Frugal Living Tips that Save Money

When we were looking at our budget and ways to cut costs to get our debt paid off, we realized that we had to go back to “Grandma’s way of doing things” and live more frugally. I quickly adopted these 10 frugal living tips and continue to use them to this day as we save for our future.

saving money

Use Coupons Wisely

Instead of clipping coupons for everything, I now only clip coupons for items that I use and redeem them when the item is on sale to maximize my savings. I’ve also started using many rebate apps that are available online or on your smartphone. My favorite include Checkout 51 and Ibotta.

Plan Your Meals Before you Shop

Every week I’ll sit with the store ads and look at what’s on sale. I’ll then plan a week’s worth of dinners based on what’s on sale and what I already have on hand in my pantry, fridge, and freezer.

If you can, be sure to plan meals where you can use one main ingredient two or three different ways. One of my favorite frugal meals is picking up a whole chicken and making roasted chicken one night, using the leftover meat to make Chicken Fried Rice the next night, and then using the carcass to create my own chicken broth which I then turn into homemade Chicken Noodle Soup.

Try a “Meatless Monday”

Speaking of planning your weekly meals, try going meatless at least once a week. One of the most expensive ingredients we buy on a weekly basis is meat. By trying different meatless meals, we have been able to slash at least $25 a month from our grocery budget.

Prepare Lunch the Night Before

pack your lunchIf you’re like me, you probably will hit snooze one or two times in the morning, making getting up and getting ready to go to work a little more stressful and busy. Many mornings I didn’t have time to put together a lunch, so I’d often find myself heading out to pick up a sandwich or some soup.

I quickly changed my ways after looking at our spending, and I’ll now pack my lunch the night before. Packing your own lunch could save you up to $1800 a year if you are used to grabbing something on the go every day.

Buy Clothes on Consignment or at the Thrift Store

When buying clothing gently used or second hand, you want to be on the lookout for quality pieces that are in great shape and will last. Look for quality name brand clothing that is well made or clothes that look as if they haven’t been worn or still have the original tag attached. Thrift stores will also have monthly or weekly specials, so be sure to get familiar with the sales schedule and visit during their discount days so you’re getting the best deals that you can.

Plan Nights In with Friends

No need to go out and spend a ton of money in order to enjoy an evening with friends. Plan a games night and invite everyone over. One of our favorite things to do is to host a dinner club with a group of close friends. Every month we select a theme and each family will bring over a dish making for a cheap and easy night in with friends.

Cook From Scratch

Some of our favorite things to make from scratch include bread, pancakes, pasta sauce, hot chocolate mix, and chocolate chip cookies that replaced the prepackaged lunch snacks that we used to buy. Not only has my food bill gone down, but so has the household waste that our family produces since we’re not throwing out all of that extra food packaging that comes with the prepackaged foods.

Group Errands Together

Saturday is errand day, and I’ll map out my route making sure that I can get all of my stops made in one trip. This has helped to save us a lot of money on gas each week.

DIY Car Maintenance

There are a lot of quick fixes and maintenance items that you can do yourself, even if you don’t consider yourself to be that handy. Checking the oil, changing the air filters and windshield wipers, and checking the air pressure in your tires are simple things that can be done with minimal effort, but can save you money in the long run.

Dump the Gym Membership

This was one of the first things that we did when it was time to tighten up the budget. Instead of paying for our monthly gym membership, we’ll go for a walk or a jog. There is also a huge variety of exercise videos that you can stream on YouTube for free.

Your Turn

  • What’s your favorite money savings tip?
  • How do you save money?
2 Comments
  1. I read a lot, and use the excellent public library in my city rather than buying books. If I want to buy a book I try it out at the library first, if I can to be sure I want to own the book. Also, I read magazines at the library. I subscribe only to a few the library doesn’t take or those few I want to keep on hand. I photocopy recipes, etc. that I want to keep. I haven’t gotten into Zineo.

    When I go out to eat, I try to remember to take a plastic container for the part of my meal I want for later, so as not to waste the restaurant’s container, recyclable or not. It amounts to two comfortable meals rather than one heavy meal.

  2. I live in the most expensive state California where you pay an extremely high personal income tax and also a very high sales tax over and above the Federal Tax. So the way I save is that I create my Wishlist of services on www.giftvolo.com and share with friends and family. This helps because instead of sending some random gifts to me and my family, loved ones only send items from wishlist.

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