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Frugal Tips

Synne

Veteran

The off-topic section of the forum is often overlooked by me, but here goes my two cents.. ehm, pun?

I have switched to mainly slow-shop and a second hand wardrobe, and am getting more interested in being more frugal with my spending overall.

Anyone want to share their frugal philosophy and tips and advice?

My home is slowly becoming more minimalist and decluttered, and my new goal going forward is selling my items/unworn clothes instead of only donating them. It will be interesting to see if I have any luck with this.

I am trying to eliminate food waste and be more mindful with grocery shopping and meal planning, as this has been a huge expense earlier. Yay for stale bread aka French toast brunch!

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29 replies

Latest reply was from elpgal

chewyspaghetti

Veteran

Meal planning can definitely help with food waste. You can plan a meal, then plan a second meal from leftovers (like roasting a chicken to have with vegetables, then using leftover chicken to make chicken salad). If you can plan out a third meal from it- even better (like chicken soup from the carcass and leftover vegetables)!
Another tip is to shop the perimeter of the grocery store- as this is where the fresh produce, meats, and dairy items are. The more processed items on the inner aisles tend to be more expensive (and less healthy, and create more packaging waste).

Sloper

Veteran

It is relative - some people like to save on some things in order to spend on others. One person's necessity is someone else's splurge. Everyone has their priorities of saving and spending. An interesting topic and not just one way to do it.

I'm agreeing with Chewy's comments about meal planning and shopping.

American grocery stores are laid out with the fresh "whole" foods (veggies, fruits, meats, dairy) around the perimeter of the store. Everything else in the aisles is mostly processed and packaged and expensive and unhealthy! Except for things like rice, beans, grains of course - but not all US stores offer good varieties of those.

Anyway, thinking about how many meals you can get from the fresh items is a good idea.

Other than food, I've tried to cut back on magazine subscriptions (including online subscriptions and streaming services).

Though I would definitely not say I have a totally frugal lifestyle - at least fashion-wise ;-). We buy our cars (no leases) and keep them forever, we don't take many trips (even pre-COVID), we're not drinkers or fancy diners-out. I maybe buy a Starbucks or other fancy coffee drink once a year?

There are websites dedicated to frugal living and saving (in the US). Here, some people call it FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early).
https://www.forbes.com/advisor.....ould-read/

Synne

Veteran

Thank you Chewyspagetti and Sloper! This really is a skill to be learned. I would love to pay off debt and be more self sufficient. Fashion and style is a great hobby and creative outlet for me, so it will always have a big chunk of my budget. I would love to explore mending and sewing more..

Sal

Veteran

A couple of things I do to be frugal:
- recycle gift paper and buy cards in packs (blank cards) rather than birthday or thank you cards.
- make sure I have a couple of low budget dinners such as soup, vegetarian pastas etc
- push out my food shopping for a day and just use up what I have
- seasonal produce. Take advantage of sales on things like laundry powder or shampoo that are more expensive
- Watch subscriptions. Monthly payments add up.

I am careful overall on my clothing expenditure by adding less and a mix of new and second hand, and by rarely duplicating. I could be more frugal but I am happy with my expenditure compared to my joy.

JAileen

Veteran

Use the library. I recently found out my library even has magazines online.

Avoid fancy coffees at Starbucks. Here’s a delicious recipe for iced coffee: 1/3 cup ground coffee, 1 1/2 cups water. I use Yuban dark roast. Stir together in a french press, let sit on the counter overnight. In the morning, press, and pour into a canning jar and refrigerate. Pour over ice, add whole milk and stevia. Stir, enjoy.

Cook your own meals from scratch. To save time, use a pressure cooker, when appropriate, such as when cooking dried beans.

nuancedream

Veteran

I agree with chewyspaghetti's comment about grocery shopping and meal planning. I also purchased an Instant Pot last year, which has been a true time saver for meal preparation. As a side benefit, Mr. ND has become more involved in dinner preparation. Sal is right on the money about keeping a close eye on subscriptions. Content can be very expensive.

Sloper

Veteran

Another thought - keeping track of all income and expenses can be very helpful. Even the recurring mundane costs we don't always think about (utilities, etc.) add up. The longer you can do it the better - so you can see how you spend over a year and how it changes seasonally, so you can think ahead for bigger expenses (like more heating in winter, big annual insurance premiums, etc.)

Jenni NZ

Veteran

We waste very little food. We have become good at meals made from what is left by sometimes Googling recipes as in say, “chicken plus beans plus red onion recipe” and seeing what comes up. When the children were young there wasn’t Google but we had a few recipe books or basic dishes that could sort of do the same, for years I think. We hardly buy any coffees out, that always seems a big money waster to me so it was often a holiday thing back in the day and we still do it seldom.
I used to swap clothes for the children with friends or relatives and also was good at going to thrift stores or finding sale clothing. I did like to get the children a mixture of new and second-hand so they didn’t feel deprived. I think this worked well until their teenage years when we became richer anyway by then having paid off a lot of the home loan and being able to work more with them being older.
It helps if you are on similar income levels etc to good friends so there isn’t too much comparison? Doesn’t let the “green eyed monster” ( jealousy) get too much of a hold.
Unfortunately I can be a bit prone to jealousy and have to watch it

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

I'm with everyone about the food and meal planning. I cannot stand food waste. Parents grew up during WW2 and had nothing to eat, so it's ingrained. Hubs is the same. We have a Zero Food Waste Policy at home, and eat all leftovers in fun and creative ways. I spend a LOT of time in the kitchen!

We keep the grocery runs to a minimum because it encourages us to eat what we have and make the most of it!

I keep a fashion and style budget and stick to it.

I am also nodding along with Sal.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

I agree with all the meal planning comments. I regrow leeks, carrots, and other root vegetables. Gardening is a great activity for kids; I think you have the space to do much more than I do.

Avoiding waste often has the happy secondary effect of being less expensive, for example cloth napkins only need to be bought once and those clothes you can’t sell could make good rags. The only home paper product I buy is TP.

I think you’re already quite good at making cleaning and beauty products yourself. In the USA, baking soda is a good scouring powder, but I don’t think you can get the big boxes in Europe. Toothpaste has some light scouring powder. Excuse me if this is gross or tmi, but when I spit out my toothpaste, I use it to clean the sink.

A visit to a dear friend of mine last weekend reminded me of how expensive deferred maintenance, including simple cleaning,, can become. It’s hard with the kids, but don’t let the house go. I followed the parenting advice that it’s ok to have a messy house/ dirty dishes while they are little and eventually had a teen with no clue of good cleaning routines, and no cleaning routines myself. Don’t do that.

Runcarla

Veteran

If you want to get really frugal, make a budget and learn where you spend your money, then tighten up revenue leakage - like interest on late bills or credit cards. Most banks and cards have no frills packages where you can get reduced service charges. We pay for water and power and doing things like laundry at off peak hours, accepting a cooler house in winter and warmer house in summer (vs heating or A/C) and taking short showers or baths keeps costs down. We don’t run water for the lawn or garden, and use rainwater or ‘grey water’ instead.

DH and I are in the process of reviewing our internet/cable package - which has been creeping up in cost without delivering the entertainment we want. If DH can find a reasonable source for the sports shows he loves, we will cut the cable.

FWIW, I wrote down every expense in a columned bookkeeping journal for years until we paid off our mortgage in our mid-forties. I started keeping records again when we retired. It’s good to know where your money goes.

Style Fan

Veteran

Mr. SF and I keep track of all our expenses. We started doing this when we retired, and when I was in my twenties, I fell out of the habit. We can see where our money is going.
I have driven my car for a long time. My current car is a 2005, and I plan to keep it for as long as possible. It is in great shape, and I take excellent care of it.
I buy used cars with low mileage, and I do a lot of research before buying a car.
We keep to a budget. I put money aside for vacations, clothing, doggie expenses, etc.

Cardiff girl

Veteran

Yes l echo what’s been said.Writing down everything you spend money on is a great way of cutting out things that you don’t really need.It’s so easy to overlook expenditure that can really add up over the year.Food planning is another great tip. keeping my husband away from the weekly shop saves an absolute fortune!

Helena

Veteran

Yay to reducing food waste ... This is a big focus on our house too! I like Carla's concept of revenue leakage i.e. dkijf a bit of am audit on places you are spending for no real value on return ... Things like interest as she mentions, unused subscriptions, especially digital ones, eating out for convenience rather than joy (obviously sometimes the convenience is worth it but can become a habit). Removing saved payment info from website accounts can prevent mindless spending. And the best financial advice I ever got was to pay yourself first ... I.e. save a percentage of your income before you do anything else by auto-transferring it to a savings mechanism the day it hits your account. Aside from the obvious long term benefit, this also has the out-of-sight out-of-mind effect of decreasing the amount of money you feel like you have to spend!

Sloper

Veteran

Yes to Helena's comment. A very good piece of advice I learned a long time ago. I know not everyone has a job that offers a saving plan or 401K, but any way to automate savings is a great idea.

DonnaF

Veteran

Don’t buy more perishables than you can eat before it spoils. Sometimes those pre-made salad mixes can be more economical than having to throw out slimy this and thats every week. Same with buying food you really don’t like.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

One place I think a lot of people find money leaking out when they examine their budgets is entertainment, particularly the things signed up for “just once” to watch a particular show, which are then not canceled.

Sal

Veteran

On bigger things look at debt/loans/mortgaging and ensure you are getting a good deal. And insurances too - you need different things at different stages of your life.

I got a list of all the insurances our work broker "recommended" and honestly it was mad - I would be working to pay the insurance. It's not something to skimp on but there are some that may not be worthwhile.

cjh

(website)

Veteran

Since I don’t know your family situation, I’m not sure these tips will be relevant, but someone might be helped. Several things we did particularly helped us manage our finances during our young family years. First, when I received a small inheritance from my grandmother, we used the money to buy a car without a loan, but kept paying ourselves a “car payment” into savings permanently. This allowed us to always buy new cars with cash! Huge savings on interest!
Second, we had purchased combination whole life-term life insurance when first married. By the time our older daughter turned 16, the dividends on those policies were enough to pay premiums, so we could pay for her car insurance without increasing our spending.
Third, I was a SAHM until that same year. Then by working part time the next several years, I was able to pay for both daughters’ college expenses at state university entirely, no loans needed. I feel it was because we were accustomed to living tailored to my husband’s income only. Granted, university education prices have gone up in the last twenty years.
Fourth, when I received an inheritance from my dad, which was IRA money with tax obligations, we offset that by putting the max into our own IRA-401(k) savings. That put us into an even stronger habit of saving all we could for what we need now, when we are in early retirement and looking forward to 25-30 more years of expenses in unknown territory.
Even with a fairly frugal lifestyle, the conscious choices of how to spend money make a difference. For instance, we chose to keep a modest home, big enough for us but with lower payments and taxes than some of our friends. We rarely ate out until high school sports schedules forced us into getting takeout more often. Brand name, expensive wardrobe was off the table and the girls knew it. The money saved in those areas went for music, art, and swimming lessons, summer camp weeks, driving vacations and regular contributions to retirement savings.
Wishing you wisdom and a little luck as you navigate these decisions.

avicennia

Veteran

These are good suggestions, ranging from big to small. Synne — thanks for kicking off this thread. I can’t think of anything to add, all my ideas have been covered by others!

rachylou

Veteran

One thing that comes to mind is eating as much of a food as possible… I mean for example you can eat a beet AND its greens… one beet can give you a side for two meals. That sort of thing. Also, tbh, frozen veg is more penny-wise and more nutritious than ‘fresh.’ Use electricity and water when the rates are lowest, only do full loads…. Actually, we cut our water usage so much this year, we’re worried about mandatory water rationing… because they might cap us at a percentage of what we’ve been using as opposed to giving everyone a set ration… so water wasters win! Boo :p

rachylou

Veteran

I’m like Style Fan now about cars also… I will totally only buy used cars now, straight out, no car payments with interest. I had my new car fun and it wasn’t that fun. The things lose like half their value the moment you drive it off the lot. But it’s also because I think the gasoline car is dead and electric cars not ready for prime time yet… so I’m waiting…

rachylou

Veteran

One more: I think spending where your interests lie is helpful. I mean to keep those first and foremost. If you really are into coffee, buy the $$ coffee… if you don’t care like me, go cheap there. That sort of thing.

JAileen

Veteran

I was talking about frugality with a friend this morning. We thought these three items were really important:

1. Have a modest house.
2. Keep a car a long time.
3. Eat out infrequently.

Sloper

Veteran

A very good bit of advice shared by a coworker a long time ago: invest in yourself.

Continue your education, learn new skills - increase your value as an employee.

annagybe

(website)

Veteran

Find your local buy nothing group or equivalent. They're on facebook, but now have an app. The rules can be ridiculously strict, but sometimes you can get good stuff or get rid of stuff you don't need.
I got a pretty decent floor lamp once. And then gave away a pair of running shoes that I only wore a few times.

Aquamarine

Veteran

Sometimes I’m frugal (no food waste, mostly cook from scratch, which tends to be healthier) and other times I’m not (designer denim). But in the bigger picture, what has served my husband and I well in the 30+ years we’ve been married is to pay cash for everything (as much as possible) so very little debt except for our mortgage. That means cars, usually—and we keep them a long long time. Home improvements (unless a dire, expensive emergency) are also paid with cash so I may not have the most-up-to-date kitchen on my street BUT I try to remember how much I DO have and be grateful. This has allowed us to put away a great retirement nest egg as well as pay for our kids (private) colleges…they have no loans. That was important to us.

Anonymous

Discretionary spending is one thing, but it's equally, if not more important, to look at the big stuff. People get complacent with bills, without realizing they could save a lot.

Health insurance- for US based folks, is extremely expensive, even through employers sometimes. People often just buy by the monthly premium- but that's not necessarily the best route. If you have a lot of prescriptions/medical visits, it can save money to buy a higher metal level plan.

Also, don't buy more coverage than you're actually using. People buy PPOs because they think they cover more. They also cost hundreds more in premiums per month. They do cover out of network providers, but if your doctors and local hospitals are in- network, and you don't often travel out of state, you may be better with an HMO. In addition, there are often deductibles for those out of network services, where there wouldn't be if you stay in network.
Review it every year. Add up All the costs, for Every option you have!

Same with car or other insurance. The state Insurance Administration keeps spreadsheets of premiums. There can be big differences for comparable coverage.

elpgal

Veteran

One way I like to think of it to figure out what gives me the most pleasure for $. So a luxe skin product that lasts me 3 months - yes! Spending money at a restaurant when we can make it at home - no.

Music lessons and a personal trainer for me - yes. Expensive tickets to a pick your pumpkin farm - no.

Netflix subscription - yes. Movie theater with popcorn - no.

Clothes for my kid - buy used from FB sale groups but shoes - Definitely new.