Whether you’ve recently lost a job or simply want to live as cheaply as possible, cutting back on spending is a skill, and like any skill, it gets easier with practice.
Here are ten of the best tips for living frugally, especially if you’re just getting started.
Make Your Meals at Home
This is the single biggest place most people can cut back immediately.
Cook all your meals at home. Yes, that means no restaurants, fast food, coffee shops, food delivery or bars.
Start meal planning with whatever ingredients you already have on hand, make a shopping list of what you actually need, and avoid complicated meals that require specialty ingredients. Simple, consistent home cooking is one of the fastest ways to see a real difference in your monthly spending.
Grocery Shop Smarter
Learning how to grocery shop frugally is a game-changer.
Shop sales, use coupons, and take advantage of rebate apps.
Your cheapest store for groceries and your cheapest store for produce may not be the same place, and that’s worth figuring out. Avoid prepackaged or convenience foods when you can, skip the drinks aisle and drink water instead, and always buy generic.
One rule that sounds simple but makes a real difference: don’t go to the supermarket hungry.
As you get more comfortable, start stocking up on staples when they’re on sale, or you have a coupon, and work on building up your pantry so you always have cheap food to cook.
If you have an Aldi nearby, it’s your best friend for grocery shopping.
Use the Right Kitchen Gadgets
The right tools make cooking at home a lot less daunting.
A crockpot in particular is a frugal kitchen staple you can use for “dump meals” and “one pot meals,” which are easy, affordable, and many are freezer-friendly, so you can prep them in advance.
A rice cooker, air fryer, and Instant Pot are also worth having, as they make simple, budget-friendly cooking faster and more convenient.
Audit Your Subscriptions
Go through your bills and subscriptions and cancel everything that isn’t 100% necessary.
Switch to a cheaper phone plan, and shop around for cheaper car insurance.
For streaming services, cancel and re-sign with a different email address to take advantage of a free month’s trial. It’s a short-term tip, but it frees up cash when you need it most.
Track Every Dollar
Track every dollar you spend and question every expense.
Save your receipts to see whether you’re spending money the way you actually want to. It’s also worth checking your grocery receipts carefully. Believe it or not, pricing errors happen more often than you’d think, and catching them adds up over time. It doesn’t make you cheap or a Karen to insist on being charged the advertised price.
Make a Budget
Make a budget so you know exactly where your money is going and how much you have to spend. Start with your basic expenses, so you know what’s left to work with.
From there, budget for fun money too. Having a set amount designated for non-essentials actually reduces overspending, because you already know you have money set aside for that.
Buy Used and Take Freebies
There’s no reason to buy everything new. Used it just as good and free is better.
Thrift stores, OfferUp, eBay, Mercari, Facebook Marketplace, and Craigslist can all save you thousands of dollars a year.
Find your local Buy Nothing group on Facebook or on other neighborhood chats. Ask around to find the best ones. My neighbors give away a lot of free items that are still perfectly useful in these types of groups.
And don’t underestimate garage sale season, where the deals can be surprisingly good.
Use YouTube for DIY
YouTube is an excellent resource for DIY projects that would otherwise cost you money in labor.
From replacing outlets, switches, and light fixtures to more involved tasks like a ballast bypass to swap out fluorescent tube bulbs for LEDs, there are tutorials for almost everything.
Channels dedicated to frugal living and DIY home improvement are a great place to start.
Consider Remote Work
If your next job search allows it, consider making your new role remote. Working from home eliminates impulse lunch purchases, reduces wear and tear on your work wardrobe, and cuts out commuting costs entirely.
Sites like Indeed make it easy to filter specifically for remote positions.
Invest in Reusables
Small, one-time purchases can lead to ongoing savings. A reusable water bottle, for example, removes the temptation to buy drinks on the go.
Reusable zip-lock bags are another easy swap. They save money over time and reduce waste in the process. These are low-effort changes with a surprisingly consistent payoff.
Living frugally doesn’t have to mean feeling deprived.
With the right habits in place, it becomes less about cutting back and more about spending intentionally, and that’s a shift that pays off long after your financial situation improves.
