How to Live Frugal on 6 Figures
Let me ask you something. You make six figures and you’re still broke. How does that even happen?
I’ll tell you how because I’m living it. A six figure salary sounds like the dream. People hear that number and assume you’re out here eating at fancy restaurants every weekend, taking international trips twice a year, and driving something nice. And yeah, you could do all of that. But here is the thing nobody tells you — you can also be six figures deep in student loan debt, maxed out, and wondering where all your money went by the end of the month.
That was me.
Does More Money Actually Make You Happier?
Before I get into the numbers, let me address the elephant in the room. The whole “money equals happiness” thing.
There is actually a really well known study that a lot of people reference. Back in 2010, Nobel Prize winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman and economist Angus Deaton published research suggesting that happiness plateaued around $75,000 a year. The idea was that past that number, more money did not really move the needle on how good you felt day to day.
That study got updated though. A 2023 collaboration between Kahneman, Matthew Killingsworth of the University of Pennsylvania, and Barbara Mellers found that the picture is more complicated. For most people, happiness does continue to rise with income beyond $75,000. But here is the part that really stood out to me: for roughly the least happy 15 to 20 percent of people, happiness stops climbing once they hit around $100,000 a year. More money just does not fix whatever is making them miserable.
The takeaway? Money helps. But past a certain point, it is not the thing that is going to change your life. How you use that money matters a lot more than the number itself.
Let Me Show You Where My Money Actually Goes
I make six figures. My actual take home after taxes is around $6,000 a month. Here is a rough breakdown of where that goes every single month:
Fixed monthly expenses (utilities, rent, health insurance, food, gas): ~$1,500
That leaves me with $4,500. Not bad so far right?
Student loans: $2,000/month
Now I am at $2,500. The student loans are the killer. A lot of people reading this will not be in this situation and that is honestly great because it opens up a lot more flexibility. But even if you are not, keep reading because the principles still apply.
Roth IRA contribution: $625/month
401k contribution: ~$600/month
And now I am sitting at $1,275 left over every month after taxes, bills, debt, and investing.
Here is what I want you to notice. With $1,275 left at the end of the month, I can still live a genuinely good life. I took a solo trip to Europe. Stayed in hostels, did free walking tours, hit up museums. The whole week cost me less than what some people spend going out on weekends for a month. You do not need unlimited money to have experiences worth talking about.
The student loans are a temporary anchor. They are not forever. But even while I am paying them down, I am still investing, still living, and still building. That is the point.
How to Actually Live Frugally Without Feeling Miserable
I want to be clear that I am not telling you to live like a monk. I am just sharing what has worked for me. If something on this list genuinely adds value to your day to day life, keep it. This is not about going cold turkey on everything you enjoy.
1. Cook Your Own Meals
Eating out costs somewhere between $10 and $20 per meal on the low end. If you are eating out even once a day, that is anywhere from $300 to $600 a month, and that is being conservative. That number adds up fast.
I know what people say. “Groceries are too expensive.” That is only true if you are buying brand name everything, snacks you do not need, and things that go bad before you use them. Real produce is cheap. A bag of apples is around $3 and lasts a week. A bag of frozen broccoli is $2. A 25 pound bag of rice is around $25 and will last you four months. You do not need a fancy kitchen setup either. Hit up a thrift store or a yard sale for basic cookware and you are set for a fraction of what you would spend buying new.
2. Drink Water
I know this sounds almost too simple to say out loud but hear me out. A Starbucks drink is $5 to $8. Boba is somehow up to $10 now. Alcohol at a bar? We do not even need to do that math. Get a Brita filter for around $20 and replacement filters for another $20 and you are covered for the better part of a year. Done.
3. Audit Your Subscriptions
If you are working full time or more than 40 hours a week, be honest with yourself about what you are actually using. Are you really watching Netflix every week? Do you actually need same day shipping from Amazon Prime? Spotify Premium is convenient but ads are not that bad, and if you switch to podcasts you are probably getting more out of your time anyway. Subscriptions are sneaky because individually they feel small, but $15 here and $18 there adds up to a couple hundred dollars a month pretty quickly.
Cut what you are not using and keep what you genuinely use every day. That is it.
The Bigger Picture
The goal is not to deprive yourself. The goal is to be intentional. Every dollar you save on something that does not actually matter to you is a dollar you can put toward something that does, whether that is paying off debt faster, building an investment account, or saving for a trip that will actually stick with you.
Living frugally on a six figure income is not about being cheap. It is about being deliberate. You can enjoy your life, travel, invest for your future, and still have money in your account. You just have to stop letting the small stuff bleed you dry every single month.
Start somewhere. Even one of these things, done consistently, makes a difference.
