Many of my friends think that I’m frugal. Fortunately for you, I am! I like to think that I’m smart with how I save and deploy my money. I live slightly better than paycheck to paycheck but am always looking for ways to maintain my standard of living while slashing my expenditures.
What I want to do in this post is explain a bunch of best practices that I actually use. This is no frills stuff: these are simple things you can do – regardless of your stage of life or income – to lower wasteful spending.
Bundle Up.
Use your work lap-top for personal use, sell your personal one.
Hold a garage sale or put stuff on eBay to reduce clutter, free up space, and make some more money.
Cancel your gym membership and buy home weights and bands.
Drink water – and no other beverages. It’s free, healthy, and widely available.
Cook and don’t eat takeout.
Cancel your auto-insurance and stop driving. Rely on ride-sharing apps or your bike or feet to get around.
If you need your kids to go somewhere, carpool
Buy in bulk to save unit costs and then cook at scale and freeze your leftovers
Eat less and consume less.
Don’t hire people to do home maintenance. Learn how to do it yourself.
Get a library card. Only read free books.
Cancel online subscriptions.
Buy a French Press and grind your own coffee beans. This is by far the cheapest way to drink coffee.
Buy store brand food. It is usually identical but at a lower price.
Negotiate with your cell phone carrier for a reduced rate.
Indoor plants. Grow some of your own food.
Negotiate with your company for additional perks: wifi, equipment, utilities.
Search for deals online.
Share passwords with your friends for your subscription services like Netflix
Get a second job or part time job. If you have time while working remotely use your skills as a consultant, trainer, teacher, designer, engineer, or sales leader to help another organization. Monetize this behavior.
Review your credit card bill every single bill. Know where you have spent money and why.
Reduce your meat consumption.
Eat slower. You will feel full sooner.
If you do keep your car, drive the speed limit. Speeding uses gasoline less efficiently.
Keep your car tires at the correct inflation. This will help you improve your Miles per Gallon.
Get a programmable thermostat: you need to control the temperatures.
Wash your clothes in cold water.
If possible, get rid of your energy inefficient dryer. Line dry your clothes.
Replace your old light bulbs with LEDs.
Unplug electronics you don’t use often: the guest room alarm clock, the printer, and so on.
Borrow movies from your library. You already get your books there.
Go outside – find entertainment from nature or walks.
