Choosing to live a more frugal life, has many great benefits.
I personally enjoy less financial stress, meeting my goals and having money to invest for my future to name a few.
However with many great things, there is always a catch.
I have compiled a list of some possible downsides that come along with a frugal lifestyle.
This list is not meant to scare you away from the frugal lifestyle, but to educate you on what you may face.
No Going Back
Once you enter the frugal lifestyle it is hard to break free from it.
Seeing the dollars you saved, add up is quite thrilling- one may even say addicting.
As your wealth grows you may still be stuck in the frugal mentality. This is not necessarily a bad thing, however it can lead to suffering unnecessarily by taking frugality to the extreme.
There may come a point in time, where you do not want to spend any money, even when you should.
Remember you can always pick and choose frugal habits to keep in your life, and rotate them as needed.
Need help finding habits that will work for you?
– Checkout 12 Frugal Habits to Live By
Avoid Paying For Things You Really Need
Frugal people tend to use items until they are no longer able to, they fix things themselves, and repurpose items they have on hand. These are just a few habits that frugal people live by.
Doesn’t sound too bad does it?
Well, it can get bad if you end up avoiding purchases you really should be buying. Purchases that help keep you and your family healthy and safe.
This includes paying for quality items, professional services, healthy food, and not skipping visits to the doctor.
Being frugal should not jeopardize your health and safety.
If an item is costly make sure to work it into your budget, or use your emergency fund.
Hard to Maintain Long Term
A frugal lifestyle is hard to maintain over a long period of time. There are a few reasons that frugal living is hard to keep up with.
Firstly different life stages bring about different costs.
For example starting a family, and raising children you will be spending considerably more than you did while in college.
Secondly, the current rapid raise of inflation.
Being frugal will help combat some inflation, but in the end it won’t beat inflation alone.
Thirdly you may be faced with frugal fatigue.
Frugal fatigue is the lack of motivation, essentially burnout from your frugal lifestyle. Sick of cutting costs, not buying anything new or exciting.
You Can Only Do So Much
Being frugal will only get you so far.
You can only cut back and save to a certain amount.
Once you have reached your maximum savings potential the only thing left to do is increase your income.
Whether this is through additional work, or investing you will need to find a way to increase the money coming in.
Not Having the Latest and Greatest
Another downside to frugal living is that you will not have all the latest and greatest items.
This includes cars, technology, fashion or latest trendy thing.
You will be focused on reaching your financial goals, such as saving to buy house or pay off debt, that you will have to use what you have until it needs to be replaced.
For some people this is quite a deterrent from living more frugally.
Why should I deprive myself?
If you are passionate about new tech, the latest fashions etc., you will need to make cuts in other areas, to make room for the new shiny item in your budget.
Can Be Embarrassing
Picture this, you have been making cut backs, re-using what you have and living in the clothes you’ve had since college. You then host dinner to your friends who have shown up in their new car, in their expensive clothes, all to eat off your mismatched plates and drink from your chipped cups.
These things may not bother you on the day-to-day but when compared to the Joneses embarrassment can set in.
Keep in mind you can always budget for luxury or newer items. You should also only keep good company who will not make you feel bad for living frugally.
Feel Lonely
When you are trying to pinch pennies, you may end up alienating yourself.
Think about it this way, if you are trying your best to save money and your friends or colleagues just want to constantly go out shopping or eating out. That money will add up quick, so you may want to turn them down.
Not everyone will understand your lifestyle choices, and may question inviting you or if you want to actually attend.
Not everyone has the same saving mindset, or priorities.
If you want to keep relationships strong and still save money, opt for hosting a potluck, enjoying a picnic or choose a low-cost item on the menu when eating out. Be sure to budget eating-out and entertainment into your monthly spending.
Final Thoughts
The downsides to frugal living include, stuck in the frugal mentality, not wanting to spend money even when you should, hard to maintain, won’t make you rich, missing out on the latest, feeling embarrassed and feeling lonely at times.
Do not let these few downsides deter you from embracing some frugal habits, just remember to keep everything in moderation, and you can change and adapt to what works best for you at this stage in your life.
Have you experienced any downsides to being frugal?
Let me know down below.
