8 Things Frugal People Do To Save Money That Actually End Up Costing Them Way More
Don't live small, live smart.
Kaboompics.com | Canva You’ve stopped going to Starbucks. You cut your hair with kitchen scissors. I do that too, and they’re not even kitchen scissors, I think they’re paper scissors. You wash Ziploc bags to reuse them. You’ve spent three days comparing toothpaste prices. ldi.
Frugal living, right? The holy grail of responsible adulthood. Congratulations. You’ve successfully optimized your life for cheapness. But let me ask you something. Are you rich yet?
Has skipping the $5 latte bought you financial freedom? Did downgrading to generic toilet paper help you retire early? Well, surprise — because I’m about to tell you the truth nobody wants to say out loud: Frugal living doesn’t work. At least not the way people think it does.
Sure, living frugally feels productive. You get little dopamine hits every time you save. You think you’re being financially smart by agonizing over coupon codes like you’re deciphering the Da Vinci Code. But at the end of the day, clipping coupons while ignoring income is like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. You’re saving pennies while ignoring the dollars.
Here are eight things frugal people do to save money that actually end up costing them more:
1. Pinching pennies instead of growing your paycheck
You can only cut expenses so far. Let’s say you’re making $3,000/month. You budget like a monk. You eat beans. You don’t see daylight. Maybe — maybe — you save $200.
But if instead, you negotiated a raise, freelanced on the side, or launched something even remotely profitable? Boom — $1,000+ a month.
You out-saved every frugal guru in a week. Income is unlimited. Penny-pinching is not. Frugality focuses on saving more rather than earning more. It’s like trying to win a race by walking backwards, slower than the guy next to you.
2. Saving a few bucks instead of leveling up
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You know what’s funny? People will spend 20 minutes researching how to save $1.50 on detergent, but won’t spend 20 minutes learning how to increase their income. You spend hours looking for coupons, driving across town to save twelve cents per gallon on gas, or hacking your way into three layers of cashback just to get $1.19 on a $20 purchase.
Meanwhile, that same time could’ve been spent building a freelance skill, starting a micro-business, or studying an investment strategy. Or even resting so you can have energy to work smarter later. Being frugal isn’t free — it just shifts the cost to your time and energy.
3. Hunting for bargains instead of building your future
Yes, living below your means is a solid step one. But if your entire plan is to never want anything, never spend, and never invest, then you’ve just built a very bland, very limited life.
Frugal people don’t always become wealthy. They just become excellent at tolerating scarcity. You can be the best budgeter on the planet and still live paycheck to paycheck — you’ll just be doing it in secondhand clothes while proudly tracking every nickel like it’s a rare Pokémon card.
I have nothing against second-hand clothes, I wear them all the time, but they’re not the secret to wealth.
4. Clipping coupons instead of investing in yourself
Frugality tells you to think smaller. To shrink. To settle. You start believing there’s never enough, and then you make choices out of fear. You avoid investing in yourself. You pass on opportunities because they “cost money.”
You undercharge for your work. You refuse to outsource. You think buying a course is a scam, but have no problem buying off-brand Pop-Tarts. Don’t worry, I don’t have a course to sell you. I’m just saying. You cannot shrink your way to wealth. You grow into it.
5. Hoarding money instead of putting it to work
Let’s say you save $300/month by being ultra-frugal. That’s $3,600 a year. Impressive? Sure. Respectable? Kinda. Life-changing? Not even close.
Now let’s say you learn a high-income skill and increase your earnings by $1,000/month. That’s $12,000 a year — and it keeps growing.
Frugality hits a ceiling. Income does not. Wealthy people aren’t obsessively frugal — they’re obsessively strategic. They don’t ask “how do I save money?” They ask, “How do I make money work for me?”
6. Choosing the bargain bin, then replacing it twice
Buying low-quality stuff, skipping maintenance, and avoiding professional help — all these “frugal” moves end up costing you more later.
You bought cheap shoes? Congrats. Now your back hurts. You skipped the dentist? Amazing — now you need a root canal.
You didn’t get insurance because “it’s expensive”? Enjoy that $4,000 emergency bill. Being cheap today is a great way to become broke tomorrow.
7. Buying junk instead of things that actually bring you joy
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There’s a fine line between living intentionally and living in constant deprivation. Constantly saying no to yourself? Always feeling guilty for spending a dime on joy? That’s not “discipline.” That’s financial trauma with a minimalist filter.
Burnout is real. And financial anxiety isn’t solved by going without — it’s solved by building capacity. Want a healthier mindset? Try spending on things that bring you real returns — mentally, emotionally, and financially.
8. Paying for speed, rather than quality
You think the guy managing a ten million dollars $10M portfolio is clipping coupons? Wealthy people don’t care about saving $0.50 on granola bars.
They care about leverage — time leverage, capital leverage, team leverage. They pay for speed. They invest in scale. They buy back time. That’s the secret. If you want to get rich, stop acting like someone broke with a coupon obsession. Start thinking like a strategist.
Let’s talk opportunity cost. Every minute you spend hunting for pennies is a minute you’re not using to build a business, learn a money-making skill, network with people who can open doors, improve your health, energy, or focus.
If frugality is your full-time job, it’s time to fire yourself. You’re not saving money — you’re wasting your potential. There’s a huge difference between being frugal and being financially intelligent. Frugal says, “How do I avoid this cost?” Smart says, “If I spend here, what’s the ROI?” Frugal avoids hiring help.
This is me, this is me, avoiding hiring help, although I should. Smart people build teams. Frugal skips the course. Smart people upskill and 10x their income. Smart spending leads to wealth. Frugality just leads to fewer receipts.
What works instead of frugality:
- Increase your income through better skills, a better job, or a business.
- Automate your saving and investing.
- Learn how to use money to build assets, not just avoid expenses.
- Optimize time, not just cost.
- Spend with intention, not guilt.
- Focus on scale, not sacrifice.
You don’t need to live in a cave and wash your socks with rainwater. You need a plan that allows you to live better, not just cheaper. So if you’ve been trying to coupon your way to financial freedom, it’s time to stop.
Frugal living might feel like discipline, but what it does is distract you from the bigger picture. Don’t focus on shrinking your expenses. Focus on expanding your capacity. Don’t live small — live smart.
Mona Lazar is a writer and unconventional relationship coach with words published in Better Humans, Medium, Illumination, The Soulciety, Newsbreak, The Startup, Hello, Love, The Good Men Project, Curious, and others.
