Living Below Your Means: What it Means

Living below your means is when you spend less than the amount that you make each month, allowing for savings and extra money to accumulate over time. Living below your means is a great way to ensure that you are financially secure and able to provide for yourself. To start living by this mindset, find simple ways that you can cut down your expenses, whether it be at the grocery store, nights out, or while shopping for clothes and accessories (check out How to Budget When You’re a Shopaholic, Nights Out: How to Save, and Recipes for Success: Balanced and Affordable Meals).

While doing this, prioritize your essential expenses, like food, housing and transportation, portioning funds to those areas before trying to use your paycheck on a new pair of shoes or a night on the town. Another aspect of this approach involves avoiding credit when making purchases, unless you are certain that you can pay every single time the card payment is due. Otherwise, you’ll just be racking up more issues in the long run, rather than saving money and planning wisely. Another great tip for succeeding at living below your means is to simply be satisfied with what you have and try not to spend money just to keep up with a trend, show off, or pass time.

On the other hand, for those who feel that these cutbacks might be too difficult for them to adjust to or unsustainable for their habits, another way to live below your means is to maintain your habits while increasing your income to compensate for them. Find ways to make more money outside of your day job, like part-time jobs, homemade projects, or freelance work online. Living below your means requires attention to detail and persistence in a frugal lifestyle, which can be difficult at times, but is so worth it for your long-term financial success!