The idea of living on less money obsesses our mind nowadays
I don’t know maybe due to inflation and worrying about future
Or concerned we won’t have enough money to pay for our kids’ colleges
Whatever these concerns are you have 2 options
Either to find a side hustle to pursue to make extra money
Or squeeze your expenses and think about living on less money
I know it may be hard to save money because you don’t know what to cut from your budget
I am here to show you all possible ways to help you live with few money and save more
Why you should live frugally?
You live frugally because you don’t know what will happen tomorrow
There is no contradiction between living frugally and enjoying your life
Once you start practicing living on less money you won’t feel like you are sacrificing
I’ll give an example, on my way to work I order a coffee from Starbucks
This caused a spike in my monthly spending
So I reduced it to twice a week and I did not feel any change in my life routine
You judge yourself and spot anything that causes you to lose money
Then direct this wasted money towards saving and investing for the future
Do you know if you invest $100 monthly with 9% mutual fund which is a reasonable rate, you would collect more than $300,000 after 30 years?
Is it possible to start living on less money?
Yes, it is possible but you have to know how to live frugally?
That’s what I am trying to show you below
Not knowing how to start living on less money is not the issue
Some people read my advices and applied few of them
While others did not even try
Fearing that this will impact their way of living
Anything that will impact your lifestyle can annoy you at first
Later on it becomes your norm and you may add more to your lifestyle
1) Practice the 30 days rule on non essential items
Do you want to buy a big ticket item?
If so, please wait for 30 days
Who knows, sometimes It can happen that you will change your mind
2) Setup a plan for the Tax refund season
Doing your tax during tax season is a good time for a refund
This can happen if you are saving for your retirement as this will lower your income and government will refund you the difference on taxes applied to your full income
I suggest to plan on how to invest that money or put it towards your debt
3) Maximize the transfer to your retirement account
So many companies nowadays contribute to your retirement account
They will match up to a certain percentage the money you put there
It would be great to seize the opportunity and contribute to the maximum of what your company will match
4) Trick yourself that you did not get a bonus
Are you getting a bonus at the end of the year?
Live on less by adjusting your budget as if you are not getting any extra money?
If so, that would be a great opportunity to use your bonus money into investing that money
5) Automate to transfer money to your saving account
Having troubles saving at the end of the money?
Why don’t you ask your bank account to deduct a specific percentage or amount from every paycheck?
By doing that you force yourself to save and create a budget plan from what is left from your paycheck
6) Get rid of your change in Piggy bank
Almost all of us get puzzled of what to do with their spare change
They end up anywhere in your home and they get lost
Try to use a piggy bank and save your change inside
Not only you will save some money but you can find change easily
7) Use apps to transfer your change to an investment account
To start living on less money, you need to invest any cash
There are so many mobile apps that can help you invest money easily
What they do is they round up all transactions you make using your debit or credit cards
Just link your cards to your mobile apps and it will take care of the rest
Apps like Acorns and Stash in US and Wealth Simple in Canada will deduct change from every transaction and invest that money for you
8) Find a buddy to challenge you
If you are not saving for yourself and the future
Perhaps you will save because somebody is challenging you
Find someone who is also living on less money like you
You can take the 52 weeks money saving challenge for yourself or with someone to challenge you
9) Use a cash reward credit card and save its cashback
There are so many cashback cards that give you money back on certain categories
Since you are already paying money for your daily spending then use a credit card that rewards you with cash
I pay an annual fee for a cashback credit card to maximize my cashback percentage
10) Create a budget
To start living on less money, you have to start using a budget? if not, what you are waiting for?
Just collect the last 3 to 6 months of your debit or credit cards spendings
You will be able to come up with realistic budget
And for this reason, I decided to create an undated ultimate budget binder
With current and 2 upcoming years as shown below
11) Analyze your spending
The key to successful budget is to properly analyze your spending
Those who are living on less money investigate how much you spend in each category
I recommend you use my free sheet below on my products page
12) Make extra income by starting a side hustle
You can save which is good but you have a limit
Saving is capped to a certain amount but income has no ceiling
That’s why I recommend to save but also find a side hustle to increase your income
13) Refinance your mortgage or negotiate your rent
Sometimes you can negotiate your mortgage for a better rate
This always happen if you negotiate few months before renewal date
What if you are renting you can convince your landlord not to increase your rent
14) Try the 52 weeks money saving challenge
When it comes to the 52 weeks money saving challenge I realized that it can be used as a challenge game with someone to compete with
It is fun and affordable to any income no matter what
15) Analyze, negotiate and bundle your recurring bills
How many years you have been paying your bills with the same provider
Do you know you can negotiate and lower your bills
I convinced a friend of mine who was paying $140 for cable and internet
He called the company and they lowered his bill to $90
This pissed him off as he was paying this higher amount for 5 years
With AskTrim, BillSmart, BillCutterz, BillFixers and Bill Shark in US and Bill Busters in Canada they will negotiate your bills for you
16) Cut cable subscription
The key to living on less money is cut and replace your cable subscription
There is a service called IPTV where you expect to pay around $30 per year
You get more than 3000 channels streamed online
It can never be better than that
17) Cancel magazine subscriptions
To start living on less money, Go and check if you have a magazine subscription
When was the last time you read this magazine
I bet you pile them and put them in recycle
Save your money which is around $20 and cancel your magazine subscription
18) Replace your home phone with VOIP phone
I don’t think you need home phone if you have cell phone
But due to the fact that VOIP phones are so cheap
You can add a VOIP service or replace your home phone with VOIP
Average cost is $3 a month paid annually
19) Set reminders to pay bills and credit cards
If you don’t want to miss any bills and paying your credit cards balances
Then best way is to setup a specific day each month to pay all your bills
By doing that you will never miss any bill and avoid late fee charges
20) Never finance anything
Sometimes you need to buy big ticket items like TV or Fridge
Here is the trick, so many stores will charge interest for paying installments on one or two years
While there are other stores that offer paying your amount due on 12 or 18 months with no interest
The idea is to look for these offers and buy your big ticket item with no interest
If you want to start living on less money then avoid interest charges at all means
21) Use HSA or FSA
If your company offers you a medical account ask them for the HSA or FSA option
HSA stands for Health Spending Account while FSA stands for Flexible Spending Account
These type of accounts pay for any uncovered portion in your medical bill
For example, you can use your HSA to pay for your remaining 20% of your medical bill
22) Pay mortgage and student loans biweekly or even weekly
Do you know the less interval between your mortgage or student loans payments the less interest you will pay?
That’s true, paying weekly or biweekly you’ll pay less interest than monthly payment
23) Look for no fees bank accounts
Yes you can find offers for no fees bank accounts
It can be with a bank other than yours
But you can take this offer to your bank and see if they can offer you to waive your fees for extended period like a year or so
Most banks will not turn their customers down as they will switch to another banks
24) Write your grocery list
Nothing is better than writing what you need from grocery stores
That’s why grocery list app like AnyList is designed to help you stay focused
You just write what you need for the entire week
What is even better, I tell Alexa to add my item to the shopping list
Same thing you can do with Google home
You can show and hide your crossed item by using the eye view icon
You can add multiple items one time
Also there is a meal planning feature
25) Buy the no brand supermarket items
Always the no brand is cheaper than the original item
Grocery stores ask the manufacturer to pack the grocery product under the supermarket name
Few times the no brand is of bad quality
If you want to practice living on less money then get the no brand products
26) Buy grocery items in bulk
Some items don’t expire like rice, spices and salt
You can buy them in bulk when they go on sale
27) Buy essential products from grocery stores
I recommend to always keep track of your essential grocery items like milk and eggs
You don’t want to run out of milk and buy it from gas station with higher price
28) Search for cheap groceries using coupon apps
Few years ago it was really challenging to search all flyers to look for deals or coupons
Nowadays with apps like Flipp or reebee they will do this hard job for you
All you have to do is search for your favorite items and the app will locate the cheapest store near you
29) Get cash back using grocery apps
Many grocery apps like Ibotta, Checkout 51, Receipt Hog and Krazy Coupon Lady reward you for your grocery and shopping trips
Most of them ask to scan and upload your receipts to get cash back
30) Stop buying bottled water
To start living on less money, you need to mimic buying bottled water
Sometimes bottled water is good especially if you are on a trip or on the beach
Other than that I drink from the tap water
I meant live on less money by not buying bottled water as your main source of water
31) Buy from Supermarkets that do price match
Most of the grocery stores do their best to match prices of their competitors
This means you can continue your grocery shopping from your favorite grocery store
But also ask for price match for items you find on sale through apps like Flipp or reebee
32) Bring your own grocery bags
To start living on less money, use your own grocery bags
Nowadays all grocery stores charge money on grocery bags
Buy reusable bags for yourself, keep them in the truck and use them inside grocery stores
33) Plans your meals weekly
I recommend to buy your grocery list to last for one week
Sometimes it can happen that you forget items and you go specially to buy them
With AnyList you can even plan for items required for your weekly meals
This will definitely help you to reduce your grocery trips
34) Buy cheap meat cuts
Not all meat cuts are the same
Some meat cuts like fast fry or stir fry cuts cost more
You can cut meat yourself especially the stir fry
35) Use takeout coupons
Sometimes you need to take your family and go to restaurants
Nothing is wrong about that
But to start living on less money You can use Groupon and Restaurant.com to look for takeout coupons
36) Go for family portions in restaurants
If you are in a restaurant always look for family portions meals
Sometimes you see a menu item where it says add extra piece for $
Ask if by adding an extra piece would turn it to a family plate
You save money especially if you are eating the same plate
For example, chicken plate is $17.99 and family plate is $21.99
37) Cook your food in bulk
You should plan your cooking time smartly
Especially the cooking different meals with common ingredients
For example most cooked vegetables come with beef stew
You can cook a beef stew portion that can be shared between 2-3 meals
38) Use leftover dinner for lunch
Most of us eat dinner at home and lunch at work
To start living with less money, cook dinner with enough portion to pack it for lunch next day
Definitely by doing that you save money buying lunch at work
39) Eat breakfast
Definitely you need morning breakfast for healthy reason
You will not starve on your lunch time so you would eat proper portion
40) Avoid meat and poultry once or twice a week
I’m not sure if this is healthy or not to skip meat and poultry once or twice a week
What I know is definitely you will practice living on less money
41) Buy a large freezer
What do you think I ask you to buy a large freezer while discussing living on less money
I have my reason, sometimes you buy meat and poultry when on sale and stock them in your freezer
Definitely it is really worth it and you are saving money on the short and long run
42) Plan to cook cheap recipes
So many meals contain in their recipes ingredients that are really expensive
Take an example, cooking cashew you can replace cashews with almonds
To start living on less money, be innovative and replace expensive items with cheap ones
43) Cut drive thru coffee and restaurants
I am a coffee addict who used to buy Starbucks coffee on my way to work
This habit had to stop and I reduced it to once or twice at most a week
I blame the technology as I was using Starbucks app to order my coffee and skip the lineup
To start living on less money, buy Starbucks Keurig K-cup at home and reduce my daily Starbucks
44) Upgrade your Costco membership
I saved a lot of money when I decided to try the executive Costco membership
But how? well Costco has 2 types of membership
The gold one where you pay $60 and get no cashback
While the executive you pay $120 and get 2% cashback on all purchases
Bottom line, I get around $85 which reduces my membership fees to $35
This makes it cheaper than the gold membership
45) Buy flowers from Supermarket
Do you know that supermarkets sell flowers cheaper than anywhere else?
Yes if you want to start living on less money then buy flowers from grocery stores
46) Buy some items from Dollar stores
Dollar stores are the cheapest
Especially you can buy so many items for one or two dollars
You can pay $5 or $10 for the same items in other stores
Don’t believe me check for greeting cards, notebooks and Christmas decorations as an example
47) Join loyalty programs
Loyalty programs are free to join and accepted in most stores
For example Air miles are used and collect points for free
You can apply for all loyalty programs and start collecting points right now
48) Buy cookware and skillets from discount stores
Discount stores sell cookware and skillets 50% than other stores
You can build a list of all kitchen utensils and buy them when they are discounted more in discount stores
49) Shop around for the best cell phone plans
If you need a cell phone plan and not in a hurry
During black Friday and Christmas cell phone companies slash prices like crazy
Keep an eye on these 2 events and get a plan locked for 2 years contract
Also you can start living on less money by bundling a plan with your spouse
50) Plan buying your gifts ahead when on Sale
We all have specific set of events like birthdays, thanksgiving and Christmas
I recommend to buy gifts ahead of time if you know what you need to buy
For example, if you see deals on thanksgiving you can buy gifts for Christmas too
51) Buy gifts from your own gift cards
I have never used any of my gift cards for myself
What I do is I buy other gifts with these gift cards
52) Rent your dress
There are many occasions to attend and each needs a new dress
I am not sure if you thought about renting your dresses instead of buying
It is up to you to think about this option
53) Consider buying used items if possible
Buying used items helped me to save lot of money
Especially for electronics and video games
I start by looking into used items under Amazon then eBay
Then I move on checking Facebook Marketplace
54) Check what you can get as free stuff
Do you know you can get so many free stuff online
You can call it samples and they are free
If you are interested then check my post on 100+ websites to get free stuff online
55) Shop from discount stores
Where do you buy your clothes? Do you go to brand stores?
You can consider visiting discount stores like Marshalls
Still you will find some brands and lot of varieties
56) Shop off the season
I started living on less money when I got my kids
They grow so fast and I have to buy winter and summer clothes yearly
I discovered that it would be cheaper to buy multiple sizes if I find good discount
Also I buy the next year at the end of every season
57) Check public libraries before buying books
Let’s agree on something
Do you still need to keep any book after reading it?
I love reading and I discovered that so many books which I bought are in public library
So check first your public library before buying your book
58) Switch to non disposable napkins
Do you have kids?
if so then definitely you use paper towels a lot to clean after them
It would be better to use non disposable napkins that are washable too
59) Stop buying alcohols and cigarettes
Your health is important to you and your family
Cut cigarettes if you have the will and reduce your alcohol consumption
Cutting cigarettes may be hard first but believe that you can do it
60) Buy refurbished laptop and TV
Refurbished doesn’t mean it’s a bad product
It is simply this product was on display
You still get a warranty so nothing to worry about
61) Don’t buy extended warranty
In my opinion it is not worth it especially in electronics
I did not buy extended warranty before but again it is up to you
62) Do Christmas exchange gift and put a limit on Christmas budget
We as families put a lot of burden before Christmas as buying gift is personal
That’s why I liked this idea as I tried it by myself in one of our past Christmas party
Everyone buys a gift for a family in the range of $25 to $35
We write the family name on a sheet of papers and fold them
A child picks a folded paper and the chosen family picks up any wrapped gift
Then this family picks up another folded paper
The new chosen family has the option to take any opened gift from other families or pick up a wrapped gift
If an opened gift was taken then the family who lost the gift can go and open another wrapped gift
This idea turns Christmas exchange gifts into a fun and memorable event
63) Save shipping charges by using Amazon prime
I was hesitant to subscribe to Amazon prime but since COVID-19 it made my life easy
This helped me to save on gas going to the store especially waiting in the lineups
I buy so many things online where I know it is same price or little bit cheaper
64) Use open source software if possible
There are so many software you definitely require for your laptop
If you want to begin living on less money then you have to adapt the open source software
You can download freeware from the internet
I will give you an example
Do you know there is an open source office called OpenOffice?
Also there are many antiviruses that are free to try for one year
65) Do your own garden
You don’t need to hire a gardener if you just cut grass
Just invest in electric or gas lawn mower and do it yourself
Also remove all weeds when they show up
66) Plant your vegetables at home
There are so many vegetables that you can plant in your garden
Like parsley and mint they are easy to grow up and you can use in cooking
67) Plant Perennials
In winter if you have snow, this will kill your plants
That’s why you can plant perennials that survive in all seasons
68) Start to use rechargeable batteries
There are so many things around the house from electronics to toys that take AA or AAA batteries
You can invest in a rechargeable batteries
69) Switch to dry cleaning at home
Dry cleaning is definitely expensive
I found something called Dryel that can dry clean your clothes
70) Make your own gifts
I know this option of making your own gifts is not for everyone
But still you can browse the internet for ideas of many things you can assemble together and present them as gifts like drawing on mugs
71) Mend your own clothes by yourself
I am not lucky as it’s hard for me to find a pant that is 29 long
It can happen to buy a pant for $10 and pay another $10 to shorten it
I discovered you can use cheap portable sewing machine to mend clothes by yourself
So if you want to start living on less money then find ways to do simple things by yourself
72) Do your own renovation
If you are not handy at least you can paint your own house
You would save few thousands hiring a painter to do it for you
73) Make your home pet free if possible
I didn’t want to open this topic
Raising a pet at home costs you a lot of money
You can ask those who own pets how much average they pay per month
74) Sell your used household items on Facebook Marketplace
I used to have so many unused items and didn’t know what to do with
Till I discovered Facebook Marketplace
It helped me to sell so many things where buyers pick things up and pay you cash
75) Rent your basement
If you have a basement with separate entrance you can rent it
Think about it especially if you have a grown up kids and don’t need it
76) Recycle for cash
Do you hear abou Recyclebank?
You can recycle your plastic containers there
For electronics you can use uSell and Gazelle
77) Trade babysitting
Sometimes you need to leave the kids and go somewhere
This requires you to hire a babysitter and pay a lot of money
You can trade babysitting with someone you know and trust
For example, if your friend or family member needs you to babysit their kids
You can do so in return of babysitting your kids when you need so
78) Do your nails at home
You can do your own nails at home, it is so easy
All you need is cotton balls and nail polish remover
79) Try working from home
If you have the ability to work from home then go for that and save money on gas
After COVID-19 so many companies discovered that their employees are capable of working from home
80) Try carpooling
Do you know anyone at your work who lives nearby
If you don’t or embarrassed to ask there are apps which can really help you
These apps search for people that work in a nearby area and are on their way to work
81) Get use of public transits and buy season tickets
If you are living in a big city and you work in downtown then it is better to take public transit
It will cost you a lot to park your car plus you can take subway or train and save time
82) Shop around for better car insurance rate
I know calling insurance company for getting a quote is not an easy thing
You can spend a minimum of an hour per each call
Good news is you can use Google to search for compare car insurances
If you find a really low rate for specific company you can invest some time to call and investigate
83) Buy used cars
I am not into buying new cars as they lose 15% when you take them out of dealership
I always buy trusted used cars where I can negotiate the price
At the same time you have a high chance to negotiate with your insurance company
84) Empty your car trunk
Don’t ever drive your car with loaded trunk especially unused items
It will cost you gas and decrease your car performance
85) Look for cheap gas stations near you
Every gas station set its own price for gas
It can be challenging to find the best gas station with the lowest rate
Not anymore you can download GasBuddy app, it will find the lowest price near you
86) Plan for cheap nights in theaters
Do you know every Tuesday most theaters offer all movies for $2
If you plan to go to theater then Tuesday is your best day
87) Check for students discounts and admission fees
Do you know students are qualified for discounts in many area like entertainment and transportation
This is a good opportunity to save money if you have student in your home
88) Replace GYM membership with community center
If you have a GYM membership and you are using it occasionally
What I can tell you is to check your local community center
Most of them have GYM tools so you can cancel your GYM membership and go there
89) Pack Food for your road trips
If you are driving for a long road trip you can take food with you
Not only you save money but also you save time
90) Buy travel packages before its peak or based on deals
Do you know that travelling on flights on Tuesday is cheaper than days of all week?
Don’t buy your first travel price but look around and use the internet to search for last minute deals
91) Watch free DVD movies from public library
Do you know you can rent DVD movies from your public library for free
Sometimes you can download Hoopla app and watch movies from your home
92) Invite your friends over for snack
I know your friends ask you to meet outside to see each other
This cost you a lot of money as you either go to pubs or restaurants
I recommend to invite your friends at home for snack
93) Lower thermostat to save electricity on your water heater
Most thermostats come with 6 or 7 levels to heat your water
You can lower your thermostat instead of cooling the water manually with your shower
One thing to do is to use low flow showerheads to save on water while showering
Last thing is to turn off your water heater when you are on vacation
94) Use slow cooker or crock pot instead of oven
Have you tried using slow cooker instead of your oven
I know a lot of people who can turn on their slow cooker and go to work by the time they come back food will be ready
95) Turn off unnecessary light off
If you are not staying in a room then turn off the light
I know it takes time to practice the habit of not leaving light on when leaving the room
96) Use LED bulbs
LED bulbs are not expensive anymore just check this 24 Sylvania LED for $23.46
They save you money on your power bill
97) Use major appliances on low peak and weekends only
All appliances that you have control on are better to use on low peak and weekends
You can google when your low peak time starts in your city
98) Use smart plugs for some appliances
Some devices consume something called phantom electricity even when they are turned off
Best solution is to use smart plugs to program it to disconnect during night time
99) Use energy efficient appliances
If you have the option to replace your appliances then buy energy efficient ones
They are equipped to save you on electricity and help you start living on less money
100) Turn off Air conditioner when not home
Turn off your air conditioner when you are not home
If you are worried about the time it will take for your air conditioner to cool up your home then I recommend to install smart thermostat and control it from your phone
101) Save electricity using a ceiling fan
If you experience extended summer in your area then use ceiling fan in days with mild weather
102) Use Windows and doors blinds
Do you know that blinds can reduce the effect of solar heat by 60%?
This can prevent the heat effect in days where weather is reasonable and thus not using your air conditioner
103) Check weather-stripping
Having leak in your windows can cause your heating process to run continuously
Always check for leaks and use weather-stripping as cheap and affordable solution
104) Close doors and floor registers
Hot or cold air moves in every room even washrooms
That’s why if you close registers in rooms you are not using
And close their doors that would have great impact on your heating or cooling process
105) Use smart thermostat
My life has changed after I switched to smart thermostat
You have so many features like bringing your home to your desired temperature sometime before you return back from work
Also you can set your vacations ahead of time