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It seems that in recent times the cost of living is getting more and more expensive. And that isn’t so far from the truth – apparently in the last few years it skyrocketed by around 30% in most places. This encompasses groceries, fuel, energy, everything. Since the main victims of it are people’s wallets, it’s natural to look for ways to make it a little bit less scary.
For inspiration, you are welcome to look through today’s list. It has been compiled from ideas netizens shared in internet corners like Quora. You’ll find plenty of pieces of advice from learning to cook to photocopying books, so at least some of them might be possible to fit into your lifestyle.
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2. Use the Wal-Mart pickup app to get groceries!!! Now, I just get what I order and not all of the impluse things I would get because I wasn’t sure if I had one!! Then I got home and found out I already had 2!!!
3. Cutting my Cable TV!!!! I bought a Firestick & have Amazon Prime Video!!! What more can you want???
4. Buying Meat from Costco & breaking it down into dinner sized portions & putting the rest in FoodSaver Bags & freezing the rest. This way, I have my dinner for several nights with...
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At the same time, we wanted to look a little bit deeper than just simple advice, so we decided to talk to some people who have mastered a thrifty lifestyle.
Two of these people are Angie and Jeff from ThriftyLivingTravelFreedom. They revealed that the adoption of a thrifty lifestyle came from them valuing freedom over things and status: “We have found that our thrifty ways afford us so much financial freedom in our lives.”
One of the ways they save money is by brewing coffee (with their 17-year-old espresso machine) at home instead of buying it at cafes, and they strongly advise others to do so too.
They also shared some other examples, for instance about grocery shopping. In their experience, having mostly vegetarian food at home proved to be an effective method. They also primarily shop at Aldi, which is famous for its cheap prices, shop only according to their list, pivot it toward less expensive items, and do their best to not waste any food, as they said it would be equal to “tossing money in the trash.”
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I cook enough for 2 meals, then put aside one portion to freeze. I use empty plastic margarine containers to freeze the food in.
I reuse the plastic bags from bread.
I always take my own plastic bags when I go shopping. I reuse these time and time again.
Thanks for the A2A, Adam.
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Additionally, the couple doesn’t shy away from thrift stores and capitalizes on in-store coupons and sales. Yet, these “cheap” living methods let them live a rich life, full of travel, which they consider to be the most rewarding thing coming out of all of it.
Another person Bored Panda talked with was the owner of the Instagram page @thrifty__living Chalea Marker. Her growing up in a thrifty household led to her understanding the value of money and that the value doesn’t always lie in designer brands or fancy things: “We were taught that there are more important things in life that money cannot buy, so why waste it on things that are not as important?”
Talking about her strategies for thrifty living, Chalea revealed she loves couponing apps, as they let her family save on everyday expenses and groceries. Just like our previous interviewees, she also loves thrift shopping, since there she manages to find amazing clothes and home goods.
She added that living frugally has become a form of a fun game for her. “I love to see what I can get for as little money as possible. My family jokes around with me about the money I make shopping or the free items I get from the store, but they're very supportive of it.”
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We buy off brand things where we can.
We use hand me downs for our son’s clothing, given to us by my brother or a friend.
My husband likes to shop at thrift stores for his clothes.
We pack a lunch each day for work rather than eating out or ordering food.
We use coupons and shop to stock up during sales (Safeway has great sales!).
And probably many other things as well!
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Yet, it should be noted that thrifty living can present its own challenges. As C. Marker pointed out, some underconsumption enthusiasts tend to clutter their homes with cheap but relatively useless stuff, which in the end makes their lives only harder.
Angie and Jeff said that for them the biggest challenge is that with this lifestyle you have to make peace with the fact that sometimes you’re not going to be trendy and some people might even judge you for it. When something like this happens, the couple reminds themselves of what kind of freedom (especially for travel) it gives them, and this ends up outweighing all the negativity.
After all, life should be about what is best for you personally, not about what others think is good for you, shouldn’t it?
Check out the Instagram page of our interviewee @thrifty__living and Angie & Jeff's website, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube!
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I started visiting every night about 1am, and managed to make about $10 a night. It paid for groceries until I finally got a job
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Probably heating with firewood using a wood stove. Our winters are very cold where I live. My stove keeps my house comfortable for only about $600 a year. That saves between $1000 - $2000 a year.
I do my own cooking and never eat prepared foods which probably saves me $500 or more a year. Much more if you count not going to restaurants, never buying coffee at coffee shops, etc. I stopped drinking alcohol which saves about $1000 a year. I use my computer to access television content for a savings of some $600 a year.
