How to live frugally.

We all have dreams of frugal living, but how many of us actually apply some measures to cut costs and reduce our outgoings? I know I don’t. Living frugal isn’t just a matter of spending less, but it’s a change of philosophy, you have to train yourself to change your habits and live to be frugal, not simply live to spend less.

As the economy started to turn against us, I noticed that my own spending habits were leading me into a dangerous spiral, one which could endanger my lifestyle in the future, so I vowed to change my habits and live to be frugal.

While it takes time to change, and I haven’t implemented some of the ideas below, I’ve gone a long way to get back on the road to frugality, and I must admit that the feeling of freedom I am getting is pretty incredible – would you care to join me?

Here are some of the things that I am beginning to implement in my life and which I hope will help you in your quest for frugality:

Stick to a budget – make a detailed budget and stick to it – don’t stray from the budget even if it means you going without something for the month – get into the habit of spending within your means now and you will reap the benefits.

Make extra mortgage payments – I currently have a 30 year mortgage and pay once a month, however I will be changing to paying a bi-weekly payment. Thus I’ll end up paying 2 more payments than I normally would have and will pay down my mortgage quicker.

Write down and summarize everything you buy – this may sound trivial, but I did this for a month and then looked at what I had spent. I had 25 coffees, four sandwiches and a dozen or so snacks from Wawa costing a total of $50 or more – I now make coffee at home, get my own sandwich and have bought a box of healthy snacks – the total cost is less than $15 – a saving of $35 simply by changing my lazy habits.

Avoid ATM Fees – this is a no brainer – never use an ATM that charges you a fee. My local WAWA has free ATMs, why would I go to PNC and pay $2 for the privilege? I saved about $15 a month by doing this.

Pay Bills online – I pay about 10-12 bills a month – by paying online I save $4 a month in stamps. It is secure and very easy to do these days.

Get rid of your credit cards – while I have large credit card balances I no longer use my credit cards. I spend so much in interest that I am simply throwing my money away. This is also linked to controlling what you spend and living within your means - quite simply, if you don't have the cash to buy something, then don't buy it!

Don’t go to the grocery store hungry – it sounds silly, but I find that if I’m hungry when I go to the grocery store I make a lot more impulse buys because something looks so good! I’ve cut down my grocery bill by about $30 by having a good breakfast before I shop.

Make a list for the week – unless you have a large family, where buying in bulk is better, make a list of the meals you will make during the week, and buy only enough for those meals. If you buy ‘goodies’ don’t overdo it, and don’t go out and buy extra when they are gone.

Filter water – do you but a lot of bottled water? Buy a filter, or buy a five gallon bottle and refill your bottles – it’s a lot cheaper.

Use coupons – it may be a pain, but using manufacturers coupons can really add up.

Shop Smart – check out your local supermarket for sales – quite often you’ll have two for one sales, or 50% off sales; check out meat items that are close to sell by date – they often have an additional two dollars off – as you’re simply going to freeze them, then the food will last.

Make your own cookies – we all love cookies, but you can save a lot of money by making your own cookies from scratch! It takes time and effort, but the saving is worth it – they also taste better.

Make multiple meals – we have a roast beef weekly – the remaining beef gets re-used the following day in sandwiches or in a salad – never throw away food, you’re throwing away money.

Shop Around – I recently started going to Aldi’s and was surprised how cheap this store was – there weren’t name brand items, but generally the quality was good and I saved quite a bit on my total bill. However, I did notice that some items weren’t cheaper, so I end up going to three or four stores to get the best overall prices.

Join Netflix – I used to have three movie channels on my TV that cost me $50 a month. I am now a member of Netflix – at $9 a month I get unlimited streaming of movies (older movies) plus about 10 DVD deliveries a month.

Use CFL Light bulbs – they may be expensive to start, but they last a lot longer and consume a lot less energy.

Turn down the thermostat – knock a couple of degrees of the setting of your thermostat and wear a sweater – you’ll save a fortune.

Draft proof your house – go around your house and find any drafts – they are either letting in cold, or letting out your cooler air in winter – use draft proofing and you’ll save a fortune on heating and cooling costs.

Wash with cold water – you don’t have to wash with hot water, the detergent is actually doing the work. Some will worry about killing off bugs and bed bites etc, but the heat of the dryer will accomplish this.

Save Gas Money – we all can’t afford new cars, but you can still save money on gas by changing your driving habits – don’t accelerate too fast, make sure you service your engine and check your tires; remove all unnecessary weight from the trunk; turn of heating and AC, open windows instead! Share your ride where possible and split costs.

Repair don’t buy new – over the last few years I’ve brought several new lawn mowers; this is mostly laziness as I didn’t maintain the mower and didn’t get it repaired when I could have – I could have saved myself thousands of dollars over time.

Save your change – I have a large jar in my bedroom – every time I come home I place any change I have into the jar – I use it to save towards Christmas, Vacations or special occasions – I am always surprised by how much I can save.

Vacations – this is the hardest thing for me to change. We always used to go away for a week, stay in the best hotels and seek the high life. However, now we simply take day trips – we can still afford nice meals and get to see some of the treasures of the local area, but we save thousands in hotel fees.