How to live frugally on one income

Living frugally means living comfortably on one income without compromising quality or standard of living. Many students live on one income and manage their studies.

The Internet has evolved us and our living habits. We see many people on Youtube or other social platforms where they part-time create content and also excel in their careers. Yes, it’s possible to do all this in one income without compromising.

Frugally? Huh! Is it probably living cheap? Why would anyone in this world want to live cheap?

That’s exactly what we think at first glance, why frugally, we don’t want to live cheap at all. Today, people around the corner are making money just in their home’s comfort and spending enormous amounts and here we are trying to read about living cheaply.

Being cheap is very expensive, how?

You buy anything cheap, may it be a machine or other thing. It will need maintenance or it will tear it out and it will cost you way too much. It doesn’t mean cheap is always bad but generally. Many people may think all this but the truth is living frugally does not mean living cheaply, it means carefully spending or using available supplies mindfully.

Why do people choose to live frugally?

Today’s generation is futuristic. They want to save money or live a lifestyle where they not only get a quality life at present but also get benefits and comfort in the future too.

Only one income or poor income person chooses to live frugally?

Don’t we see this all around us, people buy so many unnecessary things to show off or buy things because their neighbor has them. But do we see millionaires do the same, they don’t own something because the wealthy person has it because they know the value of money and they live ‘frugally’?

Is this also a copy-paste of 50 ideas to live on one income? No, not with many living people’s examples here I will be quoting ways to live, particularly on one income.

Here are 8 useful ideas to live on one income

Change the way you go shopping

• Before going grocery shopping make a list of things you need.
• Try going to small stores for groceries and if small stores are not available then only go to the target/big bazaar/malls and stick to the list.
• Use online websites only if offers are available.
• Don’t surf online when not needed, as it makes you want a few extra things.
• Use coupons and discounts if available to make sure, what we are spending is the best alternative.

Change the way you buy clothes

• Use a capsule wardrobe i.e. owing clothes that matches everything in your wardrobe.
• Try buying clothes that are not branded.
• Shop off-season, you can save half of the money which you spend when you buy in-season.
• In malls or big branded stores always look for clearance sections.
• Clothes which we buy from a local store are more fashionable and pocket friendly.

Cooking and eating habits

• Cook meals at home, it not only keeps you engaging but also keeps you entertained.
• Be vegetarian and if you can’t survive vegetarian then try to eat meat once a week, it not only keeps you healthy but also will keep your pocket full.
• Pick vegetables and fruit once a week.
• Cut all those restaurant urges back, if you want to have meals outside then try once a month.
• Shop vegetables from sabzi mandi (many vegetable shops at one place) where they sell at lower rates more like wholesalers.
• Cook things from scratch on weekends so that it costs less plus you don’t have to worry about going to big parties and spending money.
• It doesn’t mean that we have to compromise our health, we should always buy quality products when it comes to health and hygiene.

Budget you expenses

• Always budget out expenses.
• Go for a small budget like weekly after that go for a monthly budget.
• Budgeting not only gives an idea about how much you’re going to need but always saves you extra.
• Also, there are many sheets/formats available for budget, if you don’t know how to budget, you can look at all the free ones on the internet to get an idea.

Buy things with caution

• Check product pricing, before buying anything.
• Always check different stores before buying, you may get a discount.
• Buy things which we use daily in bulk(if you can afford then otherwise at least buy weekly).
• Track your finances, how much you spend, where you spend most, and how to reduce expenses. Keep track.
• Stay conscious whenever you’re spending.
• Spend on quality, if you buy things to save you will end up paying extra how?
• Buying furniture cheap but it may tear.
• Buy cheap electronics that will need more repairs.
• Buy a cheap car and keep seeing maintenance costs again and again.

Adopt healthy habits

• Go for a walk instead of going to pubs, clubs, and restaurants.
• Spend time with nature.
• Shift to products not only makes you healthy but also will save you tons.
• You must be thinking this is living cheap. No one does that except poor people, NO? Some people are well settled in practicing using more products, you must be thinking who?
• A famous full-time YouTuber named Vivek his channel name is ‘fittuber’ he has 3 channels and 2 of them have millions of followers.
• He also has one income through youtube he promotes stuff that is healthy and frugal.
• Recently he even cut down his video frequency monthly, and in that video, he said it will affect his revenue, still, he wants to reduce the frequency of videos because he wants to be more active.
• So Am I telling you to be like him? NO! It’s an example that people who have name, fame, and money still chose to live.

Manage bills

• Check which bill is due when.
• Practice at no cost on the weekend.
• Practice cash envelope systems for gifted people.
• Use electricity, turn off switches when you don’t need to.
• Plug off all the appliances when you’re not using them.
• After watching television at night don’t turn it off, take its plug out too.
• Kitchen appliances like toasters and ovens should not be plug in.
• After using the charger for laptops and mobile phones.
• They were plugging out WiFi for nights when not in use.

Manage utilities.

• Keep records of bills.
• Cross-reference things before you buy both online and offline.
• Take time before you bill things, if you have the urge to buy online now and then, then keep things in the cart for 30 days and if you still need them after 30 days then buy.
• Don’t go for the debt trap
• Use credit cards and debit cards.
• Don’t go for EMIs as it forces you to buy things that you can’t afford.
• Don’t buy a house, instead rent it. It’s wise.
• Instead of buying a car, use public transport or mountain bikes.
• Don’t run after insurance, one or two is more than enough.

There are thousands of tips available online, these tips are to show you that little things can change so much. Always keep in mind that FOMO (fear of missing out) lets you do many things but don’t do things out of FOMO, do it because you want to do/buy.

Be on social media but don’t be jealous. People have different lives, some may travel every month, some may go weekly and some go yearly. Don’t be jealous, be happy for what you have and what you can do.

Always remember we need very little and basic things to live a happy and healthy life. Don’t invest in something which you don’t understand because people are doing it. Try to buy things which we can get second-hand.

Don’t go for brands always. You can have an Armani watch. It will show at the same time as the watch which is local. Save one-fourth part of what you earn, saving goes a long way. There are wonders which can happen by saving.

There was a couple who gained limelight because of their savings they traveled the world and they owned a tea shop. A couple based in Kochi, a tea seller named KR Vijayan, and his wife saved money to travel the world they used to save INR 300 per day and traveled 26 counties in 14 years.

The only takeaway here is people, no matter if they earn more or less, those who are comfortable with the numbers they earn do all the wonders for them. Only our choices decide what we will become.

You don’t have to be poor or too rich to change your life or live. It’s your choices that will make you anything. You can do wonders with one income whereas people with many incomes may not be able to. Our choices are what make a difference, happy living on one income.