Does Frugal Have A New Normal?

Does Frugal Have A New Normal?

 May 24, 2020 Mr. Tako 

Do you consider yourself a frugal person?  I used to think Mrs. Tako and I were pretty frugal people.  If you remember our backstory, the two of us were good savers in our 20’s and 30’s which allowed us to reach financial independence by age 38.

We saved, but we didn’t suffer.   We traveled internationally quite a bit, ate delicious meals, and generally had a very luxurious life — all while saving a good chunk of our income.

That was the past, and this is now.  Today I’m not feeling nearly as frugal as I used to.  A lot of it has to do with changes happening in the world with response to COVID-19.  All the little things we used to do to save money are now being done by A TON of people.

For example, instead of eating out, more people are cooking meals at home.  Many of the same people are making coffee at home instead of going out for a daily latte.  They’re also cutting their own hair, working-out at home, and DIYing housework instead of hiring it out.

Does any of this sound familiar?  It’s because many of those frugal behaviors are things I’ve written about on this blog.  The same little tricks that Mrs. Tako and I used to save up to our multi-million status.

Now, everybody’s doing it!  It has me wondering: Are we still frugal if everyone else is doing the same thing?  Maybe it’s time to step-up our frugal game!

Stepping-Up Our Frugal Game

As mentioned in my last post, one of the best ways to keep compounding during a recession is to tighten your belt, spend a lot less, and plow money into investments.

It doesn’t matter if you thought of yourself as frugal person in the past.  Now is the time to really “get ahead” by saving and investing when the markets are down (or flat) for the year.

What makes this the perfect time to make lifestyle changes, is there is no social pressure right now.  With so much of the world social distancing, and many of our societal “norms” being disrupted, absolutely nobody is going to judge you if you start doing things a bit differently.  It’s the perfect time to push yourself out of your comfort zone and find ways to save!

These new methods might seem a little strange by “the old rules”, but they will certainly pay off in the long-term, when the economy recovers.

Yes, I have complete faith that the economy will eventually recover, but it is going to take some time.  How long?  I have no idea… but for now, all we can do is focus on what we can control.  Namely, our spending.

The New Frugal

Knowing that we needed to tighten our belts a little, I’ve been brainstorming ideas on how to save cash in this new COVID world.

Some of these ideas might seem a little outlandish, but in order to really save money, altering your behavior is the single fastest way to save.

Here’s a few of the more interesting ideas to save I’ve come up with:

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