The idea of living frugally can be a turn off for a lot of people because they see frugal living as sacrificing. I’m here to tell you it’s not sacrificing at all! You’ll see that these frugal living ideas are completely in reach.
These frugal living tips are exactly what I used to pay off loads of debt and give myself a great nest egg. Hopefully these tips and tricks will help you as much as they did me.
Are you ready to learn about frugal living and save money while still enjoying life?
1. Make Your Own Food
The BIGGEST culprit of non-frugal living is eating out. Ugh, I know. I wish it were different. But making your own food is one of the most frugal things you can do. If you’ve ever eaten out, you know how expenses can add up quickly.
This tip ALONE saved me $400 a month. Yes, that sounds insane. But after adding up my eating out expenses, I realized how much money was being drained from my account due to silly impulse finances surrounding food.
If you’re an eat-out type of person too, make sure you add up those fees and see what the damage is. It will be your biggest motivation for changing your ways to becoming more frugal and saving more money. Also make sure that you have a budget for eating out – don’t deprive yourself or you’ll slingshot back!
There are some amazing blogs out there about frugal recipes that’ll help you do this!
2. Make a Grocery List
What? Yes. A grocery list is a perfect way to stay true to your frugal living ways. Stick to your grocery list so you don’t have any of those pesky impulse buys. Impulse buys are the nail in the coffin to non-frugal living.
Personally, I’ve found that if I impulse buy junk food, the food I had on my list generally doesn’t get eaten. If you have more discipline than me, then more power to you! But if this sounds familiar, just stick to the list!
3. Shop Seasonal Produce and Sales
Yes, I’m still on a food kick because eating can be expensive! Find produce and items that are seasonal to be more frugal friendly. You can also shop the sales you find. It’s a lot easier to cut cost if there’s a price cut on something!
4. Bulk is Back
Sometimes buying in bulk is super helpful. If there’s something that you use a lot or something that doesn’t expire fast or ever, then buy it in bulk to save. A few things I like to buy in bulk are things like snacks I eat every day and things like toilet paper or dishwashing detergent.
5. Subscribe and Save 5-15%
Tons of companies are giving you the opportunity to subscribe and save. A lot of folks think that subscribing isn’t the way to go, but more and more companies are allowing you to choose how many weeks between your orders. I’ve subscribed to supplements that I only need every 6 months, and protein that I use every 30 days.
Worried about subscribing? Don’t be! You can always cancel, and usually companies will send you a courtesy email a few days before they actually charge you and ship whatever you’ve subscribed for.
A few things I’ve subscribed for:
- Chewy for dog food and treats
- Amazon for supplements
- Bowmar Nutrition for collagen
6. Join Money Back Programs
There are tons of ways to earn money back on things. I personally love Rakuten. If you’ve never heard of it, it’s an app that you use to buy items you were planning on buying anyways and you get money back quarterly. It’s especially great around the holidays!
Another great app you could use is ibotta, which can save you tons if you buy popular items at the grocery store. I’ve heard of people getting hundreds of dollars back just for buying things they were going to buy anyways.
7. Don’t Be Fooled
I think it’s safe to say that we’ve all been suckered into 2 for 1’s that we didn’t want two of. Or seeing a sale of something that we weren’t going to buy anyways. Don’t be fooled by these. They’re the perfect way to destroy your frugal living!
8. Become a Secondhand Shopper
There are so many options for buying clothing or other things secondhand these days. Frugal living is as simple as just buying items that have been even just slightly used. Here are a few of my favorite places to save:
- Poshmark
- Mercari
- Facebook Marketplace
- Craigslist
- ThredUp
9. Cut Yourself Off
Streaming networks are so easy to collect, but those expenses add up. If you’re streaming Disney+, Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon, you might want to look into one or two of these instead of all. There’s definitely enough to consume on one or two of these that cutting out the others will save you big in the long run.
10. Think Thoughtful
There will be a time where you need to buy a gift, or gifts, for people. It’s inevitable. But one thing you could do is to make more thoughtful gifts that don’t cost as much as buying something for someone.
Similar to food, if you make gifts from scratch, it can be extremely cost effective. These types of gifts generally mean a lot more to people, and they’re more memorable too. Definitely a win-win here.
11. Clear Clutter
If you look into your closet, you might see tons of treasure. Also, if you look around your place, you might find more. It’s literally insane how much I’ve saved from just selling my stuff, and from selling other’s items for a commission. I’ve sold around $20,000 worth of items between Facebook Marketplace, Poshmark, Mercari, and Craigslist.
Do you have some furniture that you’ve been wanting to get rid of? Or do you have clothes that you’re just ready to part with. List them!
Related Post: How to Sell Clothes Online From Home
12. Patience actually is a virtue
Impulse buys are OUT. If you want to actually practice frugal living and benefit from these practices, be patient in what you buy. Impatience when purchasing anything will lead to usually paying more for something due to the convenience of having it ASAP.
Being patient allows you to search around, which leads us perfectly into the next tip.
13. Do your research
You need patience in order to check off this frugal living tip. If you have an item that you can’t live without, shop online to see if there’s a coupon or deal somewhere else. Sometimes doing a little extra research will save you tons! Depending on what you’re looking for, you might be saving a lot for just a few extra minutes of looking around and shopping for the best deal.
14. Don’t compare
The worst thing that you can do is compare yourself to others. DO NOT DO THIS! You never know what someone is actually going through behind closed doors, so comparing your behind closed doors to someone’s outside exterior isn’t fair to you.
What’s also not fair is pushing yourself and your means to keep up with others. I’ve seen so many people who spend way too much money to appear like they’re way more rich than they are. This might also be a problem with society, but reframe your mind to live within your means. Frugal living means that you’ll be exponentially wealthier in a lot of different ways beyond a few material items.
15. Use every drop
There’s so much more toothpaste left in the tube and shampoo left in the bottle! By cutting the front part of your toothpaste spout off, you’ll see there’s tons more toothpaste left that you’ve just been throwing away. And shampoo? Unscrew the top and get more out of it, maybe even add some water to get it all out.
There are tons of great ideas to get every drop out of what you’re buying. These things add up so fast, you’ll be shocked at how much you’ve been throwing away.
16. Skip the upgrades
This also goes into comparing yourself to others and what they have, or having lusty eyes for the newest thing. One of the best frugal living tips that you can adopt is to skip the upgrades. New phones and new cars are expensive. If your stuff is working, there’s no need to upgrade! Skip it and save big.
17. Say no
Are there some events that you don’t want to go to but feel like you have to? No is a sentence and saying it can sometimes feel empowering, but it also protects you and your finances. Sometimes saying no is exactly what you need!
It doesn’t mean that you have to say no to every single invite you’ve gotten, but it does mean that maybe you should try to pick and choose what events actually fuel you and what drains you and plan accordingly.
18. Do it yourself
Sometimes having other people do stuff for you is convenient… but it can come at a cost. Sure, you need to consider what your time is worth, but doing things yourself can save you a lot of money. Here are some ideas to DIY and save:
- Thrift up! If you find something you like that doesn’t quite fit you but you love it, there are some simple tips and tricks to thrift up and fix it to your needs.
- Paint. Sometimes a fresh coat of paint can fix just about anything. Whether it’s painting your lamp base or some furniture, painting can really give your items the facelift you want at a fraction of the cost.
- Paint your own nails. There are TONS of ways you can give yourself a manicure that looks like you visited a salon yourself.
19. Be resourceful
The power of the internet! You can figure out almost everything you need by being resourceful. There are tons of resources out there to help you do whatever you need to do.
One personal example of this is me fixing my tub! I was able to find a YouTube video that helped me take apart the drain so I could troubleshoot what was going on. This saved me tons on the time to schedule a plumber and pay them.
20. Plan the event
We’ve already covered how saying no is sometimes super important. But let’s say you LOVE being the life of the party and can’t live without a good social gathering. Be the party planner so you can choose what you do. Instead of an expensive brunch at that popular brunch spot with the gals, maybe consider a picnic. Frugal and so much fun!
21. Come prepared
Back when I was trying to get out of debt, I would eat before going somewhere where I knew that a plate would be expensive and just order a side instead of a main course. Sure, this one might be debatable, but it definitely helped with getting out of tons of debt super fast!
Related Article: Top 5 Get Out of Debt Tips You Can’t Live Without
Conclusion
These are some of the best frugal living tips that are easy to implement but will also save you some serious cash. Just because these tips are easy to do, make sure you don’t go too extreme! Everything works in moderation, but if you go too extreme, you might slingshot back into your old ways. Every now and then, treating yourself will go a long way, just be smart about it!