How to be Frugal – Learn to Spend and Save Money More Wisely

Being frugal can carry a bad connotation. Some of you may believe that frugal people don’t have any fun or don’t do anything that costs money.

The definition of frugal is “characterized by or reflecting economy in the use of resources” by Merriam-Webster.

Basically being frugal means using and spending money wisely to conserve resources. Don’t overspend on things you don’t need, and shop wisely when you need to purchase something – this conserves your hard earned money as well as the world’s resources.

I’m here to tell you that simply isn’t true! I own two horses and care for them in the best way possible while sticking to a budget (and if you don’t already know – horses are a very expensive).

Frugality doesn’t mean you can’t have hobbies or do things that are expensive, it just means that you save and spend your money more wisely.

If you can learn to be frugal and save more money, you will have a more secure financial future. Saving for retirement, or just something you want is an extremely important skill. Saving just a couple hundred extra dollars a month will result in thousands of dollars in your pocket by the end of the year.

Read on for the top ways to be frugal.

Learn to Meal Plan

Meal planning is a valuable and frugal skill to learn. It is a HUGE money-saving activity if you do it right. I save hundreds of dollars a month versus my previous habits, just by using a meal plan.

Creating a meal plan allows you to only visit the store once a week (or month if you’re super organized and don’t need much fresh food). You buy less when you aren’t going to the store multiple times a week and when you go with a list, and don’t let yourself stray, you spend so much less month.

Don’t be afraid to use generics

A majority of the time, the generic products are exactly the same as name brand except they can cost you 10-50% less. This is an easy switch especially when stores have the generic version of products sitting right next to the name brand ones on the shelf.

Ditch the expensive gym membership

Some people use a gym membership to it’s fullest. If you go 5-6 days a week, take a shower there, and generally use all the services your gym offers – then great.

But the majority of people buy a gym membership and hardly go. Or they join a gym that offers so many services they’ll never use, then it’s just wasted money.

I use and strongly recommend BeachBody on Demand. It only costs $99 a year and you can stream any type of workout that can be done at home. I don’t have to use gas to drive to the gym and can squeeze in a workout when my schedule allows, instead of having to get to a gym. I simply don’t have time to go to a gym between work, caring for horses, and trying to cook dinner each night. Using a streaming service is a cheaper and simpler method to working out each week.

Don’t hit up happy hour at every opportunity

Should you go to happy hour sometimes? Yes – it can be an important part of making relationships at work, or having friendships with other people. But, if you find yourself going out even once a week, you are wasting a lot of money on snacks and alcohol.

Do this instead: Invite friends over for drinks and/or dinner. You can take turns having each other over and you’ll save a ton of money versus going out.

Don’t pay for cable or satellite TV!

Your cable or satellite TV bill will just keep creeping up each month and you won’t notice the $50 a month here or there. But then it’s $70 or $100 a month, and that means you’re spending $600-$1,200 a year to watch TV!

Ditch the expensive cable or satellite and cut the cord Use the extra time to do something you love, or something that generates money.

If you spend a significant amount of time watching TV or you need to watch sports, try a streaming service like SlingTV. You can subscribe just when you need TV access so you aren’t paying a larger amount each month – SlingTV starts at $25 a month.

Don’t let your heater or A/C run all day

Install a programmable thermostat if you don’t already have one. A programmable thermostat can save you so much money, and they are as cheap as $22 to purchase!

Set your thermostat to turn up or down during the day while you are at work (up or down depends on the temperature and the time of year). You don’t want to throw money away on heating or cooling especially when you aren’t even home. Don’t be afraid to alter your thermostat around work, sleeping and being out of town.

Pack a lunch

Going out to coffee or going out to eat for lunch can get super expensive. Try making extra of whatever dinners you plan for. Use food prep containers to pack food for lunch.

These handy food containers have compartments so you can pack the main part of your lunch as well as servings of other sides. Make your own coffee at home too so you don’t go buy an expensive coffee form Starbucks.

Evaluate your insurance needs and costs

Increasing your deductible can save you a lot of money over the course of the year. Are you paying for coverage that you never use?

You can reduce the coverage on life insurance, care insurance or home/renter’s insurance to also reduce the cost. Make sure you still have your needs met and can pay deductibles, but reducing monthly or yearly costs can typically make up the difference in the deductible cost.

Buy a used car, not a new one

The depreciation you experience in the first year of owning a new car can be up to 30%! If you want to be frugal, consider buying a three year old or more car. You will reduce the depreciation on the vehicle you buy.

Not only is the purchase price less on an older car, but registration and insurance will also cost you less.

Use credit cards wisely

Credit card rewards can be awesome, but credit card debt can be extremely detrimental to your financial well-being. If you cannot pay your credit card off each month, consider a cash-based budget system. Once you learn to control your spending, you can go back to using credit cards, but don’t use them if you spend uncontrollably.

Reduce clutter and make some extra cash

Frugal people don’t have a ton of extra things laying around (because things=money). So start organizing your house and sell things you don’t need. If you can’t get items to sell, go ahead and donate them and take the tax write off. You’ll make more if you can sell things even if it’s just for a few dollars. Getting rid of clutter will reduce the time you spend cleaning and picking up extra things you don’t even need.

Don’t be afraid of doing things for yourself

Small repairs and fixes around the house can be very expensive if you hire someone to do it for you. Instead, learn to do repairs and updates yourself.

For example, I had a pipe burst in my barn and had to call a plumber. The repair cost was $425 – seemed ridiculous for just replacing the little cracked section of pipe. But when you add a house call, the guy having to go to the store for parts and hard to access location, it became several hundred dollars.

The next time this happened inside our house, we took photos and went to home depot to ask the guys how to fix it. It took a couple hours and about $17 in parts, but that saved a ton of money!

Don’t be afraid to watch YouTube videos to learn how to fix something or ask someone who already knows. This goes for repairs, remodeling projects, and replacing outdated parts of your house. You can save yourself a lot of money if you are willing to get your hands dirty.

Stick to your budget

Do you need help creating a budget? Go read this post on creating a budget if you don’t have one or don’t know where to get started. People who are frugal don’t never spend money – they just spend it wisely. That means that if you want to be frugal, you need to learn to stick to a budget. Even millionaires stick to budgets. That’s how they stay millionaires! Budgeting allows you to spend wisely now as well as save for the future.

Do you already implement some of these frugal tips? If not, pick a few to start with so you can begin to become one of the lucky frugal people! Being frugal doesn’t have to be restrictive, it’s about making smart choices with your money.