Am sure by now you must have seen so many frugal living tips all over on the internet and it can become confusing which ones are the best.
Which tips are worth trying?
Which one will yield the best results?
Today am sharing the most practical and realistic frugal living tips that I have found to be easy to implement in my daily life over the years.
Living frugally doesn’t mean you stop enjoying nice things in life or living cheaply, it means you start making intentional and wise choices about your spending. You become less wasteful and more resourceful. Which means less clutter, less stress, less stuff, and more freedom. It’s time to make use of the saving apps, reward programs and life hacks.
If you are new to frugal living, start small then build up as you go. It’s not a one-touch thing it’s a lifestyle you are adapting. It might take time to get used to these changes but it will slowly be your norm. If you decide to try and tackle everything together, these frugal living tips can be overwhelming.
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Have a plan/make a budget
Having a plan is one of the frugal living tips that should be no brainier. To be frugal, it’s very important to have a plan and live it. Do you know how you spend your money or do you get surprised when you have no more money to spend? What is draining your bank account a few dollars at a time? You need to know where all your money goes.
For you to know which expenses you need to eliminate or to adjust, you need to know where your money goes every month. That’s why having a plan is very crucial. It might surprise you to see all the unnecessary things you have been spending money on.
You simply record your monthly spending which will help you to know exactly how much you are spending and on what. After you evaluate you will be able to tell the areas you should be spending less and cutting back on them will be easy.Â
Another important aspect when it comes to money is to ask yourself WHY? WHY do I want to be frugal? What’s my goal? Do you want to pay off a debt or start investing more or to simply save more money? Your financial why is your motivation to leading a frugal lifestyle.
Make cash back programs your friend
Cashback programs will help you lead a frugal lifestyle because you will be able to save so much money. They always have so many discounts and offers which will help you to cut down on the amount you are spending on ordinary stuff like toiletries and pasta.
My favorite cash back program of all time is Rakuten. Rakuten is one of the biggest free cashback programs that allows you to earn money back and save when you shop through their site. You get $10 FREE when you sign up. It’s home to so many popular retailers and brands such as target, Kohls and Amazon. The best part is that they normally have discounts, deals and promo codes that allow you to get things at a cheaper price than you would if you bought directly from retail stores.
Sign up here for free and get $10 . You can earn commissions when you refer your friends and family to the Rakuten website
You just need to download the Rakuten Browser extension and every time you visit an E-Commerce site online that is eligible for cashback you will receive a notification.When you are browsing on a site the Rakuten button will pop up to show you free money that you can activate. Just click that Rakuten button and you will be done.
You can make money from Rakuten ways. Through the referral program and by getting cashback. They have a great refer a friend program where you earn awesome commissions for successful referrals. Join the referral program program here. You can promote Rakuten on social media platforms like Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter or on your blog
Frugal living tips: Prioritize
What is most important to you? Want versus needs. For example, do you need a new outfit when you have a closet full of clothes that you can just restyle them? You need to prioritize your needs first. Things like house rent or mortgage should be a priority, then other expenses like food, healthcare, and utilities should be next. You simply put your needs ahead of wants.
Cancel unused expenses
Do you a gym membership that you never make use of? Do you have cable but you are hardly in the house to watch TV? Do you have those apps you rarely open but you are always paying for the monthly fees if that sounds familiar, it time to cut out those unnecessary expenses. Doing away with some of these things might be a hard pill to swallow but the benefits are worth reaping.
Instead of doing away with them completely, you can find cheaper alternatives. For example, cheaper alternatives for cable TV are Hulu, Amazon Prime, and Netflix. Once you cancel that gym membership, you can workout from the house or take advantage of outdoor activities such as walking and running.
Sell the items you don’t need.
Have you accumulated a lot of things over the year that you no longer need? Chances are that you have valuable items like clothes and jewelry you no longer wear that would make you some extra money. There are so many places you sell those items like eBay, depop, poshmark and Craiglist. It’s so easy to list your items on these sites, you simply create an account, and take a picture of the item you want to sell then set a price. This is a great way to declutter and to make extra money which can go towards saving or paying off debts.
Enjoy free things
It’s true when they say the good things in life are free. You don’t need to spend money to have a great time. There are a ton of activities you can do either alone or with your family such as hiking, playing board games, reading, fishing and more.
Get a side hustle
Starting a side hustle will help you make some extra cash making frugal living even easier. There are so many ways you can make money online and from home. Below are side hustles that will help you make passive income and the best part most don’t require any prior experience.Â
17 Legit work at home jobs with no prior experience needed
10 High paying passive income ideas you can start today & make extra money
19 Legit work from home jobs that pay so well (perfect for stay at home moms)
13 Best & legitimate stay at home mom jobs
Meal Planning
Meal planning is one of those frugal living tips that will save you so much time and money. Knowing what you are going to eat before doing grocery shopping will save you money on your grocery budget. If you don’t know exactly what you need from the store you end up buying unnecessary things that ends up stale. With a meal plan, you won’t buy things you don’t need.
Before you start laughing and wondering who has time for meal planning, I found the best way for you to go about it. The 5 meal plan. I love 5 meal plan program which is perfect for anyone who wants to save time and money. You will get one week’s meal prep recipes and a curated shopping list. For just $5 a month they will send you weekly meal plans, costing less than $2 per person. They also offer special plans in case you are on any diet.
 Sign up for $5 meal plan and get super cheap meal-prep recipes sent straight to your inbox every Friday.
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Start batch cooking
Batch cooking is a big time saver and it will drastically reduce your grocery budget. In most households, groceries take the largest part of expenses and it’s an area that most families struggle at. Finding ways to reduce grocery expenses is a very important step to adopting a frugal lifestyle. Batch cooking will do exactly that. It’s also perfect for those days you are busy and super exhausted.
Take packed lunches to work.
Instead of buying lunch every day at the cafeteria, why don’t you make it a habit to take your lunch to work? We all know that eating out can be pricey. You will be surprised at how much money you will save just from this. Over the years I have found the best way to go about it is to pack my lunch after dinner. In the morning am always in a rush and I barely have time for that.
Depending on your location, for lunch you will pay anywhere between $4-$12. That might not seem a lot now, but when you calculate the amount of money you spend monthly it adds up so quickly. That’s is why meal prep and batch cooking is important because you will always have a meal ready. These meal prep containers are perfect for your lunch. Super affordable, durable, microwave friendly and they have 3 compartments which means you can put may different types of food without everything becoming soggy.
Use cash only
This is one of those frugal living tips that has become a cliche. You must be tired of hearing it by now. Using cash only really works as it helps as one gets into the habit of controlled spending. Every time you are about to spend money on something silly you will be so aware. It will help you to start spending money more mindfully. When the money runs out, you stop spending.
Always have a shopping list
Shopping with a list is a lifesaver and a total game-changer. It will keep you grounded and you will only buy the things you need. You simply make a list and stick to it. Make sure that you don’t go shopping hungry because you will end up snacking and impulse buying.
Frugal living tips: Buy in bulk
Buying things like toiletries and pantry staples in bulk is way more economical compared to buying just a few pieces. If you have amazon prime, you can easily shop in bulk with free shipping. Make sure you counter check the prices because in some cases buying in bulk does not always mean that you are saving money.
Buy Used.
I love thrift shopping. It’s a good bargain and you get really good quality items that will serve you for a long time. Think of places like garage sales, Facebook marketplaces, eBay and Amazon. Next time before you think of buying something brand new check if you can get it second hand.
Drink more water less soda
Not only will you save money but it’s healthy. We all know the amount of sugar in sodas. Drinking more water is a great way to reduce your grocery bill. As tempting as sodas, juices and the other soft drinks might be they cost way too much money. The more water you take, the less hungry you will feel which means you are spending less money on food. Frugal people always have a water bottle with them that they keep refilling with water.
If your tap water isn’t ideal I recommend getting a water filter. This one is my favorite as it is super affordable and durable.
Eat more at home
Eating out or ordering is expensive. Once you get into the habit of cooking your food you will notice that you will end up saving so much money. The best part is that it’s a healthier option for you and your family. You know exactly what exactly is in your food.
DIY what you can.
This is one of the best frugal living tips that will help you save tons of money. There are so many things you can make at home such as cleaning detergents, hand soaps and seasoning spices.
Not only is this cost-effective but its environmental friendly. No more toxic cleaning products. Adopt the mentality of if it’s broken, fix it. Just because something is broken, it doesn’t mean its garbage. There are so many DIY videos on YouTube on how to do repairs and how you can re purpose just about everything.
Leading a frugal lifestyle doesn’t mean depriving yourself of all the good things it just calls for us to be more intentional with our money. Yes sometimes it might be hard but it’s these short term sacrifices that make a huge difference. It’s possible to save money without depriving yourself
I hope that these frugal living tips will help you to reduce your monthly expenses and to save more money. The best part is that you will still be able to enjoy life. Living frugally is possible regardless of your income amount and it will help you to stop living from paycheck to paycheck.