You’ve committed to living a frugal life. However, you don’t know where to begin. What should you do? The good news is that you’ve come to the right place. In this article, I’ll go over various frugality examples in detail so you can get inspired to save money for your future and live a happier life. These frugal living tips have saved me over $3,000 over the course of five years. In addition to saving cash to pay off my debts and invest in my future, being frugal and thrifty has made me a generally happier person.
Read on to learn about different frugality examples.
Defining Frugality and Two Frugality Examples
Before I dive into different frugality examples, what does ‘frugal’ mean? Being frugal essentially means finding the best value for your time and money in all aspects of your life. Frugal people are economical with the resources they’ve been given and manage them well. They try to find the best overall value on products and services.
For example, frugal people understand that it’s a better idea to buy a gently-used Honda Civic 2020 model for $10,000 that will last longer than an old 2008 Ford Focus that only costs $3,000 but may be completely unusable within a year. They’ll also be willing to shell out more cash for a midrange iPhone instead of the cheapest LG phone that may last only 1 or 2 years. In the long run, they’ll not only spend less money on the cost of the items, but they’ll spend less time:
- Researching new products
- Testing products, and,
- Going to the store and buying the product.
An Important Note on the Difference Between Frugal and Cheap
While being frugal and saving money is important, it’s important to not take it too far. Being cheap vs. frugal means that someone takes saving money too far. While a frugal person factors in both price and the overall value of a product or service, a cheap person wants to save money at all costs with no regard to the long-term impacts.
While some may need to be cheap out of necessity – for example, if they lose their job or need to save some cash quickly – it simply isn’t sustainable long-term. Being cheap by opting for the lowest-priced groceries full of processed ingredients will negatively impact your health long-term. If you’re the person who never wants to go out with friends and spend money, your relationships may suffer in the long run. The difference between cheap and frugal is subtle yet distinct. While there’s nothing wrong with being extremely frugal to save up for a goal, don’t be cheap!
Frugality Examples At Home
Cleaning and Storing Food – Frugality Examples to Start With
Being frugal starts at home. From how you clean your home to how you organize your kitchen and do your laundry, read on for the top frugality examples you can try out today.
Make Your Own Cleaning Supplies
Start practicing frugal and simple living by making your own cleaning supplies! It takes some time, but it’s worth the effort. You can make a simple soap, water and vinegar solution for only a dollar or two instead of spending $5 or more on a single bottle of chemical-laden solution. Personally, my homemade cleaning supplies have lasted me more than twice as long as buying the regular stuff at the store! Another plus when making your own supplies: they are versatile. Your floor cleaner can also be used on your kitchen counters and walls. Get inspired by checking out this article on 8 homemade cleaning solutions.
Turn Jars Upside Down and Use Spatulas
When your jar of jam or relish is almost out, I’m sure you’re tempted to toss it out. Growing up, my parents always made me take the time to scrape the old jar until it was empty instead of opening a new one right away. At the time, I thought it was ridiculous, but now it makes sense. While it may seem silly to take time to use up what’s at the bottom of the jar, if you simply turn the jar upside down and scrape the leftovers to use, you’ll end up saving money in the long run. Minimizing food waste is also a good practice in general. Remember, many people don’t have the privilege of tossing out old food. Make use of what you have and be resourceful.
Frugality Examples to Reduce Your Electricity Bill
Invest in LED Lightbulbs
Another easy frugality example: switch out your regular lightbulbs to LED ones. LED lightbulbs use nearly 90% less energy and last 25 times longer than regular bulbs. You’ll not only save money on your electricity bill and reduce the amount of lightbulbs you need, but you’ll also save time as you won’t need to go to the store as often. Make the switch today!
Wash Clothing in Cold Water
A simple hack that you can start today: start washing your clothes in cold water. By switching from washing your clothes in hot water to cold water, you can save around $250 per year on your electricity bill. You’ll also save on clothing purchases in the long run. Washing clothing in cold water is gentler on fabric than hot water, so your clothes will last longer. Less trips to the mall to accidentally blow half your paycheck!
Hand-Wash Clothing
If you’re truly looking to be frugal and have the time, consider hand-washing your clothing. A classic example of frugality, hand-washing is even gentler on your clothes than washing them in cold water. When you hand wash clothing, your goods will last longer and you’ll have to replace them less often. Personally, I’ve saved nearly $500 on work clothes simply by hand-washing dresses and skirts instead of throwing them in the wash. They’ve piled less slowly than other clothing items. While $500 isn’t a life-changing amount for most, combining this frugal practice with others really adds up over time!
Skip the Dryer
Got a backyard or a balcony with space to hang clothing? Air-dry your clothes. Clothing will not only last longer, but you’ll save up to $100 per year on your electricity bill. Skipping the dryer is an example of extreme frugal living as it doesn’t save a ton of money, but combined with other practices, it really does add up over time.
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Frugality Examples When Grocery Shopping and Cooking
When being frugal, the kitchen is a crucial area in which to make adjustments so you can save money in the long run. Read on to learn about the top frugality examples for your kitchen.
Put Newest Items At the Back of Your Fridge, Freezer and Cupboards
If you’ve never given thought to which cans of food or packages in your freezer are closest to the front, now is the time to think about it. It’s really easy to just shove brand-new cans of tomato soup in your cupboard and push the oldest cans to the back. Over time, this is risky as you may allow items to expire without even knowing it. Avoid this waste of money by always taking out the oldest items in your fridge, freezer and cupboard and putting the newest items in the back.
Make the process easier by doing it every time you come back from grocery shopping and are putting new items away anyways. Alternatively, set aside a few minutes once a week to sort and organize your food items. By intentionally organizing food by expiry date, you’ll avoid wasting food.
Repurpose Leftovers
It’s Friday. You’ve had a busy week and all that’s on your mind is a delicious creamy pasta bake you’ve been dying to try making. However, there is still a small container of leftover ground beef and some peppers from your Taco Tuesday evening. While it may be tempting to toss that small amount of leftover food away and make the new dish, resist the urge. Instead, repurpose leftovers and make a new dish! That ground beef can be swapped for chicken in your pasta bake. Make a fresh garden salad and top it with the leftover green pepper. By using leftovers, a few dollars saved here and there adds up over time. Get creative with it!
Create a Meal Plan
In addition to repurposing leftovers, always plan out what you’re going to eat for the upcoming week. Set aside an hour on a Saturday or Sunday to write down a list of meals you want to make next week. Be extra frugal by using what you already have in your cupboards, fridge and freezer. Check the expiry date on each item of food and try using them in a recipe if they’re close to expiry or you believe they’ll become freezer-burnt soon. Whether you need to create a family meal plan or just one for yourself, this step is crucial to saving money on your grocery bill.
Compare Grocery Store Prices
Once you’ve created a meal plan, be sure to compare prices of the same item at different grocery stores. Stores may carry an identical product for a different price. Those with access to a vehicle or who live in a city with a reliable transit system should consider finding the best price for staple items on an app such as Flipp and visiting each store to buy the item at the lowest price.
Meal Prep
In addition to planning meals out, meal prepping is key to saving. How? When you have 3 or 4 meals that are pre-portioned in containers, you’ll be a lot less likely to order takeout or go to the grocery store again. When you go to the grocery store multiple times in a week, you’ll be a lot more likely to overspend and purchase items you don’t need. Think about it – when you’re at the store more often, you’re exposed to the candy aisle multiple times and may throw a snack or two in your cart each time. Over time, $20 extra spent per week adds up to over $1,000 extra spent in a year on stuff you don’t need. Be frugal with grocery shopping by limiting your trips to the store to once or twice a week.
Frugality Examples for Dining Out
Eat an Appetizer at Home First
Appetizers can really put a dent in your dining out budget. Instead of going to the restaurant really hungry and ready to order an appetizer or two and a main course, prepare a simple snack or app at home. Make it a whole affair by serving it with a cocktail or mocktail! Eating an appetizer at home is also a great way to just spend some time chatting with your family or friends without the distractions of a server or other customers.
Some easy, tasty appetizers to prepare include:
- Crackers and cheese
- Bruschetta
- Pumpernickel bread with spinach dip
- Crackers and pitas with veggies and hummus
- Fresh fruit dipped in yogurt, chocolate dip or peanut butter
Drink Water Instead of Other Beverages
Choosing water instead of soda, tea, coffee and alcoholic drinks can save you $5-10 per person or more on your restaurant bill. While drinking water with your meal may seem boring, you can ask for some lemon to add to it. Additionally, drinking water is a lot healthier than soda.
Opt for Lunch Over Dinner
Another one of my favorite restaurant dining tips to save money: go out for lunch instead of dinner. This is a simple way to save up to 40% on your dining bill. Dining out for lunch is usually a lot cheaper than dinner as restaurants get less business. To drive sales, they offer cheaper prices to entice customers.
Go to an All-You-Can-Eat Buffet
Buffet dining is a great way to eat out on a budget. Save even more money by opting for a lunch all-you-can-eat buffet. Prices for lunch buffets are often 30-50% cheaper than dinner. Just be careful not to go too far and eat too much. While you can surely eat enough food so you aren’t hungry for a big dinner, eating too much may make you sick.
A Final Word on Frugality Examples
The tips above are just a few of the many frugality examples out there. Take some time to sit down with a journal and pen and write down five frugal hacks you want to try first. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, start small with one or two frugal tricks per week. Even something as basic as choosing to bring a grocery list to the store has a big impact in the long run.
Most of all, be sure to find a balance between being frugal and being cheap. Simple and frugal living has its place, but be sure to occasionally indulge in a treat or two as well!
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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.
