Benefits of Living Frugally Will Earn You Half a Million Dollars.

Experts are warning that we are spending far more than we are taking it. We’re not even maintaining enough money for an emergency. Spending more than we take can be dangerous in fact most Americans spend between 90% to 95% of their income.

Here’s another problem: wages, well let’s just say they haven’t really gotten up very much. As a matter of fact your pay has not increased but the money you spent out has increased.

Maintaining A Lifestyle Can Be Disastrous For Any Family.

So what do we do? What’s the solution? Do we even want a solution? Unless you have this gigantic savings that you don’t have to worry about money and you could have whatever lifestyle you want then you don’t need to continue reading this article. It’s really not meant for you. But for the rest of us, the 99% we need to start focusing on how we spend our money. 

When we begin to spend our money smartly something amazing happens when you start living below your means. 

What Happens When You Live Below Your Means

Living below your financial means well, it’s basically living below what you take in monthly,  it’s very simple actually. Doesn’t mean that you will live in poverty and only eat soup all day. Let’s look at it this way, when you decide to buy something do you really need it or are you buying it because it makes you feel good.

Thinking about how you spend your money and prioritizing and saving for the things you do want is a path to smart spending and saving.

Most people think that being frugal means they are cheap. But this is not the case and  watching what you spend doesn’t mean that you buy the cheapest items and sacrifice the quality of life because you want to pinch pennies. It just means that you prioritize the things you really want versus the things that you don’t need. For example, you can spend more money on a good quality steak that you will eat once a week versus buying a coffee from Starbucks every day. I good quality steak maybe will cost you $10-$15 but, going to Starbucks seven days a week is $40.

The Main Benefit Is Having More Money Saved

Being careful how you spend your money and teaching yourself habits basically means you can live happily spending less. It does not mean that you will be poor.  Quite the opposite, if you do this long enough and do it smartly when you retire you will be financially secure. Try living below your means, don’t think about it, just do it, don’t worry about what other people are doing. Stop looking at what other people drive and what other people wear, focus on yourself, stop buying based on what you see on TV because ultimately that will not make you happy in the long run.

Purchase Smarter

Buying smarter means that when you do purchase higher quality items you will enjoy them more and they will probably last longer because they are higher quality. Instead of having  10 sandals, try purchasing one quality sandal. It will last you longer than buying a cheap sandal from a cheap department store as opposed to going to a higher quality department store and you buy one quality sandal and it probably will last you a lifetime.

Reduce Your Stress

Psychologically speaking, finances are one of the biggest stressors in our lives. Not having enough money causes such stress for us that it leads to other medical conditions. Most Americans or most people are constantly worried about whether they have enough money or what’s going to happen to them when they retire.

All of these worries and all of these concerns have a physical snowball effect. We use our credit cards, we buy unhealthy food, we indulge in unhealthy practices like alcohol, drugs and poor diet because it makes us feel good for that moment. That feeling goes away and what is left is depression and anxiety. We even have other ailments and then we start going to the doctor. We then begin pooping pills and it’s a never ending cycle.

Just a few simple actions can make the difference. I challenge you and it’s a very simple challenge and it will make a big difference in your life. Take one dollar a day, that’s right just one dollar a day and save it and at the end of the month  put it in a mutual fund. Do the math on a typical mutual fund, let’s say for 30 years investing $30 a month for the next 30 years will give you just over $110,000. I don’t know about you but that ain’t too bad. Double that and now you’re at $215,000. Let’s say you’re really really ambitious and you want to do $100 a month you are now just under $400,000

If you’re single it’s probably not that difficult to begin this journey on your own, if you’re married then both of you have to agree.

This is a simple and amazing way to jumpstart and begin your savings by simply saving one dollar a day for the next 30 years. Here’s another idea: imagine not buying a Starbucks every day. Let’s do the math five dollars a day times seven is $35 times four it’s roughly $140 a month. If you stop buying a coffee every day at Starbucks and start saving that for the next 30 years you will have half million dollars. 

This is just one suggested method,  but it’s a very simple method to jumpstart and begin your savings if this is all you do for the next 30 years and nothing else at least you will have $500,000 when you retire. Reach out and  commit to help yourself achieve this level of commitment not only is it financially feasible but physically healthy it will help you reach your financial goal and it’s psychologically healthy.