Is Being Frugal Worth It?

Considering retirement or starting to plan your retirement? When many retire, they experience a decrease in income, but they also experience a decrease in expenses. It takes a while to get a handle on living on a fixed income, that is reduced from what you had when you were working. One way to prepare for this reality is to think about being frugal while you are working. Frugality can become a way of living.  Frugality is simply the practice of looking for the less expensive alternatives. Frugality doesn't have to mean being a Scrooge or living without comfort.  Is it really worth the time and effort you put into things like homemade cleaners and clipping coupons?  Many say it is.

Search the Sunday paper for coupons and clip them out. Make a list of things on sale that you can stock up on in order to get your average cost down. Plan and run a route to four stores in order to get everything where it is the cheapest. Total extra time spent: three hours. Now, save sixty dollars.  This translates into twenty dollars an hour-a pretty good deal.

Sometimes the small stuff is the big stuff, especially when it is repeated over and over. This is why it makes sense to save money on groceries. They are something you buy every week. Saving sixty dollars every week or two adds up over time. How you do it makes a difference though.

For example, suppose you don't want to clip coupons or spend time looking at sales flyers. Why not invest just an hour or two to figure out which store is cheapest for the things you buy? Then shop only there, and buy more of the things you use and like when they are on sale. You might still save $20 per week, with no additional investment of time. That's a $1,000 per year!

You need to sit down and decide how much time you have to spend on your efforts.  If you do this and then figure out what your yearly savings can be, you will have a much clearer idea of how you want to proceed.  It will also give you encouragement on those days when it feels you are missing out on something. A small saving here a small saving there, it all adds up and what is more important over time it can become a habit and a way of living without sacrificing.