Frugal Habits To Live By And How To Save Money
April 21, 2021
*This is a collaborative post but all frugal habits and thoughts/ opinions are my own
The past year has been tough on most of us, and notably our finances. Some of us have thrived in creating frugal habits because there are things we simply can’t spend on. But some of us probably need a bit of a nudge to become more frugal and thrifty.
One thing that’s worth remembering though is that sometimes you need to spend out money in order to be frugal and save money in the long run. For example, if you run and a business and need office space, it might be cheaper long term to build bespoke garden rooms at your property than renting out an office. By doing this you’ll save rent and community costs to the office. But you’ll also add value to your property.
Here are some of my favourite frugal habits to live by that will help save you money.
General frugal money habits
- Sell your skills- If you have a skill or a knowledge base you can sell your skills. Perhaps through consultancy or teaching
- Automate your money- Automate payments for bills, debts, and payments to avoid late payment fees. Plus it’s good for your credit rating
- Live below your means- Just because you have the money or earn more doesn’t mean you have to spend more. Save or invest your extra money
- Invest money- You don’t need to put loads away but make the most of Stocks & Shares ISA’s or apps like Trading 212 and start investing little bits. Over time your investments could really pay off
- Have an emergency fund – The past year has shown us how important having one is, and you may find you save more knowing you have this money aside for an emergency
- Set financial goals- Up your frugal habits by setting SMART financial goals. Celebrate when you hit them
- Create a budget – Especially for things like Christmas to keep your spending in check
Frugal habits for food, drink, and shopping
- Make drinks and food up to take out- Make a coffee to take out and about with you or make a packed lunch when you’re out. £5 or £10 here and there on food and drink all adds up
- Search for vouchers before going out to eat- I know we can’t eat out at the moment but when we can search around online for money off vouchers or freebies
- Make the most of birthday deals– Loads of places offer vouchers, freebies, or money off when it’s your birthday. Cash in on the deals as one of your frugal habits
- Shop at discount stores- For certain items you may find that places like Poundland, B&M or discount supermarkets can save you lots of money
- Make meals from scratch- Ready meals and pre-made sauces, etc can get pretty expensive so start making more from scratch where you can
- Meal plan- Having a meal plan will stop you can help avoid wasting food and stop you from ordering takeaways
- Buy secondhand- This can be anything from a car to toys, but look out for used or preowned items as opposed to brand new ones. Facebook market, car boot sales, charity shops, and eBay are all great places to search for things
Habits of frugal people- Entertainment
- Make the most of the outdoors- We’ve all spent a lot more time outdoors over the past year and know the value of walks, park dates, and picnics over pricy days out
- Use your local library- If you read a lot then make the most of your local library and borrow books rather than buying them every time. They also do magazines and audiobooks
- Sign up for streaming services with a few friends- For streaming services like Netflix or Disney+ you can usually have multiple separate accounts. So join up with a few friends and sign up together to keep costs down
Other frugal hacks
- Reuse items- only throw things away if it’s unfixable or unusable. If it’s clean I’ll reuse sandwich bags, and I’ll wash out containers food came in if there’s a use for it
- Make your own cleaning products- There are loads of recipes online but mixing water, vinegar, and essential oils and you can make a great DIY cleaner
- Walk as much as you can- Save money by ditching public transport or your car is you can walk. Plus you’re helping to save the environment
- Hang your clothes to dry- Ditch using the tumble drier too often and hang your clothes out to dry. Although with our temperamental weather you may need to do this inside
- Use comparison sites- Use sites like Compare The Market before you renew any insurance policies to make sure you get the best price out there
What frugal habits do you live by to help you save money?
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20 comments so far.
20 responses to “Frugal Habits To Live By And How To Save Money”
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Rhian Westbury
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Thank you for these tips. I for one have been saving up a lot more money over the past year than I otherwise would have. I don’t think it’s entirely due to the pandemic though.
As a side note, I had no idea making meals from scratch is usually cheaper than using somoe premade sauces etc. When I still lived in a place where I had a set food budget, I always saved and yet I bought a lot of premade stuff. Then again, I bought only what I really needed.
That’s so good that you’ve been able to save more over the past year. A lot of us I think have realised what’s really important to us and that’s caused additional savings x
I love the idea of using the local library more, there is something cool about books that are pre-loved. If its from a library or a charity shop.
I can’t wait to start finding gems at charity shops again x
Thank you for your tips, living frugal is not enough, learning to invest the money wisely will help to build a better income for sure
These are great frugal habits to live by. I definitely could do with developing more frugal habits.
Great tips here, a lot of people do not realise that paying bills late affects your credit score.
These are great tips. I must admit I can be very frugal. I’ve worked out now what I am happy to spend money on and what I won’t spend money on. If I am doing shopping online I always look for cashback sites or a comparison site. The most important thing is don’t buy what you don’t need!
So true, if you don’t need it it doesn’t matter if it seems like a bargain, it’s spending money you don’t need to spend x
Some really great tips here, thank you. I’m currently saving for a house deposit so I’m going to be taking some of these on board!
Great tips, especially ATM. I need to learn to be even more frugal coming out of lockdown in the UK!
I love to be frugal and often buy things from charity shops. The thing that saves us the most money is by not buying brand names when grocery shopping and going for the store named items.
Yeah I always have an idea of which items I’m prepared to go own brand for and which ones I’m prepared to pay for x
Live below your means- this is what my husband and I both believe! I do follow a few hacks mentioned here, but gotta follow all your tips so that I can save more money
Living below your means is so important as you don’t want to get caught out x
Some really great tips you’ve got here . I love that the library is back open now so I can start borrowing books rather than buying , I also have no more space for books! Ha
Great blog post that everyone needs to read!! I’ve started eBaying a few bits it doesn’t bring much in but it all adds up!!
You’re right, it can feel like you’re getting no where with the odd £4 here and there, but it adds up x
Great tips to save here. I’m a big believer in meal planning to save and also to reduce waste. Taking lunches to work also saves a small fortune!
Yeah taking lunches into work pre pandemic was always a great money saver for me. I’ve not been in the office at all since last March and I think when we do go back it will only be for 1-2 days so I’ll have to decide are those my treat days to buy food out or do I still make my own lunch x