75 Frugal Living Tips and Ideas to Save Money Each Month

Saving money can be a struggle especially when you’re trying to live your best life! With the rising costs of groceries, utilities and general costs of living, saving money should be a priority to accommodate growing lifestyle changes.

If you have been reading my blog, you may know that I am getting married this year! My fiance and I wanted to save money to pay for our wedding and start our life together. Over the last 16 months, we have saved a total of $37,300! That’s a total of $2331 a month!

Whether you have a wedding goal, paying off debt or just saving for a rainy day, applying some of these savings tips can help tremendously. The more tips you apply, the more you will grow your savings! Let’s start saving…

1. Make a Budget

Setting a budget is one of the most important tips to saving money! Applying this simple tip can save you thousands over the course of a year! Setting up a budget makes you aware of all your monthly expenses. Once you know how much you are spending on things, you can then adjust accordingly. In this post, I mentioned how I didn’t realize I was spending $70 on the vending machine at work. Having a budget in place, allowed me to see my spendings and cut unnecessary splurges.

2. Use Drop to Get Money Back When Shopping

I simply love using Drop! I love it so much that I wrote a detail post about saving using Drop here! Drop automates your savings and gives you cash back to retailers that you were going to naturally shop at anyway! No need to upload and receipts, just shop and watch your points grow. You can cash your points in for a wide away of gift cards to popular retailers. I use these gift cards to pay down my bill at check out and to buy gifts!

If you made the decision to try out the Drop app, you can download it here!

Don’t forget to get FREE reward points by using my promo code 0fq2f, to claim $5! (valued equal to 5,000 Drop points).

3. Use Trim to Lower Your Bills

Trim is a financial management app that helps automate your savings. It will analyze your spendings and determine where you can cut. In addition it will negotiate accounts such as your Comcast bill and will cancel subscriptions (with your approval). Best of all, Trim gives you expert advice on how to get out of debt.

4. Save with Swagbucks

Swagbucks gives you FREE cash and gift cards for filling out surveys. You can also earn when you shop at your favorite retailers, surf the web, playing games and watching videos!

It’s completely FREE to join and legitimate! To date, they have paid out over 338 million dollars in cash and gift cards.

5. Use Ibotta for Cash Back

Groceries has always been a large expense for me because I LOVE to eat! Using Ibotta has help me save HUNDREDS on groceries. Its completely FREE to use and can earn you cash back on food and household items. You can receive cash back just by submitting your receipt!!

6. Earn Extra Money

Doing things to make extra money I found to be a great way to save up fast. I used a few reward and survey sites to help me save extra money each month. Here are a list of my favorite ones:

Survey Junkie

Survey Junkie is one of the best platforms to start earning money today! I take surveys in my spare time to earn extra spending money! You can earn money by taking surveys, watching videos and surfing the web. Signing up is QUICK and EASY!

🌟 Sign up for Survey Junkie FREE right here and earn extra money and gift cards! 💸

Become an InstaCart Shopper

InstaCart shopping is perfect for those who like to shop! It’s a quick and easy application and can have you making money within a few days! With InstaCart, you can shop and deliver or just shop. It’s the perfect way to make money in your spare time!

7. Pack a Lunch

Eating out can cost you a lot! I was eating out daily and paying on average $12-15 PER MEAL! This can add up doing the week and take a hit to your spending. Packing a lunch can save you hundreds throughout a month.

Prepping your meals in batches can save you a lot of time and money. I use these VERY AFFORDABLE meal prep containers to prep my meals each week.

If you need a guide to help you keep your meal costs low, I found $5 Meal Plan to be very helpful! Here can have a meal plan for cheap, healthy meals that are under $5!

8. Cancel Your Cable

Getting ride of our Xfinity plan was the best thing my fiance and I could have done! We were paying almost $200 on cable! We reduced that expense by using Netflix and Hulu! To receive FREE local channels, you can purchase a digital antenna like this one.

🌟 Cancel your cable and sign up for Hulu! Save hundreds of dollars this year!

9. Start a Blog

You may be wondering how do people make money blogging? There are several ways you can start a money making blog. Blogging can help you earn extra passive income each month while helping you save.

Blogging has been one of the best decisions I have made. It allows me to earn income while working around my schedule.

I created a very EASY step-by-step tutorial to help you get started blogging for very cheap!

🌟 You can start a blog HERE for as low at $2.95 a month and get a FREE domain name! This price is exclusive to The Fit Dollar readers.

10. Using a Programmable Thermostat

This is easily one of the most favorite features of our house. We invested in a programmable thermostat (exact on can be found here) and it has been a blessing! We have been able to keep out gas bill down! It has a motion sensor to know when we leave the house and when we are in the house. It adjusts the temperature accordingly. Our “smart thermostat” has adding tremendous savings to our home

11. Cancel Your Gym Membership

Going to the gym can be quite expensive. Some people on average pay anywhere from $40 to $60 per month while some gyms charge over $100 for membership. I’m not saying don’t work out! You can try the Body Shred home workout video series or you can find outdoor activities that will give you the exercise you need.

12. Use a Water Filter

Drinking bottled water can add up to hefty cost over time. I was the bottle water QUEEN! I keep them in my car and at work. They were great on the go but they were taking dollars away from my pocket! You can invest in a quality water filter such as this one or a filter water pitcher. These products will provide quality water without giving you the need to keep buying water bottles.

13. Replace Light Bulbs

Install energy saving lights around the house. They can be installed in more areas in your home. They use less electricity and can dramatic reduce your energy bill!

14. Turning the Lights Off

We’re not perfect at this but we work at turning the lights off when we are not in a room. This small habit can help you save when it comes to your electricity bill.

15. Take a Walk or Ride Your Bike

Depending on your location and the distance to your workplace, you can save money by simply walking to work or riding your bike. Plus it will keep you in great shape! If you do decide to replace your car rides with weekly steps, I recommend you check out this step tracker so that you can save and burn all at the same time!

16. Carpooling

This is another tip that is dependent on where you live and your distance from coworkers. If you’re a distance from work, it is a valuable option to find a coworker who can split the cost of gas and/or take turns driving to work. I use to live in Atlanta and there was a special carpool lane that even made the commute faster.

17. Enroll in Paperless Billing

Many banks will off you a discount when you enroll in paperless billing. Why? Because it saves them the headache of printing and mailing. You can use their automated system and it is a win/win!

18. Don’t Pay the Minimum on Debt

Whenever possibly, pay more than the minimum on your credit card debt and loans. This will help you escape debt much faster and save in interest costs.

19. Shop After Holidays

Do most of your holiday shopping after the holiday! Yes, this means some friends and family may be getting their gifts late but I’m sure they’ll appreciate your savvy savings technique. A lot of merchandise can be marked down up to 80% off after a given holiday.

20. Change Your Air Filters

To keep the AC and heat running efficiently in your home, changing the air filters is necessary. This task can help you with running the temperature ideally.

21. Shop at Goodwill and Garage Sales

If you never shopped a garage sale, you’re missing out! Garage sales and Goodwill is a way to find clothes, furniture, toys and so much more! All for a bargain. Most things can be negotiated at a garage sale! Happy bargaining!

22. Buy an Affordable Car

If you are looking for a new car, buy a car that is far under what you can afford to pay. Buying a used car can be considerably cheaper in price. If you have already purchased and have a car note, consider refinancing with a lower interest rate and similar terms.

23. Washing and Detailing Your Own Car

This was one of my expenses that I had to get rid on. I was paying over $100 to have my car detailed every few months. I now settle on cleaning my car myself and using the cheaper drive through car washes.

24. Take a No-Spend Weekend Monthly

Once my fiance and I started saving for our wedding, we decided to dedicate at least a weekend out of the month where we don’t spend money. This can be in the form of watching movies at home, going to the dog park or finding other free activities. A no-spend weekend keeps us saving but also helps us explore and learn more about the city of Chicago.

25. Rent Videos at Home Vs Going to Theater

With the rising cost of movie tickets and concessions, tickets for two can scale to a $50 night. My fiance is a huge movie buff so I’m sad to report that this is his biggest challenge. He tends to only watch big box office releases in theaters and wait for others to come out on streaming devices.

26. Seal Your Windows

Winterize your home when cold weather comes your ways. Air leaks can cause you to run your temperature high while causing increases to electricity bills. Hot weather can cause the same issue with your AC.

27. Using Cold Water to Wash Clothes

You can save money by washing your clothes in cold water. Hot and warm water increase your electricity bill. It will not only save you money but is better for your clothes.

28. Run The Dishwasher When Full

You can save on your water bill if you’re not constantly running your dishwasher. Try to only run the dishwasher only when its full.

29. Take an Inventory of Your Cabinets

I have wasted a lot of money in the pass by not taking an inventory of what I already had in the house. This will cause you to buy more food than what you need. Be sure to look in your cabinets before going grocery shopping.

30. Save on Hair Products

I use to be a hair product JUNKIE! I had over $300 of hair products in my cabinet at any given time. Try to only buy products that you will use or get samples for products you are interested in.

31. Buy reusable products

My fiance buys paper and plastic products and my goal for marriage is to have him CUT THIS OUT! It’s wasteful and a little lazy if you ask me! Getting rid of the paper and plastic cups can save you over time.

32. Don’t Drink

Okay, I already know that this would be hard for some but I spend WAYYYYY less money on drinks then the average person. Going out to a lounge or club, you could spend as much as $12 per drink.

33. Use Groupon or Coupon Sites

Choose Groupon or Coupon sites to save you money on activities and products.

Other Ways To Save More Money

34. Pay off debt to avoid interest charges.

35. Refinance loans for better terms.

36. Host small events at your house rather than going out.

37. Shop at discounted stores such as Marshalls, Burlington Coat Factory and Ross.

38. Do DIY projects around the house versus buying new furniture and products.

39. Be your own handyman.

40. Find free things to do in your city.

41. Always have snacks and a drink on hand when traveling.

42. Consolidate your student loans in order to lower interest rates.

43. Don’t waste your leftover.

44. Do your own hair.

45. Invest in energy efficient appliances and products.

46. Groom your pets instead of paying someone.

47. Drink more water versus sodas and juices.

48. Buy your food and personal care products in bulk.

49. Shop the best rates for your car insurance.

50. Sign up for reward programs at your favorite retailers.

51. Switching your bank account can allow you to take advantage of different banks promotions.

52. Learn to do general maintence on your automobile such as changing oil and rotating tires.

53. Minimize your vacation spendings.

54. Avoid overdraft fees.

55. Choose in-network medical professionals.

56. Consider downsizing your living space.

57. Declutter your home and sell for cash.

58. Use public transportation versus driving.

59. If you are still in school, take advantage of student discounts.

60. Rent free books and movies from the library.

61. Make a grocery list and stick to it.

62. Invest in low flow shower heads.

63. Stock up during sales.

64. Shop at farmers market

65. Mow your own lawn.

66. Shop with coupons.

67. Shop less often for groceries

68. Try out thrift stores

69. Sway clothes with friends.

70. Save gift cards.

71. Gind your own coffee

72. Use up override fruit for muffins and smoothies

73. Grate your own cheese.

74. Skip Convenience packaging.

75. Price match.

76. Give handmade gifts.

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