Reaching any goal takes a lot of hard work and sometimes it can be a struggle to stay motivated when being frugal. Lots of people start living a more frugal lifestyle in order to pay off debt while others just want to be more intentional with their money. Whatever your reason keeping up motivation and momentum can be tough.

Some days living a frugal and money-saving lifestyle is easy and other days it’s really hard. Sometimes you want to throw the towel in and spend spend spend. You don’t want to cook anything you want a takeaway, you want that shiny new piece of technology, that expensive pair of boots, you feel trapped, frustrated, and very fed up.

I think that the word “Frugal” still carries a lot of stigma with it, some people think that being frugal means a boring existence of self-deprivation.  I think a frugal lifestyle means looking for an alternative way to live the lifestyle you want whilst spending less money.

I thought I would share with you a few things you can do to keep motivated when you feel like this.

Let Others Inspire You

There’s nothing to pull you out of a frugal funk quicker than reading about how other people are living a frugal lifestyle. Looking to others for inspiration and motivation is a great way to discover new ideas too. People are sharing their ideas with you to help you on your journey so take those ideas and adapt them to fit into your life.

Surrounding yourself with likeminded people is another great idea. You might want to pursue friendships both online and offline with people who share your goals and ideals.

Pinterest is a great source for discovering new frugal blogs to follow. I have a dedicated Frugal Living board on there if you would like to have a look. There are also lots of micro-blogs on Instagram from people living frugal lifestyles too.

Make a List

Write a list of all the reasons why you want to be frugal, what are you saving money for?  what are your financial goals?  where do you want to be in 5 years’ time?

Make sure that any goals you set are realistic and reasonable for your lifestyle. This is your journey and it might look totally different to someone else’s.

When you have discovered your why and have made the list put it somewhere you can see it every day. Every small frugal change is a step in the right direction.

Minimise Temptation

If you are tempted to spend money because of all those great sale or special offer emails that land in your inbox daily then unsubscribe from them all. Make sure you unfollow the companies on on Facebook and Twitter as well as that can be just as tempting. The less temptation you come up against to spend the more you will stick to your frugal money-saving goals.

Sometimes it really is as simple as removing the temptations or the spending triggers from your daily life. You can take back control and decide when and what you actually want to spend your hard earned money on.

Compare Feelings 

When you start to feel fed up with being frugal you should compare that feeling with how it feels to be in debt. What if you had no family car or a regular family holiday, and have to constantly worry about if you have enough money to cover all the bills. Living a frugal lifestyle and taking control of your finances allows you to looking forward to payday. The good feelings that come with being intentional with your money feel better than spending money on things you don’t really need.

Have Regular Treats

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with treating yourself to nice things when you are trying to be frugal. The whole idea of a frugal lifestyle is about being intentional about where you spend your money.

You might like to treat yourself to a nice coffee in a cafe, a haircut or a visit to the cinema. Whatever counts as a treat to you if perfectly fine. Plan, save and designate monet towards a treat for yourself each month, you are worth it.

Keep Track Of Your Progress

Keeping a record of your progress is such a great way to boost your motivation. You can use a progress chart, a journal or even blog about the frugal things you do. Looking back on how far you have come is a great way to keep you going on the days when you just don’t feel like it.

I hope I have given you some ideas and inspiration for when you are feeling unmotivated. Do you have any other ideas to help with staying motivated?

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