21 Best Frugal Living Tips | How to Stop Wasting Money

This post is all about frugal living tips.

While I’ve always been a saver growing up, I’ve really stepped up my game of living simply and frugally. Ask anyone, I’m not one to spend a lot of money without researching what I’m buying and finding the absolute best price I can. That being said, I’m not saying you need an extreme frugal living lifestyle in order to save money!

So I’m sharing my 21 favorite tips for how to live frugally and save money (without sacrificing all the fun things). These are my tried and true tricks and I think you’ll love these ways to be thrifty each and every day!

This post gives you 21 frugal living tips.

Frugal Living Tips

1. Delete shopping apps from your phone

This is a great way to save by getting rid of the temptation to buy! If you’re able to scroll through online stores with the ‘Buy Now’ button so readily clickable, then you’re setting yourself up for failure. I recommend deleting all the apps that are purely for online shopping — you can always re-download them when you need them.

2. Try new recipes instead of eating out

If you're the type of person to order out on Fridays to celebrate the weekend (then Saturday… then Sunday), consider making a new “weekend treat” ritual. Find a fun recipe or something new you’d like to try and commit to that as your fun weekend meal! It’s a great way to save money and allows you to still make an occasion out of your weekend meals.

3. Make a 'To Buy' list

If you’re prone to buying things as soon as you think of them claiming they’re “necessities”, then you might need to start a ‘To Buy’ list! Essentially you’ll just write down things as you think of them that you’d like to buy and then when you do have some cash for purchases, you know what you’ve been meaning to get. This is a great way to stop impulse buying and prioritize what you actually need to purchase!

4. Follow the 'use it all up first' rule

This goes for shampoos, soap, candles, and everything else that you might not use until the last drop before replacing it! You can save so much money if you just use up all that you have before replacing it.

This is totally against consumer culture right now. It seems like everyone is recommending a new lip gloss every other week… but you don’t really need that new lip product! You already have 5 that need to be used up first. 😉

5. Ask yourself if it can be DIYed instead

I know, it’s so much nicer when you can pay someone to do it for you, and yes, it might save some time too. But if you’re prioritizing saving money then you’ll want to get really handy and do everything you can by yourself! This could be car fixes, easy home repairs (nothing too crazy, Youtube first to see if it’s even possible to DIY), moving, cleaning, and more. Being resourceful is a great way to save some extra money!

6. Buy it during the off-season

If you’re wondering how to be extremely frugal, you can start making your purchases in the off-season! Like buying Christmas lights after Christmas, summer swimsuits in the fall, and Valentine's candy after Valentine's Day (save it for Easter!). These are all fantastic ways to stock up on things you might need and buy them at a much lower price than when they’re in high demand.

Plus, then you don’t have to feel like a coupon hoarder in order to make smart purchases.

7. Go to Tuesday movie nights

Our local theater has a program where they show movies on Tuesday nights at a discounted price, and it’s perfect for when we want to go to the theater without paying full price! There’s a lot of different venues and services that offer programs like this, so it’s definitely worth looking into if you still want to go to the movies on a budget.

8. Create a zero-based budget

One of the frugal living tips with a big impact that I’ve learned to do is a zero-based budget. This basically means when you create your budget, you put every single dollar toward something.

Whether it’s your savings or something else, make sure that every single dollar is accounted for and then you’ll be more likely to stick to the budget. I’ve seen people make budgets with “some left over for saving” but they never actually end up saving that money! That’s why if you’re serious about saving, I recommend zero-based budgeting.

9. Try to sell before you donate

Don't get me wrong, I loveee donating stuff, but if your stuff is in good condition then it might be worth selling! Yes, it can feel like a lot of work to list it on Facebook Marketplace or Depop or anywhere else, but it can totally be worth the extra cash.

10. Shop secondhand

Not only is this sustainable, but you can find some super cute pieces at thrift stores! I always recommend thrifting and buying secondhand when you can because it’s way easier on your wallet and the planet (okay honestly, not trying to be all tree hugger but it’s true). Plus I love when someone compliments what I’m wearing or something in my house and I can say I thrifted it — makes it feel way cooler!

11. Buy in bulk

Having a membership to a store like Costco or Sam’s Club might seem anti-frugal, however you’ll end up saving so much more money buying in bulk!

I also recommend switching up where you shop so you don’t fall into the one-store-trap. You’ll find better deals if you shop around versus sticking with what’s most convenient, trust me!

12. Stop buying the convenient foods

Keeping with the food theme: stop buying precut fruit, veggies, and any other pre-made item. 9 times out of 10 it’s going to be cheaper if you cut the fruit yourself, make the guac at home, skewer the veggies for kebabs by hand, etc.

Remember, you’re trying to save money, not time! So commit to buying the whole version and doing the work yourself.

13. Save your spare change

I promise, your spare change will add up! Maybe slowly but hey, don’t throw away money! This tip really speaks for itself and is one of the easiest things to implement in your life.

I used to always use my change as a little tip or give it to someone I was with. But since I've stopped doing that and I actually have saved up way more money than you'd think!

14. Keep your home cold in the winter and hot in the summer

Yikes... I know some of you are going to hate to hear this, but this can save big on your energy and heat bill! Get comfortable bundling up and turn your thermostat down in the winter, and then enjoy opening the windows as much as possible and turn that thermostat up in the summer. This definitely is most applicable to people with multiple (tolerable) seasons and obviously won’t work everyday.

15. Unsubscribe from services you don't need

If you’re trying to live frugally then you probably don’t need every single streaming service… just saying ;).

It’s worth going through and unsubscribing from services that are charging you monthly — sometimes we think it won’t matter because it’s cheap but it really adds up!

16. Pick an affordable location and type of home to live

I don’t actually know how to live on nothing but I do know that you can definitely live below your means! Whether that means choosing a cheaper apartment or a cheaper city to live in, I definitely think it’s worth living somewhere affordable. Don’t go rent-broke or house-broke just to live in a specific location, though.

17. Do dinner OR drinks

One thing that I’ve started doing is committing to just water with dinner at a restaurant, or if I’m getting a drink with the girls then I’m not also getting an app. It’s a small change that dramatically changes how much you’re spending at a restaurant. Plus... you really don’t NEED both. 😉

18. Eat leftovers

This is something my parents would always do when I was a kid and I personally didn’t always love,  but it really saves so much money now! I love making an extra large dinner just so we have leftovers for the next day. Plus, taking them to work for lunch saves me from ordering lunch out (and it doesn’t take much time to store leftovers, let’s be honest).

19. Ask a friend before you buy

While this may feel a bit awkward at first, if you need something for your home or day-to-day life, ask your friends and family if they have an extra.

I needed a snow blower this year and was planning on biting the bullet and buying one until I found out my friend and her husband recently upgraded theirs! They’re giving me their old one for free and just saved me a couple hundred bucks. It’s really worth asking around to see who has a spare this or that laying around!

20. Don't buy name brand

Find dupes where you can and don’t fall into the name brand trap! I love going to Aldi’s because you can usually find everything cheaper there since they don’t sell name brands. Perfect for really everything because often you don’t NEED the name brand to have a quality product (like why would I care if my cereal is a certain brand if it tastes the same?).

21. Embrace the simple life

Honestly, a lot of frugal living comes down to understanding what you need versus what you want, and how to buy those needs for the lowest price you can. It definitely takes more time to find the deals but other than that, you just need to embrace simpler living!

Don’t get caught up in the latest trends and products. Don’t buy something you don’t need just because your favorite influencer swears by it. Get a really good understanding of what you LOVE and spend money on that. If it’s not an absolute love then don’t waste your money!

Frugal Living Tips Q & A

How do I live extremely frugal?

Honestly, since I’ve always been a saver, I’m really frugal when it comes to finding discounts and deals. If I have to buy a product, I want to find the absolute best price for it, not just the closest store or fastest shipping that has it. I also don’t like to browse shopping apps because then I am 10x more likely to make a purchase I don’t need.

Other than that, it’s little habits here and there like budgeting and planning out my purchases that make a difference in living frugal.

How to live a low cost lifestyle?

Buy in bulk and make your meals at home to cut down on takeout and restaurants. Cancel subscriptions you don’t use (or you don’t 100% need) and definitely start budgeting! Having a zero-based budget really helps with splitting up your money based on your goals.

What are 5 ways you can be more frugal in your own life? 

1. Make a budget.
2. Buy secondhand whenever possible and sell whatever you no longer need.
3. Keep your change and any spare money (it all adds up in the long run)!
4. Buy in bulk and eat leftovers as much as possible.
5. Spend money on what you LOVE. If it’s not a love then don’t buy it!

How to be extremely cheap?

Okay... this sounds kinda bad because who really wants to be labeled as “extremely cheap”? But honestly, sometimes you have to be in that mindset if you want to actually live frugally.

I recommend creating boundaries for yourself about what you’ll do on your own and with other people. Maybe that means grocery shopping more intentionally and eating out less, or going to the movies on discount days and sneaking your own snacks into the theater. You really want to get in the mindset of being resourceful and not just taking the more expensive but easier route!

How to live off very little money?

Truthfully the best way to live off very little money is to live with someone else — whether that’s your partner, family member, friend, or random roommate. Having two incomes to help split living costs is SO helpful.

However, if you’re not able to do that and you have to live alone, then I recommend creating a budget and sticking to it. Once you know that number, you’ll have a better idea of restrictions when grocery shopping, paying rent, etc.

What is toxic frugality?

Ugh, I guess there is such a thing as being “too frugal”. When you can’t enjoy life or spend money at all, that’s called toxic frugality. The goal is to save money, yes, but you don’t want to sacrifice your joy for it — you need to find a happy medium!

It can be really hard to live life when you have a cheap mindset, but life is meant to be enjoyed and there are certainly ways you can enjoy yourself without spending a lot of money. I recommend finding some of those options (free to cheap) and embracing those if you’re really stressed about finances.

What is the psychology of being cheap? Why are some people so cheap?

I don’t like to judge because we all have very different upbringings when it comes to money and you never know what mentality is going into someone's decisions. If you believe there’s plenty of money to go around, you’re likely to see more financial opportunities. But if you think money is scarce and always worry about not having enough, you’ll probably struggle to make more. Does that make sense?

Saving money and living frugally is a great habit to get into while still maintaining an abundance mindset and trusting that money comes and goes. It’s not worth the stress to cling so tightly to money. After all there’s so much in life that you can enjoy with or without money!!