Business First Family Business, Accounting, Finance, Investing, Marketing And Management
“Frugality is one of the most beautiful and joyful words in the English language, and yet one that we are culturally cut off from understanding and enjoying. The consumption society has made us feel that happiness lies in having things, and has failed to teach us the happiness of not having things.” – Elise Boulding
Each entrepreneur’s aim is to generate as much income as possible, but wealth will not accumulate without wise spending habits. Frugality is an important entrepreneur skill to have. It is about stopping the money leaks while still living a fulfilling life, and it requires a mindset adjustment in order to succeed. This is true for your personal life, small businesses and large enterprise corporations. Here are seven steps to ensure you don’t pick the wrong path.
Couponing
A very good first step in keeping your wallets intact is to use coupons. Forget saving a few dollars, because coupons can slash 50 percent or more off your family food bill! If you are usually trashing supermarket flyers or pages of coupons from the newspaper, you should really to rethink. The coupons popularity is growing again and for good reason. Having such coupons, you can save between 50 and 60 percent a week at the supermarket. Also, you can find discounts in places other than the newspaper or supermarket flyer. There are online coupon sites, such as Couponchief.com, that offers you big savings. For instance, this online coupon site has 152,601 offers, from 52,794 stores. These offers will transform your life radically!
Monthly Expenses
Ferreting out deals online is just the first step, though. To save more each month, you should pay attention on what you pay money for every month (rent or mortgage, electricity, water, gas, telephone, cable and insurance). Then you should ask yourself: do you really need all of those things? Of course, most of them are important, and you should never take into consideration cutting out insurance or mortgage payments. But, services like cable TV and a landline telephone can be replaced by cheaper solutions through the Internet. This will help you realize your dream and start an online store sooner than you ever would have imagined possible before.
Do It Yourself
The Internet has fostered countless communities that promote a do-it-yourself lifestyle. So, if you are thinking about buying something for your home or manufactured housing unit, you can find a homemade alternative that saves money. You should, also, buy things that would not take too long to make yourself, and consider do-it-yourself home decor projects worthwhile hobbies. In case you enjoy it, you will end up having fun while saving money in the process. Engage your friends and your family in this small project because in this manner, you will save time but you will also have the opportunity to build and preserve better boundaries.
Create A Budget
Of course, creating, and living by a budget is another frugal living tip for successful entrepreneurs. While budgeting is not always fun, it is critical for your financial success. Within your plan, prioritize key financial obligations, purchases, and responsibilities. Then, identify any discretionary payments that you may be able to cut out. Remember, there is nothing wrong with occasionally spending money on purchases for fun or recreational purchases. Certainly, budgeting for extra cash is a great frugal living tip to follow.
Look For Alternatives
Never buy the brand name, unless you know the same quality is not afforded by the knock-off brands. There are so many generic versions of top products. It does not make sense to spend more for the same product. You can use online community boards and advice from friends and family to figure out whether the generics are as good as the real thing. This will help you save money that you can put back into business, which is especially necessary if you plan on opening any child car franchises. Those costs can add up, and you will be shocked at how much money you wasted buying brand name products in the past.
Grow It Yourself
Along the same lines as the DIY tip above, why not go full steam ahead and grow your own fruits and vegetables as well? Growing your own food will drastically cut down your food bills each month. And even better, the seeds and waste that you get from your crops will serve as self-sustenance for your food garden. Growing your own food may seem like an arduous undertaking however, it does not have to be. Even if you live in an apartment, a window box with herbs will help cut costs and a hanging tomato plant can act as unique, thrifty interior design. It works if you work it. If you really want to live a frugal lifestyle, growing you own food is the way to go.
No Laptop Required
Instead of spending too much on a new business executive laptop, you can buy a Bluetooth keyboard that can be used with your smartphone for taking notes. In case you really have no need for a laptop in that moment, because you can do basically everything on your phone, this is a great money-saver. Also, all you have to carry around is a keyboard and maybe some batteries. Make your life easier, all while saving money for your future small business car insurance payments.
Tidy Up For Less Wasted Money
Keeping your home clean is, in fact, another great way to save money! It saves money on cleaning products, because if you keep it clean, you don’t have to buy expensive products to cut through all the grime. A simple wipe down with a wet rag will do. It saves money at the store, because when your home is clean and organized, you will know exactly what you have and don’t have, so you stop buying duplicates.
As you can see, it is easy to say that you want to save more money, but it is harder to actually implement that. Living a frugal life calls for a lifestyle change, and a conscious awareness of how you are spending and saving. It also requires a certain know-how. From this article, you can observe that small steps can make you save big, so do not hesitate to follow this five steps, and your entrepreneurial endeavors will become much better!
