Hello, and welcome back to my frugal tips trilogy’s third and final post. As I mentioned in a previous post, I had to move house again, and I couldn’t post for the past two weeks as this was a long, drawn-out move that took up most of my time. Thankfully I am now back in downtown Vancouver, in a place with a large south-facing balcony. Sadly I can’t do much with that balcony because I will be saying farewell to Canada in just under a month and permanently returning to Australia. I will be gifting my herb garden to my housemate, who, like me, has enjoyed picking fresh herbs as needed. And he is happy to have some plants to help decorate his balcony. While I wait for the day to come, I am keeping myself busy by lining up some larger projects so I can get the ball rolling as soon as I get home. But for now, here is the final of the frugal tips trilogy.
Make every dollar count.
So far, we have covered methods of making things last, maximising their usage, and ways to make do and go without running to the store whenever you need something. Today we’re going to talk about making every dollar count so that when the inevitable happens and you need to spend money, you can do so without affecting your savings and undoing all your hard work. Now I’m not talking about sitting at the table once a week cutting out coupons or studying every catalogue looking for deals, although it doesn’t hurt to have a quick look now and then. I’m focusing more on little habits that, if tweaked just right, will save you money in the long run.
- Buy used instead of brand new.
Like shopping in general, shopping for second-hand goods is easier now than ever. I enjoyed trips to the local second-hand store when I was younger, excited to see what treasures I could find. But I knew then, as I still do now, that most second-hand stores overprice their goods, sometimes making it cheaper to buy the item brand new. Thankfully, with the internet, we can find far more reasonable prices without leaving home. Amazon has a great feature that allows you to see if there is a used or returned model of the appliance you are looking at. And if you shop in-store, it doesn’t hurt to ask for a floor or display model or if they have any returned stock. Products with minor defects are often returned and can be found easily online or by asking a salesperson. I purchased an espresso machine on Amazon last year. It was a returned model with a small scratch on one of the internal parts, and unless you were filling it with water and knew what to look for, you would never have seen it. Somebody wasn’t happy with that scratch, and they returned it despite it working fine. I then picked it up for less than half price by browsing the Amazon used options.
Garage sales or online marketplaces can also be a great way to find second-hand tools or gardening equipment. Knowing how to maintain or repair certain items can also save you money. It can help you spot faults with the item in question, which could help you bargain for a lower price if it can be fixed. The current owner may not have the time, desire or knowledge to repair it and probably just wants to get rid of the item. A work colleague of mine purchased a second-hand lawnmower destined for landfill because its pull cord had snapped. An online order for a new cord and an afternoon of work resulted in a perfectly working lawnmower for a fraction of the cost of a new one. Of course, you should be careful when you buy anything second-hand as it may be missing essential parts that can’t be sourced, or it could be irreparably damaged. But with some research and listening to your gut, you will be fine and be able to spot any red flags.
- Coupons and special offer flyers.
I am sure we all have memories of our parents or grandparents sitting around the table, cutting the coupons out of flyers they got in the mail, or circling the specials they would buy from the supermarket’s catalogue with a big red marker. I know my grandparent did, and I know some people still do this, and while it may work for them, it isn’t for me. I do like and recommend watching for coupon flyers that the major fast food chain drops into your mailbox. These coupons are a great way to have a small treat every now and then that won’t cut into your budget. While in Canada, at the beginning of summer, my housemate and I would get a coupon pack for an ice cream chain that had a store nearby. So once a week, we would take a buy one get one free coupon and take turns treating ourselves to a small ice cream or frozen treat.
- Nose-to-tail cookery.
Nose-to-tail cooking ensures you use every part of the animal, from the nose to the tail. I am a big supporter of this approach to cooking as it helps reduce food waste, and by lowering your food wastage, you can save a lot of money on food. This approach to cooking was widespread during the Depression and world war two, as there wasn’t much to go around, so you had to make the most out of everything you could.
Despite its name, this approach to cooking doesn’t mean you need to start slaughtering and butchering your own animals. It can also apply to vegetables. Like bones or meat scraps, vegetable offcuts and peels are great for making stocks and sauces. Soon I will be posting some methods of cooking stocks at home from bones, carcases and vegetables, so stay tuned for that.
So before you throw out your food waste from the kitchen, try to figure out if it can be made into something else. Look up some recipes that can be made from food scraps. And if there is no other use for it, why not purchase or build yourself a compost bin for your garden so that any kitchen waste that has to be thrown out can be turned into compost instead of ending up in landfill.
- Have a cooking and baking day.
Meal prepping and baking days are also a great way to save time and money. I am a big fan of meal prepping. It also helps that I enjoy cooking, but one of my favourite ways to spend a day off is with a quick trip to the grocery store and then spending the rest of the day pottering around the kitchen listening to music, tv or a podcast. Throw in a bottle of wine, and I’m a happy man.
However, like most people, I still have days where after work, all I want to do is relax and unwind, and on these days, it’s hard to resist the temptation to order takeout. This is where meal prepping really pays off for me. All I have to do is choose from what I have in the freezer and reheat it in the microwave. I end up with a healthier, cheaper and quicker meal than anything I could have ordered. And I avoid the “what do I feel like?” dilemma.
The most common meal prep method is deciding what to eat daily and creating a menu for the week. Then you go shopping and cook the chosen dishes, portion everything down and freeze them for later.
A meal prepping and baking day can save you money in several ways. First, it’s harder to justify ordering takeout if you have a freezer full of food ready to eat. Second, you make fewer trips to the supermarket, and buying everything at once is cheaper and easier than making multiple smaller trips. And by having a cooking or baking day, you only need to heat the oven once. Preheating and using an oven every few days consumes a lot of energy, and that energy costs you money. Heating it once and cooking everything you need in one go can save you money on your gas or electricity bill.
- Stay organised. Know what you have and where it’s kept.
Many of us know that keeping your home, garage or workshop neat, tidy and organised is a great way to boost your mood, productivity and happiness. Everything is squared away and kept in a specific place. But what if I told you that keeping a clean and organised home can save you money? Well, it turns out it can. If everything is in a specific location, you will be more likely to notice when you are running low on a product or are out of something and need more. Before you go shopping, a quick glance at your pantry is all you need to see if something needs topping up. I had an uncle who kept his garage in an absolute mess. Boxes and stuff were left to pile up everywhere. When it came time to clean it out, we found multiple unopened packages of the same tool and countless packets of the same paintbrush. By not having everything organised, he assumed he didn’t have what was needed and would buy another. He did this multiple times for a lot of different tools. By knowing where everything is, you can develop a greater memory of what you have and need, as there is nothing worse than purchasing something “just in case we’ve run out” only to get home and find out you already have five at home.
- Carry a water bottle/ have a cooler in the car.
If I leave the house, I will always take a water bottle. I do this to remove the temptation to purchase soft drinks or pop while I am out and about running errands. A bottle of water from the store may only be a few dollars, but that adds up quickly over a hot summer’s day.
If you are out and about with your car, pack an eski or cooler in the back and fill it with cold drinks from home. A frozen bottle of water left to defrost in an eski keeps everything else cold for the day and gives you ice-cold water as it thaws out. You can even throw fruit into the cooler to have something to snack on instead of going to a café or takeaway. And when winter hits, swap the eski for a large thermos, and as you get ready to leave for the day, fill it with your hot drink of choice so that no matter what you’re doing during the day, you will have a hot drink available at all times, removing the need for trips to the café or coffee shop.
- Garden according to your region.
This common trend seems to come back in and out of style every few years back home in Australia. And there is a good reason: when you live in a country known for droughts and water restrictions, what better to plant than trees, bushes and grasses that have evolved to live in that environment? Instead of plants that require constant watering and attention and a lawn that requires endless maintenance, plants native to your area will get by with minimal effort. Putting native or local plants in your garden can help reduce your water bill as they require less watering than non-natives. Another benefit is that once established, natives need less care and attention than other plants and are generally happiest when left to their own devices.
A bonus of putting in a native garden is that it can become an animal habitat or sanctuary. With the right plants, plenty of feathered friends will drop in to nest or simply take a break in your garden.
To find out what is native or grows best in your area, check with your local council, gardening centre or look online. In Australia, there are several organisations and groups that provide information on what to plant that would attract certain birds and animals in your area. Wires have a great page on how you can make a wildlife-friendly garden. And Birds in Backyards is a brilliant resource for creating habitats and attracting native birds to your backyard. Although these are Australia-specific groups, I have no doubt a similar organisation exists in your area. I have added their website links below so you can check them out.
- Make one trip.
Whether or not you live in the city, town or country, saving all your errands for one trip is a great way to maximise your time and save money. If you live out in the country or just out of town, have one day of the week when you go into town and do all the errands you need to do in that one trip. It can also help to have a list of things you need to buy or jobs you need to do in town so you don’t forget anything. If you live in the city and a store or service you need is out of your everyday commute, plan to visit several businesses in that area instead of travelling just for one thing.
If you’re familiar with where you need to go and where the businesses you need are, you can even try to streamline your route so you don’t end up doing unnecessary backtracking.
Combining the tasks you need to do into one trip saves you a bucketload of petrol by not travelling back and forth every second day. It also saves you money as it reduces the wear and tear of your vehicle.
- Avoid driving to kill time or hang out at the mall.
This is pretty simple; don’t go for drives just for something to do. Don’t get me wrong. I love a road trip as much as the next guy. But I am talking about driving around town to pass the time. Petrol is not cheap, and doing laps around downtown is a surefire way to burn through more of it. And if you want to get super technical, it adds unnecessary wear to your car.
Hanging out at your local mall or shopping centre is also a pastime you should avoid. Every aspect of a shopping centre and the stores within are designed to separate you from your money, between the constant sales, enticing displays and impulse triggers. Why would you want to hang out and relax in a place trying to take your hard-earned money?
Instead, go for a walk in your neighbourhood or in a nearby park. If your desperately craving a coffee and snack from the food court as you people watch, why not try out a local smaller independent coffee shop? Who knows, you might be pleasantly surprised.
Both activities may seem like a great idea at the time, but they both cost you money. Having a more budget-friendly alternative to do either at or near home is a great way to remove these temptations and help reduce your costs.
- Buy quality, not quantity.
This is something I have mentioned repeatedly in the past, and I will not doubt repeat it in the future. Too many people get stuck in this trap, continually buying cheap items and having them replaced when they break or wear out. A few years ago, I renovated a place of mine. I started by going to the hardware store and buying the cheapest power tools, thinking I was doing myself a favour and saving some money by purchasing the forty-dollar tool instead of the hundred-and-fifty-dollar tool. I quickly came to regret that decision when I found myself back at the hardware store a month later, looking for a replacement. Needless to say, the expensive quality tools I purchased are still going strong after six-plus years. For certain products, it pays to spend money and have something last.
It also pays to research and study the item you wish to buy. Where is the cheapest? Can it be serviced easily? Also, have a look online for reviews. These can be great for helping you make an informed decision. That’s what you need to be, informed and knowledgeable about what you need to buy. By knowing what you’re after and purchasing the exact make and model of the product you want, you save time and money instead of walking out of the store with a product that the shop assistant recommended.
- Purchase reusable instead of disposable.
I touched on this briefly from “Find cheaper alternatives to everyday items” from the first of the Frugal trilogy, and I thought I would go into it a little more here. Most of the time, purchasing reusable products can be more expensive than the disposable alternative, but as I pointed out in the “quality not quantity” tip above. It pays to spend money where it counts. And over the years, I have picked up this habit of seeing single-use items as money. It’s not a paper kitchen towel I’m throwing out. That’s money. The modern home is filled with so many single-use items that must be replaced weekly. This disposable approach to everyday items devastates both the environment and your wallet.
Swap out your disposable coffee filters for reusable ones, use kitchen cloths and towels instead of paper and sponges, and use reusable food storage containers instead of single-use takeaway containers or cling film.
The only single-use item I haven’t found a suitable replacement for is toilet paper, and I am fine with that for now as I am not too comfortable with the alternative.
- Have services that reflect your needs and usage.
When it comes to purchasing your monthly internet, mobile or tv channel subscriptions, it’s pretty easy to get carried away when choosing what plan or package you want. “for ten dollars more, I can get five more gigabytes a month than what I’m getting now” is a familiar thought we have all had while browsing mobile phone plans. A plan or package that gives you more data, higher speeds or more channels will always be a tempting offer. But instead of looking just at value, I suggest you first look at your usage history from your current provider. If you understand your past average usage, you have a great starting guide for choosing a new plan or service. What is the point of paying an extra ten dollars per month if you never use the data you’re currently getting, let alone the additional five gigabytes? Are you saving money if you end up paying for more data or channels you never watch or use? If all you do online is read the news, check emails and watch the occasional youtube video, do you really need the most expensive and high-speed internet package? By looking more at what you are likely to use instead of what the provider says is a deal, you can save yourself more in the long run.
And there you have it, my frugal trilogy’s third and final part. This trilogy has been great to research and write about, as it has given me many great ideas on things I can do differently around the home. And as I said back at the beginning, that is exactly what I set out to do. I am already doing some of these, but I hope that with what I learnt while typing these posts, I can make the changes to my living expenses that I originally wanted to do. And I also hope you find some useful and will give them a go. If you do, feel free to comment and let me know how they turn out. In my next post, I will share a simple recipe for preserving berries and making yourself a great little old-fashioned jam.
So until then, have yourself a good one, and I will catch you later.
Vandemonian Homesteader 
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