As people rage against their amassed debt, it makes sense that people will also start searching for possible solutions to rid themselves of their debt once and for all. It makes sense. Raging against your debt or poor choices with money will only go so far, if you want to get out from underneath that feeling of overwhelm then you need to start proactively employing solutions that work out on your behalf in a positive way.
One of the best ways to get rid of debt is simply spending less. This is known as being frugal, and frugality is pretty fun when you start figuring out all the ways you can start saving money.
Now this list will not apply to everyone, but this list will help the majority of people save in a few areas of their lives and might be things they never actually thought about doing.
I hope you enjoy this list of frugality, and hopefully it will even spark a brainstorm for you in other ways you can save and grow your money.
That being said, shall we dive in?
4 Methods to Better Frugality
1 – Ride a Bike Everywhere!
Bicycling can be a huge money saver, also it acts as a bit of cardio for you so you can forego the expensive gym membership. (Think $30 a month for a gym isn’t bad? That is $360 a year! Most people would never pay for a gym membership if they had to buy it annually, yet they’ll lounge around and never going to the gym while continually paying that $30 per a month for years).
Instead of taking a short drive to pick up groceries, make it a goal to only walk or bicycle there. Then ask yourself where are others places you could use your bike instead of your car? Work? Going to visit friends?
Your wallet will thank you and so will your body.
2 – Quit Smoking
Not everyone is a smoker, but smoking is an expensive habit in the now and in the later. In the now because each pack is $5-10 dollars a pop depending on where you live and later because of the obvious ill health effects that come from smoking.
Put an end to it now and reap the financial and health rewards!
3 – Stop Eating Out!
This is an obvious one, but food at restaurants is much, much more expensive than just eating at home. Start making your own dinners. Get good at cooking. It is a super valuable social skill to have anyhow, and everyone will be impressed if you do.
This alone can save you potentially hundreds of dollars a month depending on your eating out habit.
4 – The Crock Pot Cents Saver
Expanding on frugal tip #3, let us make our food costs go down even more. For a small $40-80 bucks, you can buy a really, really nice crock pot. Crock pots are amazing. You can cook anything you want in these.
Often, you can make delicious meals for super cheap. Soups, chilis, stews, you can even cook a pot roast in a crock pot.
The food you can cook in bulk, freeze in your freezer and have an entire litany of meals to eat throughout the week.
Special thanks to this amazing Des Moines CPA for their support of our blog!