Whatever being frugal means to you and whatever your reasons are for trying to live a more frugal life, there are certain habits you can adopt that will help you along the way. Here’s just a few of them….
- Make sure you know what your monthly budget is and review it regularly and keep a close eye on your bank balance so you know there are no nasty surprises and you can check that you’re still within your budget – the earlier you find out about any problems or overspends, the more time you have to put it right before it impacts you.
- Regularly check to make sure you’re on the best deal with your utility providers and NEVER renew without shopping around first (preferably using a cashback site whenever you change providers).
- Always consider whether a jumper or a throw would do the job to warm you up instead of turning the heating on and if you do have to put it on, can you put it on for a degree lower than usual to save money.
- Plan your meals in advance so you can write a shopping list and save money (and food waste) by only buying what you need to buy.
- When you are shopping, look at buying in bulk where it will save you money. I often stock up on products that I buy regularly when I see them on offer because it works out less to do this.
- Buy second hand where you can and save money as well as having a positive impact on our environment. Upcycling is getting more and more popular and Pinterest is a huge source of inspiration for projects where people (myself included) are giving their second hand bargains a bit of a facelift, like the bookshelf below which was a dark wood before we attacked it with our tester pots!
- Buy presents in the sales and save a fortune! At one point it felt like we were going to a party practically every weekend which could have been a massive drain on our budget if I didn’t have a present bag filled with presents that I bought in the sales.
- Always think carefully before any purchase and make sure that you’ve shopped around before handing over your cash.
- Try and take drinks and snacks with you wherever you go so you don’t have to buy them while you’re out.
- Plan, plan, plan! If you want to go on holiday then do it, just plan ahead and save the money you need in advance. If you want to have a great Christmas then plan ahead and start saving.
According to the wisdom of Google, it takes around two months for a new behaviour to become a habit so if you start today then you’ll be well on your way to living a more frugal lifestyle by the Summer.
How many of these do you already do?
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Image credit: Shutterstock, Mahey
Edited: You might think that this post looks familiar which is probably because it was published last May. I opened it to edit and add a few links in and somehow then got it mixed up with the post I was about to publish and republished this! I am not having a good day but on the plus side, it’s a reminder for you of a few things you can do to save money
