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I know. Frugal living and fun do not go together. Just the word frugal is kind of a bummer.
But, a little bit of frugality now can go a long way to making more fun in your future. If you can live frugally, it can allow you to save enough money to invest, and well, make more money!
But if you are spending everything you have each month, you will never get ahead. Or you may be in a position now where you don’t have enough to make it and need some frugal living tips just to get by.
In any case, adopt a frugal living strategy is not as difficult as it seems! Try these 6 frugal living tips to help improve your finances.
Clip Coupons
Yes this may make you feel like your Grandma but one of the easiest ways to adopt a frugal lifestyle is to use coupons. Paying full price for anything may mean you are throwing money away.
Make sure you sign up for whatever loyalty program your grocery store provides. Places like Kroger will let you load digital coupons to your code and use them. They also frequently offer weekly specials and savings so make sure you take advantage!
Before you buy anything online, make sure you search for coupons first! Here are some great couponing sites:
Automate your savings
One frugal living tip you must adopt is to set your monthly savings up on auto-pilot. Don’t give yourself a choice on saving money, make it automatic.
You can set up a portion of your paycheck each month to direct deposit into a savings account.
Or use a savings app like Simple or Acorns. What I like about the Acorns app is not only does it round up your change on purchases into savings, it actually invests that money for you. So while you are saving more money, you are also getting the opportunity to make more!
Pay Down Your Debt
Probably the number one rule of frugal living is to not have or create debt. If you do have debt, focus all your efforts on getting rid of it. Pay off as much extra as you can each month. Find some ways to make extra money just to get rid of the debt!
Make More Money
One overlooked way to improve your frugal living skills is to actually make more money. The more money you have coming in, the easier it is to save more, and saving more means living frugally.
Plus, an added bonus is that maybe you can add a little more to your entertainment budget without causing an issue. Making more money is always going to improve your financial situation.
And if you don’t want the regular hours of a part-time job, you can opt for a side hustle instead. You can monetize one of your hobbies, start freelance work in your field, or start your own blog or website.
Driving for Uber of Lyft means you can do it as much or as little as you want, which makes it an ideal way to make extra money. Pick up a rider on your way to the grocery store and make your grocery shopping essentially free!
Downsize Your Lifestyle to a frugal one
Frugal living means taking and using less instead of more. If your lifestyle is living large, you may need to downsize some things.
For instance if you have a $600 a month car payment, you can certainly reduce that. Buy a used car with one lump sum and get rid of that monthly payment all together.
A car doesn’t have to be fancy to serve its purpose. And, it is an easy, often overlooked place to save a ton of money.
Another way to save money is to have a staycation instead of a vacation. The money you save on plane tickets and hotel stays could go a long way!
Just Say No
Probably one of the hardest but most essential frugal living tips. You have to learn to say no.
Before you purchase anything, make sure it is a need and not just a want. It is ok to buy for yourself sometimes of course, but try to say no more often than not.
As the saying goes, a penny saved is a penny earned! Start using some of these frugal living tips today and boost your finances!
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