We now have a new site, Frugal Magazine, that we are slowly migrating all of our frugal living sites to – along with our coupon site, tightwad site, and freebies site.
Because of the move, we will (for the most part) not be updating this site, but rather be posting to Frugal Magazine at http://www.frugalmagazine.com.
In the near future, we will also be putting out the print magazine for Frugal Magazine. The print issues will feature various frugal living topics, frugal living ideas, frugal recipes, etc. Some issues will be strickly one frugal topic, such as only frugal recipes or frugal decorating. more on this when we are ready to roll this out.
So please check out our new Frugal Magazine site and be sure to LIKE our Frugal Magazine Facebook page also. The new site is where the latest frugal living news and information will be posted.
There are a lot of ways to be frugal and practice frugal living in your everyday life. The short version is this – if you want to save money and live on less, you simply have to stop spending money. There are lots of things that we can be do to be frugal that can make for instant savings.
Of course, we can make a budget and stick with it. We can cut the credit cards up and stop maxing them out. We can pay more than the minimum payment on some of our bills. These are great money saving tips. But the frugal living methods I am talking about today are more basic and something most (if not all) of us can do everyday (or at least often) to live frugally – saving money by not spending it to begin with.
If you want to have a frugal life and save money, then you have to make up your mind to stop spending money. Until you do that, your life will not change. You control you! If you want to make a change, BE that change. Frugal living is something that all of us can do – we just have to want to.
It’s this simple – if you’re not willing to stop spending, then don’t complain about your money problems. Yes, that sounds harsh. But I say it because of this – I have heard all too many times from people who ask how to save money, how can they make it on less money, how do they do frugal living, what can they do, etc. – and as soon as I tell them, they start: Oh no, I can’t live like that, I can’t do without this or that, I can’t not go shopping, I can’t not eat out every night… I can’t, I can’t. But in reality, they are saying… I won’t, I won’t. So again, I say: If you’re not willing to stop spending, then don’t complain about your money problems.
That said, for those that want help, here are some frugal living tips that will help you to save money by not spending money:
1. Save scrap paper for notes. If you’re always buying notepads and sticky notes for your home, consider saving scrap paper to write on. If you print coupons, you might have paper left after clipping them if they didn’t take up the entire page. Plus we all get junk mail. Cut it up and use the backs for jotting down notes.
2. Reuse plastic zipper bags. If you use a lot of plastic food zipper bags, you can wash and reuse them (if they didn’t have meat in them). Lots of times, I will open a bag of this or that and it doesn’t have a way to seal it, so I will put them entire bag into a plastic food zipper bag, just to be able to close it and seal it. Once the food is gone, the bag is fine and reusuable. I just wash it out and let it dry, and use it again.
3. Save plastic food tubs. You can save a lot of money and practice frugal living by saving and using the plastic food tubs that items such as margarine, sour cream, or cottage cheese come in. These are great for storing leftovers in or putting stuff into the freezer – meat, pasta, rice, veggies, etc. Once they get worn out, you can toss them – and you haven’t lost a penny.
4. Pay your bills online. Frugal living wouldn’t be complete today without adding this frugal tip. Granted, there are still a few companies that haven’t caught up with today’s technology and made it possible for their customers to make payments online – but more and more companies are getting there. Not only do you save money on the cost of postage, but the payment is usually instant, and even when it’s not, it’s still much faster than the week it takes for the payment to arrive in the mail. If you’re not sure if a company you do business with accepts online payments, do a search online or call and ask.
5. Cook at home and eat at home. Yes, we all like the idea of eating out and having someone else cook for us, but that can be expensive, especially if you do it often. Save it for special occasions or every once in a while – not all the time.
6. Make do with what you have. Unless you truly need something, make do with what you’ve got. Nothing screams frugal living more than this! So many people think they just have to have this or that – yet they have no need for it, no use for it, and all too often spend money just to be spending it. Do you really need another pair of shoes? Do you really need another dress? Do you really need another car? Learn the difference between want and need.
7. Look for free samples online. Companies are always giving out free samples. Granted, a lot of the samples are trial size, but you can also find full size free samples. Getting free samples is good because obviously it’s a freebie, but it also allow you to try something before you buy it. So if it turns out you didn’t care for the product, you don’t lose any money because you never spent the money on it to begin with. Free samples are also cool for gift baskets.
8. Do it yourself. You can save loads of money if you simply do something yourself rather than pay someone to do it for you. Of course, this only works if you know how to DIY or have access to DIY tutorials, such as online. If you have something that needs done and you don’t have a clue as to how to accomplish whatever it is, simply do a search for DIY so and so.
9. Barter with family and friends. Trading things or services will save you money, along with whoever you barter with. If you need sewing done and are clueless, consider bartering with someone who sews for something you have or know how to do. If you know how to fix a leaky faucet, you could barter that service with someone who knows how to do something you need done.
Frugal living doesn’t just happen for most people – they have to want to live a frugal life. So many people today live such fast lives – buying, spending, going – and they wonder why they are in such debt, whey they never seem to have any money. If you want a frugal life, you’ve got to be willing to let go of the spending habits.
Frugal living just got a little more convenient! Frugal Simplicity is now on Facebook! With more than 800 million active users, Facebook is THE place to connect and socialize, and that includes finding and sharing frugal living tips and frugal living ideas, plus printable coupons, freebies, thrifty tips, etc.
Come on over and LIKE us, and be sure to share the page with your friends and family that are into frugal living (or need to be!!).
Frugal Simplicity – It’s Not Just About Saving Money, It’s a Way of Life! Let’s Be Frugal!
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Most of us have pets, so we know how expensive it can become to have fur children. But just as with our human children, it doesn’t have to be expensive to have pets and take care of them. Frugal living with pets works, if we know what to do and what not to do.
Here are some frugal living tips for parents of fur children, to help save money and still provide great pet care.
1. Pet food - Dog food and cat food doesn’t have to cost a lot. If you have coupons for the name brand pet foods, then by all means use them (more so if the item is on sale – extreme couponing!). Some (not all) store brands of pet food are the same as the name brand, meaning the name brands package the exact same thing under a store brand. Trial and error on this will help you know which is which and what your pet likes and will eat.
The higher priced dog food and cat food might have more vitamins, but this doesn’t mean you have to buy it, just for the vitamins. Buy tablets or a paste and add it to your pet’s food. This is healthy but much less expensive.
2. Pet vaccinations - Pets need their vaccinations just as your human children do, although obviously different ones. Taking your pet to see the vet, if only for shots, can run into some money. A much more frugal approach to this is to visit your local feed type store. You can get the vaccination shot along with the needed syringe and give the vaccination to your pet yourself at home. Buying the vaccination and doing it yourself costs about $10, as opposed to a much higher fee if you go to the vet just for the pet shots.
Of course, if your pet is sick or hurt, by all means go to the vet. This frugal tip is only concerning the vaccinations, not medical care if it’s needed.
3. Pet grooming - If you have a pet (usually a dog) that requires a lot of grooming (such as a poodle), then you know that taking your pets to a groomer can run into some money – especially if you have more than one pet to be groomed. There are frugal ways to save money on dog grooming.
One way to save money on pet grooming and be frugal about it is to do your own dog grooming. This DOES take practice, and time, but you can do it. The first couple of times might mean your dog comes out looking a little funny, but remember that it does grow back. Plus after a little practice, you will become good at grooming. You can get a dog grooming kit at places such as Amazon.com, Walmart, etc. A good dog grooming kit will cost you from about $50 or so, maybe up to $100 – basically the cost of one or two grooming trips.
Another frugal way to save money on dog grooming is to barter, or trade, for the services of a dog groomer. If there’s something you do or can do, that a dog groomer would be willing to trade to groom your dog, then you’ve both saved money and gotten a good deal. For example, you might craft something the groomer wants, update a web page, create a WordPress blog, babysit for a few hours, etc.
Conclusion: Having pets can run into some money, but if you practice frugal living with your pets, then you will be happy and your pets will be happy, but you won’t be broke or in to poor house just because you have pets.
