10 Frugal Don'ts - How NOT to Save Money

Making attempts to be frugal in life is certainly a exciting, fun, and rewarding decision. However, there are some people who take it too far and endanger their life, integrity, jobs, or even become unintentionally unfrugal. This is a list of things NOT to do to stay frugal.



  1. Do not leave your (gas) oven open after using it to heat your house. It is possible that there are amounts of Carbon Monoxide in it which could kill you if the levels accumulate enough. 
  2.  Don't draft other vehicles on the road. Drafting is incredibly dangerous, and despite what you may have heard, not very efficient. MythBusters once showed that you would have to be dangerously close to a moving truck to see any appreciable increase in gas mileage
  3. Don't steal - This should seem obvious, but there are some people who steal in the name of being frugal. It simply isn't frugal, it's criminal. Whether it's stealing from school, work, or from stores, it's not a good idea to stay frugal. Think about it. Steal or lose your job? Which one brings in more money?
  4. Don't drop Health and Car Insurance - These are things that can really benefit you. If times are tough, try and seek the lowest coverage available to pay less. 
  5. Don't hire people to fix easy items - Is your computer acting funny, or not working at all? Have a leak in the house? Need to install a home theater system? Don't pay for a service you can learn to do by yourself. Google is your friend and you can use it to look up the necessary information to do the job. DIY is almost always cheaper in this regard. 
  6. Don't use coupons just because you found them. Use coupons for things you regularly buy and need.
  7. Don't starve or deprive yourself of anything. Buy what you need. Buy your food. Buy your necessities. There are certain things you should not cut back on. 
  8. Don't buy cheaply made items - There are certain items that shouldn't be bought for cheap. Quality should be considered over price sometimes. It simply isn't worth it if a cheap item is going to break down and degrade over time. 
  9. Don't buy cheap drugs on 'internet pharmacies'. These types of sites can rarely if ever trusted. Also, never skip doses to relieve the time it takes to empty a bottle. That should be common sense to most people. 
  10. Don't waste your time - If you are doing something to save money or make money that is time inefficient, then don't do it. You shouldn't have to have convoluted processes to do common things. You could be doing something more worthwhile with your time.

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