A SAVVY couple have revealed the top five frugal habits they swear by to live a debt-free lifestyle.
The couple explained how they’ve been debt-free since February 1998 when they paid off their first home.
They then then raised their four sons, debt free, when their income averaged under £31,433 ($40K) a year.
In a clip shared to YouTube, the couple, whose channel is called ‘under the median,’ explained: “We mastered five important frugal habits.
“These tactics are for those who are willing to do whatever they need to in order to grab a great, big goal (like becoming debt-free) with both hands and refuse to let go.
“These tips will cut to the CORE of what you really need to know to make that happen – even if your income is less than average.”
READ MORE ON MONEY-SAVING
First up, they emphasise the importance to ‘prioritise spending.’
“The first habit is to prioritise your spending and although having a really good monthly budget to work with, what’s more important is being honest with yourself as to what exactly you’re doing with your money,” says Larry.
Hope goes on to explain what it really means to prioritise your expenses.
“One of the mistakes that people make is that they see all spending as being equal – well it’s not, because otherwise we’d have Starbucks three times a day and then we wouldn’t pay our mortgage.
“There are some expenses that are more important than others and that’s where the prioritising comes in.
“You have to prioritise your food, clothing, shelter, and transportation all the way at the top any prioritised list.
“The most important items go at the top of the list and then you work your way down to those items which are not as important.”
Next up, the couple highlight the importance of writing effective goals.
“When we were young, in our experience with budgeting we had some savings in our account, we had exactly £8,644 ($11,000) but because we had no real clear plan or goal attached, it just went poof – and it was gone quickly,” Larry says.
Moving on, the money-saving gurus advise practising ACTIVE learning.
“That means you’re going to do some of your own research,” Larry explains.
“You’re going to go to the library, you’re going to take out books, you’re going to go on YouTube, you’re going to look up videos on what you need to do to reach your goals and you’re going to put it into practice.”
According to the couple, the fourth key factor in living a debt-free life is automate saving and investing.
Hope explains: “That means that on say, the 15th of every month your bank is going to transfer £117 from your savings account to another account.
“That’s an account that you have set up that you’re saving money to pay for perhaps your house taxes or to pay for Christmas or to pay for something else, or to to sit in there until you’ve reached a certain amount of money to reach your goal.”
And last but not least, they say to have patience.
“Delayed gratification can give you so much power in what you’re doing with your money,” Larry explains.
“For one, you’re going to take some time and do a little more research on the item that you think you want to buy.
“Over the time period that you have that you are delaying, you might decide that you just don’t need that item at all and that will save you the total cost of buying that item in the first place.”