If you passed by the Walton family on the street, you would likely never even notice. Yet, the Walton family owns Walmart – which is worth, on the latest estimates, about $89 billion.
Amazingly, despite their immense fortune, the Waltons live quite frugally. Jim C. Walton, the son of Sam Walton, the original founder of Walmart, drives a 15-year-old Dodge Dakota truck. Other Walton family members have all been seen buying and driving used vehicles, as well as dressing in a down-to-earth fashion.
- Drive a car until you can’t drive it anymore – Many of us are accustomed to driving new cars every few years, yet this is one of the worst financial decisions you can make. Selling your car (at a tremendous loss) to purchase a new automobile every few years will never allow you to truly get your money out of the car. Cars are a constantly depreciating asset, which means you want to invest as little as possible into them. Driving a car until its final days is the only way to begin to recoup some of the costs of purchasing the car. Plus, after a few years, you can enjoy having no car payments!
- Make eating out a special occasion – Instead of making eating out a daily occurrence or even weekly occurrence, make it a special occasion, and otherwise, eat at home. You will likely be amazed at how much money you can save by preparing your meals at home. Plus, when you do go out to eat, it will be more of a treat and probably be appreciated more. And think of what you can do with all that extra money every month!
- Spend on credit cards only what you can afford to pay off at the end of the month – Credit cards are beneficial for most consumers, yet they can become a burden when we begin spending what we can’t afford to pay back in a reasonable amount of time. Use credit cards to build your credit and enjoy their benefits (think cash back rebates!) without overspending.
- Pay down debt and learn to live debt-free – Living debt-free and being financially independent gives you the power to take control of your financial future and frees you from the majority of pressure associated with money. Most frugal individuals will tell you that the easiest way to take control of your finances is to only purchase what you can afford and what you can afford to pay using cash. Although using credit or taking out a loan to make a large purchase shouldn’t be out of the question, you should take care as to not overextend yourself and make purchases you may not be able to afford.
The Waltons are extremely financially successful, and part of their success can be attributed to their shrewd and frugal financial decisions. Learning from their lessons may just help you achieve financial success as well!
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