Hello again and welcome back. Regardless of where you live, the cost of living is constantly increasing. Everyone is trying to find ways to reduce their expenses and prepare for the possibility that times could get tougher before they get any better. So being able to save little bits here or there is going to be a big help for anyone. I know for me personally, the more money I can save on my expenses means more money going towards my goal that will help secure the future I want. In previous posts, I have given an example of how I track my money as well as how I came up with a basic budget for myself. These help with managing money and tracking where our money goes but today, I want to look at ways we can further lower our expenses. I have tried to suggest ideas that are not normally what you would find when you first search for frugal tips, but this has become a popular topic recently, and for good reason. So, no doubt you would have heard of some of these before, but hopefully, you will find something new that you could try.
- Get smart with eating out
Eating out less is a great way to save money. But if it’s something you’d rather cut back on instead of cease altogether, try looking for restaurants or cafes that have special deals for the slow nights of the week. A restaurant near me has an all-you-can-eat special with a bottomless drink for less than 15 dollars on Monday through Wednesday nights. Some restaurants may even have lunch specials making it cheaper to go eat out for lunch instead of dinner.
- Track and evaluate your streaming services and online subscriptions
There is nothing worse than paying an annual or monthly subscription for a streaming service or app that you no longer use. Keeping track of what services or apps you pay for and still use can prevent apps you no longer use from automatically renewing themselves and taking money out of your accounts. Also when signing up for new services or apps, make sure to turn off the auto-renewal option.
- Find alternate ways to spend time with friends
I have had many a good night at the pub, enjoying a few pints over a game of pool with friends. But it can add up, so I like to invite friends over for dinner or a games night instead of going out. I’ve had some great times going around to a friend’s place and just sitting down with them catching up over a bottle of wine and a few games of cards. I also enjoy inviting friends over for dinner, if you do it often enough you could ask them to contribute to the meal as well which helps reduce the cost. When my friends come over, they often bring a dish or a loaf of bread to share, and other times they will bring a bottle of wine for us all to enjoy.
- Turn down your thermostat and hot water cylinder
An easy way to reduce your power bill can be achieved by turning down the settings of your thermostat and if you have access and your hot water cylinder allows it, drop the temperature of that as well. As my father used to tell me “If you’re cold, put on a jumper” words of wisdom I still live by today.
- Maintenance, repair and D.I.Y.
With regular maintenance and care your household items will last longer. And if something happens to break or experience an issue, try looking for instructional pages or videos on how to repair it instead of throwing it away and replacing it. The best part about learning to repair a broken item is that if you don’t succeed or make it worse, it doesn’t matter as it was broken to start with. Of course, you should be cautious working on electrical appliances unless you have the appropriate experience or training. If you’re a handy person and not frightened of a bit of work, you can find yourself some nice “new” pieces of furniture for your home. In the past, I have kept my eyes open when visiting my local tip shop or refuse centre for damaged solid timber furniture. A lot of the time they only need a simple easy fix, new handles, a new hinge or a fresh coat of paint or varnish. For a fraction of the price and an afternoon of work, you get an amazing piece of furniture. And if the task requires skills you don’t have, you can google it and practice it on smaller items like a side table before moving on to a larger one like a cabinet or table. I have even known people to do this as an effective side hustle, restoring old furniture and selling it on afterwards.
- Homemade cleaning products
By using dishwashing liquid, baking soda and white vinegar either combined or separately you can create some useful cleaning products. There are countless books, videos and websites listing various recipes and how to use them, so if you are interested check it out the list of uses and problems it can fix is nearly endless. This is something I will cover in an upcoming post as I want to try a few recipes and see how they work out, so stay tuned if you wish to know more.
- Leftover night
Using up leftovers can be a little more fun than just heating up the tuna bake from two nights ago. Why not try clearing out your fridge once or twice a week and pull out anything that needs to be used and make a meal from it? This point works well with my next one as the better stocked your pantry is the more you can make. But try to use as much perishable or open food from your fridge as possible to prevent unnecessary waste. Have a try at a good old bubble n squeak or a warming cheesy pasta bake. There are many creative ways to clear out your leftovers and turn them into something new.
- Have a well-stocked pantry
This can seem like an odd one but it’s a good example of where spending money can save you money. Having a well-stocked pantry complete with all the bits and pieces you need to make your favourite meals gives you the ability to cook a wide variety of meals from scratch. Instead of ordering pizza if you’ve got the base components in your pantry, you could make one yourself. A homemade pizza is healthier, cheaper and a lot tastier than the pizzas you get delivered. As mentioned in my previous point having a well-stocked pantry also makes it easier to use up leftovers, I used to share a house with a man who would use his leftovers from tapas or charcuterie boards to make a simple pasta. And in my last house, I would often use up leftovers from the fridge and mix them into bread for a nice pull-apart loaf, mixing sundried tomatoes and cheese into a basic bread dough before baking was a favourite of mine.
- Look for herbs and spices in the international food aisle
Instead of going to your herbs and spices section of the supermarket and buying your oregano or curry powder in the little glass bottle. First, try looking in the international food section. Many a time I have been able to buy a bag of the same dried herbs or spices but in a larger quantity for less than what the little glass shaker jar costs.
- Spend money when and where it counts
This is the difference between being cheap and being frugal. As a chef, I am on my feet all day and night at work so I know the importance of a good quality set of work boots. Back when I was an apprentice, I would buy a cheap 30 to 50-dollar pair of boots that would always become uncomfortable and start to fall apart a month or two after I had initially purchased them. While going through my receipts for my tax return one year, I realised I had spent over 200 dollars on boots in just one year. Ever since then, I have spent money where it counts and after finding a brand I like, I will happily spend 150 to 200 dollars on a pair of work boots. The boots I buy now, although they cost more initially last for over two years so I end up saving more in the long run. This is what is meant by spending money where it counts.
- Keep a price book
By recording the prices of the items you regularly buy, it is easier to notice if the price of an item changes or when it goes on sale. This allows you to make better choices regarding when or how much of something you should buy or if you should change the brand to a cheaper one. Keeping the item, package size, brand and cost recorded in a little notepad allows you to keep track of price changes a lot easier as you shop.
- Avoid shopping when you’re not feeling yourself
It is no secret that malls and shops are designed to separate us from our cash. Posters, signs and packaging all depict happy people or families with unnaturally white teeth or mouth-watering food that looks so fresh, crisp and juicy it must have been made by some culinary god. We all know these images are made to look good so we would buy them as they play on our insecurities. If we go shopping when we are tired, hungry or sad it is easier for those ads to work their magic and before you know it, you’re walking out of the store with several items we didn’t need or want. Of course, it’s impossible to be in the best mental state all of the time, and it’s impossible to do all your shopping when you are in a good mood. But if you can avoid quick trips to the store when you’re not yourself or stay focused with something like a shopping list, and get just what you need you could save yourself a bit of money by avoiding all those unwanted impulse buys.
So, while this post turned out longer than I had initially thought it would, I hope you can find something that gets you thinking. Some of these tips I have been doing for as long as I can remember and others are new to me. I liked the price book idea so much that now as I type this, I have already had my own book going for a little over a week, and as I mentioned earlier, I will write a post about some of the homemade cleaning chemicals as I am looking forward to trying them out around my place. If you have any other great frugal tips please feel free to share them in the comments.
Until next time, have a good one and catch you later.
Vandemonian Homesteader 