10 Frugal Habits You Should Quit, According to YouTuber Austin Williams

In a recent video, personal finance influencer YouTuber Austin Williams opened up about just how extremely frugal he was when he didn’t have much money. 

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“I was so frugal that when I look back at my college years, it’s embarrassing,” Williams said, adding that he’s grateful he practiced frugality to such an extreme back then, but nowadays, he’s nowhere near as frugal as he used to be because he’s in a financially secure position. 

These 10 frugal habits Williams used to swear by, but has given up as his financial life has vastly improved and he has more than $100,000 invested. 

Taking On Inconveniences To Save Money 

Walking an extra 20 minutes to the store that sells onions for 5 cents less than the one on the corner? This is an example of going out of your way, literally, and taking on an inconvenience to save some money. Williams has stopped doing things like this. 

“For so long I was so frugal that I would choose the cheapest option of everything no matter how inconvenient it was,” he said, adding that he always sought the cheapest flying routes available, despite how inconvenient they were. “Now that I have financial security in my life, saving time is worth more than saving money.” 

Check Out: 5 Frugal Habits Suze Orman Still Follows Even Though She Can Afford Almost Anything

Skipping Memorable Experiences To Save Money 

When you’re forced to be frugal in order to get by or pay off debt, you may have to pass up an opportunity to spend time with people. Perhaps you have to say no to your friend’s destination wedding. Or you can’t go on that weekend trip to wine country with your cousins. Williams used to skip memorable experiences to save money, but that’s no longer something he feels he must do. 

“Nowadays, I do not mind spending money on an experience that I really want to do,” he said. “I would rather create a lifelong experience than save money.” 

Not Spending a Little More To Get Something Much Better 

Frugal shoppers know this habit well: buying the cheap, low-quality version instead of the higher quality version, because the latter is a bit pricier. Williams has ditched this frugal habit. 

“Once you hit a certain price point, if you spend a little bit more, what you get is drastically better,” Williams said. “For example, when you go on a beach vacation, you can spend $100 a night for a place close to the beach, or you can spend $150 a night and get a place with a beautiful beach view.”

College-age Williams would have leapt to save the $50, but now that Williams has achieved financial security, he doesn’t hesitate to spend a bit more to have a better experience. 

Forcing Yourself To Do Something You Don’t Want To Do To Save Money 

Do you ever make yourself do something you really don’t want to do to save money? Williams did in his most frugal years. For example, when he was tired and hungry and didn’t feel like cooking, he’d force himself to cook anyway. These days, Williams gives himself more flexibility. He’d rather spend cash on dining out than spend time cooking when he’s burnt out. 

“Obviously I never take this to an extreme and eat out every single day and only do convenient things,” Williams said. “But if there is something that I really don’t want to do, I no longer force myself to do it because I would rather save time and be more relaxed.”

DIY’ing Everything 

In an age where you can look up how to do almost anything on YouTube, it’s very tempting to take the DIY approach as much as possible — especially if you’re looking to save money. Williams gets it. He used to try to DIY it all. But he’s given up that frugal habit because as he’s built financial security, his time has become more valuable.  

“I don’t mind spending a bit of money to do something that I do not want to do,” Williams said. “For example: moving a couch. You have to burden a friend to help, get a truck, push it up an annoyingly shaped flight of stairs, figure out how to get it through the door and place it somewhere.” 

It’s a boring and laborious chore that Williams would rather spend money on handling. 

Over-Researching To Save Money 

It’s always important to do your research, whether it’s about a stock you’re thinking of buying or a place you’re thinking about living. But Williams finds that there are more trivial times in which people can “over-research” things in an attempt to save money. He goes back to the couch example, saying that he just bought a new couch rather than a used couch, even though it was the more expensive option. 

“Buying a used couch involves an extreme amount of effort in research,” Williams said. “You have to go to Facebook Marketplace, reach out to people, coordinate a time, rent a truck, find a helper and bring it to your apartment.” 

Ultimately, this could all save you $300, Williams said, and if you’re broke, like he was back when, that’s worth it. But if you have the financial freedom to spend $300 to save yourself this headache, you should feel entitled to go for it. 

Imposing Your Frugality on Others

Not everyone you know is going through the same financial experience that you are. If you’re practicing extreme frugality, you shouldn’t assume that everyone else is, nor should you judge them if they aren’t. Williams looks back on the past and says he imposed his frugality onto others, which he now finds embarrassing. 

“Nowadays, I am more willing to do what others want to do,” Williams said. “And now I never impose my way of life onto other people. I am willing to go with the flow.”

Overthinking Small Purchases 

Did you go ahead and buy that latté this morning? Did you buy a few extra items than you really needed at Dollar Tree? If you’re frugal, you may have caught yourself by surprise and now be thinking quite a lot about your “splurge.” Williams can relate. When he was ultra frugal, he’d harp on any small purchases he made, too. 

To be clear, Williams does think it’s important to pay attention to small habits, as those can add up to become big problems, but if every now and then you buy something small that you didn’t totally need, you may not need to sweat it. 

“For example, getting a coffee out twice a week only adds up to about $50 a month,” Williams said. “If you’re financially secure and keep your fixed expenses low, it’s not going to destroy you financially.” 

Overthinking little purchases is a frugal habit that Williams said he’s still trying to break. 

Seeking FIRE 

In the personal finance world, FIRE stands for financial independence retire early. It’s both a method and a lifestyle and it’s become quite popular. FIRE preaches extreme frugality and aggressive saving. Williams used to subscribe to it, but no longer does. 

“For years, this movement inspired me to be extremely frugal and save a lot of money,” Williams said. “I got to the point where I started to question why I was doing this because I thought, ‘I have a lot of money now; why do I have to wait to enjoy life?'” 

Living With a Scarcity Mindset 

If you were raised in a financially unstable home or if you’re buried in debt and working hard to pay it off, you may have developed a scarcity mindset. Your thoughts fixate on what you lack rather than on what you have. Williams had a scarcity mindset when he was ultra frugal, but has traded it in for an abundance mindset since building wealth. 

“The goal of frugality is not to live in a scarcity mindset forever and never enjoy your money,” Williams said. “But it’s to be intentional with your money so you gain some financial security in your life.” 

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