With luxury lifestyles pushed in our faces all the time, it is easy to assume the super wealthy have an incredible lifestyle and to crave it.
It is easy to waste money keeping up with others or producing an Insta-perfect lifestyle.
We all know these lifestyles are mostly unrealistic but it doesn’t stop us striving for it or thinking it is what we want.
So if a champagne lifestyle is what you want but feels out of your budget, here are some tips.
Disclosure: this post contains affiliate links to books we love.
Decide What You Really Want
What about the lifestyle you see online do you want?
Is it the clothes, the shoes, the bags, the cars, the travel, owning a boat or the freedom to spend on what you want when you want?
When we look deeper, the things we want aren’t usually what is being showcased on socials.
If there are things you see that you want such as the bag or beauty treatments or travel, that’s ok.
There are ways to make it happen but you need to be clear on what it is you want and why.
For The Thrifty Issue Team, it is financial freedom we wanted, not specific items.
The ability to travel and do what we want, the flexibility of being around for all the family events we want but still bringing in an income.
Material items don’t rank highly on our list, experiences and time with our families do though.
As such, our goals were based around passive income, flexible income and achieving other goals.
Even though our goals revolve around our freedom, yours might be specific items or a certain look and that is ok.
It’s not bad to want these things. All you need to do is create a plan to make it happen and go for it.
How to Know What You Really Want
Work out your core values using these tips to see what matters to you and what is guiding your life.
Think about why you want the things you want. Is it because it looks good, you have people you want to impress or be better than?
Knowing the reason why you want something sometimes helps you see that those aren’t truly things you want.
Look for Ways to get it for Free
Now you know what you want, how can you get it for free?
Competitions are one way, provided you check they are legit.
We’ve won holiday vouchers, spa gift cards, products and other services simply by entering competitions on the products we regularly buy.
Read our tips for winning competitions and giveaways.
Check for loyalty programs which might offer the products as a reward or enable you to get things for free.
This applies especially to travel and groceries.
Numerous credit cards offering travel points and other ways to travel hack, you can travel for free.
Going out with our family and experiences are important so we have looked for free fun such as hiking and the beach, festivals and events that are in our area and make time for these.
Check out these 10 hobbies you can make and save money with, as well as how a family can live for free for more ideas.
How to Get Things for Free or Super Cheap
50 ways to live for free is a great article to start with. A few other options include:
Check out our freebies section for cash bonuses, big discounts and exclusive offers.
QuiteLike offers up to $210 off and a rewards program that increases as you order more. It is our favourite meal kit option and saves us time on meal planning, working out groceries, shopping etc.
How to get groceries for free and super cheap
25 free and frugal date ideas
How to travel for free or super cheap
How can you Make Money from it?
Whether you get it for free or not, why not think about how you can make money from it?
Some hobbies can be turned into income through tutoring, selling products related to it or winning awards.
Buying things to resell has been a great way for us to have a wardrobe of clothes we love and update or to set up our home then update as we want.
We typically buy things on clearance, shop the sales at the second hand stores and source free items.
Then we resell when we want something new or we are moving. We also resell for a profit in general.
We’ve moved states a few times and each time we did, we were able to source what we wanted for free or cheap and sell it for a profit when we moved, even after we used it for years.
We’ve travelled various parts of Asia, Europe and the South Pacific as a travel writer.
Our trips were all paid for, and we made money from articles we wrote, photos we took and creating content for businesses and their platforms.
Plus on most trips, we secured other clients while there for future work.
Another option is to rent out your place and car while you travel.
Or even if you want to live in a specific area, can you do it in a group home or by renting out a room?
With a specific type of car, you might be able to rent it out either through share programs or if it is top end to photographers and media for use in their images or video.
How to Get It Discounted
We’ve written about how to combine discounts and coupons to save money. As well as 13 ways to get discounts.
Whatever it is you want, research the options to find the best price or offer.
Check for loyalty programs and join it. Sign up to Shopback to get cashback and keep an eye out for upsized offers with the places you want to buy from.
Learn the sale cycles and make your purchase then.
Rarely do we pay full price for anything. Usually, we get the lowest possible price, combined with loyalty rewards, cashback and gifts with purchase.
Check second-hand stores, estate sales, garage sales and online marketplaces such as Facebook, Gumtree and similar.
It is amazing what other people get rid of and you can score for free or cheap.
Learn Delayed Gratification
Right at this point, you have a limited income (but that can change) so you need to be realistic.
Delayed gratification is how you do it.
Decide what you want, research all the options then budget for it.
Instead of buying everything you want immediately or going into debt, you will acquire the lifestyle you want through other means.
Write everything you see that you want on a list.
In 30 days, if you still want the things on that list then you can move them to your vision board or work out a way to afford them by budgeting for them.
If not, remove them from the list.
With this method, you can also wait for discounts and sales so you buy at the best possible time instead of paying a premium buying on impulse.
Increase Your Income
There is only so much you can do to cut back, get things for free or save but there are numerous ways to increase your income.
Here are some tips to help you double your income such as upskilling, asking for a raise, changing companies or careers etc.
If you have the time and energy, you can try some side hustles. There are 24 here that make over $25hr.
Your Mindset Matters
When you have a poverty or scarcity mindset, it shows and impacts your finances.
Thinking about how broke you are, saying you can’t do xyz because you’re broke will keep you stuck.
Our minds are amazing and will look for what we reinforce with our thoughts.
So if all we are focused on is how broke we are, then that is what we will see and feel.
Instead, if you work on your confidence and having an abundant mindset, it is amazing what that can attract.
People who are more confident typically get more promotions, opportunities and find it easier to network.
Knowing what you want and having the confidence to go after it can result in things you never thought you’d get or achieve.
It is not all about manifesting or thinking your way to wealth though. You do need to take action to make things happen as well.
How To Improve Your Mindset
Depending on what’s holding you back, professional help might be beneficial.
Otherwise, doing various exercises, learning about it, listening to podcasts, reading books etc can all help.
For The Law of Attraction, Unleash Your Inner Money Babe and Lucky Bitch are two great books to get you started.
Both have great exercises you can do to open your mind about your options and use the law of attraction.
Facebook groups, podcasts, YouTube and Instagram are full of resources for the Law of Attraction.
The more you learn and apply the easier it becomes and the more your life will shift from beer budget to champagne lifestyle.
Find A Balance
Too often people completely deprive themselves for the future they want and completely miss living in the present.
Or they go the other way, blowing everything right now as if they don’t need to save for tomorrow.
Once you decide what you want, create a plan to get there and a plan to live your life now.
Life is for living.
So find ways to do what you want within your budget or for free and do them. Live your life while saving and investing for your future.
Specific Tips and Easy Changes
Depending on where you are at in your life, your budget and what you want, here are some tips or things you can do to have or experience them.
Rent or Share Options
Many experiences and luxury items have rent or share options including designer clothing and events.
Rather than buying everything yourself, you can rent specific items for events or an experience and enjoy it without the high cost.
DIY
Learn to DIY beauty treatments such as doing your own nails, facials, hair treatments and so on. This can save thousands per year.
Furniture restoration skills enable you to secure furniture for free or cheap and make it over into an expensive or unique piece. If you are good at it you can make a profit from flipping items.
Knowing how to sew so you can repair, alter or upcycle items enables you to have an array of clothes for less.
We’ve frequently gotten heavily discounted items because a seam came undone or a zip needed to be replaced.
Barter
Can you swap your skills, services, produce from your garden or anything else for something on your lux list?
Not everything has to be a direct exchange for money and while not everyone will be into it, some are and it can be a great way to get what you want for less.
For example, organic produce from your garden for the honey from their bees. Simple things like that can elevate both your lives a little without costing anything.
Find Ways to Save and Redirect Your Money
If you really want something and need to save for it, look for all the ways you can cut back your expenses and redirect the money.
You could set yourself a savings goal and use one of these money challenges to make it happen.
Check out these 24 ways to easily save money and how to do a financial review.
