What I Have Learned About Frugality From My Upbringing
Read this if you have a spending problem or are considering a life of frugality
One of the most important lessons I learned from my mother is that “a penny saved is a penny earned”.
Coming from a low income family, I learned early on, the importance of getting the most out of every penny spend.
My Dad decided to stay in Germany for a couple of years whilst my mother moved to the U.K with myself and my sister to chase the “London Dream”. During this period, we struggled a lot financially as reality hit and the fantasy life that they imagined was, well just a fantasy.
I would often accompany my mother as she would search multiple supermarkets to get the best deals for groceries as we were so tight on money.
There was no such thing as a holiday as we could not afford to go anywhere outside of London and I would spend almost every school holiday being at home.
Even meeting up with friends, eating out or taking part in clubs & activities outside of school was considered an unnecessary expense.
Money received from birthdays were meant to be saved so that we could return it back once it is their children’s birthday and we would rarely go to places that are not within walking distance to save on transport & fuel costs.
Food, clothes and education was all that mattered in the household I grew up, especially education for which my mother spared no expense from all the tuition I had to attend.
It was certainly a tough and depressing upbringing as I look back but the lessons I learned from these experiences live close to my memories.
Coming from a Hindu family, being respectful towards money was one of the earliest lessons I learned. There is even a goddess for wealth called Lakshmi in Hinduism which Hindus worship for prosperity.
Now that I have grown up and have become independent when it comes to finances, I still carry on these early lessons and I am grateful for those early, painful memories of having to live a life that felt like being a prisoner locked up from the outside world.
I do enjoy myself a lot more but I never spend money on things that don’t bring value to my life. This includes alcohol and eating out which are both expensive hobbies if you live in the city.
I’d rather save that money to go on a nice vacation or even better, invest it in the stock market. By being frugal, I was able to save up 6 figures in 4 years whilst earning an average salary in London and if I can do it, anyone can, I genuinely mean that.
Here are some tips that I used to build wealth with an average salary:
- Started investing early: As soon as I started earning a decent income from my job, I started pouring all my disposable income into stocks and this was one of the best decisions I have made for my finances. (If you are based in the U.K, feel free to sign up to freetrade here using my referral link to receive a free share worth between £10–£100)
- Deciding to live with my parents: Rent prices in London much like most cities around the world are eye-wateringly high, so by choosing to live with my parents, I was able to save up more than £1,000 every month, all of which I invested in stocks which have continued to grow in value.
- Getting a credit card: This was a surprisingly great decision for me since I was taught early to avoid credit cards due to the high interest rates if you fail to pay on time. I decided to get one once I knew for certain that I could always pay my outstanding balance at the end of the month. I only got my Amex gold credit card last summer but thanks to the points I received from their new customer promotion, I was able to travel for free to Germany. (If you are considering getting this credit card, feel free to checkout my article on it here.)
I hope you have gained some value and perspective from reading this and interested to know your thoughts in the comments below.
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