Are you a fan of frugal living? Do you try to save as much money as possible on your monthly expenses? Then you’ll love the 19 frugal living methods listed in this article.
Midnight Electrics
Some energy companies provide their customers with discounted energy rates after midnight and before 6 a.m. To save money, some frugal families take advantage of these hours to vacuum their apartments and turn on other electrical appliances that are too expensive to use during the day.
Reuse Water
To avoid spending lots of money on very expensive water bills, some families will save some of their water and reuse it. Instead of emptying the sink after washing their dishes, they collect their washing-up water into a trough and use it to water their plants.
Lights Off
You must turn the lights off in rooms you’re not using. According to the Department of Energy, “Incandescent lights should be turned off whenever they are not needed, because they are the least efficient type of lighting. 90% of the energy they use is given off as heat, and only about 10% results in light.”
Mending
Instead of buying new clothes all the time, learn how to repair your existing ones. Don’t throw away socks when they get holes in them; sew them back together. If a zipper breaks on a pair of pants, you can replace it. Buttons are easy to replace, too, with a little patience.
Hand-Me-Downs
Another great way to save money on clothes is by passing things down. When your children grow out of something or stop playing with their toys, don’t throw them away. Save them and give them to someone else who can use them. Always accept hand-me-downs from others.
Toilet Tank Brick
To save water each time you flush, PlumbingSupply.com says, “Place a brick (yes, an actual brick) inside the toilet tank: doing so displaces water—about half a gallon—making each flush use less of it.” This will help save you money on your water bill.
Grocery Sundays
Many grocery stores will sell perishable food items at clearance prices on Sunday afternoons, just before closing. They do this to try to get rid of any food they won’t be able to sell when they reopen on Monday. Going shopping for groceries at this time is a good way to save money.
Clothes Shower
Another peculiar but brilliant way of saving money is by washing your clothes while you’re in the shower or bath. This is an effective way of saving water and energy, as you’ll cut down on your use of the washing machine. Wash a few items every time you shower or bathe.
Shower
“A bath filled about a third of the way up… requires around 75 liters. An ordinary electrically heated shower puts out four liters per minute. So a 19-minute shower is just more than a bath,” says BBC Science Focus Magazine. Since most showers don’t last this long, you should shower instead of bathing to save money on water.
Light Bulb Type
Some light bulbs, such as incandescent light bulbs, waste a lot of energy. To save money on your electrical bill, you should swap all of the regular light bulbs in your home for energy-efficient or energy-saving bulbs. To save even more money, you must only switch the lights on when you need them.
Car Tank
Some cars use more gas when they only have a little left in the tank. To prevent your car from using more gas, especially at a time when you don’t have a lot of it, make sure you refill the tank before it gets below halfway.
Window Seal
The Department of Energy calculates that “about 30% of a home’s heating energy is lost through windows.” That’s why it’s really important you have your windows sealed well so you can prevent heat loss through them. The windows will cost money to seal, but they will save you money in the long run.
Light Bulb Reduction
To reduce their electric bill, some families will make do with dimmer lighting in their homes. Instead of having six light bulbs attached to one light fixture, they will use just one. This can make the home feel very cozy and save you money on electricity and light bulbs.
Vacuum Bags
It’s normal for small items to get sucked into a vacuum bag while you’re cleaning. But if you don’t fish them out of the vacuum bag, you’ll end up having to buy them again. So before you toss your vacuum bags, open them up and check that you haven’t accidentally sucked up any coins or jewelry.
Car Weight
Most cars will consume more gas the more you weigh them down. To prevent your car from wasting gas, remove anything you’re not going to use from the trunk. Avoid keeping lots of things on the back seat of the car, which could weigh it down further.
Cool Wash
Another great way to save money on your energy bills is by washing your clothes on cool. Washing your clothes on cool rather than hot will help you save a lot of money by the end of the month. Try to wash as much as you can at once without overloading your machine.
Washing Line
As often as you can, dry your clothes on your washing line outside rather than on your radiators indoors. Drying them on the radiators will block the heat and will make you spend more heating your home. A windy day can be just as effective as a sunny one when it comes to drying clothes.
Unplug
To save money on your energy bills, you should get into the habit of unplugging any electrical appliances that you have but aren’t using. You should unplug as many appliances as possible overnight while no one is using them, including the WiFi router and TV.
Toilet Paper
Here’s one for hardcore frugal living. Instead of buying disposable toilet paper, you should buy toilet paper cloths. These cloths can be washed in the washing machine and then reused. They are more expensive to buy, but once you do, you won’t need to spend money on toilet paper again.
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