In whatever aspect of life, timing is essential. For instance, if you want to get into frugal living, you have to set a good timeframe for when you reap the rewards.
It can be short term, such as not buying lunch at work so you can throw a banquet for your daughter’s debutante party. It can be a long term affair, such as living an average – sometimes less than that – so you can live luxuriously when you retire.
In frugal living, timing is everything. This post will give you a few tips on when to do everything.
When to Eat Out
Frugality never said you should never eat out. You can, especially when there’s a good reason to do so, such as celebrating a graduation.
Still, there are a few good timings when it comes to eating out – that often results in cheaper bills. You can dine out during the weekdays to avoid the reservation rush.
You can avoid dining out during holidays – especially Christmas – when everything becomes “airport price”. Conversely, you can try dining out during special occasions if you see some dishes have been marked down due to the occasion.
When to Go to the Grocery
The best time to go grocery shopping is early morning. Most times, the earlier you do it, the more likely you’ll beat the rush.
Read Also: How to Deal with Food Budget
The best thing about morning shopping, though, is the fact that it is when the produces are the freshest – since this is the time when the new stocks arrive.
In frugal cooking, for instance, where fruits and vegetables are highly recommended, this is good as you can get the freshest produces you can – allowing you to, say, buy them in bulk and then store them for a longer period of time.
When to Buy a Car
Perhaps you’re living a temporary life of frugality because you’re saving up for a car. One good time to buy one is towards the end of the month.
The reason for this is the car salesman. Most people would say that the car salesman is as bad as the lawyer, but this is because they often have really big quotas.
To exploit this, try visiting car shops towards the end of the month. By this time, you should get lucky and find car salesmen that would be willing to drop prices just to meet their quotas.
Also, in sharp contrast to grocery shopping, holidays are good times to buy a car. Sometimes you’ll find discounted prices. Other times, you’ll find the same priced car with a lot of freebies thrown in.
Either way, you get a lot more from your money.
When to Travel
It doesn’t take a scientist to know that it is better to take a vacation during off peak seasons, where the resorts would drastically drop their prices just to draw customers in.
With tropical destinations, however, not a lot of people know when the off peak season starts.
For Asian countries, the best months to go is anywhere between July to September, which is usually just after the rainy season and before the “Ber” months.
When traveling, keep an eye out for all inclusive deals from tour operators that include car rentals and whatnot.
Frugality can really be easy if you know your timing. Looking out for good deals is good, but knowing when to look for them is even better.