40 Frugal money saving tips

In my quest to become debt free, Iv had to learn a thing or two about being frugal. Here is a list of 40 frugal money saving tips.
1) Put any coins into a big money bank (we have one of those huge ugly tin ones) that you can’t open. When it’s full, cut it open and deposit the coins into your bank.
2) Go vegetarian. Meat is so expensive, so a few nights a week we’ll keep it meat free to save money.
3) Don’t buy any of those chemical cleaners. Good old elbow grease, vinegar, bicarb soda and hot water do the trick.
4) I always add extra veggies to our spag bol. I put two carrots, two zucchini peas and corn in with 500g of mince, as well as it being a cheaper option it sneaks in those extra serves of vegetables.
5) Visit a local park or playground instead of indoor play centres and places that cost money. We save lots of money by just playing at the beach, running around on the grass or playing at playgrounds.
6) My biggest saver is meal planning and once a month cooking where I always make sure I buy enough meat, bread and veggies to last a month, cook all our meals following our meal plan, then freeze it all. This saves money on all those extra trips to the shop where you tend to walk out with more than you intended on buying.
7) Turn all stand-by appliances off to save electricity.
8) Bake your own snack foods, biscuits etc. You’ll lower the sugar and fat content, save money and reduce your waistline! ) Think ahead and lay-by the kids’ and your own clothes and you won’t be tempted to put it all on credit and realise you have overspent.
9) Make all baby food yourself, it’s not hard and doesn’t take that much time. I would always cook to many veggies, then take what I needed for, puree then freeze in ice cube trays.
10) Walk, rather than drive, to school, preschool and play group and save on petrol and car costs.
11) Go to the library. At ours you can get magazines, CDs, DVDs and books to borrow for free. See if there is a toy library in your area.
12) I buy a lot of homebrand, or supermarket brands, and when I can, I will buy certain things in bulk from either Costco or Aldi.
13) Consider using cloth nappies and wipes. It’s cheaper in the long run, better for the environment and for bubs
14) Watch out for cheap kids’ movies. Hoyts and Village have films for kids for about $5 a ticket and are constantly changing them.
15) I’ve just started doing the envelope system where you allocate a certain amount of funds to different envelopes for your weekly sending. EG, groceries $150, petrol $60 etc. So far so good.
16) Don’t buy paper towels when shopping. Instead of spending money on pack after pack of paper towels, buy reusable microfiber towels, which grip dirt and dust like a magnet and don’t let go, even when wet. When you’re finished, toss the towels in the wash and reuse.
17) Don’t spend a fortune every school holidays on entertaining the kids. Kids actually want time to play with their toys at home.
18) Lay-by when the sales are on. Whether it’s clothes, toys or bigger items you need.
19) Don’t have a credit card. This way you can’t spend money you don’t have.
20) Stick to your shopping list, instead of wandering around the shops buying things you probably don’t really need.
21) I use up overripe fruit in cooking or homemade ice blocks.
22) I try to walk or ride my bike instead of paying for gym sessions.
23) Second hand shops or op shops are great for little one’s clothes.
24) Never be too proud to accept hand-me-downs.
25) Grow your own vegies and share them around. You’ll be amazed that it will rub off on others. Saves money, food miles and is better for your health and the environment.
26)If it costs more than $40, you have to sleep on it (yes, shoes, clothes, appliances, EVERYTHING).
27) Keep a high interest account (even if you can only afford to put $10 a fortnight away).
28) I love, love, love using my slowcooker. There are a million and one recipes you can cook up in a slow cooker and I like to make bulk and then freeze the leftovers for another day, which saves on ingredients because I am using everything up.
29) Setting up direct debit for things like your power and phone bill each week is a good way to take the pressure off.
30) “I only allow myself to get one coffee from my favourite cafe per week on the way to work. The other days I bring coffee to work in a travel mug from home. I allocate a certain amount of spending money to myself each week, and that’s it! It’s hard because I love spending money, but the way I was going buying coffee every morning, it would cost me about $1000 a year!! Ouch!”
31)Grow your own fresh herbs. My husband loves to cook with fresh herbs and since growing our own on our balcony in pots there is no longer any wastage or expensive costs. I would pay $3 for a bunch from the shops only to watch most of it wilt in the fridge within the week. For $5 I bought a little herb plant from the nursery. The initial outlay seemed a bit extreme with the potting mix, pots and a variety of herbs, but we’ve been going strong for nine months now and my kids love to help pick herbs for daddy.”
32) Don’t pay for TV. Honestly if you can’t find something to watch on FREE to air, then pick up a book! Better still, have a conversation with your family or play a board game.
33) Pay extra off your mortgage if you can. We pay extra and can either redraw or stop payments if needed which was great when my husband was ill and had three months off work. We also put money into an emergency fund, big bill fund (rates, insurance etc) and kids’ education fund. These are all linked to our mortgage and reduce it in some way.
34) Instead of putting the heater on at night, we throw big warm blankets on ourselves and watch the telly. It’s romantic too!
35) Learn to sew. With very basic abilities, you can make everything from bedspreads to curtains to pillowcases, saving lots of money in the process.
36) Only use the ATMs associated with your bank – you’ll pay extra fees when you use another bank’s ATM.
37) I pack my husband’s work lunch every day. I make it up the night before and put it in the freezer. By the time it’s lunch time the sambos have thawed out and they are super fresh. It has saved us about $60 a week! That’s almost $250 a month – that’s a lot of money!
38) Shop locally and seasonally. Farmers’ markets typically offer organic foods at lower prices than many grocery stores because the food is in season and doesn’t travel halfway around the world. At its peak, produce is most plentiful, which keeps the price lower.
39) Use a washing line to dry clothes. Clothes driers are expensive to run and line drying alwasy leaves clothes smelling fresher.
40) To save on water, consider setting up a grewywater system. It can be as simple as a bucket in the shower to catch extra water for your garden