Top 10 Unfrugal Confessions (of a Personal Finance Blogger) - the frugal millionaire (2024)

I’m naturally frugal and naturally a saver. However, I am absolutely not extreme. Today I’m confessing all of the things I spend money on, even as a frugal person.

Some of you might not think I’m that frugal after reading this 😉 But, I should preface this by saying that my husband and I work hard at side hustles so we can live a little more freely. Just in the past year, we purchased our dream house (that we thought at the time we were “over buying”), paid extra toward new said mortgage every single month, paid off $16K on our auto loan (this will be gone next month, woot!), contributed 10-15% of our checks to retirement, and added thousands to our personal savings.

ALL of that was possible because of side hustles!

My two side hustles are freelance writing and blogging. Blogging is my main one now, as I also have a FT job. I am averaging over $1,000/month from my blog and I spend about 10 hours a monthon it.

You can view my latest income report here!

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Hereare my unfrugal confessions (please be nice, and remember I am pregnant!):

I’ve gotten Starbucks everyday for the past two weeks

…and I don’t see myself stopping anytime soon. I get a venti ice water (free) and a croissant, so my total is just $2.42. Could be worse at Starbucks. Though, I do totally realize I could just buy my own croissants at the store and save a fortune.

We go out to eat multiple nights per week

Yup, I said it. But…the frugal in me chooses less expensive places. We had BBQ last week for $11 (for a family of four, not bad!!), we love getting pizzas at the store for around $7, and of course Chipotle is a favorite which is about $18. When I cook at home, I make salads, veggies, hot dogs, and other easy (and inexpensive) options.

Dessert is a must…

Last night we bought a strawberry layered cake for $6.99. We frequently visit local bakeries in the area. And if we don’t go to a specific dessert shop, you can find us at the store four nights a week picking up ice cream or some other tasty treat 🙂

I didn’t mean for these first three confessions to revolve around food. Again, pregnancy…and I promise we eat healthy foods, too!!

I love decorating for holidays

Fall, Christmas, Fourth of July, you name it. I absolutely love giving our home a festive touch, and my girls love it, too! Eventually, we’ll have three Christmas trees throughout our home, but we’ll purchase those on sale and one at a time.

I love our big house

Lately, downsizing and simplifying is the trend. While I have nothing against that, I am so, so thankful for our large home. Sure, I do spend time cleaning it and my husband does have yard work, but overall we love our house and we love the space, especially since we have two kids and another one on the way! This is a house we’ll be able to grow into as our little ones get older. I’m sure we’ll downsize once they’re out of the house, but for now spending money on a large home is completely worth it.

I don’t grocery shop with a list

I am a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants grocery shopper. Frugal people would say this is a huge no-no; and while I do think we would save more money if I shopped with a list, I think we do just fine. On Sunday, we spent $37 at the grocery store on our weekly essentials – milk, juice, a few easy dinners, and fresh fruits and veggies. We will eat all of that food, guaranteed. And now we have plenty of money leftover for my daily Starbucks croissant and going out to dinner if the mood strikes 😉

I spend money on my blog and business

Blogging costs money, but the return I’ve gotten from spending money on a hosting service and some tech issues I’ve run into has been nothing in comparison to what I’ve made. I also pay for my themes, I use Tailwind so I can pin 100 times per day automatically (I could never do that manually!), and I invest in valuable blogging courses that I know will help my business.

I buy my kids toys/activities in exchange for peace

I know, kids love coloring on blank paper and playing with empty boxes. Trust me, I know. I definitely don’t think we need a bunch of fancy toys to keep them entertained. HOWEVER, I don’t mind spending money if I know it’s something that will keep them busy for a bit. Case in point – earlier this week the girls decided not to nap. I loaded them up in the car and we went to a kids consignment store to get some Melissa and Doug art supplies and movies. I spent $25, but they’ve been busy with all this stuff since I bought it. I would do this again in a heartbeat!

My husband and I like giving each other gifts

Gifts is not one of my love languages, but it doesn’t mean I don’t like being surprised with flowers or a sweet treat every now and then. It means my husband thought of me and went out of his way to get something for me. We like exchanging gifts on holidays and our anniversary, too.

I wear makeup

I really don’t like buying makeup and wish I wasn’t one of the girls that “had to” wear it. Trust me. Two years ago, I decided to go make-up free for a while. I think I lasted maybe a month. But, during that “experiment,” I realized I just feel better about myself and more confident with makeup on. I know, I know. No one even really noticed when I stopped wearing it, but it’s a confidence thing that I clearly don’t have. Even if I’m working from home and going no where, I wake up everyday and put on makeup.

What are a few ways in which you’re unfrugal? Please tell me I’m not alone in some of these!! And to get more tips on frugal living, making money from home and blogging, make sure to sign up for my newsletter!