36 Unexpected Frugal Tips That Can Actually Make A Huge Difference

When I started combining my daily walks for exercise/relaxation with trips to the store.

I used to walk to a nearby park, do a few laps on the track, and walk home. One day it occurred to my that I had three stores--a discount store, a dept store, and a grocery store--within an equitable distance as my walk.

So I found a shopping bag that I could fold up and stick in my back pocket, and started walking to a store everyday to buy whatever was on my list that was easy to carry.

Imagine my surprise when I discovered I had cut my monthly gasoline cost in half, not to mention the wear and tear on my car.

I stopped drinking!

I sat down and made a budget. I realized I had been lying to myself for decades. I am now getting back on track and it’s painful and joyous all at once.

I hang my clothes to dry. Not only does it save on my power bill, but my clothes last a LOT longer.

A tip I always tell people is think about how much time that money took to earn. Say, if you're paid $15 an hour, and that video game cost 5 hours to earn, after taxes, then you worked 5 hours for that video game. Its a good way to teach someone to be frugal early, especially if they hate their job.

Drive the same car year after year until the wheels fall off.

Joining a buy nothing group and asking to borrow things instead of buying them - great for trying new hobbies. I borrowed a couple different sewing machines before deciding on one with features I really liked and ended up being gifted it because she liked having the space more than the thing.

Cooking at home instead of eating out. Cooking the whole meal instead of packaged convenience food, tho I do get a bag of some Asian food once a week, like spring rolls or various steam buns.

Hoopla and Libby. So much free music, free magazines, free books, free comic books...

Community events for sure. My city library offers fun adult craft nights for free once a month. Fun to meet new people and just relax.

So far I've taken a canvas paint class, clay project class, and also a free soundbath /yoga class.

Also, if you have a city library card, there's an app called Cloud Library that you can rent audible and ebooks for FREE.

There's a FREE walking /running club you can look into to be more active. In my city they meet twice a week at a local park, I have yet to join, but that's next on my list.

Ultimately, I'm trying to be healthier now to hopefully reduce health care costs for future me.

This includes walking more, learning various legumes and rice dishes from around the world, strength training with barbells and kettlebells at home, and learning more about investing for a comfortable retirement.

Vinegar for most cleaning. One jumbo vinegar jug costs ~$3 and has replaced most of my cleaning supplies. It has replaced windex, spray tub cleaner, toilet cleaner, floor cleaner etc. it also kills mold & mildew.

I found a website where I can type in items that are in my pantry to figure out what I can make with the food I have. Supercook dot com.
When I’m tight before payday, I can type in what ingredients I have available and peruse a list of things I can make with it.

Fun/Extra: I also save all my orange & lemon peels. I let them dry out and dehydrate in the fridge for a couple days and put them in a jar in the fridge. When i have a jar full I make candles with them! Grind them to powder in the blender and add to some plain dollar store candle wax and it smell so fresh in the house!

It's better to buy used old quality stuff, than new quality stuff. Because new stuff isn't meant to last, even if it's good quality. It doesn't mean the same nowadays. Quality jeans now lasts maybe 2-3 years, while jeans bought 20 years ago still holds up. And not just jeans, but it came up in conversation the other day. Not really unique or unexpected, just worth the time and effort spent looking instead of instant convenience buying new.

Use curbside pickup as much as possible. If you don’t go into the store then you won’t buy unnecessary stuff. It also saves a lot of time and hassle.

If you see something you like, but don't know the cost of it - in your head assign a price you'd be happy to pay for. When you find out the price see how much you still want it if it varies greatly from the price in your head.

Our local appliance store has a “dents and dings” section and we’ve had great success with them. Also, learned about Habitat for Humanity’s Re-store and I’ve found phenomenal deals there for our house projects! Learning to DIY everything from drywall to minor electrical has saved soooo much money over time.

I wrote down every penny I spent for one month. Saw that I was frittering a lot of $ away at convenience stores stopping for drinks etc. It gets really hot here in the summer and I overheat easily so needed something cold to drink. Started bringing a quart of ice water with me when I was out running errands. Wrapped it in a towel to keep it cold and then found a very small insulated ice chest to use. This alone helped me save a great deal of money when I needed to cut back on expenses.

Keeping an eye on car maintenance and service. My old family car had a minor damage that was ignored until the car broke and repairing it wasn't convenient anymore. So we carefully chose a reliable brand and looked for a second hand model available. It happened in 2009 and i still drive the same car, built in 2005. I took care in cleaning and treating the interiors with proper products (add to the frugal list: cleaning my car as a hobby rather than for necessity).

Not a frugal choice, but in 2022 i dropped 700€ at an audobody repair to have logos replaced and minor scratches repainted. People can't believe i drive an almost 20yo car and i'm proud of it.

Cutting my own hair (and everyone else’s in the house). I’ve saved untold amounts of money, time and mileage/gas and unlike going to the hairdresser I end up with the haircut I want.

The other huge money saver is Libby - checking ebooks out of the library. I read a *lot* and instead of spending a fortune on books they’re all free.

Buy in season fruit and veg. Sounds like a no brainer, but it also forces you out of your rut and makes you get creative. 

And if you are really craving strawberries in January (I know the feeling, the struggle is real) just get frozen ones. The fresh ones are usually gross.

Oh and watch your store ads for meat sales. Get some freezer bags and split/ freeze.

Or make a big batch of whatever and eat off of it for a few days. 

Sheet pan fajitas, big pot of soup, etc.

Never underestimate the power of using carbs to stretch a meal. .

I keep 3-4 frozen meals from Trader Joe’s in my freezer for when the urge for takeout hits.