Frugal living is not something that I have always been a big fan of. I used to think that people who considered themselves frugal were actually just cheapskates. People who saved up all of their money and never had any fun.
It wasn’t until I racked up over $20,000 in debt in 2006 that I realized money was always going to be weighing me down – if I let it. That’s when I decided to give frugal living a try.
Though the past few years have not been easy, I have learned so many things about frugal living and why it is such a wonderful way of life.
Below you will find a bunch of ways to be frugal around your home.
Home:
1. Cook from scratch. Not only is doing this a great way to save money, but you have the control over what goes into the food you are eating.
2. Start freezer cooking. Cook multiple meals in bulk and freeze the extra for future meals.
3. Build a stockpile. Stock up when things you regularly use are on sale, so that you don’t have to pay full price the next time you need them.
4. Use every last bit of shampoo, conditioner, hand soap, etc. When something like your soap is almost gone, add a bit of water to the bottle and shake it up. You will be able to get a few more days out of the soap.
5. Use vinegar. This cheap product is very useful for so many things, including cleaning and disinfecting.
6. Re-use dryer sheets, or forego them all together. You really don’t need them.
7. Learn to sew. Mend and create your own clothing instead of paying someone else to do it for you.
8. Cut out the cable. There are many free TV stations available online these days.
9. Buy used. I’m not just talking about clothing and toys, but also furniture, vehicles, and home decor.
10. Make your own household cleaners.
11. Re-use gift bags and tissue paper. As long as they are not ripped or destroyed in some way, there’s no reason to throw those items in the trash.
12. Become a minimalist. Learn to live with less.
13. Downsize. If your home is larger than you need, find a smaller one. There’s no sense paying for space that is never used.
14. Wash your clothing, towels, bedding, etc. all in cold water to give your hot water tank a break.
15. Take quick showers. Make it a game with your family and see who can shower (and still get clean!) the fastest.
16. Use a slow cooker. These save a great deal of electricity.
17. Clean windows and mirrors with newspaper instead of paper towels.
18. Use rags to clean us messes instead of paper towels.
19. Avoid bottled water. Stick to drinking tap water from a filter, such as Brita.
20. Switch to energy efficient light bulbs. They may cost a bit more up front, but they will last much longer and will help to lower your hydro bill.
21. Get organized. Organize your bills, clothing, tools, toys, books – keep your entire home organized so that you always know where to find things, preventing you from buying a duplicate.
22. Re-use baby wipe containers or facial tissue boxes to store plastic grocery bags.
23. Cancel your newspaper subscription. There are many free news websites available. Read the news online for free.
24. Shop at thrift stores and yard sales. You can often find kitchen items, clothing, toys and more, for a very small fraction of the original price.
25. Hang your clothes to dry, instead of using a dryer. You can save quite a bit of money doing this one simple thing.
26. Avoid “dry clean only” clothing. Those dry cleaning bills can add up fast!
Don’t feel as though you need to follow every tip on this list. Find a few tips that you think you will be implement into your current lifestyle and give them a try. If they work out well, try a few more.
It’s important to remember not to overwhelm yourself. Doing so will only result in disappointment.
Frugal living is one of the best ways you can save money and enjoy a more simple and meaningful life. You don’t need “stuff” to make you happy.
I am so thankful that I changed my life around and am now more careful with my money. Since becoming more frugal, I have actually been able to enjoy the things that I wasn’t able to enjoy when I was spending money crazily – imagine that!
Please share your frugal living tips in the comments.
Hello!!??!!??Heather have you ever noticed how dirty your hands get holding money you do it anyway!HELLO!!!!!!!
Wow! this is a great list of ideas, most of them I do to help save my family money. My hubby had never heard of using newspaper before either until I told him years ago and now he always uses newspaper for cleaning. One of the best ideas is buy used stuff especially for kids. My girls love to shop at value village and salvation army they love to spend hours finding great clothes and at the salvation army near us it’s $2 a bag for kids clothes so you can get a ton of stuff for next to nothing ( thanks to the ppl who don’t live frugal! ). I know how to sew and that has come in handy so many times, as well I crochet so we never have to buy hats or scarves among other things it’s great I love being frugal! I can’t believe some of the ppl on here complaining about these ideas, if you don’t like to save money then this site is not for you.
i totally forgot about newspaper for windows!!! my mom used to do it, and my windows are full of kid streaks, cuz i HATE buying paper towels….everyone would just use them waste-fully. when i absolutely have to, i buy ONE roll of PT to clean the windows and mirrors with…I have 4 kids and a snotty dog, no way am i doing windows more than i have to!! lol
THANKS MS J!
I was also skeptical about using newspapers to clean mirrors/windows, despite the fact my mom swears by it. One day I decided to give it a shot on my bathroom mirror (the worst case scenario would be I’d have to re-clean it using a paper towel). I was surprised at how amazingly clean the mirror was by using newspapers on it. Great tips, everyone!
heather…
I must also disagree with you on the newspaper thing.
I was traveling in the southern states and stopped to fill up at a gas station. While pumping the gas, a young man asked me if he could clean my windshield. Of course I told him yes.
While paying for the gas, it dawned on me that he didn’t work for the gas station, but worked for tips.
He has a large spray bottle and a bundle of newspapers, and watched I watched him, thinking that the windows would be streaked black. I was wrong. They have never been that clean. Since then, I use NOTHING BUT newspapers to clean my window. (Needless to say, I gave him a nice tip).
Relating this story to a friend of mine, he laughed. His parents, having emigrated from Italy, were very poor and never had luxury items like paper towels. He told me that until he move out at 22 years old, he had never seen a window or mirror cleaned with anything BUT newspaper. Try it. You’ll be shocked.
Great tips everyone, thanks for sharing.
Another thing that I do is cut my husband’s hair. He was paying around $20 every 6 weeks at a salon. So we bought the clippers for $20-30 and got a hair dresser friend to show me how to use them. I have done it 4 times now and it really isn’t that hard and has saved us a bunch of money.
I always check out the dollar store for seasonal decor. I found some cute little pumpkins the other day that will be cute as a center piece on my kitchen table. I used to buy the real ones but these ones look almost real and can be used for years to come.
Another frugal decor tip is to use spray paint. For example, My husband and I just bought a new house and the mail box by our front door was in good shape but was an ugly peach colour. I went out and bought a $5 can of black spray paint and saved myself from spending $20+ on a new mail box. I have spray painted many items and it has saved me a ton of money.
Heather could not be more wrong. your glass will sparkle, however the ink will get on the vinyl casing.
living frugally like the list Mrs. January has served me well for over 50 yrs. If you observe our seniors who have been through the depression, believe me they are the thriftiest people I know & seem to be doing well (they’ve been through the worst times financially in their liftime!!!). I remember my mother adding a little water to shampoo to make it go further, adding some water to ketchup & shaking the bottle to make it go further, etc. Hand me downs for clothes when I was growing up didn’t hurt either (I loved to see what my cousins were giving away cuz they grew out of it!!). When clothes were ripe, she’d take all the buttons & zippers off to use in case she had to replace a button or zipper (saves from buying them!!).
I say “don’t knock it til you try it!” I haven’t tried the newspaper trick yet but at least I am willing to have a mind that is open to suggestions (clearly from people who have great success with it! After all we came to this blog to get ideas, remember? Not to bash people’s suggestions. Might I add that we also wash out our ziploc sandwich bags and air dry on the counter. Less garbage in the landfill, less purchasing! As my wise grandma said “take care of the pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves!”
Sami,
You would be surprised at how many people do so few, if any, of those things. I have found common sense to be very uncommon!
living frugal?? You are kidding me. Learn to sew? Buy used clothes. Most of the points are common sense. This is not living frugal. I am not impressed with this list.
I use Norwex cloths for my windows and mirrors. Blue cloth damp with just water to wipe all over the window/mirror and the purple cloth dry to wipe it dry. Works wonderful!!! No streaks, cleans and just with water. I don’t sell Norwex but sure do use it. You don’t need chemicals for cleaning. My cleaning expenses have gone WAY down. Just google the company.
I have a hard time not shopping but I’ve cut back and it feels good. I just track everything in a spreadsheet and I find it makes me more accountable. I also use the slowcooker at least twice. I am going to try the newspaper idea before I critize it. Thanks for the idea I would’ve never known.
My biggest thing is the urge to shop – i think its like a smoker or gambler trying to quite.
I’ve been using diluted vinegar and newspaper to clean windows for 30 years now. Nothing beats it! No lint, no streaks, and definitely no ink. Just clean, clear glass. Use a rag to wash the window with the vinegar, then dry it with the newspaper.
Many of these “Frugal Living” tips are also very green. Bottled water is not environmentally friendly so tap water is much better for your pocket book and the environment. Cleaning the windows with newspaper is also a better environmental choice. Better yet, try a couple of drops of dish detergent and vinegar in hot water and squeegee your windows. Fast, effective and green.
The best advice that I’d ever gotten was from a very frugal uncle who told me “Don’t spend money you don’t have on things you don’t need.” Leave the trinkets and trash in the store and buy only what you can use. I’m still working on that part but I’ve found that a simpler way of life is much less stressful.
Oh yeah, and don’t underestimate volunteering and bartering. I recently volunteered at an event and had a much better time than I would have at the movies (seriously, try it, you may surprise yourself). Through that event, I also managed to barter drywalling services (which I’m good at) for electrical work (which I need and can’t afford right now). I love these kind of win-wins!
Try it first it works!!! 2 cups of water, 1/4 cup of white distilled vinegar, and up to 1/2 teaspoon of liquid soap or detergent (to help with wax build up) in a spray bottle.
@Heather~ It actually does work, your windows and mirrors are clean and there is no ink or lint from the paper towel left on the windows or mirrors. She is not telling you to use newspaper, it’s a suggestion on being frugal!
My tip is to use separate bank accounts for separate goals. It seems pretty standard I know, but I found that once we created a few (free) savings accounts for large purchases like “Home Renovations”, “Travel”, and “Furniture” we could save up for large purchases, know exactly how much we could spend, and spend without feeling guilty that we were using money we should use elsewhere. It also really helps bring home the old “save your money until you can afford it” rule.
Also, I will vouch for the newspapers and glass thing. It’s actually a very tried and tested method. The newsprint helps shine the windows, won’t leave streaks, and unlike paper towels it also won’t leave little bits of paper behind. Newspapers and diluted vinegar is really an effective, cheap and natural way to clean glass
Stop buying junk food, not only does it help with lowering money spent, but by not mindlessly eating when I see chips or candy or pop I’ve lost weight and am healthier/happier
(I was super bad for it in my first year at uni, then realized all this bad food was causing my headaches and my inability to concentrate…)
have you ever read a newspaper? ever noticed how the ink will make your fingers go black if you rub them against the text? and your telling me to clean my windows and mirrors with newspaper? ummmm no, thanks, i would prefer that they look CLEAN. HELLO!!??!!??