Has Frugality Helped You Lower Your Budget?

[Retired To Win]

Over the past 18 months, I've been able to cut my annual baseline budget by $6000 thanks to a series of "frugality moves".

Has frugality made a big impact on your budget?

[tgavin71]

Definitely. Frugality is a mind set and encompassed every part of my life. I like finding bargains and getting the best deal I can.

Being frugal has meant that I am able to home educate my children and that my husband is able to pursue his career dreams which take him around the world. If we just spent money willy nilly I would have to return to work. Hubby would have to leave his job for one that would allow him to pick the kids up from after school care etc and life would be a lot more stressful.

[figuringmoneyout]

For sure! It's really helped me save money on everything in my life. Frugality has helped me cut all kinds of expenses.

[Jerry91]

Yes frugality plays a great role in lowering budget. Once you get into that mindset, you will never be able to spend money unnecessarily.

[annac113]

Yes, being frugal definitely helps and saving definitely adds up. You really start to think about what you want vs. what you need. For example, do you really need to go for the better brand instead of the generic brand?

[figuringmoneyout]

Yes, being frugal definitely helps and saving definitely adds up. You really start to think about what you want vs. what you need. For example, do you really need to go for the better brand instead of the generic brand?

I do this all the time! It doesn't seem like much at a time but each time it adds a little bit more and the savings total adds up. It's really helped with my food budget especially.

[pandacashback]

I am not an extreme couponer, and I don't think I can be, but I do save a lot by changing small habits, like using coupons online and offline, rebate, and credit card with higher cash back.

I would say it help me save at least couple of thousands last year

[chubbyclouds]

yes definitely!.

i tend to go to thrift stores and yard sales, i know its kind of intimidating for others to buy things that been used before by someone else, but its okay with me. its a great way to shop for branded items inexpensively. The key is just to be patient and open-minded. Also, there's a site i've been currently obsessed with, i don't know if you heard about it before but its the "garagesalecow". Its a site where you can search for yard sales within your area or any other locations within the US.

[Blessed]

Frugality has made a huge impact on our budget and life. If we had not been frugal for a very long time we would not be able to afford the lifestyle we do now. We are frugal but splurge on things important to us like travel and education.

[LendingWire]

I've always been very frugal, so I can't give concrete statistics on how much I save compared to what the average American spends on things. But, I'm sure I save tons with how much I cook. Beans and rice THE staple food of my diet. It keeps my healthy and it costs about $0.50 a meal. I also eat a lot of oatmeal and sandwiches. I don't eat meat for moral reasons, but that saves me a lot more money than you would think. Aside from that, I always use things until they completely break, rather than getting a new phone every month. Buying clothes and furniture second hand saves me hundreds, I'm sure.

[snafu]

I find being 'thrifty' is a mindset. It's often easier to re-use/re-purpose an item than go to the store, try to find staff to help find the item needed and wait in a line-up to pay. That all takes an hour. It doesn't take much effort to maintain a list of items 'To Buy' on cell apps. One year I tried to track 'cost avoidance' for items on sale/discount, DIY with a bit of instruction from You Tube, make it myself, buy gas on discount days and 2% rebate CC. The numbers were shocking so I was motivated to make it a 'sidekick' to spending decisions. Best of thriftiness is that it halts impulse buys that are rarely satisfying in the long run.

[falboe]

It's really helped me save money on everything in my life. Frugality has helped me cut all kinds of expenses.

[anaidaa]

Of course, frugality has lower my monthly budget. I always stick to my list and buy what's on it, try to avoid making those dreaded impulse buying. Use coupons and shop at your local discount grocery store. Try to avoid credit or debit card, instead use cash. This will definitely lower your budget.

[HValencia789]

If you believe there is always a cheaper price, you will find it. Becoming frugal has allowed me to save a fortune by simply doing a bit of research before I spend. Frugality is the way!

[rob62521]

Being frugal has certainly helped lower our budget. We eat in a lot more than we used to. I make a lot of food from scratch. I buy things at Aldi or hit sales. We bought a freezer and I buy things on sale and freeze them. I use leftovers for other meals either as is, or try to rework them. DH has planted a vegetable and herb garden in a very small space. We also, when planning a large purchase, check Consumer Reports. Informed is smart! We use the library a lot. I turn off unnecessary lights, use coupons when I can, and if we are going to be gone for a few hours, either turn the a/c to a higher degree or the heat down so the furnace/ac doesn't run as much.

Proper maintenance is also important. We have the furnace/ac checked and cleaned. We keep the air filters changed. We get regular oil changes and check the tire pressure and have our tires rotated. I try to keep our floors clean so we don't work dirt into the carpeting, wood, or vinyl. I air dry a lot of our clothes after washing them in cold water using detergent I mixed up.

We look for bargains. I have found some nice things at thrift stores. If not, we buy when it is on sale.

I don't feel we lack for anything. We have been blessed and we try to give back as well.