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Home » Family Articles » Frugal Living The Real Key

Frugal Living - The Real Key

When you think of frugal living, do you think it means being miserable, or giving up what you want? If so, you are thinking about it all wrong. Frugality is simply the practice of looking for the less expensive alternatives. Buy things for less, and what do you get? More money left over to buy more of what you want! Frugality doesn't have to mean being a scrooge or living without comfort.

However, maybe you don't like the idea of clipping coupons and buying clothes at rummage sales. If so, that's okay. It never was and never will be the important part of truly frugal living. For it to be the most beneficial, frugality has to start with the big things, and if it never gets down to the small items, you'll still be further ahead financially than most people.

Frugal Living Examples

Example number one: 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 of four stores in order to get everything where it is the cheapest. Total extra time spent: three hours.

Example number two: Sit with a pen and paper and determine what you really need in your new house to be happy. List the cheapest homes that meet your criteria. Make several extra phone calls and check out several bank websites to get the interest rate down to 6.25% from the 6.75% you were expecting to pay. Total extra time spent: three hours.

In the first example, let's assume you save $30 on your groceries for your effort. Your frugality made you about $10 per hour. In the second example, suppose you found a suitable home for $20,000 less. Let's say you only have to borrow $120,000 at 6.25% instead of $140,000 at 6.75%. Your payment would be $169 less per month, for a total savings of $60,900 over the thirty years of the mortgage. In this case, your frugality made you about $20,000 per hour.

I think you can see that it is the big stuff that makes a difference in frugal living. On the other hand, 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. 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. Let's face it; if it only saves you $10 per hour of effort, you might be better off staying a few hours extra at work and skip the hassle. On the other hand, 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!

Have you read newsletters and magazines about saving money? They often have tips on things like how to re-use plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Is it worth the time to wash out and dry your ziplock bags? Maybe, if you like that sort of thing, and you are making minimum wage. For most of us, it is better to spend the time analyzing the big and the recurring expenditures. That is the key to frugal living.

And here is another random article you might be interested in...

The 7 Traits of an Exceptional & Successful Entrepreneur

How often have you either referred to or considered the expression, "Success is a journey and not a Destination?" Probably many times, yet often being in a hurry to get there, we forget that success is not an end unto itself, but is instead an ongoing process.

Though some people seem to have the Midas touch and easily turn everything to gold, most of us have to give our endeavors lots of time, effort and the sweat of our brow before seeing things come to fruition. The simple truth is that the majority of us are simply not born leaders, but become leaders by who we are and the actions we take. Consequently, whether or not you're an established entrepreneur or just starting out on your journey, there are particular traits you'll usually find operating within the exceptional entrepreneur. In fact there are 7 particular traits you'll generally discover deeply embedded within the exceptional and successful businessperson.

If you've already taken the plunge as an entrepreneur, you know that it takes a great deal of planning, development and strategic marketing to succeed. At any given time, there are changes to be considered and new directions to examine. In which case, whether you're the CEO, CFO, Chief Marketer or Chief Solutions Officer of your company, your journey to success is probably full of trials and tribulations.

To support you in your journey to success, be willing to open your mind and sense of reasoning as you consider whether these traits are part of your driving force. If they are not yet ingrained within you, I recommend that you give them some thought.

THE 7 TRAITS TO SUCCESS!

1) Successful Entrepreneurs Gain the Respect of their Peers! One of the first and most obvious characteristics you'll see operating in an exceptional entrepreneur is an equitable and unbiased disposition. Plain and simple the successful entrepreneur recognizes that no one is above or below. With an attitude of respect for others, the successful entrepreneur gains the respect from everyone they encounter. Strategies, attitudes and methods filter down to each person and reflect on all actions and activities. A successful entrepreneur gives everyone the space to be great. No matter how effective or beneficial your expertise, becoming a successful entrepreneur requires building up of your character muscles, traits and habits, which correspondingly make your dreams a reality.

2) Successful Entrepreneurs Believe and Trust in Themselves!

The savvy entrepreneur is good at trusting his or her own ideas and instincts. Starting out as an entrepreneur requires persistence, determination and a high level of self-discipline. Continuing as a successful entrepreneur requires even more persistence, determination and self-discipline. The wise and successful entrepreneur knows this and works hard at developing their level of confidence. If you have a strong code of ethics and believe in yourself, then your ideas can work. Having the desire and passion are the first steps on your journey; getting there requires believing in yourself.

3) Successful Entrepreneurs Follow a Plan!

The successful entrepreneur follows a plan. Haphazard or trial and error have no place for the triumphant entrepreneur, for no one gets to his or her destination without a map or a guide to follow. That doesn't mean you won't go off course if another road seems better, but it's still more effective to have a plan in place. Most successful entrepreneurs start out by writing a basic business plan that acts as the impetus and guide for their endeavors. It doesn't have to be fancy or lengthy but it should include marketing strategies, goals, intentions, ideas and why you can do better than your competition. A business plan should be reviewed and updated periodically for each new idea stirs and inspires other ideas.

4) Successful Entrepreneurs Think Creatively!

Successful entrepreneurs are not afraid of thinking creatively. Whether a business idea has already been tried makes no difference to the exceptional entrepreneur. He or she sees better ways of doing things and knows that every idea can be expanded upon, made better, enhanced or broadened. The successful entrepreneur is willing to think outside or the proverbial box, which means using imagination, trying new things and expanding on a vision. The savvy entrepreneur pays careful attention as to whether a particular strategy is working. If after giving it his or her best shot the entrepreneur realizes the particular strategy isn't working, they know there's no point in continuing to invest energy, time and effort in the strategy. They move on to another approach and idea.

5) Successful Entrepreneurs Explore Their Exceptional Skills!

Successful entrepreneurs realize that we each have our strengths and weaknesses as well as a multitude of skills and talents. Successful people ask themselves often what skills they have that no one shares in quite the same way. An exceptional and successful entrepreneur explores their particular skills until they find the ones that match most closely with their ideal. They don't try to be and do everything. If the successful entrepreneur needs help, they're willing to find someone who can do it better, and allows in the support. The successful entrepreneur stays open to change for they recognize that as they move forward, doors open in unexpected places that carry them to their next level of success.

6) Successful Entrepreneurs Envision Their Success!

The successful entrepreneur gives time to envisioning how they want their business to look and how they want it to be. Intention is a powerful and dynamic tool. For those who are not inclined towards intention and visualization, talk to a successful athlete and you'll discover that before each sporting event, the successful athlete envisions exactly how he or she wants things to turn out. Imagine what it will feel like when you've reached a particular set of goals. Get in touch with the feelings you'd have as a successful entrepreneur. Practice and conceive of the sense of empowerment and the joy of having succeeded. The successful entrepreneur knows they have the power to live life the way they want, but to make it a reality, they know it has to be seen first.

7) Successful Entrepreneurs Never Give Up!

Giving up is never in the vocabulary of the successful entrepreneur. Of course there may be days when a successful entrepreneur feels discouraged or disappointed, but giving up is not an option. Having faith, trust, confidence and determination are the qualities needed for the successful entrepreneur. To keep their focus on track, they seek out the support of those that know them, encourage them and bring out their natural enthusiasm. The smart and successful entrepreneur realizes that there will be good days and not so good days. Being a successful entrepreneur requires accepting the ebbs and flows of business for it is in fact what separates the exceptional and successful entrepreneur from the one who gives up far too soon.