Do you think frugal activities are only for those who struggle financially?
Many people often associate thrifty ways with those who live on a tight budget. That isn’t always the case. The book, Change Your Habits, Change Your Life by Tom Corley will have you thinking otherwise.
1. Get free or low-cost workouts.
It can be motivating to put on your best workout gear, jump into a spin class or get customized lessons from a personal trainer. What might be even more motivating is realizing that 76% of wealthy people exercise for at least thirty minutes every day. But that can cost a pretty penny at your local gym. However, you can still get a great workout without spending much.
There are many exercise gurus offering free exercise routines. If you like a no-nonsense approach to your workouts, try Jillian Michaels’ Shred YouTube workouts. They are totally free. She also demonstrates exercise circuits you can do on your own. Learn how to do standing abs or diagonal squats without spending a cent. She’ll show you each exercise with proper form and tell you how many reps to do for maximum benefits.
If you like fitness that makes you forget that you’re even working out, Shaun Blokker’s moves can have you hip-hop dancing your way to a six-pack. You can find him on Youtube as well. Tilt, tuck and tighten your way to a better midsection while keeping cash in your wallet. Watch The Holiday Edge Series on Youtube to follow a set sequence of exercises.
If yoga is your thing, Tara Stiles’ routines are all the rage. She has videos ranging from 10 minutes – 50 minutes. Work on your flexibility, range of motion or even weight loss while stretching away. You can trim your budget and your waistline.
If over time you get tired of watching the same videos but take a liking to a certain expert’s style or routines, check out DVDs from the library for free!
2. Flex your coupon muscles.
Believe it or not, 30% of the rich in Corley’s research used coupons to buy food. Who knew? If you were looking for a reason to have some coupon courage, just know that some of your wealthy peers are doing the same.
If you’ve never used coupons before or consider yourself a beginner, set aside an hour a week to search websites that have matchups for local stores. Start with one store at a time. Once you get a rhythm down, you can try doing the same at other stores. Check out sites like Coupons.com, The Krazy Coupon Lady or Bargain Briana. They can be a big help in getting you started.
3. Get your drink on for less.
Whether you have a glass of wine at a restaurant, attend happy hour on a regular basis or you’re just a self-proclaimed beer snob, shelling out money for liquid therapy can add up quickly. It’s not a big secret that ordering alcoholic beverages at a bar has a huge markup. No matter how much you pay, on some level, you might be showing your hand a bit in the money department when it comes to how much alcohol you consume.
Corley’s research regarding rich habits reveals that 84% of the wealthy in his study drank less than 2 ounces of alcohol a day. So if you’re tailgating budget needs to get revamped or if you need to break up with your drinking buddies before you go broke, consider setting some financial boundaries.
Combatting this issue may take the form of an an explicit conversation with your friends or at least a talk with yourself. Author Dorethia Conner Kelly explains, ‘I’m not much of a drinker but I tell people to limit drinks to 2, go during happy hour when they are half off and don’t buy the good stuff at the bar. If you drink that at home, it’s much cheaper.’
Now that football season has started, invite people over to watch the games. You’ll still get to socialize and have a drink for much less.
Read more: 5 Black Friday deals that you can get cheaper if you wait
4. Listen your way to savings.
According to the book, 63% of the wealthy surveyed listened to educational audiobooks or podcasts while commuting back and forth to work. You can get audiobooks from the library and iTunes for free. Also, check out sites like Audible that have a free 30 day trial. Spotify also has many public domain audiobooks that you can listen to for free.
Enrich your life on the cheap while practicing a habit of the wealthy. A smartphone, Kindle or MP3 player is your ticket to listening to more free books. Check out the site Loyalbooks.com. You’ll find thousands of free public domain audio books and ebook downloads.
5. Read the old fashioned way.
Listening to books is a thrifty way to learn new information but so is actual reading. It’s a low-cost way to stimulate your mind, relieve stress and release your inner bookworm. If you happen to like reading biographies, reading this genre is once again in alignment with the rich. 58% of the wealthy surveyed in Corley’s research read biographies of other successful people.
If bettering yourself through books comes in the form of self help over biography, you can rest assured that your tastes are still what a wealthy person would do.
Frugal activities aren’t just for those stretching their dollars out of necessity. Those with big bucks are doing the same. Use the tips above to stay thrifty, enrich your life or maintain your current wealthy status.
Read more: Get a head start on your holiday shopping as retailers roll out more deals
For more money-saving advice, see our Deals section!
