Despite what TLC might have us believe, frugal living doesn’t always involve dumpster diving or stealing ketchup sachets from restaurants. Sometimes frugal living is as simple as cutting down on unnecessary spending or tweaking a few bad habits to help you save more money. And it’s surprisingly easy…and painless! So today I’m sharing some of my favourite frugal living hacks and you can rest assured that not a single one of them involves you rummaging through a dumpster.
1. Adopt a save vs splurge mentality
Frugal living doesn’t need to be miserable or miserly. Sure, one of the easiest ways to save money is to cut out unnecessary expenses (I have a list of things you should stop buying right here to get you started), but you also need to enjoy your life. This is where the save vs splurge mentality comes in.
Write out a list of five to ten little luxuries that bring you genuine joy. It could be something as simple as a muffin from your local bakery or your monthly trip to the nail salon. Then give yourself permission to splurge on those things without guilt. As long as you’re taking steps to save on other unnecessary expenses then it’s fine to treat yourself to things that will actually make you happy. In fact, I’d recommend it for the sake of your sanity.
2. Stick to a budget
Frugal people know what their budget is…and they stick to it! Creating a well thought out and realistic budget is essential if you want to start saving money. Lucky for you guys, I have a beginner friendly guide for creating a budget (complete with free budget worksheets) right here!
3. Plan out your meals
How much do you spend on your weekly food shop? And how much of what you buy ends up in the bin at the end of the week?
The easiest way to save money at the supermarket is to plan out your meals ahead of time. It also makes for a lot less drama and confusion in the kitchen if you already know what you’re meant to be cooking each day. Win win.
- Plan out your meals for the week
- Check in the cupboards to see which ingredients you already have
- Use the meal plan to create a shopping list
- Stick to your list! That means no spur of the moment tubs of Ben & Jerry’s and I mean it!
4. Don’t live beyond your means
It sounds obvious, but if you want to be frugal, live within your means. If you can’t afford something, don’t buy it. Don’t just put it on your credit card and decide it’s a problem for your future self. Trust me, your future self will hate you if you do that!
Of course, there are going to be unexpected expenses that pop up and sometimes that’s unavoidable. But, where possible, avoid putting things on a credit card unless you have the money in the bank to pay off your bill in full at the end of the month. Monthly interest is like a vampire – if you invite it into your home, you can’t be surprised if it bites you in the butt.
5. Put in a little work to get the best price
There are plenty of tricks to save money on just about anything you want to purchase and frugal people implement all of them. Before you rush in and make your next purchase, put in a little bit of work and you could save yourself a lot of money.
- Shop around – check online to see which retailers offer the best price.
- Use coupons – Honey is a browser plugin that automatically scours the internet for coupons and then applies them at the checkout. Yep, you can save money without actually having to lift a finger. Sign up for Honey to start saving money.
- Use cashback sites – Instead of going straight to your favourite online retailer to make a purchase, you can go through a cashback site and get a percentage of what you spend back. You still make your purchase through the retailer website and the retailer still fulfils the order, but with the added bonus that you get some of your cash back. My favourite cashback sites are Rakuten and Topcashback. I’ll never shop without cashback again!
- Use loyalty cards – Loyalty cards (think the Boots Advantage Card and Tesco Clubcard) let you earn points every time you make a purchase. Eventually these points can be traded in for store credit or some kind of free perk.
6. Only take ownership of your own purchases
If you’re working hard to save your money, it’s important that you don’t let other people spend it. If you’re out at a restaurant with friends and you order the cheapest thing on the menu, don’t let the guy who ordered the 12oz steak suggest you all just split the bill equally. Simply point out that, since your meal was significantly cheaper, it makes more sense for everyone to just pay for what they ordered.
Trust me. I’m a vegetarian and this happens all the time!
7. Create a genuine wish list
If you want to be more frugal, it’s important to avoid impulse shopping. Like the plague.
Instead, if you see something you just have to have, add it to your wish list. Odds are, within a few days you’ll realise you don’t really want it all that much and you can wipe it from the list. Over time you’ll build up a list of things you genuinely want. Then, when it’s time to treat yourself, you know you’re putting your money towards something that will actually bring you joy instead of something you’ll fall out of love with within three days of buying it.
8. Save for big expenses in advance
If you know you have an expensive occasion coming up or that you’ll need to make a rather hefty purchase in the near future, start saving ahead of time. Putting aside a little bit of money each month is less painful than having to come up with a large sum all at once.
9. Be mindful of your utilities
Why waste money heating an empty house or lighting a room that no one’s in? Get into the habit of unplugging appliances, switching off lights and turning off the central heating or air conditioning when you leave the house and you might just save a small fortune.
10. DIY whatever you can
Ok, let me be perfectly clear here. I’m not telling you to start making your own clothes if you can’t thread a needle. But ask yourself what you can make for yourself. Do you need to buy the overpriced, pre-made pasta sauce or could you make your own? Do you have to use the expensive cleaning solution or could you use a homemade cleaner instead? You don’t have to be all Little House on the Prairie about it, but if there are DIY alternatives that you can introduce into your daily life, you’ll definitely start to see some savings.
These frugal living hacks are easy to implement and can help you save money for the truly important things, whatever those might be for you. Have some frugal living tips of your own? Go ahead and let me know in the comments!
