Living paycheck-to-paycheck is exhausting. After paying bills and essentials, you’re left with next to nothing in the bank. If you’re tired of being a slave to the daily grind, consider learning how to be frugal.
Frugal living means embodying the phrase ‘less is more’, spending less money, producing less waste, and spending less time worrying.
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How to be frugal with food
Some people derive a lot of joy from food, whether it’s in enjoying a favourite meal, indulging in some comfort food from their childhood, or going on food adventures to try new flavours and cuisines. However, eating out is expensive,, so it’s best to cook for yourself.
It is possible to be a foodie and stay frugal, but it’s not easy. You just need to be strategic about it.
Cook your meals
When you can, make your food at home. Eating out and ordering in is often twice as expensive as whipping up some grub at home. Want to kick things up a notch? Try making your ingredients!
For example, if you have any stale bread, you could turn it into breadcrumbs by placing it in a food processor or blender. You could also make some croutons by cutting it into one-inch squares, topping them with olive oil and herbs, and popping them in the oven for 30 minutes. It’s that simple!
Check out more money-saving recipes here.
Grow your food
If you have some extra time on your hands, consider growing a small garden with fruits, vegetables, and herbs, to increase on savings. However, some plants are easier to grow than others, so do your research! Some examples of easy-to-grow vegetables are tomatoes, zucchini, potatoes, lettuce, peppers, carrots, and herbs like basil and rosemary.
Stock up on coupons
Another trick is to collect coupons and discount vouchers every time you shop for groceries! With websites like Frugal Feeds, you can stay updated with all the food and beverage sales, frugal deals, and vouchers. You can also access menus and price ranges of some famous fast-food joints.
Blogs and vlogs to help you stay frugal
If you’re in dire need of sage advice on how to live cheap, The Penny Hoarder is considered one of the best blogs on frugal living out there. They’ve helped over 12 million readers save more money and lead a stress-free lifestyle since 2010!
If you’re someone who loves both cheap thrills and fashion, The Frugal Chic Life is the blog for you. Its owner, Nicole, is a finance blogger who writes about thrifty living, getting rid of unnecessary clutter and living a minimalist life. If you prefer watching videos over reading, you can head over to Nicole’s vlog instead!
Now, if you’re the crafty type who likes to make things with their hands, the good news is you don’t have to break the bank to make art. When you follow the Frugal Crafter online, you can learn how to paint, sketch, or even make design ornaments for cheap! You can subscribe to her blog for art-related advice or her YouTube vlog for step-by-step guides on DIY projects and other exercises.
Apps for thrifty living
Mindfulness is the key to sustaining your frugal life, and one way to be mindful of your spending is by downloading a management app.
Pocketbook
This Australian-made budgeting app lets you input all your expenses and set a spending limit for yourself to help you stick to your budget. The app also lets you connect to your bank so you can easily track your financials in real-time.
Splitwise
Splitwise is an app for groups of people who share expenses, like couples or business partners.
What makes the app interesting is that it shows you a running balance of how much you owe people and how much they owe you. It can even send you emails when it’s time to pay up. That’s efficiency at its finest!
Frugal and thriving
The road to a thriving frugal life is long and winding, and requires a lot of commitment and consistency! If you’re feeling overwhelmed and scared, don’t worry; it’s totally normal. The opposite of a frugal lifestyle – one of excess and over-consumption – is a deeply ingrained capitalist concept, and it’s not exactly the easiest thing to unlearn.
However, as long as you can set your mind to it and promise to give it your all every single day, soon enough you’ll be living a happy and frugal life!
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