Frugal Tips To Save You Money

Beginning a new blog series where I break down frugal living tips that accumulated can save you tens of thousands. As always, make sure to follow me on social media @DraggedO

Frugal tip #1 Meal prep:

Prepping meals saves you money in two major ways. Firstly, you don't waste food by it going bad in your fridge then you having to throw it away. This is quite literally throwing money in the bin and is not frugal at all. Secondly, you're not tempted to order takeout because you're too tired after a hard days work. You can also meal prep your work lunches and this will save you spending money everyday on overpriced meals. 

Frugal tip #2 Cancel premium tv:

"Cut the cord" is a popular term in the frugal community and is even gaining mainstream use. The cost of watching premium TV channels averages out to be $99 a month. That's $1200 over a year and $12,000 over a decade. $12,000 is getting close to a mortgage deposit on a reasonable sized house. 

Frugal tip #3 Don’t buy takeout coffee:

Takeout coffee before work is burned into the work culture. If you dont show up with a Starbucks cup in hand, are you really a successful adult? Well I believe that not only are you a successful adult you're also a smart one. Coffee averages at $3 a cup and over a year thats $765 dollars. 

Frugal tip #4 Don’t buy paper towels:

Paper towels are a gimmick. I know there a tonnes of paper towel lovers out there but its a product that preys on our fear of bacteria. Not only do they do substantial damage to the environment as they're single use they also do substantial damage to our wallets. Instead, buy re-useable cloths which can just be thrown into the laundry with your clothing and will come out perfectly clean. If you want to be extra frugal, you can recycle old t-shirts and jeans, jeans make good scrubbers as they're abrasive and long wearing. 

 

Frugal tip #5 Use the internet to learn how to repair things:

Hiring a repair man is often something that you dont need to do. Recently, a drain outside my house flooded and I was quoted $100+ to clear it. Some googling and a hosepipe later and the drain was unclogged. This applies to all sorts, a simple filter replacement on an AC unit can run $50+ in labour alone. Your oven stops working? Google the symptoms and 9/10 times it'll be a super cheap and easy repair saving you a fortune over the lifespan of your appliances, sometimes even giving your appliances 2-3 lifetimes to run through. 

Frugal tip #6 Create a side hustle:

Side hustles are becoming increasingly popular with jobs such as uber and air B&B becoming more popular every day. Side hustles allow you to generate extra income in your down time and can also create business opportunities if you work in sales or a similar career. Be careful though, that income you earn the government wants a piece of and its really not frugal to get stuck with a tax bill with a % interest attached to it. 

Frugal tip #7 Switch utility provider:

Switch all your providers. Why are you loyal to a brand? None of the management even know you exist, why pay extra money to them because of some false sense of loyalty. Regularly check gas, water, electricity, internet, car and home insurance and find the cheapest deals. Before you go ahead and switch contact your current provider as they match or even beat the other company and save you the hassle of switching.  

Frugal tip #8 Create a budget:

Budget! Budget! Budget! Shred off every single dollar you can and then continue to cut back consistently until you're at the absolute cut off point. You'd be so shocked at the money wasted on little bits and bobs that adds up to thousands over a year.