Frugal People Never Make These Mistakes

frugal people

We all make mistakes. In fact, rereading this makes me want to change the title of this article to, “Why I Fail at Being Even Remotely Frugal and Should Be So Ashamed of Myself”. I, for example, made the mistake of getting out of bed this morning even though I feel like I might die from my brand new and unexciting head cold. My eyes are barely open, I cannot breathe and my kids are actually trying to kill me today. Perhaps that is a bit of an exaggeration, but I really do feel very sick and I’d like nothing more than the go back to bed, sleep the rest of the day and tomorrow and the next week or two and finally wake up when I’m feeling better. The point is that we all make mistakes; mine was not begging my husband to stay home today so I could rest.

Frugal people make mistakes, too. Becoming frugal and learning to save money is a difficult process. I should know, because I tried it once and it as so much work that I quit and decided that I’d rather just pretend that I will do it one day when we all know I won’t. Frugal people make mistakes in their lives, too, but they never make these mistakes. These mistakes are for amateurs, and we know you want to be a frugality expert so that you can live the life you love while still enjoying a life of savings.

Use Coupons

Oh, I got you there, didn’t I? Frugal people do use coupons, but they don’t use them just because they are there. I’m not all that frugal, but even I know this. My mother-in-law is so sweet that she always brings us a little envelope of coupons she finds when she’s clipping hers for us to use when we go to the store. I don’t have the heart to tell her that I have no desire to search through that envelope or go through the hassle of carrying coupons with me so that I can save $.50 on diapers, so I thank her and then I’m not entirely sure what happens to them.

However, she’s always clipping things we don’t use or need, such as coupons for things like frozen prepackaged chicken tenders and things of that nature. We’re not organic people or all natural, but we do like our meat uncooked and unprepared. We’d rather do that ourselves. Just because I have that coupon doesn’t mean I use it; that’s the point. Frugal people don’t buy things just because they have a coupon. They only buy it if it’s something that they actually need.

Waste Anything

If I have extra pasta left over after dinner, I am throwing it away. I don’t eat leftovers, and I would never expect my family to. Don’t ask me why other than I have this exceptional issue with eating food that’s been cooked, turned cold and then heated up again. I won’t even eat leftover holiday meals – and we all know those are delicious. Frugal people will not waste anything, and that’s because they are absolutely better people than I.

Shop Warehouse Stores for the Best Deals

Sometimes frugal people go to Sams or Costco or BJs or whatever they have near them for good deals. But they don’t make the mistake of assuming that shopping here is always the smartest, most amazing, wisest, best savings deal. In fact, the truly frugal know that there is no way they will save money if they do nothing but shop here all the time. Instead, they do the work and figure out what saves them money in places like this and only buy those things there; but that is it.

Forget to Plan Meals

I know, I know; I am so bad at this and even stating that you shouldn’t do it makes me the biggest hypocrite that ever walked the planet. I am so bad at this. I go to the store without planning our dinners for the week, our vegetable end up going bad, fruit goes bad; it all goes bad because I fail to plan to make things before those items have a chance to go bad. Frugal people do not make that mistake. They know what they are buying, how long it will last and when they are going to cook meals that utilize those items so that they can use them before they go bad.

Shop with Emotion

If I’m having a bad day, you can guarantee that there will be a delivery from Lilly Pulitzer or Nordstrom on the porch within the next few days. I am an emotional shopper all the way. I get excited, I order things. I am upset, I order things. Frugal people don’t do that because they are about a million times more intelligent and smarter than I, and they know better than to allow their emotions to get the best of them. I, on the other hand, do not live by that motto. I should.

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