I guess mine would be I like to stick to monochrome basics in my wardrobe. I don’t buy home decor. I keep it pretty minimal in my home. I don’t like clutter. I grow my own cut flowers and like to put them in a vase instead of buying bouquets. I drive an energy efficient car. I use solar outdoor decorations for the holidays.
Frugal 101, what’s some of your best advice?
byu/xGoldenPup inFrugal
Posted by xGoldenPup
9 Comments
Follow what you spend money on and make a budget.
I don’t buy holiday decorations (Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving, or Christmas) because I don’t like the idea of having something that’ll spend most of it’s life in a box.
I just am very much NOT consumeristic and avoid complacency.
Needs vs wants, I spend about the same day to day now as I did when I made half the money because I have no reason to spend more money.
I cook nearly everything I eat and don’t really have snack food. Water is like 90% of what I drink.
I rarely spend more money For “convenience”. If I can do it myself I will even if I don’t want to
Bread. I put half a loaf in a bread box in the fridge and the other half in the freezer. If there is bread in the cover that you haven’t used in a while, check it carefully before you eat it. I had to learn that from experience.
I think pizzeria specials are probably still the best way of feeding two people and still having leftovers, so in my mind it works out to be cost effective compared to other restaurant options where you feed one person one time. Also check out your local strip mall hole in the wall Chinese takeout. The one near me, even the lunch specials had ridiculous portion sizes. I fed two people and had two meals worth of leftovers from it.
My best advice is to truly understand what spending adds value to your life and what doesn’t. To me, being frugal is about scrimping on the categories that don’t matter so I can splurge on the categories that do matter. Too many people just mindlessly consume or buy what “should” make them happy. Be ruthless about cutting costs on the things that don’t make you happy.
I recommend everyone read the wikion here r/frugal and r/personalfinance and r/financialindependence and set goals
Plan everything in advance. Planning saves time, money and energy.
Make a menu, grocery list, budget, gift lists, emergency funds and routes.
Just wanted to second your suggestion of sticking to monochrome basics. I typically have a couple pairs of black pants in different materials, a few black and white tee’s, and a couple nice looking linen button ups that I can wear for nicer outings. A pair of cheap sneakers for daily wear, a pair of decent boots for work, and a dressier pair of black boots.
Add a base layer, hoodie, and heavy coat for winter and that’s basically all I need.
Don’t be penny-wise and dollar-dumb. You can sacrifice a lot over the years to save your money, and you can blow a lot of it in a short amount of time. Think twice before making that big purchase.