There are many different money saving hacks you can apply to your life. Feeling like you’ve exhausted all options? What about going frugal extreme for a while? Practicing extreme frugality will help you save money towards your future and appreciate the many things you already have.
Read on to learn about how to practice extreme frugality in your day-to-day life.
What is Extreme Frugality?
In the simplest sense, being extremely frugal is when someone takes the practice of being frugal to a new level. Firstly, this practice that someone places value on their time and money. Frugal people value the cost and value of each and every service they purchase into account. For example, a frugal person will compare two different pairs of jeans at two different price points. He or she will then assess the quality of each pair of jeans and the price. If the quality of the more expensive pair is much higher and the overall cost per wear will be lower, he or she won’t be afraid to purchase it. Why? In the long run, he or she will spend less money on jeans.
Extreme frugality takes frugalism to a new level with less common practices. These frugal techniques take more time and effort to put into place. However, extreme frugality is good way to help you save even more money – even if it’s for a short period of time.
Who Should Practice Extreme Frugality?
Who should practice extreme frugality? From low income to high income earners, being frugal and thrifty is for everyone. However, there are certain people who should consider extreme frugality more than other groups, including:
- Those who are in between jobs or have suddenly gone from a dual-income household to a single-income one
- Families who want to save money for a short-term goal in a quick period of time
- Those who have depleted their emergency fund and need to replenish it as quickly as possible
- Individuals, couples or families who want to kickstart frugal habits for the long run
The Top Ways to Practice Extreme Frugality
There are many different ways to practice extreme frugal living. Here are the top tips you should implement in your life if you’re serious about saving money and living a simpler lifestyle.
Wear Your Clothes For Longer
I know what you’re thinking – “Wearing clothes for a long time is dirty and unhygienic!”. Hear me out. Many people throw their clothes in the laundry bin after just one wear. Choose to wear your clothes just one more time and you’ll significantly cut down on how much laundry you do. By doing less laundry, you’ll reduce your water and electricity bills – even if it’s just by a small amount.
Hand-Wash and Air Dry Your Clothes
If you have the time on your hands and the space to do so, commit to hand-washing all of your clothes and hanging them up to dry. Doing so has two benefits: you’ll save money on electricity and your clothes will generally last longer. When your clothes always go through the spin cycle, they’ll have a shorter lifespan.
Wash Your Clothes in Cold Water
Can’t bear the thought of hand-washing your clothes? At the very least, switch from washing your clothes in hot or warm water to cold water. You’ll cut down on your electricity bill.
Use Only One Lightbulb and Move It Around
This tip might seem a bit extreme, but it’ll save you both the cost of electricity and constantly purchasing new lightbulbs. Plus, you’ll help the environment! Try your best to rely on natural light and at the most, use two lightbulbs per floor.
Unplug All Appliances
Unplug all appliances not in use. Even when plugged-in appliances aren’t in active use, they draw phantom power. Choosing to unplug appliances when not in use can save the average household $100 a year.
Make Your Own Homemade Cleaning Supplies
Making cleaning supplies at home takes a bit of effort, but it’s well worth it. A simple vinegar, water and soap solution is a lot cheaper than paying $5+ on a single bottle of cleaning solution. Plus, many cleaners can be used for different purposes – the kitchen, bathroom, floors and more. Get creative and check out this article on the top 8 homemade cleaners. Choose your favorite fragrances and have fun mixing and matching scents to make the perfect cleaning products fot you and your home!
Say No to Restaurant Dining or Takeout
If you’re serious about being frugal and thrifty, you’ll need to cut out non-essential spending in all areas of your life – especially the big spending areas. Restaurant dining and takeout costs the average household $3,500 per year. While you can definitely plan ahead and eat out on a budget, cutting out restaurant dining altogether will help you save a ton.
In addition to cutting out restaurant trips, rather than hitting the ‘order’ button on the pizza delivery app every Friday, opt for homemade pizza. Take a special family trip to the grocery store and buy toppings everyone loves. Ensure you’re shopping frugal by couponing and buying the lower-priced items.
As a child, my family loved making English Muffin pizzas. They’re super easy to make – all you need to do is buy sauce, cheese and your favorite toppings, assemble them and bake for 10 minutes. No need to spend over an hour making homemade dough! Check out the recipe for English Muffin pizzas here.
If the thought of pizza bores you, try a new recipe. Go to an international grocery store and pick up ingredients for a pad thai or curry. Alternatively, do an appetizer night. Choose 5-7 appetizers your family loves such as crackers and cheese, homemade meatballs, veggies and dip and cookies. Keep it simple or make it fancy – the choice is up to you!
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Freeze All Credit Cards and Pay in Cash
Another extreme frugal tip that might seem a bridge too far but is well worth it – freezing your credit cards. When you pay with plastic, you’re a lot less likely to feel the psychological impact of how much money you’re spending. On the other hand, when you pay with cash, you’ll see the cash exiting your wallet and will physically feel the cash leave your hands. Think about how much you make per hour – even if it’s an average.
When you spend money, you’ll think about how many minutes you had to work to pay for that new sweater you don’t really need. Choosing to pay with cash will help you think twice about spending and you’ll be a lot more likely to stay on budget.
Get Rid of Your Internet Service – A Extreme Frugality Tip for Those Who Work Outside the Home
Your internet bill can cost you a thousand dollars or more per year. If you can live without internet and survive on data alone, consider cutting your subscription loose. While this tip isn’t ideal for those who work from home, it’s a great way to live frugal for those who can make it work.
Get Rid of Your Data Plan
While cutting your internet bill can help you save a significant portion on your utility bills over the year, if you can’t live without it, consider getting rid of your data plan. Data costs can run you up to $50 or more per month. If you are someone who doesn’t need internet while commuting to and from work or while on the go, consider going back to a basic data and texting plan.
At the very least, cut down from, say, a 10GB plan to a 2GB plan so you can at least use essential services such as texting and calling. If you need music streaming, download your favorite tracks for offline listening. Apps like Spotify let you download music to listen to offline.
Another added benefit of limiting your data: you’ll become more present. When you’re commuting to and from work, take the time to look out the window. When we spend a lot of time in front of screens, we often overlook the simple beauty of everyday life. Additionally, you may become less anxious. When we constantly check your phone for notifications, we tend to feel more unsettled and on edge. Cutting down on the amount of times you spend checking your phone may make you more relaxed.
Taking Extreme Frugality Too Far
How Being Cheap vs. Frugal Can Cost You
While being extremely frugal is a fantastic way to save money and appreciate life, there is such thing as too much of a good thing. Being too frugal can cost you and others money and your relationship with them.
Costing Relationships
If you’re constantly researching and trying out extreme frugal ways to save money in every aspect of your life, your relationships may begin to suffer. For example, if you never go out for dinner but it’s your friend’s birthday and she’s booked a restaurant, refusing to go simply because it costs money isn’t a good look. Additionally, being cheap also hurts others that you don’t know. If you practice going frugal extreme by leaving a small tip or no tip at all – even if the service is great – the waitstaff will suffer.
In many countries, servers and other service industry staff rely on tips for the majority of their income. When you refuse to tip or are a stingy person, you’re literally taking money out of service staffs’ pockets. Remember: if you can’t afford to tip, you can’t afford to eat out.
Spending More Money in the Long Run
Taking extreme frugality too far not only costs you relationships, but it can cost you financially. Spend more to spend less. “What does that mean?!” you might say. Hear me out. When you spend more money on quality products that will last longer, more often than not, you’ll save money in the long run.
For example, let’s say you’re choosing between a cheap pair of athletic shoes and more expensive one. The cheap pair costs $50 and you know it’ll wear out every season. On the other hand, you are eying a similar-looking pair of shoes that costs $150. However, these shoes are high-quality and will last you up to 5 years. If you buy the cheaper pair, you’ll end up paying $250 over 5 years ($50 x 5). However, if you buy the pricier pair, you’ll pay $100 less in the long run since you’ve only spent $150 one time.
Additionally, since items that are cheaper quality are often of lower quality, they may not be as healthy for your body. For example, if the cheaper shoes have poor arch support, you may experience foot issues over time. If you need to go to the doctor, you’ll spend money on medical expenses – in addition to re-purchasing the shoes multiple times!
How to Avoid Taking Extreme Frugality Too Far
It’s easy to take extreme frugality too far. When you start saving money, you may become excited and cut corners a little bit too much. So, how do you avoid doing this? It’s simple: just like everything else budget and finance-related, have a plan. Set aside a designated amount per month you’ll spend on restaurants, takeout, clothing and more.
Set yourself up for budgeting success by taking the average amount of money you spent on each non-essential category over the past 3 months. For example, if you spent $150 on clothing in March, $275 in April and $180 in May, your average budget for clothing should was around $200 (the exact average over the 3 months is $201.67). Since you’re committing to frugal living, choose to cut down your spending on each category by a certain dollar figure or percentage.
For those who are just starting with extreme frugal living, I recommend starting with cutting down spending by 50%. For each month you successfully complete a low spend challenge, commit to cutting down non-essential spending by another 10% until you reach 80% or 90%.
When you’re clear with how much you can spend on clothing and set a hard budget, you’ll be a lot less likely to overspend. When you budget and save money on non-essential purchases, you’ll free up cash for other saving goals like a vacation, new electronics and investing.
A Final Note on Extreme Frugality
There are so many different ways to save money for the short term and long term. Even if you practice extreme frugality for a short period of time, you’ll be well on your way to reaching your financial goals. Start small with one or two challenges.
Each month, integrate one new practice into your life. Before you know it, you’ll have tons of cash stashed away for investing, saving and treating yourself!
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Janita is a frugal living expert and owner of Frugal Fun Finance. With over five years of personal experience finding and trying out the best ways to make and save more money, she's eager to share her knowledge. Janita's strategies have helped her save thousands of dollars for funding investments and traveling to over 20 countries.
Janita completed training in personal finance at The University of Western Ontario and McGill University, two prestigious Canadian universities. Her expertise has been shared on GoBankingRates, Yahoo Finance, and NASDAQ.com.
