Being frugal can be a lot of fun. Do it for long enough, and the amount of money in your bank account will rise, helping to give you the financial freedom you crave. So much freedom that you can even decide to become your own boss.

 

Being frugal, though, comes with costs. You have to be prepared to make adjustments in your life.

• You can’t go out as much. Although there are savvy ways to keep up with your social life without spending too much
• You don’t get to enjoy as many holidays. Sure, you can save up your air miles
• And you often have to make do and mend instead of going to the store and buying new. 

 

Some people can take being frugal too far. When they do, it can backfire, and they wind up splurging on things that they don’t need, wrecking their financial ambition. 

Needless to say, we believe in being frugal but with a purpose.

 

In this post, we’re going to take a look at some of the ways you can be frugal, but without ruining your life. Read on to find out more. 

 

How to be frugal?

1. Buy Your Staples In Bulk

 

If you eat the same food or use the same cleaning products, month in, month out, then you could benefit from buying in bulk. Often you can get a 15 to 25 percent discount, just for buying in volume. So long as you have a little storage space, it shouldn’t affect your life in any tangible way, allowing you to save money at the same time. 

 

2. Stop Buying Disposable Water Bottles

 

Disposable water bottles are bad for the planet and your purse, but we understand why many people choose them. Water from the mains doesn’t always taste great, thanks to the added chlorine. 

 

Here’s an idea. Buy a reusable water bottle with non-BPA plastic that comes with a filter built into the lid. These bottles sieve out all of the nasties in tap water that make it taste bad, making it more like mineral water. 

We take it one step further and buy and personalize water bottles that we then sell on.

 

3. Stop Smoking While Socializing

 

Many people smoke while they’re out with friends, but even this can have a detrimental effect on your wallet. It’s not so much the direct costs, but the health consequences that might follow if you keep it up long term. 

 

With a vape starter kit, you can avoid using cigarettes altogether but still fit in with the rest of the crowd. You don’t have to consume harmful tobacco. If you haven’t started smoking yet, don’t. It is not worth it.

 

4. Switch Your Grocery Store

 

After fuel and accommodation, food is probably your most significant monthly expense. If you can reduce it, you can often save a lot of money. 

 

Switching grocery stores is a great way to maintain your usual standard of living without wrecking your life. You get to eat the same food, but it comes at a lower price, mainly because it is unbranded. 

Also, make sure to check your cupboards before you go grocery shopping.

Also, check out our shopping tips for savvy shoppers

5. Use Coupons

Here’s another idea that costs nothing in terms of your lifestyle: use coupons.

I learned so much about using coupons from our stint on the TV show Shop Smart Save Money. It was in one of the first episodes where we had to buy items from a department store and see how cheaply we could get it. Right there in the store, we downloaded the store app and got coupons that we could use right there and then.

Even over Christmas, we looked online for coupon codes (just type that into Google) before purchasing.

Retailers know that there are groups of bargain-hungry customers out there who will only shop with them if they offer discounts. Look online and in magazines for opportunities to save money. 

 

6. Freeze Any Food You Don’t Eat

Food waste is a big problem in this country, and it costs you. Savvy money-savers, therefore, freeze any food that they don’t eat, munching on it on a later occasion, saving themselves cash and the effort of cooking twice. 

Check out our meal planning posts to see how we do this.

 

7. How to be frugal in your spare time? Complete paid online surveys 

This is something a lot of people are unfamiliar with even though it is becoming more and more popular. It is simple really: just using a smartphone, tablet or computer, you can complete online surveys. There are sites that pay small amounts (but remember that every little adds up) and there are others who pay better.

The ones that we highly recommend are QMEE, PROLIFIC and YouGov SURVEYS.

Do you think you are a frugal person?

What are your plans for making sure that you have money for what you NEED this year? Share with us in the comment section below.