Frugal Living FOR BEGINNERS
If you want to save money without stressing out, then easy tips are what you need. A guide on Frugal living for beginners that will get you on your way to saving money and spending less, without sacrificing fun and comfort.
Living a simple life centers around doing what you can by repurposing what you have and keeping more of your hard earned money in your pocket where it belongs.
Like many people, you’ve probably noticed the cost of everything going up, especially when you take a trip to the grocery store. Basic items that you need every week, like eggs, butter, milk, and bread, get more expensive with each trip.
If you have a lot of land, you can reduce some of these costs by turning your property into a resource. You can plant your own garden, raise small livestock, or you can grow fruit bushes or trees. Even though homesteading is a great way to be self-sufficient, it isn’t always an option.
The good news is that you can be frugal without being a homesteader and that is great news for anyone that lives in the suburbs, urban areas, or if money is already too tight for anything new.
Frugal living opens up a multitude of doors giving you plenty of ways to help reduce your living expenses. And once you start cutting back on what you spend, you will begin to find more of what you need at home without having to go to the store.
Frugal Living for Beginners
These frugal living tips are money savers and will work for anyone, whether you are a beginner or have been at this for some time now. Try them all and use this list to inspire you to find creative ways to make do with what you have.
1. Hang Dry your Clothes
Not an earth shattering tip for sure, but how often are you doing it? It’s true that modern conveniences can make life easier, but they can also be more expensive to own and run. Even if you have a efficiency dryer, air drying clothes can still give you a noticeable cost savings.
In the warmer months you can hang clothes out to dry while in the cooler months you can hang them indoors.
Air drying clothes may not seem like a big deal but it can save you $300 a year in utility costs.
If you are worried about wrinkles, don’t be. I have found that most, if not all of our clothes have fewer wrinkles when allowed to air dry.
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Do you have a laundry routine? If not, this is a bonus frugal tip that will not only save you money but loads of time as well. Set up a laundry system here.
2. Leftover Friday!
Every family should have a “clean out the fridge” night that is the same night each week making it a routine in yoru home.
One of the biggest costs in a kitchen is spoiled or expired food waste. This one tip will cut back drastically on the food you toss.
In our home, Fridays was leftover day and we would either make a buffet of options or incorporate the leftovers into a new meal.
Leftover Options to Try:
- Deep Dish Pizza – This is a great way to use meat from other meals. Meatloaf, hamburgers, or chicken tastes amazing with some sauce and cheese.
- Casseroles – This is a great way to use up noodles, pasta, or rice. Add a bit of milk, creme of soup, and a few veggies.
- Soup – This is a great way to use up veggies from side dishes or salads. If you have potatoes toss those in and turn your soup into a stew.
- Omelets – This is a great way to use up excess eggs and produce at the same time. Every Tuesday is omelet night in our home.
Check your fridge and pantry for food items that will soon go bad, and add them to leftover day.
Having a leftover day is not only fun, it will give you a night off in the kitchen making this tip a win win for everyone!
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3. Freeze it
Fresh produce is delicious, but unfortunately, it has a short shelf life. If you see you will not be able to use up your fruits or vegetables before they go bad, wash them and chopped them so you can freeze them to use later.
This is also a great tip to use if you find vegetables, fruits, or fresh herbs marked down at the store for a quick sale.
Not sure how to free produce? Use this checklist as a guide.
How to Freeze
- Wash and remove any stems or outer layers.
- Cut off any blemishes or questionable spots.
- Allow to air dry for a few minutes to prevent freezer ice.
- Par freeze in a single layer.
- Put into labeled freezer bags.
- Store vertically in these food organizers or flat in your freezer.
4. Make Your Own treats
Baking your own cookies, cakes, and bread can be less expensive than buying them and as an added bonus, they’re healthier since they don’t have a lot of added sugars, additives, and preservatives.
Find recipes your family enjoys and make them part of your weekly meal prep. Our family loves muffins and with a DIY mix on hand they are a breeze to make.
A bonus is you can add in produce to use those items up giving a health kick to your recipe.
Things to add to breads:
- Berries
- Zucchini
- Pumpkin
- Fruit
- Bananas
- Jams
You can also make a batch of cookie dough to bake later. This is a great tip for fresh cookies whenever you want them.
Homemade cookie dough
- Make your favorite cookie dough batter.
- Roll into balls.
- Place on a cookie sheet covered in parchment.
- Freeze for about an hour.
- Once frozen, transfer them to a freezer bag.
- Label with the type of cookie, the date, and the cooking instructions.
- When you want fresh cookies, take a few out of the bag and bake.
5. Use Curbside Pickup
One of my biggest money saving tips is to stay out of the stores. If you can see it, you can’t buy it and that is why I love curbside pickup.
Grocery stores use product placement through the store to increase impulse purchases. Order online and you will drastically decrease your food budget with this one tip.
In order to make the most of your pickups, be sure to have a meal plan so you know the ingredients you need for the week ahead. Always shop your freezer and pantry first to incorporate any ingredients that need to be used up.
6. Go to the Library
If you love to read or enjoy audiobooks, this tip will save money and allow you to read as much as you want.
One of my favorite places to go is our local library. I can bring as many books home with me for free and spend a lazy day getting lost in some wonderful stories.
The library offers a large variety of your favorite authors using other branches to bring in titles that are requested.
You can also get access to audio books that you can listen to on your phone. Audio books are a great distraction when you are doing a long chore such as canning, weeding, or cleaning out the chicken coop.
Most new releases are available at your library as well as older books from your favorite authors. Finally, most libraries will take requests for books you want to read and find them for you if they don’t have them.
7. Digital Coupons
Most grocery stores have apps that allow you to download their digital coupons. This is a great way to get discounts without having to clip, sort, and carry coupons to the store.
How it works: Go to the store website to see if they offer digital coupons. If they do, you can add them to your shopper’s card, and they will be automatically applied when you enter your reward or account number.
You can apply to Ibotta and get even more discounts when you shop.
I have been using Ibotta for years, and I routinely earn $400-$700 a year that I can redeem for cash or gift cards just in time for the holidays each year. It’s free to join and easy to use!
8. Sell your stuff
If you need an influx of cash, look at what you no longer need in your home for help. Clean out your closets, attic, basement, shed, and anywhere else you store your excess stuff.
You can sell most of your items online using Facebook Marketplace, online consignment shops, or Craigslist.
If you have a lot to sell, you can instead get it gone all in one day by hosting a yard sale. Yes, yard sales take time and work, but can bring in quite a bit of income if you have a large inventory to get rid of.
As an added bonus, your home will have a lot less clutter and a lot more space.
9. Give Homemade Gifts
Making your own gifts is a fun and cost-effective way to give presents to family and friends throughout the year. You can give eggs from the coop, homemade canned food like jams, sewn items like potholders, dish towels, or an apron.
If you struggle to come up with an idea, check out our list of 17 Home-Made Gift Ideas that range from difficult to no skills needed.
10. Make it and take it
Many times when we are out running errands we can be tempted to stop for a snack or a coffee. This can get expensive quick if we are not careful. Instead, bring a snack and your favorite drink from home so you are not tempted to hit the drive through.
11. Workout at Home
Gym memberships are another expensive item that you may want to consider doing from home; however, workout equipment can be just as costly. Why not do things the old-school way? Pushups, sit-ups, squats, jump rope, and yoga are all great ways to get yourself in shape.
I try to do all of these exercises every morning and I find they are very beneficial especially as I get older. Not only do they tone they strengthen my muscles helping me to do my daily chore list more easily.
If you need a bit more structure, you can find loads of workouts or even yoga classes for free on YouTube that you can follow along to.
12. Wait to Wash
To save money on laundry, cut back on how often you wash. Bath towels can be used several times if allowed to hang dry in-between uses. Jeans can be worn a few times before hitting the hamper. This goes for kids and adults.
Even our farm clothes get more than one wear. We have hooks in our garage to hang chore clothes on allowing us to wear them a few times before washing.
13. Learn new skills
Instead of relying on outside resources for certain tasks, consider learning new skills so you can do them yourself at home.
Our Jack Russel is a heavy shedder and for years I took him to a groomer every six weeks. This ended up getting very expensive so I decided to take this chore on myself. I purchased a home pet grooming kit with a vacuum to keep the hair from making a mess and learned how to clip and wash our pup.
Learning can not only save money but it can widen your skills that you can use to barter with a friend or neighbor.
14. Make it Last
Many times the manufacturers instructions tell you to use more than you may need. This is true with personal items such as shampoo all the way to cleaners such as laundry detergent. Try cutting back on portions until you find the amount you can use and still get good results.
If you can cut back by 50% you will double the life of the product making this a great frugal tip.
15. DIY Cleaners
One of the most expensive things are cleaning supplies and the funny things is that you probably have the ingredients you need to make most of your cleaners at home. Things like baking soda, white vinegar, and hydrogen peroxide will cover quite a wide range of cleaners.
Not sure what you can make? Get our list of 15 DIY Cleaners for your home.
Most of the tips on this list have been around for decades or more and the reason is because they are easy to use and they work. Add one new tip a week until you have them all worked into your routine.
Want a few more ideas, check these out!
More Frugal Living for Beginners Ideas:
- Google copy cat recipes for restaurant favorites to enjoy at home.
- Hang a sheet outside and setup a DIY drive in for family fun.
- Grow your favorite herb plants in your kitchen for fresh cuts whenever you need them. Freeze extras to use in soups an stews.
- Instead of buying new toys for your kids, shop yard sales for a fraction of the cost.
- Swap out clothes with a family that has kids close to the same age.
- Cut up an old table cloth into squares to use as rags or cloth napkins.
- Instead of expensive family trips, why not go camping in your own backyard?
Once you get started, living frugally can be more fun than it is challenging. There is something satisfying to finding ways to fill a need without having to go to the store.
Use this list of tips for frugal living for beginners as your starting point and add on new ideas as you find them. Start a journal that you can refer to any time you need a reminder on how to repurpose and save.
