I want to live a frugal life but it's hard

Hi, caliya It sounds like you are describing my life I do not think there is anything wrong with your spending. I think you need extra income and a good investment. You are on the right track, friend. Someday, we will get our goals. Have a nice day!

You've got some good advice so far, but living frugally is a huge topic. First, though, can you find a cheaper place to rent? If so, take the difference between that and what you're paying now and put it in a savings account that you can't withdraw from immediately. Some accounts require a week or two weeks for you to withdraw; use one of those. Make it a game to watch the savings balance grow. If you're having to withdraw savings every month because you run out of money, you're either spending on things you don't need or you're not budgeting enough to cover your expenses. Sit down and think over your budget. Put everything on paper and see just what you're spending. You might find ways to cut just by doing that. Stick to it. I moderate a forum that covers things like this, at Dollar Stretcher. If you go there (stretcher.com) and look on the right hand side for "community links" or something like that, it will take you to the forums. You can learn a lot there and ask questions, get support and so on.

I just got laid off from my job so I am going to cancel the gym membership and take out anything unnecessary that I do not need. I am going to start coupon hunting too. I am searching for part time work, writing in my spare time so I consider my paypal account my only spending money for fun stuff, and working on my teaching certification.

you are on the right path, you just have to be very patient. I would suggest that you treat yourself from time to time and not neglect your need to want some things. If you are to purchase cheaper products, just be aware of it's quality, you might end up spending more by replacing them. Look at it this way, at least you are starting to save unlike other people who just talks about it and not doing it. Just keep on doing something and focus on your goal and things will happen. You can save part of your savings to start a small home business so you can multiply your savings.

It is hard but possible. Perhaps you can split your monthly earnings into several portions like this: 1) Longterm / Midterm - 20% - 30% (at least) of your monthly earnings to be put away in a fixed deposit bank account or a type of savings insurance plan. This would "force" you to have difficulties withdrawing whenever you want. Ultimately, you could earn monthly / annual interests. If the percentage is larger, you could use 5% - 10% of this portion to do small investments (eg: minibonds, unit trusts, online stocks, etc) provided you are willing to risk that amount. 2) Short term - 30% (at least) of your monthly earnings to be put away in an ordinary savings account or current account to be withdraw only if it is necessary. You would feel a sense of achievement should you managed to maintain / increase your monthly savings in this portion and thus would encourage you to save more. Ultimately, you could transfer some of the amount into your longterm / midterm portion or increase your investments (take note of the risks). 3) The rest of the 40% of your monthly earnings should go to your daily expenses. It may seem tight but if you are well planned, you should be able to achieve your goals in few years time. Most importantly, draw up a list of 'needs and wants'; that is, the 'needs' are daily necessities that you cannot scrimp and the 'wants' are those that you can go without. This way, you can put the extras money into your short term portion or increase your investments (take note of the risks). The percentage of the portions is flexible, amend them accordingly to your needs. If you are in doubt or still unsure about the amount you need to 'save' in order to achieve your goals, you can approach any reliable wealth manager or personal financial planner in your area.

i can completely relate to what you are going through, but at a more extreme measure. im pretty much trying to save to afford what you currently have :( me next way of savings is 'out of sight out of mind' i plan on keeping my savings in an account/safe that i dont have easy access to, in hopes that when i decide i need money from that savings, ill think twice(or more) before withdrawing the money. it may be a good plan for you, i have tried the separate account, and that didnt work for me either. try a second account where you dont have withdrawal access, that way you have a trusted middle man who can sit back and evaluate whether or not you really need to take out that money best of luck saving up :)

My husband and I are trying to save for our own place but we either have a bill to pay, want to help his parents out, or want to buy something for ourselves. That isn't to say we don't save, nor is it to say we don't have a savings plan, but with him working and me online, it's just not enough to be able to save as much as we could and should be saving. It seems to me you got a good head on your shoulders and a good idea on how to save but there is always room to learn more. I would suggest just surfing the net for frugal meal ideas as well as for frugal cleaning ideas. Good Luck.

It is difficult to do, but it can be done. I suggest that you also look for coupons for much needed items, you can find many on the internet or even through the local paper. It is quite helpful, also many stores will price match from other stores around them to keep your business. Be sure that when you do shop that you check your sales papers and such to make sure you are getting the best prices available. Good luck and hope this helps.

Hi Caliya, I do know exactly what you feel. I am more embarrassed at my situation because at my age, I still have a hard time making both ends meet . Even at times that I could not afford it, I always end up spending on something. This must really call for a hard self-discipline. I have been working on it but honestly, I was not consistent. What I was thinking now that could really save me was to really pray hard that I get to control to splurge on some things.

It is very hard to live frugally. My husband and I have been doing that the last few months. We have given up our cell phone and switched to the Magic Jack phone service (19.99 a year). I have managed to cut our spending down to 30.00 a week on groceries. When we get our financial aid money next month we are planning on paying off all our bills we fell behind in and then try to save the rest. We want to take a trip to Vegas to see my parents this Christmas. I also make extra money on here and next month I will be launching my online craft store. I have some frual recies if you would like me to send them to you. Please let me know.

I got friend who was lucky she got a nice boyfriend after few disaster ones,together they share to rent a whole house, which later the subrent the rooms to other students.Which they made some small profit.Take bus / train to work and work overtime and the guy take a part time at night cooking noodles stall.The guy is not handsome,speak brutal language and look like a bull,but he works like bull also very hardworking and the girl don mind because the previous boyfriends are rich and some are handsome but rotten treat her badly after few months,but this guy treat her with respect and honest.

Spend money only on needed food, rent, utilities, and the internet for your entertainment. Don't eat out, make your own meals. Make simple meals, regular vegetables, good but not fancy meat, some fruits and vegetables through the day as snacks, and that is it. Who knew you could also get in shape when trying to save money? :D

have you heard of froogle? anyway, if you want to buy things for a cheaper price, you can go there. there's also this magazine called shopsmart where you can get a lot of ideas not just for frugal living but also in improving the other aspects of your life. i say, always get the best value for your money and try not to be a slave to trends because if you care so much about all the latest gadgets and whatnot, it's truly gonna be hard to hold on to money.

In order to be able to do this for a long time, you need to think of every penny that you do manage to save as a victory. So be proud of the little you do save, even if it is not as much as you would want it to be in the beginning. After a while, your savings will be in the account, and saving more and more and more will become more fun. It is the beginning that is hard, it gets more fun after you do it for a while and start seeing results!

Definitely can relate with you. I'm trying so hard to save but it just does not work, I still end up using the money because it's very accessible to me. I told my boyfriend that I would give my ATM card to him so that I won't be able to touch my savings at all. Hehehe. Hopefully, this time it would work.

I try to live this way most of the time but then my wife spends money on things that I think are not really necessary so it cancels out my frugality! I then think what is the point of me trying to save so I spend money on things that bring enjoyment to myself. It is hard to find a balance between saving and living an enjoyable life. It is not worth stressing about spending if you are not enjoying life. But at the same time, saving is a good habit to get into. It is not easy.

I know exactly what you are going through. My husband's hours have been cut back drastically and I am currently not working. I use coupons whenever possible, set up a budget and make a grocery list and stick to it. It has been a real struggle for us, but we somehow manage. I do not go out to eat often (just on Saturday's because we have to travel an hour each way to get to a grocery store). I do not buy things unless we really need them. I rarely go to the movies (I will be going when Toy Story 3 comes out). I try to make a little extra money on here as well as a couple of other web sites and save that money towards Christmas.

I know what you are going through. I had a large savings until my husband's boss decided to cut my husband's pay by cheating him. My husband keeps a record of all his time sheets and writes down when he has worked and what he has done (if he does not his boss will not pay him for that day). The latest thing we have seen is that after my husband turns in his time sheet his boss crosses out certain hours that he has worked and therefore cheats him out of pay. On his last paycheck my husband had worked six hours and it is documented on his time sheet as such, but his boss crossed the hours off so basically my husband had worked six hours for free (my husband is on hourly pay and that is money we really needed). My husband approached his boss and his boss said that my husband is the one who lied about working those hours and that is why he is not getting paid for it. We cannot go to Labor Board until after he quits because this is only happening to him and his boss might try to fire him. Eating out less is a great way to save money. ALso, I make very cheap meals and try to get those veggies in. I know it gets boring, but my husband and I eat a lot of salad. Try to shop only once a week instead of on a daily basis and make a list of what you absolutely need. Plan a weekly menu it is much easier. I have the basic necessities mortgage, food, power, city bill, satelite and Internet. I had switched over to Magic Jack for our phone and it is so much cheaper. I am hoping to make money on here soon so I can start my online business selling some of my crafts. I am learning how to make soap and am hoping by the end of next month that I will be able to sell that. I also make Christmas ornaments and different wedding items. I am looking into a couple of places where I can sell my items online. I am also hoping to do a craft fair this December.

Yes living frugally seems a bit hard initially, one is habituated to highter standard of living, cutting expenses is not easy, but one can do it with sincere efforts.. Thanks for sharing. Welcome always. Cheers.

what i did to buy my new laptop, bags, decent clothing, shoes, accessories and milk for my 7 month old baby, is that i tried direct selling and multilevel marketing while working as a nurse here in davao. what i earn from those things , i saved it and now i have the things i want but still i am hoping to have my own car and house.i just think positively to reach my goal in life :)