Ingredients in your pocket? That probably seems unnecessary. I mean why wouldn’t we just keep them in our spice cabinet. Well there was a time when three ingredients had more value in your pocket than in a cabinet to store them.
Men, women and children standing in long lines for hours on end. This paints the picture of the Great Depression in all our minds. Afterall, soup kitchens were established and gained immense popularity during this time. The infamous market crash of 1929, better known as the Great Depression was literally a time of gloom and despair. It was a time when millions of people across the country became instantly unemployed. Many even had to face the threat of poverty. But these trying times also gave rise to frugal living practices. When people lost their jobs and sources of income, they had to quickly figure out how to manage and make do with what they had. For those living during this time, this had to be done out of necessity and not by their own choice.
Why is all of this important in 2024? Since that epic market crash we have experienced several major economic collapses; Black Monday in 1987, the Dot-com bubble burst of 2000, the financial crisis of 2008 and more recently the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. So the question that arises is what have we done to prepare ourselves for the next major crisis? You may have probably seen headlines in the news about how a good portion of Americans do not know how they would cover a $500 emergency expense, right?
You are probably thinking, if I am earning a good income, or if I have money to spend, why shouldn’t I splurge and enjoy. Don’t get me wrong, I believe that we should live our lives to the fullest and even reward ourselves for our accomplishments. But, we should take a look around the room, around our home, and see if we are getting the full value of everything in our lives. Chances are, we can all trim some fat! So where do we start?
Top 3 Tricks To Frugal Living
- Home Cooking – Did you know that on average Americans eat out 4 times a week? According to a study done by US Foods, we spend around $160 a month eating out. This is in addition to the amount we spend monthly on groceries. If we simply cut that in half we would save close to $1000 dollars a year!
- Shop Around For Deals – Have you noticed that most items that we purchase lose their monetary value over time? Think cars, cell phones, clothing etc. The moment a new cell phone comes out, the price of the previous model drops significantly. Why? All of a sudden is there something wrong with the previous model? Not really, we just tend to like new, flashy items, and sometimes it’s all about Keeping Up With the Joneses. Look for discounts instead. This could save you hundreds if not thousands over the course of a year.
- Maximize Value – People have coined the term minimalism as a lifestyle where simplicity is the key to a wholesome life. I don’t like the word minimalism. Instead, I like to think about how we can squeeze the maximum value of everything that we do or everything that we possess in our lives. We went from having one family car in the ’60s to having 3 car garages. By doing so, did we gain value with the increase in possessions? Take a hard look at the item we are about to purchase. Just like with investments, think long-term, would you buy a hundred shares of Apple today only to sell tomorrow after seeing the stock rise by $10? I certainly wouldn’t as I am trying to maximize the long term gain of Apple. In the same way, make purchases with the intent of keeping and using that object for a long time. So buy quality not cheap? But then, don’t replace the item until you make the full use of it.
Frugal living, thrifting, couponing, bargain hunting and minimalism all get negative connotations because whenever we hear these words, we feel that we are getting less value. But the true value of something is decided by us. They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Well, I believe value is the same.
Do this today. Find one item in your room or your home that you purchased within the last six months. Think about how much you paid for that item. Now do a Google search for that same item and look up the current price. Can you justify the price you paid for that item with its value to your life in those six months? If you cannot readjust the money mindset, this will lead to a windfall of hundreds or thousands of dollars back into your bank account