HOW TO HAPPILY LIVE WITHIN YOUR MEANS

WHAT DO WE MEAN BY LIVING WITHIN YOUR MEANS?

Living within your means refers to a lifestyle where your expenses are fully covered by your income. It means that you are not accumulating debt due to spending more than what you earn. Living within your means requires self-control and discipline in managing your finances. Living this way helps you prioritize your expenses and budget appropriately. It is more than just controlling your spending impulses, it also helps you adjust your life so that you can more easily use your resources on what matters most to you. The goal is to have your expense aligned to or if possible even less than your overall income.

LIVING WITHIN YOUR MEANS MAKES YOU HAPPIER

When you live within your means, you are less likely to accumulate debt. Less debt equals less stress. Even if you can make the payments on the debt you have there is always some stress related to having to make those payments, especially if something unexpected happens. You don’t have to worry about how you will pay your bills when you are living within your means.

In order to live within your means you really have to be mindful of your spending habits and prioritize your expenses. This can help you avoid impulse purchases and focus on the things that truly matter to you. When you are not overloaded with debt and financial stress, you have more freedom to go after the things that make you happy. This could be things like traveling more, pursuing a new hobby, or spending more time with your family.

When you are in control of your finances, you will feel more confident and empowered. This can increase your self-esteem because you can be confident in knowing what is going on with your finances.

TIPS TO HELP YOU LIVE WITHIN YOUR MEANS

Be intentional with increases in income. Increase your retirement contribution. Or increase your savings for things that are important to you. It’s not so much about what you choose to do with increased income, it’s the fact that you are making a choice about what to do with it. Don’t just let it get sucked into nothing!

KEEP YOUR BUDGET

Budgeting is for all income levels. If you don’t manage where your money goes it will often go places that you are not intending to put so much of your financial resources to. Your budget allows you to make decisions about where you want your money to go.

MAKE A LIST OF YOUR SAVINGS PRIORITIES

Try keeping a list of the things that you want to save for. These could be various home improvement projects, a vacation, or new wardrobe items. Whatever it may be, keep a list of these things with the estimated cost and prioritize them. By having a list of your priorities you can choose to save for them and get them done in priority order instead of trying to do everything all at once. When you are in the habit of doing things based on your priority, you will likely take it a little slower and be more aware of what you are spending your money on.

PRACTICE CONTENTMENT

When we are content we are happy with the things that we have. While it doesn’t mean that we can never want more, practicing contentment can help us be happy where we are right now while still being able to dream about things we might want in the future. People often overspend when they feel like they need a reward. If you can give yourself that by acknowledging all that you are grateful for, you will be less likely to increase your discretionary spending.

DON’T COMPARE YOURSELF TO OTHERS

Sometimes we can get caught up in comparing ourselves to others. The problem is that there will always be someone with a better car, a nicer house, better clothes, or fancier vacations. The person you are comparing yourself to could have tons of debt funding this lifestyle. Or maybe they save a ton of money on other things that you like to spend money on so that they can have those things in their life. The point is that you don’t know the whole story of why they have those things and you don’t. Maybe you never even wanted those things until you saw someone else had them! You can be happy for them with what they have and still be happy for yourself for what you have.

MAKE CHANGES IF NEEDED

If you take a look back at the last few years and are unhappy with what you have done with any increased income that you have received you can take steps to change that. You don’t need to cancel all subscriptions and bring your life to a screeching halt. But take a closer look at how you are spending your money and make some decisions on what you would like to cut out. By taking the time to look at what you are spending your money on, you can take action to stop spending on those things that are not important to you. You can then put that extra money to better use. There is such a huge feeling of freedom knowing that your income supports your lifestyle. Sometimes we don’t want to look at our financial situation because we are afraid of what we might find. But, it is always better to know and be in control than feel stressed about the unknown.

Thanks so much for checking in! If you would like to hear the podcast version of this topic check out Lola’s Frugal Life Podcast! Also, be sure to check out my other blog posts on this site!

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