We used to be deep in debt. Eventually, we hit bottom only to wake up and realize the debt was an emergency. And we intended to meet it head-on.
Enter frugality. I think we tried almost every frugal hack in the book back then.
We DIYed everything, from siding our own house (using a homemade pulley system) to washing ziplock bags. I studied The Complete Tightwad Gazette from cover to cover and tried almost every frugal trick in the book. Literally.
I made my own baby wipes, cooked everything from scratch, repurposed onion bags, and made my own laundry detergent. Alan did all of our car maintenance – he even removed a broken windshield from the car to save on the cost of replacement. When it came to frugal tips, you name it, we probably tried it…at least once.
As time went on, we paid down the debt, made more money, and became more financially secure. With this, many of the frugal hacks went by the wayside for one reason or another. Mostly, the ones that were tossed weren’t worth the time to realize the savings yielded – at least to us.
It’s been close to 18 years since we went super frugal. We no longer wash ziplock bags (I try not to use them much). And we’re more cognizant of weighing our time vs. savings for frugal tasks.
But even though we’ve dropped many of the frugal tasks that used to be routine, some of them stood the test of time. They’ve become such a part of our lifestyle and we don’t even think about them anymore. Not only do they help us continue to save money, but they are rewarding enough to make them stick.
The frugal habits that stuck
Homemade cleaning supplies This isn’t as much about saving money as it is habit plus my desire to limit toxic chemicals. I make my own glass cleaner, multipurpose cleaner, and, my favorite, this magical shower and tub cleaner.
Cut our own hair (and no color) I cut Alan’s hair with a great set of Wahl clippers and my mom trims mine.
Buy used clothing I just. can’t. bring myself to spend retail for clothing. I shop the thrift and consignment stores and buy only quality items. When and if I do spend retail price, it’s when I’m in a time crunch for a specific item (well, and underwear, if you count that).
Do our own maintenance (home and auto) Alan changes the oil and does other routine maintenance on the cars. We do our own lawn care and home maintenance too unless it requires specialized knowledge or tools.
No cable Do you even need cable anymore? I mean, streaming…
Avoid fast food The cost isn’t the issue here. It’s just not worth it (unless we’re really desperate).
Pack our own lunches for work and school. It’s just a habit that’s stuck. And it’s easier on the wallet and the body.
Pack our own drinks Whenever we get in the car, we take travel mugs full of coffee and a (reusable) bottle of water. Even on short trips to the store. On long trips, we pack extra water and a thermos of coffee.
Make our own coffee I love a good coffee shop, but we don’t visit often. When we do, it’s a welcome treat.
Limit going out to eat It costs about ¼ of our monthly grocery spending for us to have one meal out at a decent restaurant (not fast food). We go out to eat a couple times a month unless we’re on a trip. In that case, it’s a welcome convenience – we love relaxing with the family eating fantastic food.
Eat leftovers I make extra food for dinner to have leftovers for lunches and dinners. A lot of times, I can turn last night’s leftovers into a different meal, e.g., burrito bowls can be nachos the next night.
Grow veggies and fruit I like to garden (and Alan likes his fruit trees). My thumb isn’t all that green, and I don’t always give the garden the attention it needs. But the delicious veggies that result are well worth it, even though it really doesn’t save a whole lotta money in the long run.
Split perennial plants we already have Free plants. No need to buy new landscaping plants at the store.
Limit gifts – and make our own We’re not extravagant gift givers. And we try to make them when we can – ya know, for that personal touch. For instance, we made our niece a lovely headboard for her graduation, and we often give away our homemade canned food to the family.
Shop the grocery sales I always look at the weekly ad and stock up on the sale items we need and use.
Drink water We drink mostly water, coffee, and tea. It’s better for our health and cheaper than soda.
Turn off the lights Once you get into this habit, it sticks!
Keep the thermostat high or low (depending on the season) We’ve gotten used to dressing cooler in the summer and bundling up in the winter. This saves us a ton on our utilities. (For reference, we keep the a/c at 77 in the summer and the heat at 68 in the winter – so it’s not extreme.)
Limit subscriptions and monthly fees These have crept in more in recent years, but we try to keep them in check and eliminate them right away if we’re not getting value out of them. Currently, we pay for Netflix, Spotify Premium, Amazon Prime, and Photoshop (oh, and the gym!).
Pack our own food on trips If it’s a road trip, having snacks, drinks, and a few groceries along saves on gas station spending. Plus, I can stock up on sales ahead of time and save even more. When we fly, we pack granola bars, crackers, and nuts (though I got flagged by TSA last time for my bag of almonds!?).
Buy used cars Though we haven’t purchased used cars every single time, we do now. It makes sense to have someone else take that initial hit of depreciation. Our last car purchase was one year old with 11,000 miles and saved us several thousand over buying new. For the kids, we purchased older cars with many more miles.
Take advantage of money-saving company perks We save on car rentals, get a gym discount, earn free money for our HSA, and, of course, get the company 401k match.
Limit spending on hair/skin care products We just buy the basics and use ‘em up – no high-end miracle-working products here. And I don’t wear much make-up – many days none at all.
Rewear clothing (if it’s not dirty) This is mostly to make the clothes last longer and to save time on laundry. If it’s only been worn once or twice and it’s not dirty, it gets hung back up in the closet.
Pay insurance annually (rather than monthly) We avoid service charges this way. I usually put money in savings each month to cover this.
DIY home improvement projects We are currently in the process of painting the outside of our house (it’s a sloooow process). This saved us thousands of dollars. Sometimes it doesn’t pay off to DIY though, so we always run the costs first.
That’s all I got! What say you, friends? What frugal tricks and habits have stood the test of time for you?
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