Are you wanting to learn how to be more frugal and save thousands? If you are feeling like your finances could use a fine tuning, then read on to find out the easiest ways to cut back, live more simply and still enjoy your life.
How I Became More Frugal
Many people who know me notice that I can be a little “tight” with my money. Sometimes they call me “cheap” and other times they refer to me as frugal.
I always say it’s not my fault! My parents taught me to be careful with my money and only buy things if I really need them. It’s funny how different my spending habits appear to others, but for the most part, I’m glad that I learned to live frugally from a young age.
I would say learning to be frugal early on has saved me thousands of dollars.
While I can’t say I’m perfect about how I spend my money, I’ve learned to find a happy balance when it comes to being more frugal.
There are areas of my life where I’m okay with spending a little extra money, such as on traveling. But there are other areas I could care less about, such as new electronics and gadgets. You will never find me waiting in line for the newest iPhone.
That’s what’s so great about personal finance blogging – it’s personal, which means there is no right or wrong way for everyone.
I haven’t always been a frugal person though
When I was younger, I remember longing for specific toys and clothes. As I got older and went away to college, I started spending excessively on things like food and eating out, clothes, and entertainment. I would spend over $1,000 a month on going out!
I was spending beyond my means, my credit cards were showing it, and I was NOT happy.
Those words, “I was not happy,” are so important to note.
No matter how much I was buying, I was not feeling fulfilled and happy. I was spending money because I thought it would make me feel better. I thought buying material things was a reward for my hard work.
It wasn’t until I quit working and started my own business that I stopped buying things I didn’t need. That was a huge shift for me. I started to see that useless products could never bring me joy. And, my attention turned towards having success with my business, and that meant I wanted to see profits (not debts!)
These days, my husband and I are more frugal than ever before, and it’s actually such a relief. We don’t feel the pressure to have the latest this or that.
For some reason, there is this “myth” that being frugal means you can’t have a great life. But I definitely feel more at peace not having so much “stuff.” I still spend money on things I appreciate and bring me joy.
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How you can be more frugal and save thousands too
If you are interested in learning how to be more frugal with your money and save thousands in the process, here are some of my tips:
Before You Buy, Think
Living frugally means you are not wasting money on things you do not need. It’s easy to go shopping and then get tempted to buy items you might only use once or twice (or not at all). One way to be more frugal about what you buy is to stop to think first.
What can help you think before you buy???
The best trick that worked for me was to actually freeze my credit cards in bags of water! Whenever I felt like I needed to buy something, I had to take the credit cards out of the freezer and allow them to thaw! This process helped me stop to consider whether I actually needed the item. In the end, it also broke my habit of always turning towards my credit cards to buy items.
Look at your own spending habits and see if there are ways you can slow down the spending process for yourself. Perhaps only having $10 in cash in your pocket would give you a spending limit each day. I know some people use labeled envelopes to hold money for expenditures each month and once the envelope is empty, that’s it! No more spending!
Repair Things Yourself
I’m a huge fan of YouTube! You can learn anything on YouTube including how to repair appliances and tools! Many items are costly to replace and taking the time to fix a simple part can sometimes save you hundreds of dollars.
We recently replaced a part on our washing machine for $35 (shipping of the part included). If we had used a repair person instead, the labor plus the cost of the part would have been over $150 easily. YouTube provided us with a few good videos about our specific washing machine. We gathered enough tips and found one video to walk us through the repair and got the washer back to working condition very easily.
It may take a little extra time and patience to fix something yourself, but if it saves you hundreds of dollars, it’s well worth it!
Spend Money Wisely
Before you spend your hard earned money, also think about the value of the item you are buying. There is a major difference between buying “cheap” and being frugal.
Buying cheap means you aren’t being mindful about where you are spending your money. You are simply buying the least expensive thing.
Being frugal means you are deciding (being careful and cautious) about whether to buy something.
For example, you could buy a used car and spend $4500 to buy it outright. Then, because it is so run down, you might end up paying hundreds of dollars a month to repair it and keep it running. On the other hand, if you buy a new car, you would still pay hundreds of dollars a month for a car payment, but the car will be more dependable and turn on and work all the time (saving you tons of time and energy).
Cheaper is not always better. In many cases, quality matters. If you learn how to be frugal and save thousands, it could impact whether you are able to retire early or not.
Food!
If your goal is to learn to be more frugal and save thousands too, then consider looking at what you spend on food each month. If you budget, then you know that food consumption can be a large part of your monthly bills. Before we started analyzing our budget, we were spending over $1000 a month on food and eating out for just two people!
There are so many things you can do to save money on food.
Meal Prep- $5 Meal Plan is a service that provides great recipes, coupons, store deals, and anything else you need to lead a frugal life.
Buy food in bulk from stores like Costco, Sam’s Club or The Dollar Store.
Use Ebates to find coupons and deals ahead of time. Look for grocery stores that sell vegetables in bulk. Also, look at the shelves where stores are setting aside bread that’s about to expire. You can freeze loaves of bread and heat it up when needed.
Cook and prep a lot of food at once- batch cook meals on the weekends and then divide them into storage containers or freezer bags.
Use Glass Meal Prep Containers– these work great for dividing out portions and they are better for the environment. Take a healthy meal to work everyday and you will save tons of money.
Rent out or maximize extra space
Another way that you can be more frugal and save thousands is to maximize any extra space that you own. If you have extra space, then you can make the most of it and save money!
You might have a lot of extra space in your home that could be rented or used in ways that generates income!
Do you have an extra bedroom? Rent it out to make extra money. A friend of mine bought a house and rented out two rooms to roommates to help pay his mortgage!
Another way to maximize space is to use your front or backyard for a garden. Grow vegetables and herbs while creating landscaping. This is a great way to cut down on food costs as well.
If you have extra driveway or space in your yard, consider renting out the space to people who might need to park an extra car or recreational vehicle. I have a friend who owns a limousine company and he rents driveway space from neighbors so he has his limo cars nearby.
Take a look around your home to see if you might be able to rent out space to make extra cash and help you live more frugally.
If you don’t use it right away, return it!
There’s nothing worse than buying something, bringing it home and then never using it!!! I’m guilty of this and I have pledged to myself that if I don’t use the item within the first two weeks of buying it, I take it back and get my money back.
Most stores have a thirty day return policy, but many now have a ninety day policy. I find that if I wait that long, I forget and the item sits around unused forever.
Keep the item in plain view once it’s purchased and really decide if it’s something you will use. If not, take it back.
Rent or borrow instead of purchasing
One of my favorite ways to be more frugal and save thousands is to rent tools instead of buying them. I love my surroundings to be more minimal in style, and I find that there are so many items that don’t get used and end up creating clutter.
Sometimes our wants are temporary or fleeting, but our desires are so strong that we end up purchasing something only to use it once or twice. Think about how much of an impact larger tools and items can have on your space and surroundings. Items like large power tools and vehicles like cars, boats, RV’s and motorcycles all take up lots of space and cost a ton.
Sit down and really look at how much time you have to go boating, etc… would it make more financial sense to rent it a few times a year instead of buying the whole thing and having to care for it. Maintenance to care for something like a boat can eat away at your savings too!
Groom Yourself and Loved Ones
Hair care, animal grooming, and nail care can all add up. If you are looking for an easy way to save money and be more frugal, start cutting and dying your own hair. I used to go to a salon to get my hair done and would end up spending at least $100 for a wash, dye and cut. Now I trim my own hair and use store bought hair dye. With a coupon, I spend about $7 on hair dye.
I also groom my own dogs. I invested in a pair of dog hair clippers for about $30 and have saved hundreds each year by grooming my two dogs myself.
Quit Expensive and Unhealthy Habits
I was addicted to Diet Coke growing up and drinking soda became a very expensive habit for me. Not only that, but it was an unhealthy habit that kept me bloated and sluggish. It took me a year of dedicated effort to kick my soda habit and I’m so glad I did. It was costing me hundreds of dollars every year. Adding a few sodas on to your dinner bill can add major dollars which adds up over time.
Take a look at any unhealthy habits you may want to quit or cut back. Things like drinking too much alcohol and smoking are obviously not healthy to begin with, so if these are things you can slowly reduce over time, it could mean lots of money saved.
Think about what your habit might be costing you. If you drink two $5 beers each week, that is $520 a year, or $5,200 every 10 years. If you are smoking, it might be costing you around $10 a pack. Over ten years, that habit will cost you $10,400! We aren’t even taking into account any medical problems that may happen years later.
My soda habit of $1 worth of soda each day, was costing me $365 a year, or $3,650 every 10 years.
Some things might be worth paying for if they bring you some relaxation or joy, but consider how much it might be costing you and whether there is a healthier alternative.
Wait for Coupons or Deals
If you can be patient and wait for deals or use coupons, this is a great way to be more frugal and save thousands of dollars a year.
We waited until a major sale day to buy my husband’s truck, and he saved thousands of dollars. When buying a car, wait until the dealers are about to get new inventory. This is a time when they start having sales to get rid of old inventory fast.
Couponing is another excellent way to save money. Use a service like Ebates to find deals before you go shopping. Planning out your spending in this way can help you find deals before you drive all around town. When you use my link for Ebates, you can get a $10 cash bonus right away.
Another great frugal living tip is to spread out spending. We have been working on a backyard project and our local hardware store was giving us a $10 coupon every time we would buy supplies for our project. So we got wise and started splitting up our purchases and using the $10 off coupons over many weekends. This has saved us hundreds of dollars off our project.
Frugal Entertainment
It’s easy to spend too much money on entertainment. If you are working hard at your day job, you might be telling yourself it’s okay to go out and spend. But there are many ways you can “spend” your time without breaking your budget.
Here are a few ways you can be more frugal and save thousands with entertainment:
- Go Hiking in Nature
- Walk Your Dogs or Take Your Kids or Friends to a Nearby Park
- Utilize Your Local Library
- Have a party at home or in a park with friends- ask everyone to bring a food item
- Look for free entertainment in your own city- we have local bands play throughout the city on Fridays and Saturdays.
- Volunteer at your favorite organization, church or charity.
- Have movie night at home and pop your own popcorn.
- Put on a game night and invite neighbors to meet.
- Drink cocktails at home and talk about goals for the year.
- Have a craft gathering- scrapbook with friends or family.
- If you love to read, start a book club and host parties at each house.
Some key takeaways
Patience is the name of the game when you are trying to be more frugal and save thousands. If you can stop yourself from automatically buying what you want in the moment and not allow your urges to win out, then you will start to see improvements in your spending habits.
For many of the above frugal living tips, thinking things through is a common theme. Make sure to sit down and talk things over with your spouse or loved ones. Create a game plan where you are all on board with being more mindful with your money. Having a greater goal in mind can help immensely. Sometimes that means visioning out what you want for your future.
In the end, living below your means can help you have a more simple life. Your choices become simplified and you won’t be living with as much clutter which frees up your time.
What do you do to save money each month? What areas could you cut back and be more frugal? What would you never give up?
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