Can you be too frugal?
By now you know that it’s important to save money. When you save your money, you are able to afford more later on, you can set up an emergency fund, and you can have money to retire comfortably.
You might save money by putting a certain percentage aside every month. This is a great way to do it.
But then you realize that the $50 you put aside for free spending every month is more than you need. You cut it back to $40. Also, $100 is more than you need for gas, so you cut it back to $80.
You’ve found some ways to cut back on driving and get it down to $50 a month. You only drive to school and work. Now that you don’t go out much, you’ve cut back your free spending to $20 a month. Maybe you even cut back on gift spending, spending less than half what you normally would.
Right now you need to ask yourself 2 questions. Is it absolutely necessary to save this much? And, are you happy?
Being frugal can be a good habit. If you can buy one product for $2 less with a coupon, you might as well. Also, blowing your money on things that don’t even satisfy you or are unnecessary doesn’t make much sense.
Still, you can be too frugal. If your quality of life has gone down just t save a buck, trust me, it’s not worth it.
Yes, it’s very important to be in control of your money, but if you work hard and do a good job at money management, sacrificing a social life, free time, and fun altogether is unnecessary.
You must remember that life is not about money. Not everyone will agree on what the true meaning of life is, but depriving yourself for money is certainly not it.
Think about it, why do you want money? You need money to pay for the things you need and you want money to pay for the things you want. It sounds obvious, but if you are being extremely frugal in order to save money for things you want, then aren’t you defeating the purpose by never buying the things you want?
In order to live a happy fulfilled life, you need to find a balance between money, a social life, vacations, hard work, family, the list goes on.
When you feel like you can never afford anything, save and find a way to make more money to better your situation. When you feel rich, but unsatisfied, spend some money on yourself. Trust me, you’ll feel better, or else what’s the point of being rich?
