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It’s time to start living frugally! I think we all know by now that living frugally is one of the best ways to keep more of the money you make in your pocket, but the real question is, how do you start?
Here are 17 awesome frugal living tips to help you start saving money now!
Budget
Creating a budget that works and STICKING TO IT is the best and biggest frugal tip anyone can give you.
Creating a budget gives a structure to your spending, allowing you to spend money on what you want and not on things you don’t want to spend money on. That is the definition of living a frugal life.
When You Find a Great Deal, Buy In Bulk
Buying items in bulk when they are on sale is a great way to save money- not only do you save money, but you have to go to the store less. When an item is on sale, has a coupon, or has a great cashback deal, grab a few.
This is a particularly great tip for meat and chicken. If meat is on sale, have your butcher cut it into smaller pieces and then wrap them separately.
Label everything clearly! Buying large amounts of meat is usually cheaper than buying individually cut pieces.
Reduce Your Shopping Trips So That You Spend Less Time in Stores
The more time you spend in a store, the more likely you are to spend money. Make a shopping list of the main things you need so that you have a guide to help you stay on task. (Want to save more on groceries? Here are 12 ways you can save)
Buy Items on Sale and Then Plan Your Meals Around That
The number one way to save money at the grocery store? Plan your meals around what you buy, not the other way around.
Eat at Home
We experiment at home! We don’t go to bakeries; we find something fun with the kids from home. You can make many meals and treats at home with a little planning and creativity.
Stock Your Freezer
Keep your freezer stocked with meals so you don’t need to get takeout when you are stressed or overwhelmed. When you cook, then double the recipes so that you have food ready to eat.
Soups freeze well and are great for this type of thing. This is particularly important before a major holiday (Pesach, anyone?) or if you are having a baby. Have freezer meals ready to go so you can save money on take-out.
Keep Old Fruit
Keep frozen fruit and vegetables in your freezer to make quick smoothies and vegetable dishes in a pinch.
You can take the slightly browning fruit (from those bananas you bought on sale and that no one eats even though your kids told you that bananas are their absolute favorite food) and freeze them for really cheap snacks and smoothies.
Avoid Cleaning Help
We clean one floor together as a family every Sunday, and we often turn it into activities. Keeping your messy house clean helps you avoid the need for cleaning help, and being organized will often save you money.
Get the Kids Involved
Train your children from a very young age to do chores and household cleaning according to their ability. Have a list of things that need to get done nightly, weekly, and monthly. Make it a fun family activity you can do every night.
Wear Hand-Me-Downs
My kids and I wear really lovely hand-me-downs. You can trade with other families or shop at thrift stores to get nice clothes for you and your kids.
Decide What You Need
I decide before each season how much of each clothing item my kids need and only buy that amount (if some of it is from hand-me-downs, even better). Sales were causing me to overbuy until I set it up this way.
Choose the Right Place To Live
We live in an area where families are happy with little, making it easy to live below our means and for our kids to have fewer expectations. Choosing where you live is a key part of being content with your frugal life.
Turn Down the Heating and Put on a Thick Sweater
The house doesn’t need to be warm enough to walk around in a t-shirt and bare feet in winter. Turn down the heat and put on a thick sweater!
Automate Everything
Bills, savings, fun money, etc., should all be automated. Use the extra mental bandwidth to implement money-saving systems.
When you automate, you don’t have to spend tons of time thinking about money: living a frugal lifestyle does not mean that you are always concerned about money.
Use the Library!
I love the library! Having a library card is one of the biggest ways to live cheaply; I don’t buy books anymore.
If you invest in a Kindle or other e-reader, you can also get tons of free e-books online. I love using my library’s Libby App to download free booksto my Kindle- no matter the time of day.
Don’t think you will only save money on books! Libraries also offer many other services- some have games you can borrow, discounted passes to museums, and many other free or cheaper things. Get a library card!
Wait 24 Hours
Everything in the Amazon cart has to sit for 24 hours.
Anytime you shop online- keep your stuff in the cart for 24 hours before purchasing to reduce impulse spending. An extra perk of this trick is that companies will often send you a coupon code for items you left in your cart to entice you to buy.
Shop Generic Brands
Avoid big-name brands and look for value in products instead of name recognition. Buy generic brands as a rule and only buy brand-name products when you have a coupon or know the product is significantly better.
15 Tips For Frugal Living On A Tight Budget
If you are looking for tips for frugal living on a tight budget, this post is for you.
Being on a tight budget means looking for even the slightest opportunity to save money. It could be saving to clear your loans, for a bigger purchase, or even for early retirement.
15 Tips for Frugal Living on a Tight Budget
12 Extreme Frugal Living Tips You Can Try
A Reddit user was curious to know the extremely frugal things people did that they didn’t tell people about. He gave an illustration that he used to collect promotional coffee sachets on top of car windows, and that saved a ton of money. He wanted to know whether other Reddit users did extremely frugal things that they did not want other people to know.
12 Extreme Frugal Living Tips You Can Try
12 Not Very Obvious Sign That Someone Is Rich
It is easy to know when someone is rich. However, sometimes it is not obvious. One Reddit user wanted to know what non-obvious signs pointed out that someone was rich. We have sampled some of the best responses from other Reddit users in that conversation.
12 Not Very Obvious Sign That Someone Is Rich
11 Insanely Frugal Things Most Frugal People Admit To Doing
Ready to kick your frugality up a notch? We’ve rounded up the top 11 super-duper frugal moves that even the savviest penny-pinchers happily own up to. Yep, you might already be a frugality champ, but trust me, these ideas are like gems of money-saving wisdom you won’t wanna miss!
11 Insanely Frugal Things Most Frugal People Admit To Doing
15 Frugal Living Ideas To Make Your Money Stretch
Frugal living comes with so many pros. You should embrace it whether you want to save up for big purchases, pay off your debts, or build a robust emergency or retirement fund.
Implementing frugality is an excellent way to get your finances under control. These frugal living ideas can make that happen.
While people embrace the lifestyle for different reasons, the motivation is usually similar; to save as much money for the things that matter the most to us—looking to get started? Thesefrugal living ideaswill help you hit the ground running.
15 Frugal Living Ideas To Make Your Money Stretch
A Dime Saved
Hi! I am a millennial mom with a passion for personal finance. I have always been “into” personal finance but got inspired to start my blog after a period of extended unemployment. That experience really changed the way I viewed my relationship with money and the importance of accessible personal finance education.
