What Is Frugal Living? Here Is the Impact on the Environment

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Did you know about frugal living? It might be familiar, but many people still do not understand the core of frugal living and how to implement it. In brief, frugal living is a cost-saving and simple lifestyle.

If you do it correctly, this lifestyle could provide many benefits. In addition to hindering you from impulsive shopping, frugal living also helps you conserve the environment.

Are you curious about frugal living? To learn more about the lifestyle and its environmental impact, read the article below.

What Is Frugal Living?

Frugal living is a lifestyle focusing on self-awareness and wisdom in making financial decisions. In other words, when you implement this lifestyle, you will allocate your money mindfully and wisely.

Although frugal living is related to the cost-saving concept, it does not mean that you are penurious. Penuriousness makes you tend to hold back on spending on something important, while frugal living allows you to use funds as long as it is necessary.

Then, did you know that frugal living and a minimalist lifestyle have similar goals? Although the approaches are different, both lifestyles encourage us to reduce unnecessary consumption and live a simpler life.

Benefits of Frugal Living

With a proper implementation, frugal living can give you advantages, from financial to environmental ones. Here are some benefits of frugal living:

1. Conserving the Environment

The implementation of frugal living can have a positive impact on environmental conservation. This is because the decision to save money and not overspend can help reduce the amount of waste we normally produce.

Moreover, when you implement frugal living, you can maximize the product life cycle. In general, you will fix and reuse the product before throwing it away.

Frugal living also encourages you to decrease energy consumption. Instead of turning the lamps on during the day, you can optimize the natural light. This habit will support environmental conservation.

2. Achieving Financial Goals

Do you have certain financial goals? Then, implementing frugal living can be one of the right choices to achieve the goals. By allocating funds wisely, you have a bigger chance of realizing your financial targets.

When you live cost-effectively, you can save more money and use it for things that you prioritize. Therefore, goals like marriage, a retirement fund, or buying a house can be more affordable.

There are several ways to manage finances well, such as taking note of monthly income and expenses and prioritizing needs. With a neat record and proper prioritization, you can control your finances better.

3. Reducing the Amount of Waste

Did you know? According to Sistem Informasi Pengelolaan Sampah Nasional, the waste generation in 315 districts/cities throughout Indonesia reaches 33.98 million tons/year. One way to reduce this number is to decrease consumptive behavior.

If you can stop yourself from purchasing things you do not need, the amount of waste you produce will decrease. Thus, if you carry this lifestyle out for a long time, you can reduce the waste and realize a greener environment.

Eventually, you can feel many advantages, such as air free from pollution, as well as land and water that are free from pollution due to waste. So, do not underestimate this lifestyle because every small step in frugal living can have a significant impact.

4. Avoiding a Loan

When you owe a loan, the concept of frugal living encourages you to prioritize your repayments first. In addition, frugal living also encourages making financial decisions within your means. Therefore, you are not easily tempted to borrow money.

5. Reducing Stress

One of the main causes of stress is a consumptive lifestyle. In this regard, frugal living can help you set aside needs and wants. Thus, you can reduce the urge to be consumptive, honor everything around you, and stop worrying too much.

How to Start Frugal Living

After understanding the benefits of frugal living, are you interested in implementing the lifestyle? To make it more organized, you can implement some frugal living tips as follows:

1. Buying Things You Actually Need

If you are often impulsive, one thing you can do is to become more mindful. So, instead of being tempted by the ads or reviews, you can analyze the stuff and ask yourself, do you really need it? That way, you are not easily tempted to buy things that you do not necessarily need or are useful for your life.

2. Using Eco-Friendly Products

Along with being mindful in shopping, you can start implementing frugal living by using eco-friendly products. Since these products are made of natural materials and advanced technology, they can be used for a long time, and you can save more money.

Some examples of eco-friendly products are recycled paper, reusable cutlery, tote bags made from bamboo fibers, and many more. Most importantly, using eco-friendly products will reduce air, water, and land pollution and decrease the hard-to-decompose waste.

3. Reusing Your Items

When you want to buy new products, you must consider reusing some unused stuff at your home, or perhaps some of them only need a small fix to work again.

Moreover, you can purchase secondhand and proper items. With similar value, you can save more costs. Yet, make sure to always check the product conditions before purchasing it to avoid defective items.

4. Sorting Unused Stuff

Do you have a lot of stuff at your home? Perhaps some of them are unused. Therefore, you can sort out the items that are still decent and sell them. In addition to making the room more spacious, you can also earn extra income.

If you are confused about how to sort stuff at home, you can try what Marie Kondo does! This Japanese woman can give you easy tips on sorting stuff, such as:

Organize items at home according to category and size. For example, arrange bags in one cupboard, starting from the smallest to the largest.
Keep only items that make you happy. If there are items that are rarely or never used, set them aside and sell them or give them to your colleagues.
If certain items provide memories and you cannot throw them away, store them in a neater way. For example, you can arrange greeting cards into a scrapbook.
Learn how to fold clothes efficiently just like Marie Kondo, and arrange clothes vertically in drawers or storage boxes.

5. Recording Your Financial Plans

One of the key successes in implementing frugal living is financial records. By recording your finances, you can manage your money wisely and ensure that your income and expenses are balanced. Interesting, right?

Additionally, a great record will make it easier for you to determine your financial goals. For instance, you want to buy a car in five years. Then, your financial plans will give you insights into how capable you are of achieving the target.

To make it simple, you can use financial recording applications that have various advantageous features, such as recording expenses, budget planning, and report creation. So, after shopping, you can take note of the expenses practically and easily.

6. Implementing a Sustainable Lifestyle

You can start making decisions based on sustainability principles in your daily activities. The principle of sustainability encourages you to be more environmentally friendly, such as reducing, reusing, and recycling, as well as applying the concept of sustainable fashion.

That concludes the information about frugal living, its benefits, and how to implement it. Basically, frugal living is a lifestyle that supports you in achieving financial targets, along with conserving the environment.

If you understand how important it is to keep the environment green, let’s join Indonesia Asri. Here, you can participate in challenges at #SiPalingSustainable and help preserve the environment through simple steps.

Furthermore, #SiPalingSustainable can become your beginning in implementing frugal living. This is because you will be encouraged to do many exciting actions, such as working out, sorting waste, and taking public transportation.

So, are you interested in becoming Warga Asri? Register yourself now, and let’s take part in realizing a greener environment!