Just because you’re rich doesn’t mean you have to make foolish purchases.
I’m a big fan of saving money, and the fact you’re an OutKick reader indicates to me that you’re probably also pretty smart with your cash.
However, this is America, and the amount of people who are bad with money in this country is astounding. Many Americans with six-figure salaries are still living paycheck-to-paycheck. It’s a wild fact, and it’s also incredibly depressing.
Viral Reddit thread shares frugal tendencies of rich people.
Fortunately, there are still a lot of people with some tips and tricks to make sure they don’t go broke. That leads me to a Reddit thread of what frugal habits rich people have, despite having more than enough money. It’s a pretty interesting breakdown and discussion.
You can check out some of the responses below, and hit me with your thoughts and reactions at David.Hookstead@outkick.com:
- Wait for sales. Use coupons.
- I still have a drawer dedicated to fast food sauces.
- I must extract every last bit of toothpaste from the tube. Shampoo? Add more water, shake, and get another few days out of it. Well off? Well, that’s relative.
- Eat leftover sandwiches from corporate lunch meetings. Even if I’m not in the meeting. I’m not poor, but a free meal is a free meal.
- Hang on to crap I don’t need in case it might be useful someday, and I’d have to buy it again and couldn’t afford to. I do a ‘purge’ every few months (A stack of unburned CDs from around 2000, really?) but the packrat instinct runs deep.
- Research every purchase for hours and hours to “find the best deal” before pulling the trigger.
- I am dressed about 50% of the time in clothes that make me look like I live in my car, or maybe the woods. I am retired. I have what I call “house clothes” which are 20 years old, from Marshall’s, that were $9.99 when new. They are clean and laundered. I wear them to garden, drink my coffee, walk my dog, etc. My house clothes are faded, some stained. I don’t care. I walk around my neighborhood to get steps in. My neighbors know me. But I get lots of either pitiful or concerned stares from strangers.
- I can tell within $2 what my grocery cart total is going to be, including tax. As a kid I used to go shopping with my mother, I was always so embarrassed when we had to put stuff back because we didn’t have the money. When I was about 8 I got in the habit of keeping track of how much we had spent, I would tell mom what we had to put back. She was so grateful she used to save a bit to get me a treat. Now I can buy anything I want, but I still budget myself and never go over it. My wife thinks I’m nuts, but I’ll ask her, “those artichokes are out of season, they must be expensive”. I get a lethal eyeroll.
- Wear the same clothes for a decade+ if they’re still good. A little fated or threadbare won’t stop me. I’m also known for accepting hand me downs so I get gifted a lot of clothes. I may not always look as presentable s I could be because my clothes are not new, but I’m able to dress fashionably while spending very little money
- Divide paper towels to use what’s actually needed.
- Water at restaurants and no appetizers or extra toppings.
- My entire wardrobe aside from socks and underwear is secondhand.
- Use plastic shopping bags to line trash cans at home.
To be completely honest, I am not rich at all, not even close to it. Bills get paid, but I am not strapped for cash. There are two things I do with money: First, my monthly budget has remained the same since 2017.
You have a set amount of money to spend on monthly expenses, and you can't go over that. It doesn't matter if you get a raise or have more money coming in. Your budget never changes, and hasn't changed in seven years. Whatever you do, avoid lifestyle inflation.
Secondly, I appreciate people who say do thorough research before you buy. I am no different. I bought my first rotomolded cooler a few years ago (a Canyon 55). I spent 3 months researching coolers before deciding which one to buy. My girlfriend was super upset, but it was 100% worth it.
Was it necessary? Definitely not, but I'm not going to spend hundreds of dollars without doing proper research. In the end, it was money well spent.
Do you have any money saving tips or tricks? david.hookstead@outkick.com.
