Frugality isn’t the latest fad everyone is dying to try. Many of us first adopted a frugal lifestyle because circumstances pushed us in that direction, and we responded to the needs of the moment. However, a powerful case can be made for voluntary frugality—the art of living below your means.
Life in the modern world is stressful. There’s a seemingly unending list of tasks to complete, things to think about, decisions to make, and marketers vying for our attention. One of the key unifying themes of my writing has been to simplify life, focusing on what really matters and cutting out the distractions and unnecessary stress.
One of the biggest distractions I see people face is financial. Frugal living solves many of those problems. While it isn’t a “quick fix” for every money problem, generally, those who live simply and spend much less than they earn are far happier as a result.
Happiness doesn’t come directly from having more money, but rather from the absence of money problems. Many emotional benefits are downstream of choosing to live frugally and, in turn, a less stressful life.
7 Benefits of Frugal Living
There are many benefits to living a frugal life. The following are some that my wife and I have discovered firsthand.
1. Freedom to Choose Based on Your Values
In one sense, life is all about trade-offs, and financial trade-offs can sometimes be the most difficult to make. When money is tight, every decision has to be made first through a financial lens, which pushes other values to the wayside. Having margins in your financial life means being able to live out other values that aren’t immediately profitable.
2. Confidence to Weather Life’s Storms
The harmful physical effects of long-term stress are well documented. It starts by disrupting your sleep and continues until the stress erodes your health, making it hard to enjoy anything else. Having a sizable emergency fund does not solve all of life’s problems, but it does address some of the most common ones, such as: “What am I going to do when my vehicle needs a costly repair?”
3. Peace of Mind
When you’re living paycheck to paycheck, it’s hard not to think about how much money is in your checking or savings account. You’re always wondering when the next money will hit the account or when the next bill is due. The nice part about having a comfortable financial cushion is that you find yourself thinking less about money. It’s truly a blessing to be able to put concerns about money to the back of your mind and focus instead on the present moment.
4. Gratitude for Simple Pleasures
The more you pursue, the higher your expectations rise. Novelty gives a great jolt of pleasure in the beginning, but leaves you craving more and more to sustain the high. On the flip side, intentional frugality has helped me reset my expectations and find deeper, more sustained enjoyment in life’s ordinary pleasures. When that switch happens, you sense that you already have everything you need and that you are rich in ways that money can’t buy.
5. More Time for Relationships and Nonfinancial Hobbies
If money is tight, the opportunity cost of spending your time on anything that isn’t productive seems very high. Every waking moment needs to be put to good use, and every decision needs to be optimized for financial return. Unfortunately, living that way is a distraction from the things in life that don’t have a monetary value but have worth that exceeds everything else. Frugal living has given me back time to pursue those gifts.
6. Greater Self-Control in All Areas of Life
Living frugally takes self-discipline. There will be times when you will need to deny yourself something you desire in that moment for a reward that only comes later. Intentionally doing hard things is one of the fastest paths to self-growth. When you begin practicing self-control in one area of your life, you will naturally find yourself having more self-control for unrelated tasks. These spillover benefits are another reason I advocate for frugal living. You’re not just upgrading your finances; you’re upgrading your whole emotional toolset.
7. Contentment From Realizing You Have Enough
When you’re spending right up to the very limit of your income, it feels like there’s never enough money. The list of things that would make your life easier, better, or more interesting is endless, and your desires are insatiable. Those who choose to live simply, however, find themselves looking at what they already have and making the best of it. I can’t tell you how freeing this is if you haven’t experienced it for yourself. It is the freedom of knowing you already have enough, and you can finally step off the hamster wheel of constant striving.
