I feel like I am always looking for new ways to save money. For me, the more money I save, the more I have to travel and use to do things I really I want to do. The key, I think to living frugally, is to not FEEL like you are living without. Most of the time, saving money just requires a little extra time and diligence–not sacrifice, if that makes sense? If you are looking to shave a little money off of your monthly expenditures, or even better, free money up to do rad things, here are some tips {hopefully there will be some you aren’t already using}:
- Have a budget and stick to it. Make sure to integrate frivolous spending/fun money into your budget, or you will feel like you are suffering. When the fun money is gone, the fun is over for the month. Plain and simple.
- It’s the little steps that add up. There isn’t one big money saving tip that will yield tons of savings. Be diligent about all of the little savings…pennies will turn into dollars in the long run.
- Embrace the DIY mentality. YouTube is there for a reason–you can pretty much learn to do anything there. Fix your own stuff, bake your own bread, do your own nails, etc.
- Turn money saving methods into hobbies: garden, ride your bike for pleasure and transportation, etc.
- Embrace the library and swapping with friends. No need to buy a new video game, DVD, or book. Swap with friends or reserve it at your local library. It’s free, and although it isn’t instant gratification, in the long run, savings will seriously add up.
- Sell what you don’t need. Sell unwanted clothes at consignment shops and books and DVD’s to used book/movie dealers. Old electronics can usually be turned into cash too. Get rid of the clutter and turn it into cash. Have a garage sale for a one time purge and earn.
- Buy used. You can find really high quality clothing at the right consignment stores, and if you have even the slightest bit of vision, you can turn old furniture into custom awesomeness.
- Pay yourself first. I’m sure you have heard this, but really, set up auto withdraw for EACH of your savings categories {Christmas, travel, savings, retirement, etc.}. That way, the money won’t even be a temptation for frivolous spending.
- Downsize. You may be able to afford the monthly mortgage on a bigger house, but have you ever added up the maintenance costs. The bigger the house, the more maintenance. It’s simple math–when there is 2 bathrooms, instead of 4, there are less pipes to fix, etc. Downsize and I guarantee you won’t spend as much time at Home Depot.
- Move to one car. This is a big one and it isn’t for everyone, but the savings are exponential, if you a can take the plunge. You will have one less car payment, less insurance costs, less maintenance costs, less gas costs. It really is astounding how quickly this will lead to savings. Plus, if you are walking and/or biking places as a result, you may be able to cancel that gym membership.
- Rent instead of own your home. I know, this is blasphemy to some, but hear me out. Renting means zero maintenance costs {usually}, it means no property taxes, and it means no loan interest. Of course, you won’t own your home in the end–but since very few people are staying put long enough to pay off a 30 year mortgage and then live out their days, the cost of home ownership might not be worth it.
- Eat at home. This is a biggie. I know a lot of you already do this, but seriously, you can easily spend $100 for a family of 4 at a sit down restaurant. That is insane, if you calculate how many meals you could actually make for $100.
- Bring your lunch to work. It sucks not to go out with your co-workers at lunch time, but the savings are substantial. I make the HH lunch everyday, and if I ever sat down to add up how much that has saved us over the years, I think the number would be jaw dropping.
- Minimalize your clothing. Clothing is expensive. Having tons of it or keeping up with every fashion trend gets really expensive. Choose a classic style and have enough, no more, no less.
- Stay out of the stores. This is a big one. I think shopping only at Costco this year will actually keep me from making those impulse purchases. Target is particularly bad for this one for me–those stupid markdown end caps will get ya.
- Eliminate cable. With Amazon Prime, Hulu, and Netflix, there really are plenty of options that will cost you about $10 a month to watch t.v. Most cable bills are at least $60. That’s $50 a month in your pocket. Not too shabby.
- Cancel your gym membership and hit Pinterest for great body weight workouts.
- Plan errands carefully. Plan your route down to the very last turn, and you can save tons on time and gas.
- Cut utilities. Get a programmable thermostat and set the temps lower when you are not home. Wash clothes in cold. Use a single bulb lamp instead of turning on the overhead light with 4-5 bulbs. Don’t heat/cool the rooms you are not using–close the door and the vents to those rooms.
- Have a meatless meal once or twice a week. Meat is expensive. Having a meatless meal even just 2 times per week, assuming $5.00 for the meat can easily shave $40.00 off of your monthly food budget.
I know there are literally hundreds of ways to save money, right down to the tiniest detail. Do you live frugally? What are YOUR favorite tips?
~Mavis
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lynne says
🙂 Using Dave Ramsey’s method has really helped us to live frugally. The only debt we have left is our house payment (7 years left-wahoo!), and we use cash for everything, including our last car purchase. It was AWESOMNESS paying cash in full for a new-to-us used vehicle!! We have one credit card – for online purchasing only. Add to that is a vege garden, buying meat in bulk from a local farmer (we purchase 1/4 cow every year, averages $6/pound for EVERYTHING), and buying in bulk from our local Coop. No processed foods – okay, the occasional box of Mac-n-Cheese – ;-), cooking meals from scratch, and limiting our eating out…it all adds up! Love your blog – thanks for all you do!! Lynne in MN
Mavis says
Amazing job on paying cash for your cars and only having a mortgage left! Pat yourselves on the back for a job well done!
Sherry says
Be careful about turning off the heat to any room that has plumbing in very cold weather. Frozen pipes burst.
Mavis says
Good tip. Thanks for the reminder! Burst pipes would be awful!
Miriam says
You can still turn your heat down to 50 degrees F when you don’t need to heat it. Then the pipes won’t burst, but you won’t be doing that much heating.
Lana says
We had an energy audit done years ago and one thing we were told is that closing off rooms and vents does not save money.
Delores says
For the gym membership, not only are pinterest boards good sources, but I frequently use Fitness Blender videos. They are great! They have so many to choose from — different types of exercises, different lengths, and always free on youtube!
Sakura says
I enjoyed reading these tips, some of them were reminders but I think just being mindful of these is very helpful. We actually have a family membership to our local rec center and I think it’s worth every penny. During the cold winter months in Utah we can enjoy some activities that relatively cost little per person. I do pay for it yearly with cash but my kids and their friends use it often during the colder seasons. With that said I love all the exercises I’ve found on Pinterest, I use those when I travel!
I like the idea of having an energy audit done for our home. We live in an older home so I’m a little scared as to what they will tell us. One thing we did this year was evaluate our cellphone plan and make some changes. I use if for home and business so we have 6 devices on our plan, by just taking some time with the provider we are now saving over $100 a month.
Kaia says
I dunno…you downsized and seem to be spending MORE time at Home Depot… 😉 lol!
Grace says
“11. Rent instead of own your home. . . . Renting means zero maintenance costs {usually}, it means no property taxes, and it means no loan interest.”
It always amazes me when people use this thought process to support renting property instead of owning property. The primary purpose of a landlord offering a unit for rental is to make a profit. Therefore, as the tenet of a rental unit, you ARE paying for maintenance, property taxes, loan interest, property insurance, property management fees, & all other costs your landlord incurs on the property you are renting, & you are also paying for the property owner to make a profit. You are just paying those things for someone else–your landlord. You are also generally paying those costs on a month-to-month basis instead of in a lump sum as the landlord will often be required to do. In addition, the landlord is assuming all financial risk of there being a decline in property values. There are good reasons for choosing to rent instead of own, but getting a “free lunch” is not one of them. Renting is the appropriate choice if you are only going to be occupying the dwelling for a short time & it wouldn’t be financially prudent to tie up a large sum of money for purchase, or if you don’t have the financial ability to provide the upfront money that is necessary to purchase a property, or if you don’t want to be responsible for the duties of property maintenance. As a renter you will still pay for the property maintenance, you just won’t have the hassle of providing the work crew to do it & overseeing the work. Just remember, your landlord isn’t GIVING you anything. You pay for all costs associated with a rental unit &, in addition, you pay for the landlord to make a profit. And keep in mind that you frequently don’t have the freedom of choice as a tenet that you have as an owner. If you want to paint your living room red, or change the cabinet hardware or a light fixture, or tear up an area of lawn for a garden, you have to ask permission from your landlord, & it’s not unusual for that permission to be denied.
SandyF says
100% agree! I have owned 3 homes-moving up each time. We now have $800,000 equity, our payment is way under anything we could rent in our area (1/4 at least) and our property taxes are really low. Owning means equity- almost anywhere in US.
Own smart, location location location-until it is time to retire. Then live where you want with no worries. Fixing up a home is rewarding, providing your children a sense of home, no threat of the landlord deciding not to rent anymore-on and on.
If you can buy a home-do it. The best thing we ever did. I remember the first mortgage of $70,000…I thought I was going to throw up owing that much money. Then after the 3rd house, I was “whatever”-it will be worth more in a no time. Great points you made! Thanks for sharing
Jen Y says
I have lived very frugally all my life until a few years ago – doing pretty much everything in your list!
Once we hit the empty nest we decided to begin enjoying all the sacrifices we’ve made. We don’t really like traveling so we splurge on day to day things to make life easier & more fun; eating out, more of our favorite foods at the grocery store, more pets, ect. things we love.
We do still only drive older cars, no cell phones (we just don’t want the hassle & exspense of them), no cable but great internet so we stream alot, cooking from scrath most of the time, carrying lunches to work. After a lifetime of living frugally most of this doesn’t feel like a sacrifice but just normal life of taking care of what you own.
Love your blog & the ideas you share.
Ronnica, Striving Stewardess says
I bring my lunch to work, too. I don’t know how my coworkers (who make the same as me) can afford to grab something every day. I enjoy my home-brought lunches more than fast food, and I’m saving $3-5 a day, easily! That’s likely $1000 a year. Over a 40-year career…that’s like a year’s worth of income, tax-free!
janis heinrich says
#15-stay out of stores by shopping online. If I dont see that thing I dint know I needed at Walmart all the better. And enter w/ a list,on a time budget like your on a mission.
After switching to Aldis we really cut costs too.
Doing about all the list,been debt free for over 7 yrs. Actually have made hundreds by using CC’s w/ points and paying before bill even hits the balance online.