How can Indian Women Live Frugally?

Ankita Kamat

“How can Indian women live frugally?”- Are you planning to live frugally as an Indian woman? Well, as an Indian woman even I have started to live frugally. Frugal living helping me create financial magic in my life.

Now I’m in my early 20s. And as a young Indian woman, I believe in women empowerment. I feel every Indian woman must be financially independent and also should accomplish financial freedom in life. As an Indian girl, my ultimate goal in life is to have financial freedom. So I’ve realised the importance of frugality and learning to be thrifty in my life. I have personally experienced that frugal living helped me a lot to start my dream career.

As an Indian woman, if you want to secure your future then you must grow financially. And by adapting frugal living to can save more money to secure your future. In my current blog, I’m going to share my experiences about frugal living as a young Indian woman.

How can Indian women live frugally to fulfil all dreams?

In India, I’ve also seen that women should struggle a lot to fulfil their dreams. I’ve seen that as Indian women are not much aware of money matters and they suffer a lot. They are not much involved in financial decisions and even women also keep themselves away from money matters since childhood.

But frugal living teaches you about money matters. By adapting frugal living you are taking control over your money. You will be more sensible to take all decisions related to money. So I advise you the path of frugality as an Indian woman. If you do so then you will grow financially as a strong Indian woman.

How can Indian Women Live Frugally?

Know the deep meaning of frugality to be happy thrifty Indian woman

Some women think that frugal living is a burden. They think that adapting to frugal living will be very difficult. But this is not true. In fact, frugal living will help you to enjoy life by spending less money. Frugal living is all about how well you live without spending more money. Frugal living is an art of being economical without being cheap.

To be thrifty as an Indian woman you are not expected to live a boring and depriving life. But you are expected to live a happy frugal life without depriving yourself.

11 Mind-blowing tips: How can Indian women live frugally?

I belong to the middle-class Indian family. I started to save money in my childhood. I realised the amazing benefits of frugal living and I started to take simple frugal steps in my life. So now let me elaborate on a few aspects of frugality which will be very informative and useful for all Indian women to be more thrifty.

1. Avoid spending money on Pani Puri  (crispy snack)
2. Don’t spend money to whiten your skin
3. As an Indian woman don’t copy other women
4. Stop collecting things just because you like them
5. No need to plunk down your money on spa and beauty parlours
6. Use mobile apps to recharge your phone
7. Cancel your gym membership to save money
8. Stop buying gold just to show off your wealth and status
9. Use free products
10 Have control over your emotions when it comes to money
11. Learn to be thrifty and make your own financial decisions

1. Avoid spending money on Pani Puri  (crispy snack)

I have seen that there is a strong connection and bonding between Indian women and Pani Puri  (crispy snack). Indian women love to eat Golgappa or Pani Puri  (crispy snack). Even I like to eat it. But some girls spend a lot of money just one Pani Puri  (crispy snack). And whenever they see the chat centre they get tempted and end up spending money to eat Pani Puri  (crispy snack).

And it’s very crazy that Indian women eat Pani Puri  (crispy snack) with their girl gang by having eating competition!! Well, it’s good to have fun but remember you have so many other things to do in life rather than just spending money on Pani Puri  (crispy snack).

Don’t spend more money on chocolates

Also, young women spend more money on chocolates. Well, I also like chocolates too much! But I don’t spend a lot of money on chocolates. So if you are also fond of chocolates then you must have control over your spending habit on chocolates. Well, once I was reading an article in the newspaper and I was shocked by knowing that young women eat more chocolates (equally as kids). So if you are one among those women who have a special connection with chocolates now it’s time to save money on chocolates. Saving money on junk food is also a part of frugal living.

2. Don’t spend money to whiten your skin

Most of the Indian women have a dark complex but it does not mean that they are not beautiful. But instead of embracing that natural beauty young Indian women try to spend money on whitening creams. In my real life, I have seen a woman who is not happy with her dark complex. Whenever she comes across any such skin whitening products she purchases each and every product. Even when she looks at any advertisement on TV or newspaper then she places an order and buy those products.

I feel this is not the right way. Every woman is beautiful in their own ways. You don’t need to spend money on such skin whitening products which will not going to help you. So as an Indian woman be sensible when it comes to spending money on such things. Don’t be obsessed with your skin colour and don’t spend money on such over-hyped beauty products.

3. As an Indian woman don’t copy other women

Everyone is unique and have their own lifestyle. I can understand that in a female world we Indian women face a lot of peer pressure. As an Indian girl, I have also faced such peer pressure but I’ve learnt to handle peer pressure. To handle peer pressure which affects your spending habit, first, you must realise the importance of frugal living.

You don’t need to copy your friend’s lifestyle who is wealthy and spends a lot of money on shopping. You should learn to follow minimalism in your life. Don’t waste your money on unnecessary things. If you adapt frugal living today then soon you will be having financial freedom in your life in future days. So instead of copying other women’s lifestyle create your own budget and be resourceful.

4. Stop collecting things just because you like them

Everyone has some kind of habits and ‘collecting things’ is also comes under a habit. We all have some particular likes and dislikes. But it does not mean that we should you should spend more money on collecting things which you like the most.

I have seen in my friend circle that one of my friends is fond of bangles and hair clips. She spends more money to buy different types of bangles and hair clips. Even she does not use them more but still, she spends money on these things just to collect different verities. I feel this is an easy way to waste your money! So never waste your money like this. Think twice about your collecting habit and start to be frugal today.

Even nowadays I’ve seen that teenage girls and women in 20s are fond of different types of shoes. They spend more money on collecting different types of shoes and sandals. But again this is also not good to spend a lot of money just on shoes and sandals. Do you have any such habit of collecting things? Well, I’m curious to know in the comment section on which type of things you spend a lot of money and collect them?

5. No need to plunk down your money on spa and beauty parlours

Whether it’s India or any other country, grooming is a part you women’s life. Most of the women are beauty conscious. It’s good to focus on grooming and personality to look great, it creates positivity. But instead of spending money frequently on spa and beauty parlours women can focus on grooming by being frugal.

As a young woman, you can take care of your hair, nails, skin at home without spending more money. Try colouring your hair at home instead of visiting parlour and spending money. Take care of your nails at home. You can have your own manicure kit at home. By this, you will be not spending money on beauty parlour. All these simple steps will be considered frugal tips. So take simple steps to live frugally in India as a woman.

6. Use mobile apps to recharge your phone

I’ve seen that in India still, some women do not use net-banking or any online transactions. It seems that Indian women are not that much comfortable to opt for digital payments. My own friend is afraid to use online payment apps and she use to visit shops to recharge her phone. I’m not saying that this is bad. But nowadays cash-back offers are trending. When we prefer digital transactions we get cashback offers and even coupon codes. I’m personally using Google Pay app to make translations. Whenever I want to recharge my phone, I pay through app.

So start using such apps to pay your bills and to recharge your phone. You will get cashback offers, coupons and discounts. All these simple techniques will help you to manage your money wisely and help you to be a thrifty woman.

7. Cancel your gym membership to save money

Have you paid fees and took the gym membership? Well, many people never visit the gym even after taking membership by paying huge fees. This is totally waste of money. First of all, I say- don’t spend money on a gym or to buy any gym equipment. Do you know that you can stay fit without all this.

As a young Indian woman, you can try skipping, cycling, and simple exercise. Even I don’t visit any gym! I use tools like acupuncture ball, skipping rope and I read some good health books. So you can also try all these simple things to stay fit and healthy. You can stay fit even by adapting frugal living. It’s not at all necessary to plunk down your money on the gym.

8. Stop buying gold just to show off your wealth and status

In India what women give more importance to gold. In Indian culture gold has its own importance. Here we treat gold as a sign of positivity, this is the reason that you can find gold on the top of the temples in India. But Indian women are fond of gold. Nowadays women don’t use gold as a sign of positivity but to show off the wealth and status. But I don’t appreciate such things.

You don’t need to buy heavy gold jewellery to represent your status or to just stand out in your friend circle. Do you know instead of investing money on gold you can use that money in other good things like creating a great career for you or creating your own small business and much more. So Be thrifty and think twice before buying gold.

9. Use free products

Yes if you want to buy anything then first look for free products. For example, if you want a camera just for one day then you need not to buy it. Instead, ask your friend or relative. Borrow from them just for one or two days and return them. But you are particularly learning photography and you need a camera then you can buy your own camera. But if you just want it for one or two days then I don’t recommend you to waste your money.

You must know which things you must invest money. Even if you need furniture or any other things just for one or a few days then look for rental services. Nowadays there are many rental services and you can save a lot of money here. So adapt frugality in your all money-related decisions.

10. Have control over your emotions when it comes to money

As per my observation emotion is also the important factor which influences the spending habit of Indian women. I have seen my friend who loves her younger brother a lot. She spends a lot of money to give costly gifts to him. And this is actually not good for women. As a woman, I personally feel that Indian women must learn to have control over emotions which influences spending habit.

Women even spend more money on sweets, chocolates, icecreams during mood swings. And prefer shopping as a relaxing therapy, all these behaviours of Indian women are not considered as frugal habits. If you are thinking about how can Indian women live frugally, then I advise to observe your spending habits.

11. Learn to be thrifty and make your own financial decisions

Trust me, Indian women are capable to handle money matters very well. And when I started to live frugally, I’ve experimented many things practically in my life to save money. So start to take simple financial decisions and save money. In my teenage, I was not earning money but still, I used to handle my pocket money very well. So if you are not earning yet or you are a housewife then also you can adapt frugal living and save more money to create financial security for yourself.

If you are thinking about how can Indian women live frugally then you have already taken the first step of frugality in your mind. Now it’s time to take a few more simple steps to create a bright future for yourself. Start to be frugal from today. 

Ankita Kamat

I'm Ankita Kamat, the creator of Frugal Beat, a blog dedicated to frugal living. Join me in exploring practical ways to save money, reduce waste and live a purposeful life. Let's embrace frugality as a lifestyle together.