A frugal person is one who practices certain behaviours that support a frugal lifestyle. Just like any other lifestyle, frugal people, despite their different motivations, also have common traits that make is easier to identity them.
Listed below are nine qualities of a frugal person.
1. Good Planners
People who have been practising frugal living for a while work with plans, budgets and goals. Nothing catches them by surprise. Not even debt repayments or shopping activities.
They analyze their responsibilities, resources, social life, situations and goals to come up with either short or long-term plans.
They plan early for their holidays, buy baby items for their unborn babies and even set up an education fund when their kids are still young. Such planning gives them ample time to save as they meet other obligations. Tracking their resources allows them to make wise financial decisions.
2. Live within their means
This is where the confusion between being frugal and being cheap comes in. Living within one’s means is relative. A high earners perspective of being frugal differs from a low earners perspective, and so are their approaches.
For some, it means living in a big house with a big compound that can accommodate small scale farming activities. This allows them to reduce their food budget and at the same time sell excess produce to their neighbors. For others, it means living in a small affordable house, allowing them to pay rent that is within their budget, while for others, it means living in low-cost towns where the cost of living is lower.
Whichever way you try to look at it, all these people are practicing frugal living based on their resources and value gained.
3. Focused
A frugal person is not like a flag blown in different directions by the wind. Discipline helps them stick to their goals and control their finances better.
They don’t live by other people’s expectations and rarely do they give in to coercion.
A disciplined person saving towards a specific goal is less likely to use their savings carelessly, unlike spendthrifts who can’t keep money in their pockets. Financial discipline enables one to know what to allow and what to turn down. They gradually achieve their goals by aligning their resources to their goals.
4. Keep like-minded friends by
Birds of a feather flock together. The same principle applies to frugal people. With spending, people come in different packages. There are impulse buyers, spendthrifts and economists. There is nothing wrong with interacting with different people, but you thrive most amongst like-minded people.
What would a spendthrift know about budgeting? The only time a spendthrift thinks about living prudently is when they run into financial crisis and need ways to stay afloat. Like-minded people have a tendency to share valuable ideas within their circles.
5. Controls wastage and damage
To a frugal person, every drop counts, and so do the coins. They understand what it takes to live comfortably without straining to achieve their goals. Putting checks and controls in place curbs wastage and damage, which can be very costly.
A person who takes good care of their assets, be it a car, electronics or house, will enjoy their services for a relatively longer period than a person who doesn’t maintain or misuses theirs.
Spending money wisely is not enough. One has to ensure minimal waste and damage to reduce repairs and replacements.
6. DIY ambassadors
Production plays a key role in taming expenses. In an attempt to manage their expenses, frugal people aren’t shy of rolling up their sleeves to make something from scratch. All they need is information and tools. DIY videos have been on the rise and it’s easier to access this information if one has internet connection.
Most frugal people produce their own supplies like growing vegetables, fruits, keeping animals for their products, making cleaners, body butters and scrubs, including doing simple repairs. You are not frugal if you aren’t producing or doing it yourself.
7. Lead from the front
One would ask, ‘is there anything like leading from the back?’🤔🤔
Oh, yes, there is! There are providers who excel at purchasing without tracking the utilization of supplies. Others have heavy tongues that can’t give instructions. The qualities mentioned above cannot work if one is not ready to take their stand and lead by example.
Imagine being a bulk shopper, yet nothing seems to last for the intended period! Breaking one’s savings or getting into debt to restock will be the norm. How long does one expect to live like this?
Giving instruction allows one to practice their frugal lifestyle comfortably.
There’s nothing like a low-key frugal person.
8. Flexible
Change is inevitable. Frugal people adjust to changes depending on their financial situations.
They do not have fixed opinions about how life should be. Neither do they struggle to fit in classes they don’t belong.
If, for whatever reason, a frugal person’s income isn’t enough to meet their needs, they will find ways of stretching their resources as they look for a solution. They may slash their shopping items to basics only. They may opt to buy second hand items or move to affordable brands depending on their finances. A fixed mentality doesn’t exist in their world.
9. Learn from the past
There has never been a better teacher than experience. The skills and knowledge shared by people already practicing frugal living points to the fact that they were once frugal or interacted with frugal people. They use their experience to plan for the future.
Be it a case of financial mismanagement, looming food shortage or lockdown during a pandemic, a frugal person will quickly unleash their frugal knowledge and skills to help them through a rough patch. They never forget their frugal lifestyle.
Some people make frugality sound more complicated than it is. Anyone possessing half of the above-mentioned qualities is already frugal. The internet is full of DIY videos that can turn an amateur into a pro in a matter of weeks.
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