A Day in the Life of a Frugal Person
Living the life of a frugal person means living below your means from dawn to dusk. There are many things frugal people do throughout the day that help them save money and help them store funds away for the future. But what are those things exactly? Come on a journey and take a look at a day in the life of a frugal person. These are some of the daily tasks that save them BIG. By knowing more about this day to day living, you too can try implementing these tasks and seeing what a difference they can make for you.
Morning:
1. Make homemade coffee.
Our frugal person doesn’t spring for a $5 specialty coffee. Instead she makes her own at home and saves big. She uses her favorite reusable mug that can be used time and time again.
2. Looks at the Meal Plan.
This frugal person creates a menu plan every week with $5 Meal Plan. So every morning she double checks the plan to see what she might have to pull out of the freezer or pick up at the grocery store in order to stay on track. Her menu plan saves her hundreds of dollars each month and keeps her sane at the dinner time hour.
3. Check the Gas Buddy app.
Before filling up and running and errands, our frugal person checks the free Gas Buddy app to see what gas prices are and where to fill up for less. When she finds a great deal, she fills up at that price.
4. Turn on the slow cooker.
There won’t be any take out traps for this frugal person tonight thanks to her menu plan. Instead, she tosses some chicken, fresh vegetables, and broth into the slow cooker for dinner. She uses canned broth from the stockpile, veggies from the garden, and chicken she bought on sale.
5. Scour the sales.
Our frugal person checks the weekly grocery store flyers to see what’s on sale that week. She then matches the sale prices with the coupons she has on hand. This helps her to make her shopping list for the week while keeping her budget in check. She loves the Budget Planner for keeping track of her budget categories and her savings goals.
Afternoon:
6. Enjoys a homemade lunch.
Whether at work or on the go, our frugal person enjoys a homemade lunch. Today it’s a taco salad using ground beef leftover from last night’s burgers. She uses a refillable water bottle to save money on unnecessary sugary beverages, which also keeps her waistline trim!
7. Swing into the local thrift store.
Frugal people love thrift stores to look for gently used items at a fraction of the price of new. Today, our frugal person finds some frames that can be spray painted to match her décor as well as a table lamp she can use on her night stand. For about $7 total she walks out of the door happy!
8. Give the house a quick clean.
Our frugal person uses vinegar to keep windows sparkling and baking soda to get sinks and drains clean. She doesn’t spend money on household cleaners and instead uses natural products to get the job done for less. A fresh lemon is just what the faucet needs to shine, and a little lemon peel down the drain can get rid of disposal odors.
9. Snag some free reads.
Our frugal person loves looking on Amazon for free eBook downloads. She also loves swinging into the library to grab free movies, CD’s, magazines, books, and so much more.
Evening:
10. Dinner is served.
Our frugal person serves her thrifty dinner. She uses cloth napkins instead of buying disposable paper. She serves lemon water and powdered drink mixes which cost less than pop. When done, she will load the dishes into the dishwasher but wait until it is full before running it.
11. Inexpensive entertainment.
The newspaper lists free events in the area and our frugal person loves looking for them. She finds a free outdoor concert that evening as well as an outdoor movie being shown downtown. There are also budget days at the local movie theatre she enjoys, plus local parks which are fun to visit too.
12. Cheap dessert.
Our frugal person gets on the email lists of all her favorite brands. This way, she gets all sorts of coupons sent to her. Tonight she has a B1G1 FREE coupon to her favorite ice cream place. So tonight, she gets to enjoy dessert for less.
13. Lights out!
Now that it is time for bed, our frugal person turns down the thermostat so it won’t work as hard at night while she is sleeping. She takes a warm shower before bed, using a shower timer and a low flow shower head so she doesn’t waste as much water.
Our frugal person is now asleep, and can dream about all of the money she saved that day! Is the frugal life for you? Give a day in the life of a frugal person a try and see how well the day goes for you!
I’d love to know what your life as a frugal person looks like. Let me know in the comments below!
viola! I, too, am frugal and not a cheapskate. I shop once a month and then again in a couple of weeks for sales that weren’t on sale when I did my BIG shopping. I, also, use dryer balls, cheaper than dryer sheets. Love leftovers and I freeze a lot of stuff. We ditched cable and don’t miss it or the huge bill!! Thanks for the additional tips. Thank you too, other ladies that made comments. I think we are all the same page!
Wow I guess I am a Penny Pincher, I actually do all of those things. It is just common sense but works.
Don’t forget to use the handy dandy local library. Ours even has a drive up window to pick up reserved books!
rinse out or cut in half all tubes and bottles and scrape out what is left on the sides. usually enough product to last a few more washes. cut old jeans down to shorts or pedal pushers – wear in the garden to save your good trousers. cut old t shirts into squares to make into cleaning rags. make your haircut last another two weeks before visiting the hairdresser.
fry all left over veggies add an egg, sprinkle some cheese and make a veggie omlette for free.
I enjoyed the article. Could add a couple of things though. I was and dry dishes by hand as our kitchen is too small for a dishwasher. Rinse water is collected in my watering can and use the water on my bushes and plants. We make coffee at home as well and I use some of the grounds to put in and around my rose bush. We have a composter in our backyard which we use constantly. We collect pop cans from friends and family and take these to a metal recycler for money. We take magazines that are of no more use and take them to the laundry mat when we do our clothes so other people can enjoy them. We use coupons and are on several loyalty programs. The thrift store we go to will give you coupons off when you donate clothes and get get points for every dollar you spend. The points can later be used to take money off your purchases at the thrift store.
Go you! Thanks for sharing 🙂
I go to the neighborhood gym for free using the Silver Sneakers program through my health insurance. After my workout I use the Sauna & shower facilities. I’m saving hot water & I blow dry my hair there as well. I save on hot water & electricity cost & keep my own bathroom clean as well
Absolutely love it. Well done! Sadly i was hoping for some inspiration, but guess I found a kindred spirit.