Living frugally gives you a chance to save money for other things, such as buying a home, starting a business or traveling. Life is expensive. Even the cost of eggs is so astronomical, the internet is filled with memes about their current value. However, you can make your budget stretch further than you thought possible with a few frugal living tips.
How Do You Live Frugally?
The Census Bureau estimates a median household income of $70,784 per year. Those making under that standard may struggle to make ends meet. Whether you make two or three times the median income, or you bring in far less, being a good steward of your money makes sense. No one wants to see their hard-earned income wasted.
Living frugally often means choosing the simpler things in life. However, you can still enjoy fine things, travel and activities. You just have to find cheaper ways to participate in the things you enjoy most.
Here are our favorite tips for living frugally and sticking to your budget.
Note: Some of the links in this article may give me credit or commissions. The site fees, hosting and writers’ time is paid for with affiliate sales.
1. Start with a No Spend Month
Our favorite advice for redoing your budget is to have a no spend month. It’s quite challenging to go a whole month and not spend extra money, but it allows you to see what costs are necessary. You can then revamp your budget with a clear picture of what you should and shouldn’t buy each month.
2. Identify Overspending for Frugal Living
Every human alive has something they enjoy. For Lyle Crocodile it was Turkish caviar. For me, it is certain brands of shoes and purses. What is your area where you overspend or overpay because you love that item?
Once you’ve found it–and you may have more than one–you can take steps to save. For example, I love Vionic shoes. They help my feet not ache and offer my arches support. They’re expensive. I don’t like buying used shoes. They almost always stink or don’t fit right. So, I buy my Vionics new. I just don’t pay full price. I wait for a sale. I then buy several pair and tuck them away, so I can qualify for free shipping. Just as an example, I recently got my sandals for next summer at around half off, boots I’d had my eye on for around 30% off and a pair of sneakers I didn’t need but were too good of a clearance deal to pass up. I won’t have to buy sneakers for a very long time.
What is your kryptonite?
3. Use Coupons
Coupons are different than they once were. Many years ago, I would diligently clip out the Sunday circulars. I’d sort my coupons, match them to store sales and stock up on what I needed. I had coupon clutter but I saved a lot of money.
I much prefer today’s coupons where they tend to be digital. You clip them and use your loyalty account to save money. In addition to a store coupon, you can tap into rebate apps such as:
There are a few others out there, but they can be inconsistent in their savings. It doesn’t hurt to download several and cross-check when you have time. We particularly like Upside as it gives you discounts on fuel and restaurants.
You should also upload digital coupons to your Kroger account, Meijer and anywhere else you shop that allows digital coupons.
4. Buy Peelers
Most local sports teams sell coupon cards or peelers. For $10 or $20, you can support your local youth and save money. These cards always pay for themselves and then some. I typically buy a couple for both hubby and I. Just as an example, we saved $5 at our favorite restaurant three times, which more than paid for the card. Any other discount left on the card was just bonus money for us.
The key is to choose where you eat based on the best coupon you have. We’ve even discovered a few new places we wouldn’t normally frequent but love.
5. Create a Stockpile
Determined to gain every advantage to frugal living? Make a list of the items you use regularly. Watch for sales. When they go on sale for 25% or more, stockpile as many as your budget allows. They won’t be on sale again for a while, but you won’t care because you’ll have more than enough.
As an example, we have been holding off on buying chicken because the price is so high. My local store had chicken breasts for $1.99/pound, which is cheaper than I can buy it anywhere right now. I also had a coupon for $10 off a delivery. I bought three big packages and I’ll separate them, use my Foodsaver and freeze.
6. Choose the Matinee
Do you love to go to the movies but can’t afford the high ticket and snack prices? One of my favorite frugal living tips involves the movies. Talk to your local theaters about special rates early in the day or kids programs. For example, our local theater has a summer program with $1 movies and a $5 snack pack with popcorn, candy and a drink. For around $12, I can take my grandgirl to see a movie instead of the $30+ it would be otherwise. There is no rule that adults can’t go. Take your spouse or a friend and go grab a value film.
7. Redo Your Budget & Aim for Frugal Living
It’s so easy to let little expenses creep in. Frugal living is hard to achieve if you don’t understand where your money goes. We had way too many streaming services recently, so we consolidated and chose a couple of favorites, letting the rest go. For a full month, spend as normal. Then, look at every penny you used and figure out where your budget still needs tweaks. Do this at last once a year to keep small expenses from adding up.
8. Buy Secondhand
Having something nice, shiny and new is fun, but if you can get by with secondhand, you could save well over 50% off buying new. Get in the habit of buying from local thrift stores and checking on Facebook Marketplace and other online sales groups before heading to a retailer. Frugal living doesn’t have to mean you can’t have nice things.
9. Pause Before Buying
Are you convinced you’ve found a great deal. Unless you are 100% certain and it is the the last of an item, pause a minute. You can always put something in your cart and look it up on Amazon and other sites to compare prices and make sure you’re saving enough to make the purchase worthwhile.
Stores have marketing departments devoted to finding ways to make things sound enticing. Unfortunately, they aren’t always as good a deal as it appears. They don’t care about your frugal living goals. The stores only care about making a profit.
10. Learn to Wait
Different things go on sale in different seasons. The Dallas Morning News did a deep dive on the best times to buy different items. Here are a few tips from the article:
- January – Buy linens and bedding
- February – Around Super Bowl, you’ll find discounts on home theater items
- March – Golf clubs and grilling items
Pay attention to the seasons, buying off-season for the biggest savings, such as grills during a time when few people cook outside.
11. Ask for Money Off
If you must buy an item and it isn’t on sale or available secondhand, ask to speak to the store manager and see if you can negotiate a discount. Tell them you’re ready to purchase the item but you were hoping to get 15% off and ask what they can do. They may offer 10% or the price of sales tax or nothing at all.
It only costs you a few minutes to ask and many businesses will give you a slight discount.
12. Look for Trade Opportunities
Do you have an old lawn mower laying around collecting dust but you really need some new hoses for your garden? Post in community classifieds on Facebook and NextDoor and see if anyone wants to trade. You’ll save money and won’t have to pay sales tax a second time.
13. Never Send Flowers
Flowers are an amazing gift for someone ill in the hospital or who has just lost a loved one. Unless the person is out of town and you need to use an outside flower shop, I have a tip that saves a bundle on funeral flowers.
Go to your local grocery store. Sam’s Club has some beautiful bouquets and frequently has planters as well. You can also hit up your local hardware store for a memorial garden stone if you prefer to give that instead of florals.
Tie a huge bow around whatever you bought. I usually ask my local grocery store for a few of the cards and spikes they put with flowers but you can also order them online to have on hand. I usually choose to go and ask to buy a bow and card instead as I don’t like a lot of clutter around, but it is far cheaper to make your own bow and keep these little spikes and cards handy. Links below to ones that would work nicely.
You could also print your own floral place cards and save a bit more. You could even tie on with a pretty bow or string. Do your best to make it look professional and then deliver to the floral delivery door at the back or side of most funeral homes. For the hospital, take it to the nurse’s station and they’ll deliver.
I detail my method in my article on Same Day Cheap Funeral Flowers. You’ll save at least half with this method, if not more. Floral delivery is quite expensive and while I appreciate the art of it, it is out of my price range a lot of the time.
14. Plant a Garden
The key to keeping a frugal living garden is investing in heirloom seeds (or trade for them) once and reusing them year after year. Ideally, you’ll grow vegetables for almost free. You can even plant a few berry bushes and maybe an apple and peach tree. Of course, a lot depends on your growing region.
Don’t feel you have to stop when summer ends. Many people plant what’s known as a second garden and have home-grown food almost year round.
15. Download Fast Food Apps
While fast food isn’t the healthiest thing to eat, we all live busy lives. Your kids just got home from school, Johnny has soccer practice at 5:00 p.m. and Sally has to make it across town to her ballet class. Your spouse picks up Johnny and you gather Sally. It’s now after 6:00 p.m. and the kids still have homework, a few minutes to relax and then bedtime routines.
Spending an hour or more cooking, eating and cleaning up isn’t always feasible. Sometimes you have to eat on the run in the car to get it all done–and that’s okay, mama. You do what you need to in order to reduce the stress a bit.
Sure, you could make some food ahead and take meal prep kits on the road. But let’s be honest. We don’t always plan ahead. For those times you must have fast food, go ahead and utilize the power of the app. Not only will you gather special discounts but you can earn bonus points.
I like the McDonald’s apps for the best value and biggest points return. However, I don’t always love McDonald’s. Imagine how thrilled I was to learn my husband has 60,000 Chick-fil-A points on his app cause he “doesn’t know how to use them.” No problem, dear. I’ll be happy to help you with that. LOL
A few dollars here and there adds up.
16. Team Up With Other Parents
Kids grow rapidly and need new clothes and sports equipment. I always think back to my grade school. Every year, parents would bring old uniforms that no longer fit their children and would buy secondhand uniforms that did fit.
It saved everyone money. A few items might still need to be purchased new but overall you’ll save. Team up with a group of parents and figure out the system you’d like to use. Exchanging money is probably the easiest method for new clothes, uniforms or sports equipment. Think of it as a giant multi-person garage sale where only the people running it are invited.
17. Form a Co-Op
When I first moved to southern Indiana, I decided to homeschool my girls. There are pros and cons to that discussion, but it was a wonderful time of being together and learning. While stressful at times, I wouldn’t take those three years back and truly wish I’d finished the race with them rather than enrolling them in the local high school.
One thing we discovered was an organic fruit and veggie co-op. A woman ran it and she took a small fee from everyone as her “pay” for the intensive time it took her to bring it all together. I’m sure she was way underpaid as I think her fee was $2 or $3 per family per order.
She ordered direct from farmers and we all pooled our money to get a deeply discounted rate on organic foods. Most of the time, it was still cheaper than buying non-organic options at the store. Plus, the food was always fresher and lasted longer.
The woman sorted it into orders and we showed up and picked them up. It was wonderful. I think it would be more fair to have people take turns hosting it as long as they were dependable. She eventually stopped doing it–likely from burnout as it was a time intensive endeavor.
18. Eat Leftovers
You’ve heard this one before but it bears repeating. Eat leftover food. When you throw food out, you might as well crumple up cash and toss it into the trash can. We are still working on this one, so do as I say and not as I do.
I have an aunt and uncle who will cook say lasagna. They will eat on it until it is gone. Lunch and dinner, lunch and dinner, lunch and half a dinner. They don’t waste a single bite of it. They do that until they are finished and then cook something else.
Another option is to freeze what’s left for another day or single meals, such as grab and go lunches.
19. Put Your Foot Down
Our families are spoiled. They truly are. In what other culture can someone say, “Eww! I don’t like that. I’m cooking a frozen pizza.” Or maybe they insist they’re going out to eat after you’ve cooked. My kids are grown now, but I had to institute an “I’m not a short order cook” policy early on as I was cooking three separate meals. Who has time for that? Plus, it is wasteful.
Also, my husband used to refuse to eat leftovers until I explained how much money it saves. Now, he’s a convert and will eat most leftovers. One exception was my husband hated the taste of frozen and reheated chili. Once I explained to him how much it saves for each meal we don’t eat out where I can grab and heat, he agreed to do it anyway. He still doesn’t love it, but I also make an effort to not have it too frequently.
20. Invest in a Filtered Water Pitcher
I found a new in box Brita filter at my local thrift store for under $5.00–over with the tax. How much do you spend on bottled water? You can either go this route and use a reusable bottle or just drink out of the tap. Most municipal water is already treated, but the desirableness of it can vary by area.
Get in the habit of carrying your own water and save at least a few bucks a week, but likely much more. Plus, those plastic disposable bottles aren’t great for the environment.
22. Learn About Shelf Cooking
Have you heard of Jordan Page? I discovered her on Facebook and her shelf cooking methods. If you get a chance, visit her website ShelfCooking.com and read about her methods and recipes, etc. In a nutshell:
- Take inventory of what you have in your fridge, freezer and pantry.
- Cook anything that is about to expire FIRST
- Always shop from what you already have before going to the store for more items–create your menu based on what you have already.
I am finding my weekly grocery bill is greatly reduced. I’m better able to shop loss leaders because I have more flexibility in my budget. I thought I was already doing so well with this, but her methods have really taken me to a new level of savings.
23. Travel in the Off Season
I practice frugal livi so I can plan a wonderful vacation or those big memory moments in life. I don’t want to skimp and save just because and never enjoy it. However, you can still take a nice trip if you choose the timing correctly. It can be trickier if you have kids still in school and subject to that schedule, but if possible try to go when rates are cheaper.
The one caveat, think about the location. For example, I had a family member telling me they checked rates stayin g at Yellowstone and how much cheaper it was to go in March. I looked up some info and the area is subject to heavy snow at that time. Not a smart idea and it would potentially keep us from going or getting home. I don’t want to pay a ton but I also don’t want to get so crazy that our long waited for trip gets ruined.
24. Think Through Big Purchases
Although I’m a big believer in getting what you want, I’m also adept at finding cheaper ways to do it. I like Coach purses. They hold up well and I carry them a long time. I did the math and I can get a purse on clearance at the Outlet store when they have a coupon and it is cheaper than what I’d pay for the four Walmart purses I’d break in the same time (I’ve broken four or five a year no problem from places like Walmart, Kohl’s and Target).
Recently, we ordered flooring for our entire home. The flooring I wanted was $3.99 a square foot. It went on clearance for $3.19 but before I could get my husband on board, they ran out of it. And it’s now discontinued. I didn’t think through it too hard. I went to Menard’s and got a few samples similar to what I’d chosen before (a waterproof laminate with at least a 20 mm wear layer). The floor I wanted was on sale for $3.69 sf and the other one that I liked okay was $3.19 sf. That might not sound like a lot of money but we were flooring 2200 sf of home. It was a lot. I just closed my eyes and said I wanted the cheaper one–again, I liked it fine, I just preferred the first one.
Two days later, the new ad for Menard’s came out and the floor I’d chosen was on sale for 30 cents off a sf. I told my husband since it had just now come in and we hadn’t picked up yet that he should ask the manager if we could get a store credit for the difference as the sale wasn’t mentioned to us as coming up. The manager happily gave us a store voucher, which we’ll use for trim, subflooring etc. The difference was about $700 after taxes. Pay attention and ask!
25. Pay Off Debt
It’s hard to live a frugal lifestyle if you don’t pay off your debt. You’ll waste money paying high interest rates and spinning your wheels. You can use whatever method you prefer. You can pay minimum payments on everything but the highest interest rate card, putting all extra toward it. Or, you can choose the lowest balance card and pay that off.
I like Dave Ramsey’s Snowball method where you start with the lowest balance. It isn’t as mathematically beneficial but it helps you see some progress immediately and you can then move to the next highest balance and so on. The idea is that by the end, all those previous payments are thrown toward one big debt and it gets paid down FAST! Dave Ramsey is the king of frugal living. You can’t go wrong with most of his advice.
26. Eat Out and Save
There are times when you’re going to eat out. How can you save money outside of coupons? You could order off the appetizer menu, which is typically much less money. Sometimes we will go to Roosters and order a couple appetizers and share them.
Some places serve huge portions or bread or chips before the meal. Split something with your spouse or a friend and fill up on the freebies.
Best frugal living tip: Order water to drink and never soft drinks. Definitely avoid alcoholic drinks, which add a ton of cost to your receipt.
27. Cheaper Sodas
Speaking of soft drinks, if you have a Circle K near you, they have a monthly club where you can get a Polar Pop every day and pay around $6 per month. Four or five visits and the club pays for itself. My husband goes every day and gets his, so they’re losing a lot on him. LOL His idea of frugal living is unlimited sodas, but alas they limit him to one big drink a day for that price.
While it’s best to give them up for cost savings and your health if you must have one to get the morning started or with dinner, look for them on sale. Stock up. For example, a few weeks back, Kroger had 24-packs for $9.99 with coupon/sale. I got way more than we needed for the week so was able to wait until another sale to stock up again.
28. Scan Your Own Items
About a year ago, I got onto Sam’s Clubs Scan and Go system. I did it to avoid long checkout lanes but soon realized there are store specials where you’ll save more money off. I can also track what I’m spending as I move through the store, keeping me from those impulse buys of “good deals” I don’t really need.
29. Use Rakuten
I’ve used this site for so long that I was a member when it was called Ebates. I can almost always find a percentage off to stores I frequent regularly online. For example, I order from Chewy and get 2% back or I get some new shirts from Old Navy and get a little more back. I consistently get rebate checks (goes right to PayPal account if you want) for $20 or more every quarter.
It might not sound like a lot but it’s an extra $100 or more each year for no extra work. In fact, download their browser extension and the work’s all done for you. When embracing frugal living, every little bit adds up.
30. Cook From Scratch
It is almost always cheaper to cook something from scratch than premade when you’re on a mission for frugal living. You don’t have to get fancy. Fry up some chicken and slice up fresh veggies or a side salad. Throw on a big crock pot of chili. You’ll save a ton of money and it will be healthier.
Make beans from dry. Mix your own seasonings. Bake your own baked goods.
31. Find an Accountability Partner for Frugal Living
Frugal living is a way of life. Don’t give up if you make a few missteps along the way. Find someone else as passionate about being frugal as you are and check in with each other about progress. Share tips, ideas and recipes.
Here at Crabby Housewife, we try to share as much as possible to help you adopt a new, more inexpensive way of life so you can save for the fun stuff, help your kids through college, give to those in need and just relax a bit and breathe.
Do your part by making a plan and sticking to it. We’ll check in with you from time to time and add new tips as we discover them, too.
