Being frugal – this in no way means being cheap.
Quite the contrary. How to be frugal simply means “how to be smart with your money”.
We could all use some extra money every month….
Whether it is for saving, investing, being financially independent, or simply so you can stop feeling so poor every month.
By being smart with your money, you will have more money every month for those things that matter the most to you.
Read over all of the 25 awesome easy tips to find the ones that you want and can do.
All of these tips are not for everyone.
We are all different kinds of people, after all
Test them all out and see what works for you and forget the ones that don’t. I know you can do it!
12 Awesome Easy Tips To Spending Wisely
1. Buy a used car
Never, ever buy new.
You can save thousands by shopping around for a lower mileage car that is only a few years old.
Pay cash!
Buying new creates another debt which takes a large chunk of your money every month.
Also a car depreciates by 10% once it leaves the lot and 20% more over the first year. —- Waste of money.
2. Walk More
Do you need a gallon of milk from the corner store?
Don’t drive there, walk instead.
Kills me how many of my neighbors I see driving to the 7-11 a block away from the house.
Wear and tear on the car and burning gas just for a 6 pack of beer.
I always walk.
Get some exercise, some fresh air and socialize from time to time with the neighbors.
If you really want some exercise get a bike to go to nearby places.
- We have all grown lazy by starting to drive at 16 years old and wanting to be cool to your friends.
- That morphs into the habit of driving everywhere for anything you need.
That’s why so many of us are over weight too. Need I say more?
3. Leave your credit cards and debit cards at home
If you are going out for something specific…….say you need a new pair of shoes.
Do not take your credit cards.
This helps to avoid temptation to splurge on other stuff you see while you are there.
—— Plan what you want to spend and use cash only.
When you only have what you need on you for the item you are searching for you cannot over spend.
Also research your purchase before going. Looking for a specific brand? Google it.
See who has it in your area and look at the prices.
If you see the cheapest price is only sold online, go to the store to try it on to get the right size and then see if they will price match.
If they will not, then simply purchase it online and leave the store.
4. Use A Time Rule For Impulse Purchases
If you are shopping and see an item that you want but is not on your list – Do Not Buy It.
You can create a rule for yourself: 30 day rule, 24 hour rule.
Whichever makes sense for you because only you know you.
Wait the allotted time frame you have picked for yourself and if you still want that item after the time is up then go buy it.
Impulse buying is one of the biggest things that will leave us with $0 really fast.
5. Go To The Park
Do you normally go out to eat once a week, or go to the movies?
Both of these can be expensive…….
Instead research the area where you live.
Find a park, pack a lunch and go walking some hiking trails.
Bring a camera and explore the beauty of nature and enjoy some time with friends or family.
Or get some alone time to relax and let the stress of life fade away.
My favorite is going to the local creek behind a bunch of houses under the train trestles. Not a well known area or well traveled.
Mostly just kids riding their mountain bikes from time to time.
I take my dog and I sit and listen to the water flowing. So, so peaceful.
6. Nails, pedicures, Tanning Salon?
Never, ever have I seen such a waste of money in my life. Lol.
Maybe you have a friend who needs to save money, or a teenager.
You can each look for YouTube videos to see how to give an awesome manicure and even videos to paint fancy nails.
Also skip the tanning salon.
My daughter came to me when she was a teenager and wanted to go to a tanning salon.
Boggled my mind.
We live in Florida so I said sure “go outside”. Smh.
Kids are the worst drain on our finances if you let them be. Teach them.
They may whine and cry but they will pick it up and you will see later in life they are putting this stuff to use also.
7. Clothes
So many things that have to do with our clothes are wasteful.
Do you have a closet full of clothes you grew out of but keep? Then go back to number 2 and number 5.
Both of these will help you be healthier and lose weight so you can get back into those clothes and stop having to buy bigger and bigger sizes.
Laundry
Clean your clothes on the short cycle. They still get clean, no reason to wash each load for an hour like some washers do.
I use perma press due to the fact that it is less harsh on my clothes so they last longer.
Laundry detergent
The majority of laundry detergent has become concentrated over the years.
But the companies still include the big cup/lid that is the same size as it was years ago when it was not concentrated.
They also make it hard to read by putting the lines for filling up the cup on the inside in the same color as the lid is.
They do all of this on purpose.
People don’t look or can’t see and it is just easier to fill the cup and pour it in.
If you go look at your detergent right now and read it you will see if takes a fraction of what you are using to clean your clothes.
These companies make billions of dollars a year banking on the fact that no one will read it and use way too much detergent on each load.
Dryer
If the weather is nice or you live in an area like me (Florida) dry your clothes on the clothes line.
I love hanging clothes, I find it relaxing.
I also love folding clothes while I am outside and enjoying the day.
When I used to dry them in the house I would pull them out of the dryer and put in the basket and there they would sit. Getting wrinkled.
9. Utilities
Don’t leave the lights on if you are not using them (are you hearing your Dad’s voice right now in your head?).
Unplug items you are not using such as the blow dryer, coffee pot, even the microwave.
If you want a clock and don’t want to have to program it every time, buy a clock for the wall (battery operated, of course).
Use fans to keep the air conditioning circulating so you do not have to have the thermostat so low.
Buy black out curtains for summer and buy the window insulation kits for the winter.
Get an energy efficient shower head with a on/off switch at the head.
While you are washing flip it to off to save water.
10. Pets
Get a hair shaver for your dog instead of going to the groomer.
I have been grooming my dogs since I was a kid. It was a necessity back then because my parents didn’t have money for a groomer, but honestly I don’t even know if there was such a thing back then.
Nails can also be trimmed at home.
There are many different kinds of nail clippers available and easy to use.
When my dogs go to the vet they get a free nail clipping which is the good clipping because I am afraid to go to low. I just do a trim from time to time and let the vet techs do the real deal.
11. Cancel, Cancel, Cancel
Cancel cable and get a cheaper streaming app to watch tv.
So many available these days. Netflix, Hulu, HBO Go. I have a Firestick in one room and a Roku in another.
There are so many free channels you can install on the Roku to see movies and tv shows for free it is ridiculous. There is always something to watch.
Cancel your gym membership that you only use once in awhile if at all.
Walk, ride a bike or pull up Youtube videos on your Firestick or Roku to do some pilates or Yoga. I love Wai Lana’s Yoga series.
Look to see what else you have for recurring payments. Could be monthly but also check yearly. Magazines are a big one. Cancel them.
Go the your local library to read for free or read online. This is not to say everything that is a subscription is bad.
If you use some services like Amazon’s subscribe and save you can save every month on items that you will be buying anyway. Dog food, paper towels, toilet paper and on and on.
12. Cell phones
Last but not least, this is the biggie. DO NOT UPGRADE YOUR PHONE JUST BECAUSE YOU WANT TO.
New version of your phone coming out?
So what.
Why do you need it?
Your contract says get a new phone every two years? So what.
Do not get a new phone just because. Only get a new phone if you NEED a new phone!
I can’t say that enough. Only get a new phone if you NEED a new phone!
You will save 100’s of dollars by getting a protective case and treating your phone well so it will last for years.
Conclusion
So that is the list and I know you can do these.
When money is tight and times are tough you figure it out and survive.
Think back to what you did in those days.
Maybe you can do some of those now and a few if not all of those listed above and you will not be broke all the time.
Just because you are making more money now then you did years ago, does not mean you have to spend all that money.
Being frugal gives you more money to work with and a peace of mind like no other when you are not constantly worrying about where is the money gonna come from to pay this or that.
Any tips you can share with others on spending wisely and living frugally please share in the comments below to help me and others out of the spend and being in debt cycle of our world today. Thanks!
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