Being frugal without looking poor

When you make a decision to be frugal for your family, you don’t have to yell it, shout it or announce on IG. You can make decisions to help your family without looking poor. You can still enjoy your life by changing your priorities. Here are 5 tips for being frugal without looking poor.

1. Choose your friends wisely. If you have a lot of friends that always invite you out, you can decide which ones are your closest friends that you want to go with. Your good friends won’t mind coming to your house or eating at cheaper places. Keep your small circle strong by focusing on those few friends. There are great ways to focus on some friends and experiences.
2. Quality over quantity. Cut back on some experiences. If you really like to go out and try new places, then plan that in your budget. When it’s in your budget, you can enjoy it more. If you want to go out and only order a salad, ask the server for a separate check. There really is no shame in only paying for your own food most of the time. If it’s a friend’s birthday, maybe you know everyone will want to split the check. Plan ahead and look at other things to cut out.
3. Don’t talk about it. I’m not telling you that you can’t talk about it all. A few accountability partners are so great to talk with. When you’re trying to change your financial situation, it can be easy to be hyper-focused on that. Just be conscious of how much you are talking about it and what you are saying. If friends are spending money on things you wouldn’t spend anymore, you don’t have to tell them. You can be excited for them. Even if people notice and ask for advice, you can help them with generalizations or sharing your situation instead of saying that they shouldn’t do certain things.
4. Know your audience. If you’re around other frugal people, you can be excited about your purchases and savings. If you just got a great secondhand dress, you can tell people that would appreciate that. If someone says they bought the same dress at Nordstrom, you can be silently excited that you saved a lot of money.
5. Don’t get obsessed. Don’t make every single thing in your life about saving money.
   Spending time to save money can easily take over your life. Clipping coupons could take hours and hours.

Look at your life and how you are spending your time. Quality over quantity and balance will help you to be frugal without looking cheap, poor or snobby.