Is being thrifty a sound enough fix to becoming rich? Maybe. Maybe not. Becoming rich is a long process that requires patience and a sprinkle of luck. Some take a lifetime to achieve this feat while others become rich overnight by winning the lottery. Thus, being thrifty alone does not necessarily make a person rich. However, it surely gives one something to lean on during monetary emergencies.
5 Advantages to Being Thrifty
#1 Money for Emergencies at One’s Disposal: In life, emergencies come and go. It is a vicious cycle that needs to be handled prudently. Money must always be available to ease the burden of a necessity. A car breakdown, a water heater that refuse to work, or a visit to the hospital falls under this necessity. So, it pays to be thrifty and only frugal living can help.
#2 Purchases are fewer and Only quality products are procured: Thrifty people always exercise prudence. Impulse buying is a rarity since most (if not all) purchases are pondered upon at least 3 times. Hence, only products and services paid for are guaranteed to be of value.
#3 Lower home wastes: This relates to the previous advantage (less purchases). Due to well thought off purchases, less items end up in garbage bins since all buys are currently in use or will be used in the future. Moreover, items are utilized in extended periods since only quality products are acquired.
#4 Lesser Marital Problems: Money constraint is a big contributor to marital problems. It usually starts out as small issues that eventually evolves towards serious misunderstandings. Living a frugal life and laying out the financial situation in the open will leave nothing to argue about. Transparency forces couples to live only within their means.
#5 Able to Retire Comfortably: Frugal living offers a lot of beneficial possibilities. In old age, money saved allows one to retire comfortably. This is in contrast with others that continue to work even in their 70’s. With less monetary concerns, retirees can indulge in fun hobbies and even travel.
3 Disadvantages to Being Thrifty
#1 Coping with the “Wanting”: Fighting against one’s desire or “wanting” is the biggest obstacle with living a frugal life. At one point, the longing is so strong that it will even make you question your thrifty living. It will definitely take a lot of convincing and pep talk on your part in order to fully control the beast in you.
#2 Dealing with the Tight-Fisted Reputation: A Scrooge-like character is never appealing to others. Tightwads and “tight palms” are obviously treated differently. This form of insult must be borne without resentment to maintain monetary freedom.
#3 Working Hard at Remaining Frugal: Keeping a frugal lifestyle is hard work. Temptations abound that could turn one to do a spending whammy. Self-control should always be observed and never waiver from the budget plan.
Simple and Easy Thrifty Tips
- Signing up for reward programs.
- Making own gifts.
- Writing a shopping list.
- Mending own clothes.
- Drinking tap water.
- Turning off the lights after each use.
- Buying castoffs.
- Using cheaper but quality alternative products.
- Being picky with where to buy printer toner for the laser printer.
People have clearly different ideas of a comfortable thrifty living. However, the bottom line is, thrifty living provides monetary security. A contrasting lifestyle to big spenders that are always saddled with problems on finances.
