These are 99 of the best frugal living tips to save you money today.
These frugal living tips from the great depression to today will help ANYONE save money in 2022. It’s possible for some people to save thousands of dollars on their monthly budgets, just by making a few simple changes and embracing the frugal mindset.
The people of the great depression knew better than most how to make the most of their money and the resources they had. This savvy mindset is being lost by more recent generations in favor of an excessive and more extravagant lifestyle.
Because of this excessive lifestyle, the amount of money wasted by families is immense. In fact, according to The American Journal of Agricultural Economics, the average American household wastes 31.9% of their food.
Yet, household debt is soaring, inflation is rising just as fast and the jobs market is uncertain to say the least.
That’s why there has never been a better time to take on the mindset of the people of the great depression and start living more frugally today, with these frugal living tips to save you money.
99 Frugal Living Tips With A Big Impact On Your Pocket
Before we take a deep dive on how to start living frugally, let’s discuss the fundamental principles first.
What Is Frugal Living
Living frugally is all about making considered and intelligent decisions with your money.
It’s also about minimizing the waste in your life in every way humanly possible.
Living frugally looks different for different people. For some, it means avoiding spending almost any money at all and living a simpler life. While for others frugality is all about making savvy decisions which enable you to enjoy yourself without breaking the bank.
Living frugally doesn’t mean buying things just because they are cheap, cheapness is not evidence of value. Instead, the values of frugal living focus on making the most of your money. This might mean spending more for a particular purchase but getting better value for your money.
Consider this: you have two options for buying chicken breasts at the grocery store, you could spend $10 on 6.5lbs of chicken breasts or you could spend $6 on 1.5lb of chicken breast.
Sure the $10 option costs more initially, but it's by far the better value option, so if your aim is to live frugally and make the most of your money then you would spend more initially but save over time because you have chosen the better value option.
Some people choose to live frugally as a way to reach financial goals, such as:
- Paying off debt
- Saving up for a large purchase (dream car or a new house)
- Early retirement
- Traveling more
- Living more sustainably
- Investing
- Manage money better generally so you can spend more on luxuries and entertainment
Whatever your motivation to live frugally, you can definitely find methods to reach your goals and save more money with these frugal living tips from the great depression.
What Are The Benefits of Living Frugally
The benefits of taking on these frugal living ideas are vast.
Here is a few.
The top 10 benefits of living frugally are:
- Saving money
- Living a more environmentally friendly way
- Reducing debt
- Traveling more (because of more available funds)
- Creating a retirement fund (and retiring early)
- Being able to give back to your local community and charitable organizations
- Having more savings to use in times of emergencies
- Being able to help your family members more
- Working less
- Less stress and anxiety
99 Pro Extreme Frugality Tips
Here you will find 99 expertly crafted frugal living tips. These tips will relate to 6 separate categories.
The categories are:
- General (these are less specific ways you can embrace frugality)
- Food (BIG saving can be made with your food, so pay attention!)
- Housing and energy
- Transport and vehicles (including fuel)
- Travel
- Entertainment and luxuries
General Tips To Save Money and Live More Frugally
These top tips to saving money during the great depression can be applied to 2022 and most aspects of your life.
Like the old saying goes, waste not, want not!
1. Track Your Weekly Expenses
To truly embrace the frugal mentality, you need to be 100% on top of your finances. This means having a clear picture of what's going on with your accounts.
Clear time in your weekly schedule to routinely review your spending. This means checking bank statements and keeping receipts when you pay cash so you know exactly where the money went.
This information needs to be logged so you can review it and understand it, looking for ways to make cutbacks and eliminate costs in the future.
Free apps like this are an ideal way to stick to your weekly budget.
If you're not into tech, then a good old-fashioned paper chart will work well too.
2. Take Good Care of Your Belongings
This one might seem obvious to some, but when you have young kids or pets, it's easy for furniture and clothes to be regularly damaged.
Avoid this at all costs. Educate your family members on the importance of taking good care of our things. You can avoid unnecessary repeat purchases and save some serious cash.
In the event that things do get accidentally damaged, do your best to fix things up. Whether this means soaking out stains immediately or bringing out the all-important super glue for a quick repair, get it done before the problem gets worse and it becomes unfixable.
A stitch in time saves nine.
3. Always Keep Your Receipts
When you buy products, whether they are electrical items, clothes, furniture or even food. Be sure to keep your receipts in case they go wrong or have any unexpected issues.
Try collecting them in a well-organized folder, with sections for different types of products, all displayed in chronological order so you can easily find things in times of need.
4. Re Purpose Your Belongings
You might want a new kitchen, but that comes at a pretty price. Instead of splashing cash, try upcycling the things you already have.
You might be surprised at the miracles a little varnish or paint can create.
5. Stop Bad/Negative Habits
Smoking, drinking, drugs, gambling and comfort eating are all bad for your mind, body, spirit and pocket!
Cut them out and start being the best version of yourself and save a bunch of cash while you're at it, it’s a win -win!
6. Be Prepared To Negotiate Everything!
You might feel daunted or even embarrassed about the prospect of negotiating with people.
But here’s the thing: you’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain from giving negotiating a try.
With time, your negotiating game will improve, too and you have better results.
The truth is, everything is up for negotiating, whether it’s bills, rent, debt or one-off big purchases.
Never just pay the asking price, give negotiating a try and you might surprise yourself with how much money you are able to save.
7. Try The ‘No Spend’ Challenge
The ‘no spend challenge’ is a simple goal you set for yourself. You completely avoid buying anything for a set period of time. This means no trips to the store at all.
You eat all the food from your pantry and freezer and make do with the things you have in the home. All entertaining is done in the house too.
Start with a one-week challenge then give a month a try.
Instead of going to the cinema, try a home movie night or a family board game.
The savings you make will be incredible!
Save Money on Your Food and Drinks Bill With These Cash Saving Tips
Food is perhaps the easiest part of your life to make savings in. It’s something that requires little effort to make big savings.
It's also one of the areas that people waste a lot of money in.
8. Plan Your Meals
It’s ridiculous how many people don’t plan their menus. They blindly approach each week's meals and undoubtedly end up spending extra money.
It’s just like they say, if you fail to prepare, then prepare to fail.
You should make time to plan out your meals each week and make a complementary shopping list for this.
A meal plan is vital to stopping over buying and wasting food or forgetting to buy a particular item.
A well-organized meal plan stops emergency dashes to the store or expensive last minute take outs.
9. Take Regular Inventory Checks for Your Pantry, Refrigerator and Freezer
If you don’t know what you’ve got, then how can you appropriately buy things?
Well, you can't.
You need to spend 20 minutes a week opening up the cupboard doors and having a good look at what food you’ve got.
It’s a good idea to combine this with your meal planning. This way, you can plan meals using the things you’ve already got and avoid waste.
An inventory check also helps to prevent products from being wasted because of exceeding their use by dates or rotting. This way you keep on top of things.
10. Never Go Food Shopping When You Are Hungry
If you are peckish when you go to the store, you will end up buying expensive convenience foods or sweet snacks to satisfy your hunger at that moment.
Always go food shopping after breakfast or lunch, so you're not hungry and make better choices.
11. Always Have a Shopping List
Just like a meal plan, a shopping list is essential when trying to make savings on your food shop.
Without it, you will just buy random foods that look good while you’re in the store.
With a clear list and meal plan, you can buy only what is actually needed and save money.
Make sure you include breakfasts and lunches on your list, too.
12. Have a Leftovers Night
It's recommendable to include a weekly leftover night into your meal plan.
Instead of overloading your family member's dinner plates, try saving a portion or two back from each meal and freezing it.
This way you will have a night off from the cooking and everyone gets to choose their favorite meal from the week from the selection of dinners available in the freezer.
13. Try Batch Cooking
Batch cooking is similar to leftover night, just every night instead.
Batch cooking requires more up-front spending but over time saves both money and time, making it ideal for busy parents.
You save money on energy when cooking because you only use your oven once to cook multiple meals.
It saves you time because instead of cooking each night, all you need to do is go to the freezer and pick out your favorite homemade ready meal and pop it into the microwave for a few minutes.
You can better take advantage of bulk offers in the store too.
14. Buy Non-branded and Generic Products
What's in a name? When it comes to food brands, not very much.
There's little to no difference between branded butter and generic butter. Butter is butter.
When you buy branded products, you are paying extra for all the marketing and advertising money the company spent and the time and effort they put into unnecessary things like packaging.
This has no effect what so ever on the food that you receive.
Ditch the brands and focus on real value instead.
15. Forbid Waste
Remember what we said earlier? Waste not, want not, it’s a simple philosophy to live by, but it can make a big difference if you apply it well.
If someone (children do this a lot!) leaves food on their plate after a meal, do not throw it away.
What a waste that would be.
Instead, either put the plate in the refrigerator then reheat it the next time for lunch or freeze it and give it back to the person who wasted it on left overnight.
16. Go to The Farmers/Veg Market at The End of The Day
Find out when your local food market is about to finish and come about an hour before this. Normally farmers’ markets start early and finish about 1 or 2 in the afternoon, but every town is different.
The benefit to going later in the day is the traders are more open to negotiating on prices because they want to get rid of as much of their product as possible so they don’t end up wasting it and missing out on important profits.
It’s possible to pay less than half price for some items, especially on highly perishable products like berries, broccoli and lettuces.
Even if you can’t make it to the farmers’ market at closing time, it is still more preferable to go to the market than to the store. Market prices are often lower than supermarkets. If in doubt take your notebook and bring a record of supermarket prices to compare when you get there, so you never end up paying more.
17. Grow Your Own Veg
This is the most cost-effective way to get fresh veggies!
It’s even better than going to the farmers’ market near closing time.
Often, you don’t even need to buy seeds. You can just harvest them from your foods in your house.
You can easily take seeds out of tomatoes, cucumbers, melons, squashes, courgettes and peppers.
For certain products, you will need to buy seeds, e.g., cabbage or cauliflower, etc. But you can get started with almost no investment except your time.
If you don’t have much garden space or only a balcony, consider using a communal garden space, e.g., an allotment, to grow your veggies. Or you could grow some veggies in pots on your balcony.
If you opt to grow things in a communal garden, you will need the permission of the garden managers, but once that is all cleared it up, you will be able to grow veggies and socialize with members of your local community.
18. Cook Low-cost Meals
If the main ingredients of your meals are beans, pulses, grains, rice, potatoes, etc. Then your costs will reduce dramatically.
In fact, if you can include at least 2 vegetarian meals a week, you will cut costs.
If you love your meat and protein, then opt for eggs, pork and ground beef.
Pork is often the cheapest type of meat you can buy at the store. It can also be delicious if it’s cooked right (think pulled pork sliders!).
If you don’t like pork or avoid it for religious reasons, then try ground beef instead. You can make chillies, meatloaf, meatballs, burger, and so much more with it, it’s super versatile.
Try to use minimal amounts of spices and herbs when you cook because these can be expensive.
19. Stop Wasting Vegetable Peel
The peel of onion, carrot, leeks, garlic, and squashes can all be used to create your own vegetable broth and stock.
You can use it as a base for homemade soups and stews.
Freeze portions of it so you can keep it for a longer period.
20. Use Up Animal Bones
Bones from poultry, pork, and beef can all can be used to make homemade bone broth and you can include it in your meals.
Just like vegetable broth, you can also freeze your bone broth.
21. Keep Your Egg Shells
Egg shells are all too often just thrown away, but they have their uses. Egg shells can be crushed and sprinkled in the garden to stop unwanted garden pests like slugs from getting to your precious flowers and veggies. The crushed shells act as a barrier.
Take your egg shells and grind them up finely to treat your dog when it has diarrhea.
You can also fertilize your plants with ground up egg shells. Your plants will love all that calcium.
22. Stop Wasting Broccoli Stems
The majority of the weight of a broccoli is the stem, yet many people just throw them away as if they are trash.
This is a big mistake because they are super nutritious and, if cooked correctly, they are delicious too!
You can boil and then blend them to add to a lovely vegetable soup. You can roast or pan fry them. You can even use a spiralizer to turn them into noodles and add to your next stir fry.
23. Make Your Own Chutneys, Pickles and Jellys/Jams
Good quality preserves can be expensive, but they are really simple to make at home. You can create a superior product for a fraction of the price, especially if you cook in bulk.
24. Save The Fat From Meat
When you fry meat, fats are released. Collect these fats in a pot and store it in the refrigerator. When you need more fat for another recipe, you will be able to use it.
25. Use The Too Good To Go App To Get Cheap Food
Too Good To Go is a great app for finding cheap food. It is available in the US, Canada and Europe.
The app connects users with shops and restaurants. Instead of them throwing away unsold food near the end of its sell by date, they offer it to the users of the app for really low prices.
This stops the food from being wasted.
You pay a few dollars for a ‘magic box’ containing mystery food. You never know what you will get, but it will always be worth much more than you paid.
It’s recommendable to use chain stores or restaurants to buy from. The bigger the organization, the more they tend to give you.
26. Buy Dry Products
Dry beans, grains and pulses are far cheaper to purchase than their soaked counterparts.
Buy them dry and get more food for your money.
27. Reuse Aluminium Foil, Plastic Wrap and Baking Paper
Often aluminium foil is used, but not damaged in any way. If it is still clean, you can keep it and reuse it next time you cook.
Just be sure to discard it if you use it to cover raw meat.
You can do the same for plastic wrap and baking paper.
With the plastic wrap, you need to be careful that you store it neatly so it can be easily used again.
28. Buy In Bulk
The more of something you buy, the less it costs per kilo or pound. If you’ve got plenty of space in your freezer or pantry, this can be a great way to cut costs.
29. Use Your Freezer for Perishable Fresh Foods
Did you know you can freeze just about anything?
The sad part is people don’t. They just let fresh food go bad and throw it away.
Instead, regularly check up on your refrigerator and remove any foods which will soon go past their use by date and place them in the freezer.
It’s better to do this as early as possible, especially with meat, you don’t want to freeze food on the verge of going bad if you can avoid it. Try to stay on top of things.
30. Use Cash Back Apps Like Ibotta
Ibotta is a great way to make money from nothing. You can use it to shop in store or online.
When you shop, you upload your receipts and you get money back. It's that simple.
Over a period of a year, it is easily possible to make hundreds of dollars!
31. Eat In
Restaurants and cafes are expensive. Avoid them.
For special occasions, get baking in your own kitchen and save massive amounts of money.
For dinners with family and friends, try sharing the cooking. You can ask your relatives to bring over ready cooked desserts and starters. That way, you only have to cook (and pay for) the main meal.
32. Start Home Brewing
Starbucks (and other popular cafes) sell overpriced coffee. You can make it at home for a fraction of the price.
If you want to save even more money, you can start creating your own blends and roast your own beans at home.
Check out this insightful blog post all about how to cheaply brew at home.
You can also brew your own beer and cider and wine at home.
You will have to invest in some equipment to do this, but in a short amount of time, it will pay for itself in the savings you make.
If you make wine at home, then you can go foraging in your local area and use foraged fruits like blackberries, apples and elderflower to improve the flavor of your wine for free.
Just make sure you only pick wild fruits on public land.
33. Buy a Water Filter and Sturdy Water Bottle
Are you always buying single use water bottles when you are out?
Stop now!
Instead, buy a quality reusable water bottle and a filter.
34. Drink More Water
Soda and juice are great tasting but costly and bad for your teeth. Try just drinking water for a week and see how much healthier you feel.
You will save loads of cash, too.
35. Boil The Kettle Once
When you put the kettle on, be sure to only do it once, repeatedly boiling it for every person throughout the day costs money.
Instead, inform the household that you're going to make some hot drinks and anyone who wants to have one should ask now or forever hold their peace (or until the next time the water is boiled).
This avoids unneeded electricity use for multiple boils.
36. Use Your Slow Cooker
If you love slow cooker meals, then great, because they use way less energy than regular cooking.
Try to use it a few times a week at least.
If you don’t have one considering getting one, it will save you time and money in the long run.
37. Cook From Scratch
There's nothing better than a proper home cooked meal. They are a lot cheaper too. Avoid processed and convenience foods and save money.
38. Keep Packaging
Jam jars, yoghurt pots and bottles can all be reused in creative ways. Instead of throwing them out, keep them, wash them and reuse them.
You can even use packaging as makeshift plant pots to germinate your seeds and start your food garden.
Or use cleaned jam jars as storage containers.
If you wanted to jazz them up a bit (and if you have young children) you could get the kids to decorate them. This way you have a free activity for the little ones and a storage container for free.
39. Stop Using Paper Napkins
It might only seem like a very small amount of money to use paper napkins at the dinner table, and that’s true, but that amount adds up.
Stop wasting money and buy cloth napkins instead. You only need to make one purchase and then take good care of them.
40. Shop Less
The more you go to the store, the more opportunity you have to spend money.
By reducing the number of times you go to the store (and being more organized) you will also save money on fuel and reduce general wear and tear on your vehicle.
41. Join Supermarket Loyalty Schemes
Supermarkets often offer loyalty programmes; they reward you with discounts and coupons when you shop with them. Join these programmes and get rewarded for your loyalty.
42. Use Coupons and Vouchers
A truly frugal person never pays full price for anything. There are plenty of ways to get great discounts if you look around.
Vouchers can be found in newspapers, magazines and online.
Ask your local stores where to find coupons.
43. Use Things up Entirely
Do you throw away half empty jars? STOP!
It’s ridiculous how many times people, especially kids, will open a new pack of something without finishing the previous one, then the older one ends up getting wasted.
Make sure things are fully used, so you get every last gram out of your foods.
44. Let The Oven Heat The House in The Winter
In the wintertime, favor oven cooking over frying. The heat from the oven will naturally warm your home in those colder months.
After you’ve finished cooking, turn the oven off and open the oven door to let the heat fill the house.
45. Avoid The Oven in The Summer
If you live somewhere with hot summers, then try not to use your oven during those warm months.
The oven heats the house and is counterproductive if you’ve got fans or air conditioning running.
Try cooking outside on the BBQ or quickly frying things to avoid heating the home.
Or try some no cook meals like salads and Gazpacho.
46. Consider Going Vegetarian (Not Vegan)
It’s much easier to spend less on food if you are vegetarian. By completely removing meat from your diet, you can save hundreds of dollars every year.
Don’t try to save money by going vegan, because veganism tends to be pricier. This is because vegan substitutes for butter, eggs and milk can be more expensive.
Frugal Money-saving Ideas for The Home
These money saving hacks are aimed at the home, from cleaning to heating, we’ve got you covered.
47. Don’t Wash Clothes Unless They Are Dirty
For many, it is common practice to wash something after it has been worn once. But this is a bad habit.
Not only are you wasting unnecessary cleaning products, water and energy, but you are damaging your clothes by over washing them and will need to buy new ones because of it.
Only wash your clothes when they are dirty.
48. Use Less Detergent Than The Manufacturer Recommends
Manufactures have good motivation to recommend excessive usage of their products. The quicker you run out, the sooner you return to buy more, increasing their profit margins.
Don’t be fooled. Use two-thirds of what you normally do and see how your clothes come out.
You might be surprised!
49. Wash Your Clothes on Eco Setting or With No Heat
Not only is this better for the environment, but it's also better for your pockets.
Turn the heat down when you do the laundry and save money on your energy bill.
50. Don’t Use a Dryer for Your Clothes
Unless you live in the Arctic circle, drying your clothes outside is fairly easy, especially in the spring and summer months.
Avoid the dry setting of your machine, opt for an extra spin instead to help your clothes dry quicker.
Dryers are highly energy demanding and can really increase your electric bill, but the sun shines for free.
In the winter months, there might be days where the weather is too rainy or cold for things to dry naturally. Try bringing things in, putting them on an air dryer/ clothes rack and letting the heat from the home dry them.
51. Only Use The Washing Machine When It Is Full
The energy usage of your washing machine doesn’t change if you put less in it, always make sure it’s full.
52. Unplug Electrical Appliances When They Are Not in Use
Even when electrical appliances aren't being used, they will draw energy from your system which costs you money.
Think about all the things that are unnecessarily plugged in your home right now?
Speaker systems, televisions, game consoles, microwaves, and many more.
The only way to make sure appliances aren't costing you money is to unplug them.
53. Naturally Light Your Home in The Day
There's no need to have the lights on in the daylight hours. Keep them ALL switched off until sunset.
54. Get Led Lights
LED lights are far cheaper to power. Make the swap and save money.
55. Install Light Dimmers
Turn the brightness down and save money.
56. Make Sure The Refrigerator Door Is Closed
If the door to the freezer or refrigerator is left ajar, the machine will have to work significantly harder to keep things cool. This means you spend more on electric.
Check the seals are in good order and make sure everyone in the home shuts the door.
57. Adjust The Temperature of The Refrigerator and Freezer
People tend to have their temperatures set too low. Turn the temperature up a little so the refrigerator doesn’t need to work as hard. 3 to 5 degrees Celcius is fine for the refrigerator.
58. Keep The Freezer Full (Or Nearly Full)
Empty spaces are harder to cool than filled spaces. Make sure you have plenty in your freezer to help reduce the amount of energy it uses to keep things at the right temperature.
If your freezer is lacking in its contents, then fill it with water filled containers. This will help.
If it’s completely empty, consider switching it off all together.
59. Make Your Own Cleaning Products
Every time you buy those expensive ready-made cleaning products you are over paying, partly because you keep buying the spray bottle, many of them are sold in.
This is bad for your bank balance and the environment.
Keep the spray bottles from the store brought cleaning products you already have in the cupboard and use them to make your own cleaning products.
For the bathroom, you can simply dilute some cheap bleach with some water and now you have a super cheap bathroom whitening spray!
For the kitchen you need something to tackle all that grease, you can use dish soap, bicarbonate of soda, lemon juice, vinegar and salt, just add one or two of these products to some water in a spray bottle and your good to go.
It will work just as good as expensive store products.
60. Fill up The Dishwasher
Just like the clothes washer, the dishwasher needs to be filled when you use it. If it's not, it’s uneconomical.
61. Don’t Use The Dry Setting of The Dishwasher
Dry things by hand or let them air dry. The dry setting of the dishwasher is expensive and unneeded.
62. Don’t Run The Water Continuously When Washing Up
If you have the water continuously running while you're washing the dishes then stop, instead fill the sink to about halfway.
This reduces your water usage.
63. Use Your Dishwasher To Save Water
Handwashing uses significantly more water than the dishwasher. Save water and use the dishwasher instead, but don’t use the drying setting to save on electric.
64. Fix Leaks
If you’ve got leaky pipes, then fix them as soon as possible. Every drop is money being wasted.
You might just need to make some simple adjustments to stop the leak, without the need of a plumber.
65. Use a Bidet
A bidet will save you money on toilet paper. You can easily install a bidet attachment to your existing toilet.
66. Turn Your Water Heater Down
Check the temperature setting for your water heater. You might surprise yourself as to how high it is.
The lower the thermostat, the cheaper it is to run.
67. Install a Timer on Your Water Heater
A timer for your water heater will help you reduce your energy bills. You can set it to only come on when you need it.
It saves you time too: you don’t need to manually adjust the settings, it's all automated.
Make sure all the members of your home know when the water will be hot so they have their showers at the right time.
68. Take Showers, Not Baths
Showers use considerably less water than baths. They also make you feel fresher and more alert for your day.
69. Try Cold Showers
According to medical experts, cold showers are beneficial to your health. They increase blood circulation, boost weight loose and reduce muscle soreness.
Try it and save some money while you are looking after your body.
70. Use Fewer Toiletries
Most people use way too much shower gel and shampoo, you only need a small amount to make yourself clean.
71. Have Quick Showers
Try speeding up your showers and reducing your water usage with super-fast showers.
You can be in and out in less than 5 minutes.
Make sure you turn the water off while you are soaping your body and hair up.
72. Turn off The Water When You Wash Your Hands, Brush Your Teeth and Shave.
Don’t just stand there with the water pouring out while you brush your teeth, that’s money going down the sink!
Instead, only turn it on for the moments you need it.
73. Use up All of Your Toiletries
People tend waste to shampoo and conditioner, and it’s easily done. To avoid this, add a small amount of water to the bottle when they are nearly finished. That way, you can make the most of them.
74. Stopping Buying Disposable Paper Towels
Instead of repeatedly buying single use paper towels, try using something more sustainable to wipe your furniture and sides down.
You can cut up damaged or worn fabric (which can't be used in any other way) and use it instead.
Single use products are uneconomical.
75. Renegotiate Your Rent
If you don’t ask, you don’t get.
Check out the demand for property in your area. If you think you can find comparable properties at a lower price, then talk to your landlord.
You might find you are able to reduce your monthly outgoing just by asking.
Due to the financial struggles people have faced in response to the pandemic, many people have been able to renegotiate their rent at a lower price.
It’s easier to negotiate your rent when your lease is coming to the end of its specified period. If you have been a good tenant, paying on time, then you are in a better position to negotiate.
76. Use Your Dishwasher, Chargers and Washing Machine in The Night
In the night-time hours you often pay less for electric. Take advantage of the cheaper rate and use your energy demanding machines later. This period is usually starts after midnight.
Check with your energy provider which times of the day they offer cheaper rates. You can save up to 25% on your energy bills if you do this.
77. Cancel Your Landline
These days, everyone uses their cell phones and internet-based apps like WhatsApp to communicate.
If your landline is under used, cancel your contract and save more money.
78. Live in a Small Home
The bigger your home, the more energy it requires. A small house or apartment is much easier to keep warm or cool.
It also requires less cleaning and general time to maintain it.
Consider downsizing to minimize your costs.
Essential , , , , , Money-saving , , , , , Tips , , , , , for , , , , , Transportation , , , , , and , , , , , Vehicles
Vehicles can be a big drain on your money, but with some consideration, it is possible to reduce your costs.
79. Do Your Own Oil Change
Mechanics charge a small fortune to change the oil on a car. Save that money and learn how to do it yourself with a DIY tutorial like this.
Get familiar with the specifications for your vehicle.
80. Get a Better Deal on Your Vehicle Insurance
Use a comparison site like Money Supermarket to find a better deal on your car insurance.
Why pay more?
81. Rent Your Car Out When Your Not Using It
You can easily hire your vehicle out with Turo. If you only use your vehicle in the mornings, then rent it out in the afternoons.
This money could cover the costs of your insurance premiums and taxes.
82. Use Independent Mechanics for Vehicle Repairs
If you go to Mercedes or Ford for work on your vehicle you will pay more than you would if you used an independent mechanic, and they are just as good.
83. Get a Smaller Vehicle
Trucks, 4x4s and SUVs all use far more fuel than smaller cars. Get something smaller and save on your fuel and taxes (lower emission vehicles often pay fewer taxes too).
There also easier to park.
84. Drive Slower
Driving fast uses more fuel and costs you money. Driving slower will save you fuel and make you safer too.
A typical vehicle is most efficient when driving at about 50MP. Check out the stats of your vehicle.
85. Check Your Tyre Pressure
Tyres not appropriately inflated will make your vehicle burn more fuel, this is because low tyre pressure will make your vehicle experience more rolling resistance when driving.
Checking is free at stations and easily done. Each vehicle is different so find out the appropriate pressure for your tyres.
86. Switch off The Air Conditioning
AC needs energy to work. This energy comes from your expensive fuel, turn it off, and open up the windows instead to use less fuel when you drive.
87. Find Out if There Is Free Bus Service in Your Area
It might be possible for you to get around town for free with a free bus service.
Check out what's available in your area by talking to local bus service providers.
88. Find Out if You Can Get a Discount
Bus service providers offer discounts for different reasons, these reasons include:
- Having a disability
- Your age
- Being a student
89. Travel on The Bus During off Peak Times
Bus tickets are often cheaper during off-peak times, check out the timetable and see when is most economic time to travel.
Peak times are when most people are traveling, avoid popular commuting hours, e.g., 9am.
90. Your Train Tickets in Advance and Online
You can buy tickets at a better rate is you shop online and in advance. Avoid buying last minute tickets at the station because you will always pay full price.
Try Amtrak for the United States and Trainline For Europe.
You can also find great deals for bus tickets in Europe with Trainline.
Super Frugal Travel Tips To Save You Money
You might want live frugally, but that doesn’t mean you don’t want great experiences. Some people are able to travel the world on the smallest of budgets.
91. Live in a RV
If you live in an RV, you no longer have to pay for your house while you travel, and you don’t have to pay for hotels either.
If you want to create a mobile home on a budget then consider converting a van, ‘van life’ is very popular these days.
If you really want to travel a lot then, living like this could be perfect for you.
You will never have to worry about packing your bags or accommodation again
If you crave freedom and adventure, this could suit you as a person. You also have to live a more minimal life (perfect for frugal minds!) and have less belongings.
92. Go Camping
Camping vacations are the most sustainable way to stay somewhere new.
You can stay in cheap campsites for a few dollars a night or if your wilder at heart, go wild camping. Just make sure the park authorities allow wild campers and check out rules for open fires, too.
93. Use a Flight Comparison Site to Book Plane Tickets
Flight comparison sites like Skyscanner are the best way to find the lowest prices for flights.
Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the best days of the week to book tickets online. Fridays are often the worse days.
You also want to try to book your flights a few months in advance. If the flight you are booking is less than a month away, the price will be higher.
94. Book Accommodation With Cooking Facilities
If you don’t like the idea of camping or living in a van. Then the next best way to keep your costs down when traveling is to always book somewhere with cooking facilities.
If you don’t have any way to cook then you are forced to buy convince food from stores, which is unhealthy and expensive, or go to restaurants, which are even more expensive.
By renting something with a little kitchen, you are bringing your food budget down. You can use that saved money to pay for the things you love.
Frugal Living Ideas for Entertainment and Luxuries
95. Ditch Cable, Try Netflix and Free Media Content
Cable TV is expensive and these days not essential to watch quality movies and series.
Netflix is only $9.99 per month in the US and has all the best content, from Outlander to the latest movies. They’ve got it.
You can also find free documentaries and television programmes on YouTube and other free sites like Daily Motion.
96. Buy Clothes in Outlet Stores
Outlet stores are a great alternative to regular stores. They mostly sell out of season clothing and accessories. Their products are massively discounted.
Try to be organized with your clothing needs, especially if you have growing children. Plan ahead, so you don’t end up paying more in a regular store.
Some also sell factory damaged goods; check they are in good order.
97. Swap Clothes With Friends
Ask your friends if they would like to swap clothes. This way, you both get something new (new to you), but you didn’t spend a penny.
You can do this with children's clothes too. It's great to do when your child has outgrown their clothing. You can swap toys, too.
98. Use Money Saving Apps To Eat Out for Less
There are countless apps and websites which offer great coupons and discount codes for restaurants.
Try Groupon and see how much you save!
You can also find great deals on activities and events, too.
99. Use Free Libraries
Libraries are packaged with all the best seller books you could dream of and the best part is they are all free.
They also have other useful services at libraries like free internet and access to computers.
Make use of them. An afternoon in the library is an afternoon well used.
Final Thoughts
Is extreme frugal living possible in 2022?
YES!
Frugal living tips from the great depression can still be used to keep you on your budget.
Even though we are no longer living through the great depression, it is still worth using the best hacks of the era. They helped people get by then and still work now. The principles of depression living have stood the test of time.