforts on planning all the fun activities I want to take advantage of while in Tanzania.
- Creating financial games. As I mentioned above, I’m a self-proclaimed PF nerd. That being said, I’ll be creating a few games centered around cutting my expenses and saving more given a short-term budget that’s limited. I haven’t completely sussed out the details, but I’ll be finding ways to keep my motivation as high as possible by challenging myself to cut back, save more, AND have fun!
How do you balance a frugal lifestyle and having fun?
About Happy Homeowner
As a fellow “PF nerd,” I’m excited for you! It is fun (for people like us) to see just how frugally we can live, at least for a while. And it sounds to me like you have lots of fun activities planned–cycling, mountain climbing, hiking, home cooking–your physical as well as financial fitness will improve!
Thanks, Kurt! I agree that it’s exciting in some aspects–I enjoy a challenge, plus I’ll look forward to seeing how many of these new habits can become long-term choices for me.
How are some of the ways you try to live more frugally?
I buy nothing. Almost.
I love thinking of budgeting and saving as a game. I am always digging into my budget trying to find more ways to save! And finding free activities can be the most fun! I know that my wife always had fun growing up with her family, though they didn’t have much and had no money to go do things. They always found creative ways to have birthday parties and celebrations and were able to do most of it for free! I think you’ll enjoy the change!
Definitely! I’ve had periods of time where I’ve had to cut back significantly, so I’m familiar with how to do so. But this time, I sense more long-term, permanent changes on the horizon.
What are some ways you re-work things to save more/spend less?
I am doing a lot of free outdoor activities to keep me busy and sane while saving money and living frugally. Also cutting out little treats like froyo
Nice! What are some of the activities in your area??
And yes, those little treats are surely missed. But once you establish the new habits, I suppose the thought pattern is that you won’t even realize what you’re missing?
I love your positive thinking! Especially the suggestion to make social plans like running and hiking. There are so many fun things to do that nature offer for free but we tend to forget about. I look forward to hearing about your progress!
Great article. So many people feel that you need to spend money to have fun. If you live in a bigger city there are always free activities going on throughout the month.
I like the idea of PF games to try to keep your spending down. I don’t make any up but I love watching my balances grow. Then it makes me sad when I have to buy things like a new air conditioner even though it was planned.
Can you please explain what do you mean by free activities? Thanks
Outdoor free activities are always great!
Great post on really working your financial thrift. More of our society should follow your advice, but that can be very hard when you see what TV and our society promotes. Thrift and discipline is clearly not promoted in the mainstream media. Good job here!