How to Be Frugal: 30 Frugal Living Tips To Try Today

People facing financial difficulties believe that doubling their income will be the solution to their financial problems. However, it’s been proven that expenses go up as the income increases. People who start earning more, tend to upgrade their lives and thus their expenses are never met.

The best solution to solve your financial problems and start saving is to live frugally. Below is a list of practical tips you can apply today that will save you more money:

Long-Term Saving

#1. Track where your money goes and determine what you can cut back on.

Defining which areas of your life are eating up your money the most, will help you see how relevant these expenses are and what can be eliminated.

#2. Create a budget.

A budget is a great way to save money and track your spending. One way to budget is to use the 80/20 budget. This budget allocates 20% of your income to savings and the remaining 80 percent to essentials like housing costs, utilities, and commuting expenses.

Read more about the 3 major types of budgets you can use to save money.

#3. Save automatically.

Manually transferring your money into a savings account, might not prove effective. You might feel tempted to skip a month or two. Try to have your income cut off and transferred into a savings account automatically.

#4. Have an emergency fund.

An emergency fund can save you on debt and credit interest when you have to pay for unforeseen expenses or if you lose your job. Set aside six months' worth of living expenses. Finally, make sure you have a clear idea of what is considered an emergency. A vacation or a new leather sofa is not exactly an emergency!

#5. Pay off your debt and stay away from it.

Interests add up in no time. You might find yourself struggling to pay off the interest, let alone the actual debt. Stop using credit cards and start paying off your debt. You can start paying off the debt generating the highest interest rate in order to save money on interest.

Related: How To Build Wealth: 6 Ways To Build Wealth Fast

#6. Go with a smaller house and a smaller car.

This will save you on maintaining your home and car. It’ll also save you on the electricity and gas bill.

#7. Take care of your health.

Exercise more, keep the stress away and eat healthy. This will save you on your medical bill.

Photo by Andrew Tanglao on Unsplash

Saving on Necessary Expenses

#8. Eat more meals at home.

Plan your meals and cook in larger quantities so you can freeze for later. This will save you money and time.

#9. Pack your lunch instead of eating out.

Packing your lunch to work will help you eat healthier and save the environment by using less plastic and packaging.

#10. Drink more water.

Replace juices and sodas with water. It’s a much healthier alternative. You can get a filter for your water tap so you can safely drink tap water and save on bottled water.

#11. Learn how to make a good coffee at home.

Brew your coffee at home and take it with you to work in a flask.

#12. Switch to LED bulbs.

LED bulbs present good durability, and energy efficiency making it possible for it to outlast other types of bulbs by thousands of hours.

#13. Insulate your walls to cut down on the heating bill.

Insulating your walls stop the flow of heat into and out of the home. This makes your home more energy-efficient all year round.

#14. Grow your own herbs and vegetables.

Keeping your produce drawer and spice cabinet stocked can be expensive. Growing your own herbs and vegetables is one way to can cut down on the price of these essential ingredients.

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

Saving by Spending Less

#15. Buy in bulk.

Bulk is cheaper but it also saves the environment unnecessary packaging.

#16. Buy used when possible.

There's no shame in buying second hand as long as it's in a good shape to be used.

#17. Borrow if you’re going to need it one time.

There are many things you only use a couple of times that you can borrow instead of buying it and never use it again. Books, kitchen gadgets like ice cream machine or cake pop maker, party supplies, gardening equipments… all of these can be borrowed.

#18. If something breaks, learn how to fix it.

Look for a tutorial on YouTube and learn how to fix things yourself.

#19. Line dry your clothes.

This saves you money, but also saves your clothes. Dryers make your clothes softer, but they also weaken the fabric’s fibers faster than if they had been air-dried.

#20. Get back on your bike.

Cycling improves your health and boosts your mood. It can be easy to fit into your daily routine by riding to work, shops, parks…

#21. Adopt a minimalist wardrobe.

We have to make decisions all day long, which can be overwhelming and affect the efficiency with which we make important decisions. Adopting a minimalist wardrobe offers you fewer choices which means one less decision to make.

#22. Buy clothes at the end of the season.

You can save money on clothing purchases by timing your shopping trips correctly and knowing when major retailers throw their semiannual sales. Dec. 26. The day after Christmas is usually known to be the best day of the year to buy clothing.

Read more: BestDays and Weekends to Shop for Clothing

Photo by Artem Beliaikin on Unsplash

#23. Never go shopping without a list.

You can make a list on your fridge and write down anything you’re running out of to help you save your time and money when shopping for groceries.

#24. Cut out cable.

There's plenty of extra stuff on Netflix and other non-cable services that are much cheaper than using the cable. Plus you won’t have to pay for channels you never watch.

#25. Use the library.

If you’re an avid reader, this can save you a good amount of money.

#26. Cut your own hair, use tutorials on YouTube to learn how to, or take a class.

If you prefer your hair short, learning how to cut your own hair can come handy. It’ll save you time too.

Saving by Creating Extra Income

#27. Sell your clutter.

Whatever you don’t use anymore, sell it. If you’re going to buy new housewares or electronics, sell the old ones. There are many places to sell unwanted items online, including Craigslist, eBay, or Facebook Marketplace. You can also hold a traditional yard sale if you have a lot of items to sell.

#28. Rent out your parking spot.

If you live in an area where parking can be hard to come by, renting out your spot while you’re at work can be a great idea.

#29. Monetize Your Passion.

If you have a hobby or a skill you do for fun, consider monetizing it. If you love photography, try selling photos on stock websites, or if you love writing, try starting a blog.