Want to live a more frugal life? You are not the only one!
Cook Instead of Eating Out
According to one user, cooking can save a sizeable amount, “Learn to cook and make it a habit. Do it every day, and especially cook your lunches for work. I used to go out for lunch every workday for ~$10 a pop, didn’t think much of it. But that’s $200/mo. right there. Now I cook my meals at home on a Sunday afternoon for the work week, and it costs me maybe $2 to $3 a work lunch instead. It really adds up.”
Avoid Buying New Cars
Another advised people to buy relatively cheap second-hand cars, “Basic car, keep it maintained and rust-free, drive it into the ground. Don’t get a new car, an old but decent model car can make ownership much cheaper, assuming your goal is to go from place A to B.”
Find the Sweet Spot When Buying Something
A user offered a trick they use when purchasing products, “A rule of thumb I have found surprisingly useful across a wide range of things is to find the cheapest version of a thing, then go one step higher in price. This is because the absolute cheapest one usually has an unacceptable quality hit to meet that price. The next cheapest one is usually basically acceptable and therefore the price/value sweet spot.”
Get Ahead on Bills
You can save money if you keep track of seemingly small bills, “Check your bills to see where you can save. For instance, phone and internet bills… those companies get competitive when they hear you’re trying to leave for a competitor’s services, so once in a while, if you’re out of contract, I would definitely try to haggle for a better price.”
Buy What’s in Season
One user notes that you get the best product and buy cheaply when they are in season: “Make sure you have a freezer and a storage pantry. Spend a little money stocking up your inventory; then, you only purchase items on sale to replenish. When they drop the price of a whole chicken to $5 be the guy with 6 in his cart. For perishable items, buy what’s in season (on sale); cauliflower is delicious @$1~$2/head, it tastes horrible at $5~$10 and a few years ago when it was $15 is what the most disgusting thing you could purchase…”
Keep Your Lifestyle Cheap
Someone urges people not to upgrade too fast when they earn more, “Don’t upgrade your lifestyle for as long as possible. This is the biggest trap I see for people after they get their first “professional” job. They feel like they need fancy clothes, fancy cars, fancy apartments, fancy groceries, etc. Figure out a few things that make you really happy and splurge on those once in a while and be spartan with everything else.”
Pretend You Do Not Have Money
Do not make purchases you cannot afford, says one user, “Every time you want to make a purchase that isn’t 100% essential, pretend you have no money. Because you don’t.”
Batch Cook and Meal Plan
Batch cooking saves money and time; according to one user, “Meal planning on Sunday for the whole week. I like to make big batches of things and freeze or use them for lunch the next day…. super easy to cook like a fiend while watching the football or something.”
DIY
“Minor repairs in the house we YouTube and fix ourselves (we even figured out how to build a fence recently),” urged a different user.
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Committing to frugal habits will help you live a frugal lifestyle. Making frugal habits part of your everyday life could save you money in the long run.
Saving money is about creating a frugal life that allows you to save money on the things you don’t need and use them for the things you do need.
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This article was produced and syndicated by A Dime Saved.
