Guest Post: How to Live a Frugal Life in 2011

Guest Post by Roxanne Peterson
Roxanne Peterson is a community writer for debt consolidation care, the world’s largest debt consolidation community. She excels herself in writing articles on various financial topics including debt consolidation, debt settlement, frugality, get out of debt, and more.

If you are an impulse buyer and if you face problems in repaying your credit bills, you should practice frugal living, so that you can save more money and lead a stress free life.

What is frugal living?
Frugal living is nothing but spending your money wisely and cutting down on your expenses. It is a conscious effort on your part and it helps you lead a stress-free life. You can practice frugal living when facing shortage of money. While practicing frugal living, you will have to stick to a budget. This helps you save more than usual. It also helps you stay away from debt.

How can you live frugally?
You can practice frugal living by:

1. Lower usage of credit cards – You should lower the usage of credit cards as much as possible and resist the temptation of buying anything on credit. Thus, you will be spending less as you will not incur further debts. Also, always make on-time payments on your existing credit cards so that you don’t incur any debts.
2. Purchase second hand items – You can lower your expenses if you buy used or second hand items like a second hand car instead of a new one. You can get second hand items at much lower prices than the new ones. You can also buy other used items like books and DVDs.
3. Prepare a budget – The most important step that you should take while practicing frugal living is budgeting. You should prepare a budget based on your total income and total expenses and you should stick to that budget. You should also review that budget from time to time and if required you can make changes in your budgeting.
4. Make a list of items you need – Make a list of all the items that you need each month. In this way you will be able to avoid buying things unnecessarily. Thus, you will spend les and save more. Also, making bulk purchases saves you more money.
5. Avoid eating out – Try to avoid eating out, as eating out is generally more expensive. Such small things can really help you in saving more money.
6. Save gas - Gas prices are rising day by day. Thus, it is advisable to use gas carefully. You should change your motoring habits. Small savings do add up to a large amount of money.
7. Save energy - It is better to use fluorescent bulbs in place of incandescent bulbs. Also, remember to switch off the lights before leaving the room and install a Smart Power Strip as it offers power surge protection, and even turns off selected equipments when not in use.
8. Save money on entertainment – You can save money on entertainment. You can use the library rather than buying magazines and books. Get free entertainment offers like free city concerts, free museum entries, and other games.

If you can practice frugal living, you will be able to save more. thus, you will have a secure future and you will also be able to repay your debts.