Frugality often comes with a set of “rules” that, while generally sound, don’t always work for everyone.
Sometimes, spending more or disregarding conventional money-saving advice is the most practical and economical option in the long run.
Here are a few unconventional frugal living tips that defy traditional wisdom but make perfect sense in real life.
Major Caveat: Please don’t take these examples as an excuse to spend more money or buy things you don’t need. They worked for people (real people, if you must know), but that doesn’t mean they will work for you.
The point of this article is to emphasize that every person’s life and situation are unique, and therefore, their frugal living strategy will be unique as well.
Make Your Own All-Purpose Cleaner
When life gives you lemons, make an affordable bottle of cleaning solution. There are tons of products, like baking soda, vinegar, and lemons, that you can mix together for a DIY cleaning spray. They often work just as well without any of the chemical smell or residue.
You can even mix things up and customize the scent with different citrus or essential oils.
Drinking Only at Bars
This may sound counterintuitive, but choosing to drink only in social settings like bars can help curb other spending habits. It prevents mindless online shopping or late-night spending sprees that often accompany home drinking. The tab might be higher per drink, but the overall savings from avoiding impulse purchases can make up for it.
You will also hopefully drink less and save money by not buying alcohol for your house.
Spending to Support What You Value
Sometimes, it’s worth spending more to support local businesses, farms, or institutions you care about. Whether it’s apple picking with the family or buying produce directly from a farm stand, the premium paid supports community businesses and creates memorable experiences that are worth the extra cost.
Post-Holiday Gifting
Rather than buying gifts during the peak of the holiday shopping season, giving IOUs and shopping after Christmas can lead to huge savings. End-of-year sales often bring significant discounts, making it possible to give better gifts at a fraction of the cost.
Grocery Delivery Services
Grocery delivery might seem like an unnecessary luxury, but it can actually be a frugal choice for people with packed schedules. For a small monthly fee—and a generous tip—it eliminates the need for time-consuming trips, helping avoid impulse buys and ultimately sticking to a planned grocery list.
Shopping Strategically at Nicer Stores
Whole Foods and other “nicer” stores might not be the cheapest grocery stores, but they can serve as a budgeting tool. The higher prices encourage disciplined planning and discourage impulse purchases. When paired with bulk or budget pantry items from cheaper places, it can balance out the grocery bill and reduce waste from overbuying.
Freecycle With Some Friends
Swap parties and freecycling are on the rise, so join in and see what kind of fun stuff you can get.
Freecycling is just recycling things that other people would otherwise throw away, but you have a use for. For example, you might have just gotten a new coffee maker for Christmas, and your friend got a new blender. But you love their blender, and they’re in the market for a coffee maker. Swap instead of buying new, and both of you save!
Collect Your Rainwater
Rainwater is a free natural resource you can use to water your garden. You can go all-out and install an irrigation system (which is more expensive up front, but makes using rainwater easier) or use a rain barrel. Either approach will let you harness the power of Mother Nature to help save money on your utilities. This is especially good for those of you with greener thumbs!
Do a No-Spend Challenge
Who’s up for some friendly competition? If you and your other frugal friends are looking for a different way to save, try seeing who can do it the best. You can go about this in a ton of different ways, like seeing who can last the longest without spending on something they don’t need, or planning an outing with friends at no cost, and voting on who had the best plans.
