Embarking on a minimalist lifestyle isn’t always a panacea. Make the wrong moves and you could end up damaging your financial profile rather than improving it, or bringing unintended misery on yourself.

Wise Bread advises you to take care when tightening your financial belt and avoid common financial mistakes when trying to live more frugally:

* Spending too much money to save money. Spending big bucks on classes that supposedly help you learn to save money — yet fail to recommend against paying for silly financial courses — or buying bulk discounts of products you’ll never use are financial follies. In most cases, frugality does not require a down payment.

* Forgetting to install release valves. If you slash your budget so much that you’re forced to become a hermetic pauper who’s terrified of spending money, you’ll be miserable. Allow yourself to splurge in key areas that make you happy, because pinning yourself into a lifestyle that’s too restrictive will inevitably lead to an outburst that negates any progress you made. The key is to strike and maintain a balance.

The Two Biggest Mistakes People Make When Starting to Live Frugally [Wise Bread]

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