5 reasons a money saving lifestyle doesn’t work for you

1. Friends and Family

You listen to your friends and family calling you a ‘tight arse’ or ‘cheap’. You give in to their calls for a ‘cheeky little shopping trip’ or for a meal out when you have a fridge full of food at home. If your friends and family laugh at your newly found frugal ways or call you a penny pincher you’re likely to go one of two ways. You’ll go at the money saving thing all the harder to prove yourself or fall off the money saving wagon with spectacular aplomb. As hard as it is, ignore their teasing calls about your lack of over-spending but rather focus on the path ahead where you can eventually feel the weight of debt or limited funds fall from your shoulders. Have a read of this post 6 essential tips for the newly thrifty.

2. Just Because it is Cheap

You buy items just because they are cheap and on offer. Quite frankly even if an item is on offer it isn’t a bargain if you don’t need it. Do you even eat tinned tuna? Will you plough through those sixteen tins in your shopping trolley before they go out of date? Nope? Then save yourself some money, don’t buy them.

3. Temporary fix

You see your new money saving ways as a temporary fix a bit like a yo-yo dieter. You try flat out to save money for a few weeks, see results, get excited then have a major two week splurge to ‘reward’ yourself – this doesn’t work. If you want to be in great financial shape forever then stop seeing your new found thrifty ways a temporary fix but a lifestyle overhaul. Sure, sometimes life and your money situation will be easier and at other times it will be hard but sticking to thrifty values in the main over a lifetime rather than for a limited period keeps your money saving core rock solid.

4. You live for other people

I actually wrote a portion of my dissertation on the clothes we wear and the social signifiers they give out and why it is easier to fit into society when wearing the uniform of conformity even when we don’t want to. I’m as guilty of this as I’m sure many of you are, it’s easier to like what other people have and to aim for their goals than it is to do your own thing. I can quite easily fall into the ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ trap without realising it for months and months and at the end of it I’ll wind up realising I’ve spent thousands of pounds on clothes, furniture and a lifestyle that I didn’t really want. If you’re living your life for other people or for what’s cool then you’ll find it hard to make money saving work for you. It takes a lot for some of us to stray from the path most walked but our own personal rewards and satisfactions are out there in the long grass.

5. You take your cards everywhere

Do you really need to take your debit and credit cards everywhere with you? You and I both know that it is far easier to nip out for a quick, unplanned (and unbudgeted) shopping spree in your lunch break if you have your card in your purse. I take mine out on a Sunday evening and keep it at home until I next need to use it. I take out the amount of cash I will need for the following week on Sunday and stick to that amount throughout the week. I’ve now, after a number of years, got to a point where I still continue to do this but I take my debit card with me for emergencies. Because I spent so many years without the card in my purse I don’t even realise it is there and never rely on it for anything other than a disaster.

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A Thrifty Mrs

El aka A Thrifty Mrs is a freelance journalist and founder of athriftymrs.com

When not sharing thrifty tips and the best of British sales she enjoys trash TV, mooching around charity shops and trying out every mascara on the market.