Living Below Means

Live below your means. Many people wrongly assume that they understand what it is to live below their means. Most of people prepare budget on monthly basis i.e., whatever they receive income, they use for entire amount for that particular month only. By the end of month nothing remains in hand, again they start spending when they receive income.

You need to manage your money wisely, otherwise it will manage you. Living below your means saving some percent of amount from your income and living your life with the rest of the money.

Live a comfortable life. Don’t get sucked in the game of impressing others. Don’t chase material things and fool yourself into thinking you will be happy by having those possessions.

If you are looking to save money or get out of debt, one of the most obvious methods is to live below your means. That is a suggestion that has many meanings. The key to realizing this idea however is to understand that status in life is about presenting an image and true financial freedom is the ultimate status symbol.

You can spend a lot of money on a car and house that will impress your neighbors and friends, but you’ve actually made yourself less secure and less wealthy. All those trappings that are intended to make you feel wealthy are actually making you poor. That car will lose value every year. That house payment is very likely paying for space you don’t need. Why pretend to be rich, when you can just become rich instead?

Stop competing with your neighbors and friends on material possessions. This prevents you from reaching financial freedom. Live a simple life, save a part of your income and this will reduce stress level and make your life closer to heaven.

Here are top 10 things that help you to live below means and help you to become wealthier.

1. Make your own financial plan i.e., making record of your expenses for entire month that you are going to meet.
2. Buy things what you require. Don’t go for status and brand.
3. Don’t spend on unnecessary things if you don’t have cash i.e. don’t use credit cards, overdraft accounts etc. Think twice before you spend.
4. Don’t borrow money unless you truly need.
5. Cut present expenses (which are not useful) wherever it is possible.
6. Save money by bargaining or use discount coupons or promotion coupons when you purchase.
7. Don’t go to fancy restaurants. Don’t over order food at the restaurant.
8. If you need to have a party, see if you can arrange at home. You can get many times very good food at reasonable prices from some places which are good for parcel. However, they are not good to sit around and have decent time with friends and family.
9. Book tickets in advance if you need to go a vacation instead of booking in urgency. It helps you in not paying extra service amounts. Some times higher fares are charged for last minute bookings.
10. When buying something stay focused on your requirements. Don’t buy fancy items i.e. item contains many models with unnecessary features which may be rarely useful for you and there is a lot of price difference. Many times such fancy models are prone to develop faults earlier than basic models.

Becoming wealthy is not earning more money, but becoming frugal and spending less than you earn.