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While most people will acknowledge that saving money is essential to building wealth, we all have our own boundaries regarding frugality. There may be a limit to how much frugality one can embrace because constantly thinking about saving money and cutting back can get exhausting. It’s easy to burn out when you’re constantly saving and feeling restricted.
This is why we will examine the idea of frugal fatigue and what you can do to stay on track with your various money-related goals.
What’s Frugal Fatigue?
This is the feeling of exhaustion or burnout that can come from consistently saving and being diligent about your spending. As you try to save money and focus on reaching financial goals, it’s common to feel burned out eventually.
What are the signs that someone is experiencing frugal fatigue?
- You’re tired of saving money.
- You feel the urge to spend money frivolously.
- You’re feeling bored with your life and how you spend your free time.
- You start thinking about spending more money.
- You feel restricted since there are many things that you can’t do.
How Can You Stay on Top of Long-Term Financial Goals?
We will examine how you can stay on track with your money goals.
1. Automate Your Savings
“Having to constantly think about setting money aside is no fun, and maybe sometimes you’ll forget and then be frustrated that you’ve fallen behind in your savings,” said Todd Stearn, founder and CEO of The Money Manual.
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When you set up automated savings, you don’t have to constantly think about cutting back. You can feel confident knowing that a portion of your income is getting set aside while you can enjoy the rest.
What’s the best way to approach this? Here’s what Stearn suggested:
“Once you establish a budget and figure out how much you can save each pay period, have that amount automatically transferred from checking to a high-yield savings account every time your direct deposit payment hits your account. That way your savings can grow with no further thought or effort, and you might be surprised to see how quickly your savings balance adds up.”
2. Try To Have Fun With Your Goals
“Instead of thinking of the ways you’re choosing to save money as obligations and drudging through them, try to make them as fun as possible,” Stearn said.
If you enjoy the journey, you’re more likely to stay committed and focused. This is why it’s essential that you find ways to have fun still while saving for the future.
Here are a few suggested ideas:
- When cooking, plan different theme nights. Try to find recipes online that match your cuisine so that you can try different dishes. You can also find a movie or TV show that matches your theme night.
- Go shopping with friends. If you want to save money on clothing and housewares, you can go shopping with frugal friends to visit yard sales and thrift stores.
- Plan activities. You always want to have something to look forward to to stay motivated about saving.
Make Your Money Work for You
3. Establish Realistic Financial Milestones
“By setting milestones that are both productive and attainable, you can help break them down into manageable steps,” said Erika Kullberg, an attorney, personal finance expert and the founder of Erika.com.
You’ll want to create realistic goals with feasible timelines so that you don’t burn yourself out. While you may not pay off your debt overnight, you can be proud of yourself for making a dent in your student loans in a specific time period. It’s easy to get frustrated when you set unrealistic expectations for yourself.
4. Celebrate Your Victories
“Rather than focusing only on the end goal, make sure you celebrate smaller victories along the way,” Kullberg said.
Instead of worrying about what you’re not doing, you should be proud of your little wins.You want to celebrate every step of the journey because this will keep you motivated. Building wealth isn’t a quick goal that can be accomplished within a few months.
5. Create a Flexible Budget
“While saving should still be a top priority, you still need to enjoy your life,” Kullberg said. “Make sure your budget is flexible, which means including money for the things you like to do.”
You want some flexibility in your budget so that you don’t have to worry about a small expense catching up to you. When you feel restricted and limited, you may burn out quicker than when you’re fairly adaptable.
Make Your Money Work for You
6. Practice Self-Care
“Make it a point to add time for activities that help you relax and blow off some steam,” Kullberg said. “This can be through exercise, meditation, hobbies, or spending time just hanging out with friends and family. You’ll notice that taking care of your physical and mental health will help you feel recharged.”
You still want to find space in your budget and schedule to do things for yourself. You want to ensure that you’re feeling good with plenty of energy to continue working on your financial goals.
Closing Thoughts
Kullberg concluded:
“Remember, preventing burnout is the goal here, and you want to prevent that for as long as possible. Rewarding yourself for hitting milestones along the way can factor into this budget as well.”
Embracing frugality doesn’t mean that you can’t have any fun. The goal is to avoid burnout when trying to reach your financial milestones so that you don’t give up before you reach the finish line.
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