Are you thinking — oh no frugal — does that mean I have to eat macaroni every day and read a book in the dark with a flashlight? No, not quite but maybe not a bad idea for some extreme spenders. Frugal really just means spending money in an economical way and not being wasteful about things you buy and use.
1. Grocery Shop Wisely – Use Coupons and Grocery Club cards
Before I go to the grocery store, I check out the week’s flyers for the various stores. If I see something cheaper or at a good deal, I go there. I also take the flyer of another store’s specials to price match.
Most stores, such as Wal-Mart, will price match other stores so you don’t have to drive around the city wasting gas just to get deals. Even some stores go as far as honoring other stores coupons too.
I also frequently use my grocery club card because when I redeem points I can get free items or have something like $10 to $20 off my next purchase. $20 can get me quite a few things, which helps me save on my grocery bill, and is worthwhile to take advantage of as it all adds up in the long run.
It pays to be a club member for every store you go to and for most stores is free to join.
Look around for coupons, whether in store, flyers, newspapers or online, and take advantage of discounts because food keeps getting more expensive and any saving you can get is money in your pocket.
Related:
- Living The Frugal Way To Get Out Of Debt
- Get Rich By Saving Money
- How A Struggling Single Mom Makes Ends Meet With Side Hustles
2. Eat At Home or Pack A Lunch
This one is easy for me to do. Either I cook myself or run to mom’s for dinner. Since I am a fussy eater, I wouldn’t last in a restaurant anyway. They would be so fed up with my requests they probably would pay me to leave (hmmm…maybe that could be an idea for making money).
Eating out at restaurants can get expensive. If you cut back or eliminate this, you definitely will have extra money. Not only is it cheaper to cook and eat at home, but healthier too. Pack a lunch to work or when attending an event.
3. Go to the Movies at the Library
I like movies like the next person but I’m never the first, second or even the last one in line when a new movie comes out at the theater. I wait for it to release on dvd but I don’t buy it or rent it from any movie rental place either. No I wait until the library gets it and many times it will get the releases once they are out of the movie theaters and on dvd or when you make a request for it.
How much it costs me for a movie from the library? Nothing. My library card is free since the time it was the library’s 100th year birthday and to celebrate they were giving free library cards (plus a commemorative bag to carry my dvds & books). My expiry date on my library card is 2099, plenty of time to watch movies for free! I can patiently wait for a movie that I want to see when it won’t cost me anything to see it. How about you?
4. Drive Less and Walk More
Here just about everybody and their dog has a car. It’s ridiculous how many cars are on the road that most of the time contain only 1 person (the driver). It’s a shame that a lot of harmful emissions are going into the air and everyone needs to be aware of the negative effect to the climate and do their part to reduce this.
Why would anyone drive to the corner store that is only two blocks away? Why do people not carpool with co-workers or take public transportation more often?
Driving less means you are saving money on gas & car maintenance expenses and walking more means you are improving your health by getting fit. It’s a win for both. So next time you take your foot to the gas pedal, instead place it on the pavement and walk.
5. Recycle Your Bottles, Cans, Cartons
Sometimes people often forget or don’t realize that when they buy milk, juice or other recyclable types of bottles/cans that they are charged deposits and in order to get this money back you have to take your empty cartons to the bottle depot. Maybe for some it doesn’t mean much, while others it can make a difference in their budget.
In any case it is money gone to waste if you don’t recycle them. The main reason that the deposits are charged in the first place is to encourage you to help the environment by recycling.
Face it, those guys with bags of bottles they collected from garbage cans bicycling along to the bottle depot are smarter than you think and know what they are gaining.
Although there is a lot more that you can do to save money, I am absolutely certain after you have followed just these five steps and figured out how much money you saved overall, you will be all the wiser about managing your money.
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