Best Frugal Living Tips
I have always been a saver by nature and my husband a spender.
When we found ourselves in credit card debt we decided to do everything we could to get out of it as soon as possible.
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This meant selling at flea markets, cutting expenses, and living a more frugal life.
We stopped eating out, we bought used whenever we could and we negotiated our bills.
WHAT IS FRUGAL LIVING
Frugal living is about consciously spending, living within your means and being smart with your money.
BENEFITS OF FRUGAL LIVING
Increasing the amount of money you can save without having to create another stream of income or work another side hustle.
FOOD
1) If you want to start living frugally, meal planning is a must! Meal Planning saves me hundreds of dollars every single month.
Think about it. After your rent/mortgage, what do you spend the most on? I don’t know about your commitments but for me, my food and grocery bill is my second highest expense. It’s also the bill that I have the most control over. Everything else is pretty much fixed. But by choosing cheaper meals and cooking at home, I can significantly slash my food bill every month. This means more money to save or allocate towards paying off debt.
Meal Planning means that you’ll no longer need to wonder about what to cook every day and you’ll no longer need to watch last week’s vegetable rot away in your refrigerator. Meal Planning accounts for leftovers so food is never wasted. You can make one grocery run per week and stick to your list so you’ll be less tempted to spend on unnecessary items. You can also prep all your meats and vegetables during the weekend so you’ll be less likely to cave and get takeout during the week.
Meal Planning saves both time and money and is definitely a game changer and a frugal living win!
{Here are some cheap meal prep recipes you should try!}
2) My top frugal tip also has to do with food. I say there is absolutely nothing wrong with sandwiches for lunch, every day for everybody. Is it glamorous? No. But it’s dirt cheap. Especially if you make your own bread. Save some mulah by stocking up on peanut butter. Bonus – kids can make their own sandwiches so you don’t have to cook lunch for them anymore either.
3) My top frugal living tip is to eliminate food waste: Did you know 30-40% of food produced in the US is thrown out? I focus on using everything from carrot tops to kale stems, preserving excess produce, easy urban foraging, and backyard gardening.
4) Growing your own produce saves a ton of money. Even small apartment balconies can container garden with a few plants. Your savings add up fast, especially if you grow organic and heirloom varieties. A few plants growing your most frequently eaten vegetables can save you $500 or more each growing season.
5) Don’t buy pre-cut anything! Buy whole chickens and veggies and cut them yourself, and buy bricks of cheese and shred it yourself. It not only saves money, but it guarantees your food will be cleaner, since not so many people/machines will be processing it.
6) I shop clearance/half priced food! I don’t go out of my way to get it but if I’m in the store, I’ll look at see what they have. For example, Safeway has 50% off section for baking supplies, candy, and stuff that are out of season or will expire soon. I take a quick look to see if there are stuff we need at home. My favorite clearance food is cake at a local bakery. They sell it for 50% off only a day old! They sell the best cakes so I don’t mind!
7) Don’t throw away the base/cut off with roots from spring onions, salad, celery or leeks but plant them and grow your own produce! They do really well in pots as well if you don’t have access to a garden.
https://slowpacelifestyle.com/
8) Most Americans throw out 25-40% of the food they purchase. By monitoring what you throw out most frequently, being more mindful and purchasing it less frequently, you can really cut back on your grocery bills.
https://adayinourshoes.com/frugal-living/
9) Meat tends to be one of the biggest grocery expenses for a lot of people. With a grocery budget of just $350/month for our family of six, I’ve learned to get creative with reducing the amount of meat we eat while still eating well!
One thing that we’ve done that has helped a lot is to eat at least one meatless dinner a week. I’m a big meat lover, but I’ve been surprised at the variety of recipes that I’ve found that are hearty and delicious enough that I don’t even miss the meat!
I also tend to view meat as a side dish when I’m planning our menu. We eat lots of stovetop skillet recipes that pair meat with rice, potatoes or pasta. Or when we eat something like Tikka Chicken Masala, I’ll double the sauce and go lite on the chicken and sauce and heavy on the rice. The extra sauce gives the rice more flavor and ends up being super tasty but fills us much less expensively!
https://www.thriftyfrugalmom.com/
10) Keeping a freezer soup bowl is a great way to eliminate food waste and repurpose small leftovers into a brand new family meal.
Simply keep a bowl or zip bag in the freezer. After each dinner, put the leftovers in the bowl that won’t be eaten. Think a small spoonful of cooked carrots or green beans, the last of a box of chicken broth, or some leftover shredded chicken. Anything that would be good in soup! When your bag is full, simply defrost and add in additional chicken/beef broth or tomato sauce to the soup as needed and warm.
You will have a comforting bowl of stew with veggies/meats and broth that you would have otherwise tossed in the garbage!
11) Buying frozen fruits and vegetables is a great way to eat healthy on a budget! Not only do frozen foods have a longer “shelf” life than fresh fruits, vegetables, and meats, but they pack in the same amount (and sometimes more) nutrients than fresh produce would. This is because they flash freeze the foods when they are in season and the most delicious.
14) I love saving money off my grocery bill each month by meal planning and utilizing my freezer! Buy in bulk and make many make-ahead meals!
15) With grocery prices starting to rise, lingering in bricks-and-mortar markets looking for bargains is becoming harder and much more inconvenient, especially with lines queuing in front of some of them. I have found a super-easy way to save significant amounts of time and money on every grocery run. For almost a year now, I have been only using Whole Foods delivery via the Amazon App to get all of our grocery shopping accomplished. Instead of managing a grocery list, I can simply add items to my cart when planning recipes, or add items to my cart if I notice I am about to run out of an ingredient. Plus, I don’t have to run out to a grocery store, deal with PPE, worry about the line queue going down the block at local stores, or deal with my costly impulse buying habit for new/random items(my impulse buying adds up). This grocery delivery service saves me hours every week and can be easily copied at home by anyone who is in range of one of these ever-multiplying services. The reduction in time spent driving, waiting, and wandering isles, coupled with the lack of impulse buying has been a huge saver of my time and money.
16) My number #1 tip is to invest in an instant pot for your home cooking. It allows me to make freezer meals when food is at a special price, it lets me make jam when certain fruits are in season, i can make meals from leftovers. But best of all i can use the instant for cheap cuts of meat and they will come out as tender as premium meat.
17) Plan your meals around sales and what you have on hand, rather than just deciding what to cook and then going to buy the ingredients at their regular price. You’ll save so much more by cooking what’s on sale!
18) My tip: Set a budget for groceries, and then shop once a week or every two weeks with your list. No stopping by the store randomly during the week, no planning meals last minute. If it’s not in the house when you’re cooking, you make do until it’s time for your scheduled grocery shop. This drastically cuts down on food costs, helps you get creative in the kitchen, and allows you to stick to a grocery budget and not be enticed by extra purchases.
19) Don’t go shopping when you’re hungry! www.fabfood4all.co.uk
STAY AWAY FROM NAME BRAND
19) My best tip is to not buy name brand clothing for your kids unless you find it really inexpensive at a yard sale. Even consignment shops are usually overpriced. My second closely related tip is to learn to sew. Then you can repair or adjust clothing instead of throwing it away.
20) Where possible buy a supermarket’s own branded products. Most of the time the two products are produced in the same factory but you’re paying a premium for packaging and the name!
21) Buy generic food brands and even household products like cleaning products. Many generic brands taste the same or can be just as effective as name brands because they have the same ingredients just with a brand name attached. You’ll save from a few cents to a couple of bucks, but it’ll definitely add up.
Cancel any subscriptions you don’t actively use on a regular basis. You can use the money that was being spent on these monthly subscriptions towards an emergency fund / rainy day fund.
https://bloggingandliving.com/
USE MONEY SAVING APPS
22) Make sure you’re earning cash back on all your shopping by using apps like Ibotta or Rakuten. Before you go shopping (online or in person) check out what cash back offers are available so you can automatically get a discount on things you were already planning on buying.
SHOPPING
23) Always do the math. When it comes to debt, where can you most prioritize payments that will save you the most on interest? How much will it cost at various insurers? If rent is cheaper out of the city how much will the extra commuting cost? How can you maximize your tax bracket? It takes a little bit of effort and practice, but doing the math around every financial decision pays off richly.
http://www.growingwildroots.com/
24) When shopping, always ask the salesperson if the store offers any discounts. Most stores offer discounts for military, first responders, seniors and more. Chances are if you don’t qualify for any discounts, they will offer you a coupon or discount anyway just for asking.
25) Christmas is one of the most expensive times of the year for people. In 2018 in the US people rack up an average of $1,054 debt for Christmas. The best way to prevent this is planning ahead for Christmas. Deciding on a budget early, planning ways to save, and having a solid holiday plan can prevent debt and allow you to have a wonderful and stress-free Christmas.
https://thestressfreechristmas.com
DIY
26) My best frugal living tip would have to be to take the DIY (do it yourself) approach to anything you can in life. When it comes to planning events, a lot of decor can be handcrafted by you instead of paying more money to buy the ready made decor. Even down to fixing repairs in your home. I live by YouTube University. There’s literally a video on every topic on YouTube so instead of calling a contractor, see if it’s a simple fix that you can do yourself first.
https://theintentionaldollar.com
27)Here’s a tip to save a LOT of money on hand soap: First, buy one bottle of foaming hand soap, and another bottle of regular hand soap. When the foaming hand soap runs out, fill the bottle with water, 2-3 squirts of the regular hand soap, and add a drop of alcohol. Close the lid and shake the bottle to dissolve the soap in the water. One bottle of regular soap can refill a “foaming soap” dispenser many, many times using this method. (This also came in really handy when soap was hard to find in stores due to the pandemic).
http://imaginativehomeschool.blogspot.com
28)Even though many gift-giving occasions are predictable, gifts can still sneak up and become a huge budget-buster. I like to make my own gifts from upcycled items, commonly stocked pantry items, and even printables.
When you see a beautiful new furniture that you can’t afford to buy visit thrift stores and garage sales and look for a piece that can be brought back to life with a little love and paint.
30)My best frugal tip is learn to DIY! Even small projects go a long way. Having a home space you love is important (I think), and it doesn’t have to cost a lot of money! Most everything in my house is either DIY, upcycled things we had and lots of FB marketplace! But you can save a TON through DIY.
31) Learn how to mend your clothes! Simple stitches and patches can save your clothes from holes and stains, and they often look cuter too.
32) My frugal tip is to learn to sew! Either by hand or with a machine. That way you can reuse and upcycle so many of your old clothes, towels and bed linen into new creations to use around the home. I make a whole lot of cleaning cloths and zero waste items by being able to use what I already had or was about to throw away.
33) One of my favorite frugal living tips is to stop buying household cleaners. Make your own instead and get rid of all the chemicals! Baking soda, lemons, vinegar can all be used to clean your home!
https://moredollarsathome.com/
TRAVEL/ENTERTAINMENT
34) Frugal trip for vacation/staycation! Did you know that most local libraries will give local residents discounted or even free tickets to local areas in town? You have to “check out” the pass like you would a book. But this way, you can go to your local zoo, aquarium, or museum for free or discounted!
35) Find free local events.
Entertainment costs can really add up if you’re not careful! But there are tons of free local events if you take the time to look for them. Check out your town’s website for an event calendar and look on Facebook events for good options. Bonus money saving tip: Eat at home before the event or bring your own grub! Chelsea from MakingManzanita.com
CUT SPENDING
36) We switched from cable and saved over $100 a month! We use a
Roku now and have a couple cheaper streaming subscriptions (Philo and Netflix).
37) Lower energy use by using energy efficient lightbulbs, switching things off when not in use, putting on an extra layer before turning up the heat – sounds small but all adds up to make a big difference!
BUDGET
SELL WHAT YOU DON’T NEED
39) Declutter & SELL those items you aren’t using for extra cash! You might be surprised to see how much you can make by selling your gently used items on Letgo, Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist. There’s no time consuming packing & shipping involved because you’re selling to your local neighbors (with local pickup). Small kitchen appliances, gently used furniture, vintage items, video games and sporting goods are some items that do especially well. You can easily make a little extra cash while decluttering at the same time!
40) You can save a lot of money by joining local Facebook buy/sell/trade, swap, and buy nothing groups! I’ve found everything from couches to clothes for cheap on these groups. And, a lot of times you can resell things on there as well, so it’s an extra source of income!
DO NO SPEND CHALLENGES
41) I like playing games to cut back on spending. Things like no spend challenges are great ways to limit your spending. Another game I like to play is the pause game. Here if I see something I want to buy, I have to wait 30 seconds before I can buy it. This allows me to ask myself if I really need the item or how it will benefit or improve my life. The result is most times, I don’t buy it and avoid most impulse purchases.
https://www.compoundingpennies.com
42) Do a 30- day no spend challenge once a year. We do it in January when it’s too cold to go outside and there are no holidays coming up. We purchase groceries but nothing else. No eating out, no thrift stores, no shopping beyond basic needs. We have saved hundreds of dollars this way
www.simplelifeofacountrywife.com
BUY IN BULK
43) I try and bulk buy as much as I can when I see a product I use regularly at a good price. For example, spring is a good time to stock up where there are spring cleaning deals on items like dishwasher tablets and washing powder. I try to buy as much as funds will permit so that I am sorted for the rest of the year.
BUY USED
44) My best frugal living tip is to get your clothes at thrift stores! I don’t know how many amazing outfits—in particular dresses—I’ve gotten at thrift shops like Goodwill. If you look often enough, you can grab some true gems, often even name brand items, at a steal. I’ve gotten everything from tank tops to chic winter coats to barely-worn dresses and everything in between, and nearly all of it was for less than $10!
45) Swap before you shop! When it comes to things you don’t use regularly like a tent, food dehydrator, or a beach wagon- see if friends or family will let you borrow it or trade something on a temporary loan instead of buying your own.
THRIFTY TIPS
46) My tip: Put money towards improvements that continually save you money. For instance, if you improve heating or cooling in your house, then you get continual savings instead of a one time savings.
Another tip: Buying used can help you save big. To find garage sales, use craigslist. Under the for sale section, click garage sales. People usually post pictures so you know if it is worth your time and you can use the map feature to how close they are to you. In the summer, I do my searching every Friday since the weekends are usually when they happen.
48) My best frugal tip is to be more intentional about how you live your life. Simply being more mindful of my habits, from how I spend my money to identifying the things that really bring joy to my life, has been instrumental in helping me redistribute my money away from meaningless spending and towards things that add value to my life. One of the most helpful things I’ve done to help me create this habit is to start journaling and creating goals for how I want my life to look. Small changes add up to make a big difference!
49) Don’t get complacent. There are always new ways to save more money that don’t have to feel like a sacrifice.
When I regularly review our finances I look at what bills can be reduced or negotiated.
Join personal finance groups on Facebook, get money saving tips from Instagram, or ask friends and family for their own money saving tips. You’d be surprised by how much they can actually help.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Living a frugal life doesn’t have to be boring.
Start by making small changes in your life and if it’s something you can manage, go bigger.
All the little savings will add up faster than you think.
Before my husband and I had our first child we started saving just $20 a week. We’re now up to over $250 a week!
If you have more frugal living tips please share in the comments below, happy saving!
I enjoyed reading your article 49 Frugal tips for 2021. These tips were very helpful. I am looking for ways to increase my savings since I am 57 years old, and need to increase my savings for retirement. Do you have any articles on retirement? I read a lot of information that is out there but it all seems to refer to people that have high income jobs.
Thanks for the comment Andrea. I took a long break from my blog so sorry for the super delayed reply. I don’t yet, but will definitely try to add more as that has also been my shift in focus.
Thank you for these tips. People don’t realize just how much they hide behind their money excuse! It’s only a valid excuse for a handful of people – most of them are just afraid to take the plunge.