How To Start Frugal Life

[alphadore]

I agree with Krantcents. Just make a list of all of your monthly recurring expenses. Then try to focus on the large items. Get a roommate, move out to a smaller flat, change your car, even quit smoking if you smoke. If you live in NY and quit smoking, you'd save 300 dollars a month...

[Eric80]

Being frugal it a hard transition. You have to evaluate every aspect of your spending, start using coupons for food shopping, bulk buy to make saving in the future, cut all the luxury items out your life, can you walk everywhere instead of using a car? When you see something you like, do you really need it? It will not be easy but good luck.

[daynarankin]

Figure out how much you want to save every month. Then figure out what you cannot do without, and start filtering the rest out. That should be a good start.

[jadet]

Originally Posted by Boogieboybaxter

I would like some advice on how to make the transition from overspending to be a very frugal person. What are the most important things to do first. I am new to the frugal life.

Something that worked really well for me is listing down how much you are spending outside of necessities like housing cost, utilities, etc. Map out things you are spending on and whether or not it is necessary to spend on it. This helped me a lot. I started watching what I was spending on.

[thefrugallery]

First an foremost, congratulations on recognizing the need to become more frugal in your life! The first step I would take is to write down everything that you spend. If you are consistently writing down your spending habits, you will be able to identify places where you can trim your spending.

[thefrugaltoad]

Being frugal means being deliberate in your spending decisions. I would start with setting realistic goals that your loved ones are able to support you on. If you are the only one in the family that wants to cut the cable bill you are in for a struggle. You will need to analyze your spending before you can take the next step which is to create a budget that supports your short-term and long-term goals, a road map if you will. Automate your finances as much as you can to avoid the temptation to meddle.

[ecoadapt]

Being frugal doesn't happen overnight. In general, I'd say the best way to make the transition is to ease into it. Start with a new frugal idea, master it, and move on to more. The possibilities are endless.

This is right. It doesn't happen in just a snap,you need to slowly work on it then make it a daily habit. You'll then realized that you are living a frugal lifestyle!