Does It Really Pay to Be Frugal?

If you want to know, keep a running count of how much frugal habits are saving you.

For example:

• Bring your lunch from home instead of buying it.  If you save $5 per workday, that’s more than $1,200 per year. 
• Buy $30 worth of store brands per week instead of $50 of name brands. Save $20 per week, or $1,040 per year.
• Buy $200 of gently used clothing per year instead of $800 worth of new clothes, save $600 per year.
• Save $10 per week by using driving techniques to save gas, save $520 per year.
• Cut down on or eliminate “vices” and save $20 per week, or $1,040 per year.
• Cut credit card use and therefore monthly payments by $40 per month and save $480 a year.
• Work to cut electricity use by $30 per month and save $360 per year.

That’s actually not a lot to do, especially if you make these techniques habits, one by one. And the total for just these savings, per year, is a whopping $5,240.

That’s almost $450 less in expenses per month. Most of us can find a lot of thing to do with that much: pay off credit card bills, pay down our mortgage, create an emergency fund, save for college or a vacation.

So…start looking around. How can you save money, not by depriving yourself, but by doing simpe things that cut your costs?  It can be easier than you think….and a list of what you’re saving, week by week or month by month, can be a great motivator.