Once you’ve made the commitment to cut your expenses and live more frugally, you’ll probably find yourself facing temptation on a regular basis. As your friends who haven’t made the same financial resolutions as you have made continue to enjoy their less frugal lives, you will have to make a concerted effort to remain on your more economical path. Although it won’t be easy to be “the frugal one,” there are a few ways that you can encourage yourself to hold steadfast to your new lifestyle.
Find a lunch buddy. Cutting dining out for lunch every day from your regular expenditures can make a huge impact on your budget; you can easily save $50 each week. You may quickly find, however, that it’s hard to miss out on the camaraderie your co-workers enjoy while they’re at lunch. The answer to this problem is simple: find someone else to eat lunch with. While you’re eating the lunch you brought from home, take a look around the office to see who else is eating at the office. You’ll discover that it’s much easier to skip lunches out if you have someone else to eat with.
Suggest alternative outings for you and your friends. Living frugally will wear you down quickly if you feel that you have to give up all of your fun with your friends. Fortunately, you don’t have to. If you and your friends used to enjoy going to the movies, suggest renting a movie and having a pot luck dinner. If your friends enjoy going to the theatre, you might consider suggesting that you all volunteer at your local theatre. Making more economical choices when choosing how you and your friends will get together will allow you to enjoy your friends’ company and still stick to your budget.
Avoid temptation whenever possible. If shopping excursions at the mall or department store are the types of things you’ve vowed to eliminate from your spending habits, the best thing you can do is to avoid extra trips to those places. If you like to window shop, try visiting a museum. You’ll be able to enjoy browsing and looking without being tempted to buy.
Sticking to a frugal lifestyle can be frustrating if you feel like you’re all alone in your efforts. To avoid allowing your new spending style to drag you down into the doldrums make sure you share your new financial commitment with your friends and family. As they see you work towards you new goals, your friends will be proud of your strength and determination. Who knows? Your friends may even be inspired by your determination and decide to join you in your adventure.
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6 responses so far ↓
1 LJ // Feb 15, 2008 at 9:08 am
These are some great ideas! I have had problems with friends not understanding our frugal living practices, but my main problem has been with family.
Our family has a hard time understanding why we choose to live below our means. We get a lot of “Come on, we know you HAVE the money” They don’t understand that just because we have it, does not mean we need to spend it.
This can be especially hard during Holidays and birthdays. While we try to do our best, we mostly never meet their expectations of fancy gifts and such, but what can we do? Spend over our budget to please others? I wouldn’t do it in a million years.
The alternative outings is a great idea, instead of trips to the mall with friends, I have suggested going hiking, going to free concerts or art shows and all my friends have thanked me for the new fun things I have showed them. If only I could get the family on board…
Take Care
LJ
2 Matt // Feb 15, 2008 at 10:58 am
Its definitely something that takes some adjusting to; adjusting to a more frugal lifestyle took quite a bit of getting used to and I’m still caving every now and then. As long as you’ve got your mind set – you’ll do alright even with a few slips.
Good post.
3 Mom // Feb 15, 2008 at 1:33 pm
I saw a bumper sticker once that said “I spend money I don’t have, to buy things I don’t want, to impress people I don’t like.”
I think that pretty much says it all for those who aren’t living frugal.
4 Ron@TheWisdomJournal // Feb 16, 2008 at 9:11 am
This is a difficult situation to work through. Many times friends just never seem to get it. If you’re heading toward a goal, you have to surround yourself (as much as feasible) with like-minded people.
I wrote a post a couple of weeks ago on Changing Friends to Change Your Finances. It isn’t easy but think of it this way. Look at the mirror image of the situation: Imagine if you won a lottery that paid you $250,000 per year AFTER taxes for the next 40 years. Would your current set of friends be able to keep up with your new lifestyle? Or would jealousy and envy on their part drive them away? Do you think you’d end up with a completely different set of friends and acquaintances? Probably.
If we want to change our financial lives, we will have to associate with like-minded people and distance ourselves from those who think they ARE made of money!
5 Anastasia-Jane // Feb 16, 2008 at 10:04 am
When I worked, there were 3 other people that were in the same saving boat that I was. Our solution was the bring lunch one day a week for 4 people and share with the others. Got to eat new and exciting food and only worry about lunch one day a week. Friday was the off day. We got paid that day and our lunch hour was spent at the bank…
It worked well for us and we got to visit with others.
6 Amy // Feb 18, 2008 at 10:54 am
We have a pretty active social life, but we try to avoid things that cost a lot. Friends come to my house for coffee instead of meeting up at Starbucks. We opt for free playgroups and play dates with friends instead of going to places that cost an admittance. I do $1 movies at a second-run theatre or we rent free ones from Redbox. We do lunch at each other’s homes instead of going out to lunch. When we want to have dinners we entertain here at our house instead and do board games for entertainment. There are so many ways around it, you just have to be open to the changes
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