Over the last year, many people have asked how my life has changed with the increase in our business income.
We’re still the same people, just with high incomes.
I still wear shirts that have holes, and I am still conscious of spending money.
Most people we meet have no idea what we make each month, and most assume that we inherited a lot of money (since we RV full-time) or that we are hippies (funnily enough- also because we RV full-time, haha).
Recently, I had someone tell me that they’re surprised I don’t live on a plane (and own it), and another person thought it was funny that I still use coupons and look for discounts.
I like to be frugal.
For some reason, there’s a myth that people earning high incomes are not allowed to be frugal anymore. In fact, on an article of mine, 30+ Ways To Save Thousands Each Month, I had numerous people email or comment with questions like why would I cut cable or ever eat at home.
I have even had people tell me that I shouldn’t be allowed to use discounts, use coupons, shop second hand, or anything like that. That is just crazy! Why can’t I be frugal if I want to be?
Related blog posts:
- How To Save Money
- 100+ Ways To Make Extra Income
- Things To Sell To Make Money
- What I Learned By Donating And Giving Away Nearly All Of My Stuff
To me, it’s a no brainer- I still don’t want to be wasteful, and if I can find ways to save money, then I will.
You won’t become wealthy if you spend all your money. We still have financial goals, and we are still realistically trying to save as much as we can, while still living fun lives.
To me, finding ways to save money isn’t just about the money, it’s also about limiting waste, being more of a minimalist, and finding what truly makes me happy (which I realize more and more means that I don’t need to spend money on material things).
Here are some of the frugal (and possibly cheap) things I still do:
- I wear shirts that have holes in them. These are my favorite shirts, so I don’t care if there’s a hole or two!
- I have a very minimal wardrobe, and I hardly ever go shopping.
- I don’t have cable, satellite, Netflix, Hulu, or anything else. We have a nice digital antenna in our RV that can find several channels wherever we are.
- We live in an RV which allows us to travel affordably for around the same amount as the house we used to own.
- I use the Ibotta app to save money at the grocery store without having to clip coupons.
- Instead of driving, I ride my bike to the grocery store if it’s close by.
- I pretty much only drink water, and sometimes I make my own passion fruit tea at home.
- I think about small or big purchases for at least 24 hours before making them.
- We have free entertainment outdoors by hiking, rock climbing, cycling, and more.
- I still use Ebates for cash back when shopping online.
- I don’t grocery shop when I’m hungry.
- I do not pay ATM fees.
- My favorite shoes are a $10 pair of sandals from Forever21.
- I use a fuel app for my RV to make sure that I’m paying the lowest price for fuel. My tank holds 80 gallons so even just $.25 makes a huge difference in price!
- We don’t have memberships to anything, like a gym, etc.
- I still churn credit cards for their rewards bonuses. We recently had a month with a lot of expenses so I signed up for three credit cards with rewards bonuses. Those bonuses earned me around $1,500 in cash.
- I plan my meals and eat at home as much as I can.
- I use every last squeeze of toothpaste and drop of lotion or shampoo that I can.
- One of my favorite things to do at home is to rewatch my favorite TV series. I’ve watched LOST completely 3 or 4 times now, and we’re currently rewatching True Blood.
- Wes picks up every coin he finds (once when we were off-roading, he picked up a penny that was tails side up- that ended horribly so we don’t do that anymore!).
- We use coupons if we come across them.
- I’m always looking for deals on items that I normally buy.
What frugal living things do you do? Do you believe that people with a higher income can’t be frugal and take part in the many frugal living tips?
Leave a Reply
This is great. I love Ebates and using coupons. The meal planning gets me though. Definitely something i want to work on more in the new year because it gets pricy and adds up quickly.
Thank you!
Hahaha, I identify with the clothes thing so much. If my clothes get a hole in them, I just do a slapdash job of mending the hole. I haven’t bought clothes in quite a while, which is a feat for a recovering fashionista.
I really do believe that, in order to live frugally, you have to actually ENJOY living that way. Otherwise you just feel deprived and sad. I personally love it. I don’t see why people should adjust their lifestyle once their income increases, even to a higerh degree like yours.
Yes, I love it as well!
I churn credit cards too for the bonus, specifically travel cards for airline miles and hotel points so we can travel cheaply. My husband and I have free Southwest flights through the end of 2017 and we didn’t pay a dime out of pocket to get them other than charging our regular expenses on the cards. I know churning credit cards is a little controversial in the PF world, so I’m glad to see another blogger also do so responsibly!
I love credit cards points. They are the BEST! 🙂
You shouldn’t be ALLOWED to use coupons? WHAT?! That’s totally crazy talk. I guess we should tell Warren Buffet he has to move out of his old Omaha house and buy a mansion on the Cali coast, hah.
Right?! That’s how I feel.
I don’t think I’ve ever heard of someone saying you shouldn’t be allowed to use coupons lol. That’s a new one. I think some people assume frugality is some kind of end goal and not a way of life.
Exactly!
That’s great that you still like to be frugal. No one should be able to tell others whether they have the right to be frugal or not, lol. Some of my favorite shirts have small holes in them too but I just can’t let them go. Glad to hear I’m not the only one 🙂
Thank you! I’m currently wearing a sweater that I bought when I used to work in retail. That means it’s probably 8 years old – and it’s my favorite! 🙂
I always love your perspective. A wise, and wealthy, person once told me that “People who live like they have money, won’t have it for very long.” There shouldn’t ever be limitations on people who can and cannot use discounts!
Most of the clothes that I wear are older, and the ones I get new are nearly always on sale! The only reason I don’t wear shirts that have holes is because I fix the holes! Nearly every rip, tear or hole in a piece of clothing can be repaired.
Thank you Rachel 🙂 Yes, that quote is very true!
There are a lot of people that have become wealthy by using coupons and being frugal. It’s a way of life and wonderful to continue, even after building wealth. You are being smart with your money!
Yes, thanks!
I think such people haven’t really come to the understanding that the surest path to having some bank is to…keep as much of what you ordinarily bring in, in YOUR bank account as you can. Not transfer it to someone else’s.
I don’t really think in terms of being frugal but I think about value. Trying to spend only where it brings me value, and to get the best value there that I can.
We typically take $20+ off our grocery bill each week through store specials + coupons. We actually find it challenging to find coupons we’d use because we don’t buy a lot of processed foods. Still, we manage to work those deals.
I have a few expensive pieces of clothing to “put on appearances” at the office, but most of the time I work at home. My idea of clothing staples are hoodies and sweatpants, which I can get for $10-15 new (I do have a bias in that I don’t like wearing used clothes.) I wear everything out until it’s too honey to be decent in public.
Yes, exactly!
I too was amazed at the whole “you shouldn’t be allowed” to be frugal argument. One thing that stands out to me was a Dave Ramsey quote that said something like “Most millionaires drive used cars.” That made a ton of sense to me.
I admire your frugality, and I think I’ll share this post along with whatever your most recent income report is with the next person that tells me that my making money means I should live at or beyond my means….
Thank you 🙂
I’ve learned that although not being wasteful can be learned, it’s a lot easier to apply and maintain that philosophy if it’s ingrained in your personality. I always have to correct people that view my frugality as being cheap, when in truth the engineer in me values efficiency. Money should be applied efficiently no matter how much you have. It’s definitely possible to take it to an extreme, and you have to balance enjoying life against being too restrictive, but you should never lose sight of the value of money. I have no issues spending a bunch of money on travel or another type of experience, because that’s what I value, the key is to establish a lifestyle metric and stick to it.
Yes, exactly! That’s how I feel as well.
I am puzzled. Why shouldn’t a higher income person be frugal? It is not your income that makes you wealthy – it is what you get to keep after all expenses that makes you one 🙂
I love my old t-shirts too. There is no reason to toss them unless of course you choose to.
Yes, exactly!
This is great! It reminds me of the founder of the clothing line Patagonia (makers of $400 jackets) who always says “We want our customers to realize that things get better with time. If something breaks you fix it. You don’t throw it away and buy a new one.”
I always use discount gift cards. In 2016 alone I saved $1,000 on eating out, gas,and big purchases.
Cheers!
Patagonia is one of my favorite brands – that’s what most of my clothing is! 🙂
Teach the people Michelle! I’m so focused now on protecting my money because I learned the hard way. It’s amazing the amount of money I’ve wasted over the years, not on myself, but helping other people who were making bad money decisions. Why did I allow myself to be manipulated? Why were they comfortable in threatening my livelihood because they didn’t pay me back? Why was I the answer to their prayers? All questions and more I had to ask myself and forgive myself about. I might as well had taken my money to the shredder. Keep being an inspiration!
Thanks 🙂
I am a firm believer in purchasing secondhand and diy wherever I can – household cleaning supplies, hair products, etc. I did it when I had more money, I’m doing it now in the rough patch I’m in, and I will do it when I’m out. It’s not just frugality: I know most things are wants and not needs, and that it’s kinder to the environment to use what we already have.
Yes!