Frugalism is a hugely popular practice – and for a good reason. Choosing a simpler lifestyle that lets you save money and become happier with what you have is incredibly appealing. Going frugal extreme takes this one step further. If you’re looking to save even more money for short-term and long-term goals without feeling like you’re cutting corners, this article is for you.
Read on to learn about the top ways to go frugal extreme.
What is Frugality?
Firstly, being frugal means being mindful with how you use your resources. The largest aspect of this lifestyle entails being frugal with money. However, frugalism also involves not only evaluating the cost of each item you purchase, but also the value it provides. For example, a frugal person will determine how long an item will last them and will decide if it’s worth purchasing the more expensive item. He or she isn’t afraid to spend more money on something if it will last longer.
For example, if a pair of dress pants costs $30 and lasts one season but an $100 pair of pants will last 10 years or more, a frugal person will purchase the more expensive pair. Only $100 will be spent over the course of 10 years instead of $300 over 10 years ($30 x 10).
Being frugal isn’t limited to finances – it also relates to how you value your time. Frugal people may be willing to pay for a cleaner for their home so they can spend more time working on their business, being with family and more. In summary, being frugal means being smart about the value of products, services and time without being cheap.
What Are The Benefits of Frugal Challenges?
Extreme frugality takes the frugal lifestyle one step further by evaluating every single aspect of one’s life and drastically cutting down on expenses as much as possible. Reducing spending takes time and effort, but it’s well worth the challenge. Going frugal extreme – even for a month or two – can help you:
- Reduce or eliminate debt
- Help you save up for a short-term or long-term goal such as a new phone or vacation
- Build up or replenish an emergency savings account
- Kickstart a cash nest egg for retirement that you’ll keep contributing to so you benefit from compound interest
Who is the Frugal Extreme Challenge For?
The frugal extreme challenge is for anyone who wants to achieve the goals I listed above. However, this challenge is especially well-suited for:
- Families who suddenly went from two incomes to one due to a layoff or a parent staying at home
- A family who recently had a baby or adopted a child
- Those coping with a death in the family
- Anyone with a busy work schedule who tends to spend a lot of money on takeout and needs a better solution to save money
Benefits of Going Frugal Extreme
There are several main benefits to undertaking a frugal extreme challenge, including:
- Saving money – the first and most obvious reason. When you drastically cut down on how much money you spend on every single category in your life – groceries, utilities, entertainment and more – you’ll automatically stockpile more savings.
- Learning to be happy with what you have – when you spend less time consuming and spending money, you’ll need to make use of what you already have. You already own 9 blazers – you don’t need a 10th. Take some time to go through your shelves, closet and kitchen cupboards and see what you already have.
- Freeing up time to spend with family or working on another venture – going frugal extreme means you should spend less time spent inside malls and on website stores. When you aren’t glued to a screen or at the mall all Saturday, you can take more time to spend with your family at the park or having a family games night. Additionally, you can take the extra time you spent consuming to build something for yourself. Take up a new hobby or start a side hustle to generate income. Save money in two ways – by cutting out spending and increasing your income!
In general, the benefits of saving money cannot be understated.
How to Go Frugal Extreme
Before setting off on your frugal extreme challenge, you need to undertake four essential steps. Set yourself up for success by following these steps:
1. Analyze Current Spending Habits and Set a Savings Goal
Before you can even dream about saving money, you need to have a clear idea of:
- How much you currently spend
- The amount you believe you can save after going frugal extreme
Assess your Current Spending
Take a look at your bank statements from the last 3 months. Grab a few highlighters in different colors and highlight what you spend on each category. You should only focus on non-fixed expenses including groceries, entertainment and variable bills like your internet bill. Ignore fixed expenses such as mortgage or rent payments, car and insurance premiums.
While you technically can negotiate bills such as your car payment or insurance, these expenses are generally fixed. The frugal extreme challenge is focuses on reducing or eliminating expenses in areas you have the most control in such as dining, entertainment and subscriptions.
Label Each Expense
Not sure where to start? Choose one color each for categories such as:
- Groceries – while an essential expense, there are ways to become more frugal with how you spend your money at the grocery store. I’ll get into how to do that shortly.
- Utility bills such as electricity and water
- Subscriptions – cable, Netflix and similar
- Restaurants
- Takeout and delivery
- Memberships – gym memberships, club memberships
- Clothing
- Electronics
- Vacation savings
Next, add up how much you spent in each category for each month. For example, start with grocery shopping.
If you spent $200 in January, $250 in February and $300 in March on groceries, your average spend would be $250. Do the same exercise for each category.
Decide on a Saving Goal
Take the number you spent on each category and decide how much you want to reduce your spending by. For an essential category such as groceries, reduce it by a small amount such as 20%. For non-discretionary categories such as takeout, choose a more extreme number such as reducing spending by 70-80%.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by cutting down your spending on each category, start with one or two categories. Pick an area or two you believe you spend too much on and think you could reduce spending on (with some planning, of course).
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2. Set a Timeline for Your Extreme Frugal Challenge
After deciding how much you want to reduce your spending by and how many areas of your life you want to reduce spending on, you’ll need to decide on a timeline. New to saving money challenges? Start with just one month. Even going frugal extreme for just thirty days can help you get used to learning to live on less.
Once you’ve done well for one month, you can try the challenge out for 3 months. Alternatively, start reducing spending on each category if you haven’t done so already.
3. Start the Challenge
Next, time to get going with going extremely frugal! Here are the top tips on reducing your spending. Let’s cover the two main areas one tends to spend too much on: the home and what you eat.
Going Frugal Extreme
Part 1: Frugal Extreme Tips for the Home
Wash Clothes in Cold Water
One of the easiest ways to cut down on your electricity bill is to wash your clothes in cold water. When you are using cold water, you’re using the water heater less. Additionally, when you wash your clothing in cold water, items will generally last longer. Hot water tends to wear out clothes faster.
Wear Your Clothes Longer
Too many people throw their clothing in the laundry hamper after just one wear. If you didn’t sweat in your clothing, your t-shirt can be worn another time. Better yet, pants can be worn a few times before being thrown in the wash. Just make sure your clothing doesn’t smell. There is a fine balance between cheap and frugal – don’t be unhygienic for the sake of saving a couple dollars on laundry.
Skip the Washer and Dryer
If you have the time and space to hand-wash and dry your clothing, skipping appliances altogether can really cut down on your bills. Instead of running the washer and dryer, hand-wash your clothes. Put on some relaxing or upbeat music and spend an hour scrubbing your clothes. Take an hour out of your weekend to enjoy the warm breeze outdoors while hanging your clothing on the drying rack.
Did you know that in some regions of the world such as Europe and Asia, a dryer isn’t common? A dryer is an American luxury. Go back to simpler times and air-dry your clothes. Additionally, dryers tend to wear out clothing faster. When you hang your clothing, your clothes will last longer and you won’t need to spend as much money on goods in the long run.
Unplug All Appliances When Not in Use
Plugged-in lamps, televisions and laptops not in use cost the average American household $100 per year. Choosing to unplug appliances when not in use will cut down on your bills. Even if it’s a few dollars, it really helps.
Use a Only One or Two Lightbulbs Per Floor and Move Them When Needed
Without knowing it, we often keep lights turned on which drive up our electricity bill. If you only have one or two bulbs to use per floor, you won’t need to worry as much about your son or daughter leaving the light on after he or she goes to bed. Try to rely on natural light instead of electricity and you’ll save a little bit – remember, it all adds up! Sure, this is one of the more unusual frugal tips out there – it may even seem a bit extreme. However, using a limited number of lightbulbs is one of the best ways to save money on bills.
Make Your Own Cleaning Supplies
Choosing to make your own cleaning supplies is better for your wallet and the environment. Many surfaces can be cleaned with a simple solution of vinegar and water, then wiped down with a simple soap solution. Have fun finding delicious-smelling soaps and ingredients!
Part 2: Frugal Extreme When Grocery Shopping
In addition to being frugal at home, if you’re serious about saving money, you must evaluate what and how much you spend money on at the grocery store.
Before you go to the grocery store, go through your freezer, fridge and pantry to find canned food and leftovers. Always use what you have first. If food goes bad before you have a chance to use it, you are literally throwing money away. Get creative with leftovers. Use mashed potatoes to make a Shepherd’s pie. Top homemade pizzas with the tomato sauce you had from this week’s rotini dish.
Always check cans of food for their expiry date and place the cans in your cupboards from oldest to newest (newest cans in the back and cans closets to expiry at the front of the cupboard within reach).
Before you go grocery shopping, make a meal plan for the week. Prepare a grocery list and compare prices at different grocery stores. When you plan ahead, you’ll be a lot less likely to overspend on junk food.
Part 3: Going Frugal Extreme When Restaurant Dining and Ordering Takeout
Going frugal extreme also covers what you order and where you go out to eat. While you can definitely cut out takeout and dining completely, if you love food as much as I do, that just isn’t feasible! It is possible to dine out and order takeout on a budget by implementing the following tips:
Choose a Restaurant with Specials
Some restaurants have specials such getting a free appetizer with the purchase of a main course, kids eating for free and various lunch specials. If you are able to, go out for lunch. Many restaurants offer lunch specials at a much lower price than dinner. As most people like to go out for dinner, restaurants lower prices to drive up business.
Eat an Appetizer at Home and Order an Appetizer at the Restaurant
Drastically cut down on your restaurant bill by eating a large snack or appetizer at home before going to the restaurant. Then, when you’re at the restaurant, order an appetizer instead of an entree. While appetizers are a lot smaller than a main course, they’re still much cheaper than a full meal.
Skip the Beverages
Save a ton on your bill by choosing to only drink water. That means no pop, coffee, tea or alcoholic beverages. While a beverage doesn’t seem like a huge expense, if you always order a drink, it can really add up over time.
Cons of Taking Frugality too Far
While trying out extreme frugality can be exciting and fun, don’t take it too far. It’s fine to cut down on expenses for a few months, but being too frugal for too long is no fun. Being a cheap and stingy person means you’ll always try to save as much money as possible, even if it costs others and you.
For example, if you refuse to go out for dinner with a friend because you don’t want to spend money, it may cost you your friendship over time. While it’s a good idea to be friends with other frugal people, if you refuse to spend money and limit what experiences you share with friends, you and your friends won’t be able to enjoy different things. Someone who refuses to tip or leaves a low tip hurts the server financially as waitstaff often rely on tips for a living. There is a subtle difference between being cheap vs frugal. Don’t be cheap!
In general, the best way to save money for future goals is to create a sustainable, long-term budgeting strategy. However, extreme frugal challenges do have their place and time. Avoid going down the path of living stingy for too long by setting an end date to your challenge. For example, set a one-week or one-month challenge. After that, create a long-term plan so you can balance saving money while still enjoying the occasional treat.
A Final Word on Going Frugal Extreme
When planned properly and done for a limited period of time, going frugal extreme is a great way to save money and kickstart positive saving habits. Additionally, when you spend less, you’ll have more time for the things that truly matter – friends, family and enjoying life!
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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.
