With an endless supply of money, I’d never have to plan meals, clip coupons, or worry about gas prices.
Unfortunately, like every other person on the planet, my desires are unlimited, but my cash reserves are not.
So, a long time ago, I accepted the truth that I’d have to give up a few luxuries in order to achieve my most important financial goals. You might see these sacrifices as great acts of deprivation. To me, they’re no big deal.
Here are ten frugal living strategies I adopted that don’t bother me at all.
#1 Slow Cooking
There are some things I simply won’t do to save money: becoming a vegetarian—even on a part-time basis—is one of them. Yes, meat is expensive, but a girl’s gotta draw the line somewhere.
At one point during my get-out-of-debt journey, I decided to try cheaper cuts of beef. That’s when I found chuck roast. Not knowing any better, I fried the hunk of beef, on the stovetop, like it was a T-bone steak. The chuck roast turned out so tough a starving pack of hyenas wouldn’t have been able to tear through it.
Fried in a pan, chuck roast is unfit for human (and non-human) consumption. But stewed in a slow cooker, it’s the most succulently delicious meat you’ll ever eat.
#2 Doing My Own Hair
Personally, I think I do a fine job styling my hair. (Thanks, YouTube!)
Getting my hair done professionally is such a hassle. First off, only a few black folks live in my area. So naturally, people who style and treat black hair don’t open up shop in my neighborhood. That means, if I want to see a qualified hairdresser, me and my ethnic hair spend at least half an hour fighting our way through some of the nastiest traffic in the United States.
Once I arrive at the salon, I wait another 30 minutes or so before I’m even seated. The whole experience is unpleasant. I’d rather save my $80 and do my hair while watching Basketball Wives.
#3 Making Coffee at Home
My coffee is of the same quality as the stuff you’ll find in a cash-strapped nonprofit’s break room. In other words, it’s cheap.
Like wine, I drink caffeinated coffee, not because it tastes good, but because it alters my mental state. If a $0.30 cup of Joe yields the same effects as one that costs $3.00, I choose the former. Besides, the total prep time for a cup of coffee is like five minutes. You’ll wait that long at Starbucks.
I haven’t completely sworn off prepared coffee. The least I can do is buy something from the café that provides hours and hours of hassle-free Wi-Fi.
#4 Not Ordering Sodas from Restaurants
I’ll spend money on alcoholic beverages all day (well, not all day), but I refuse to pay two bucks for what amounts to a can of soda.
As an added bonus, limiting my intake of sugary drinks makes it easier for me to maintain some semblance of a girlish figure.
In the interest of full disclosure, I still drink sodas when they’re included with fast food combo meals. Generally, you don’t save much money by ordering the items separately without the drink.
#5 Saying “No” to Gift Giving—Most of the Time
Occasionally, generosity gets the best of me, and I’ll buy a thoughtful gift for one of my loved ones. But most of the time, I couldn’t care less about giving presents for birthdays, holidays, anniversaries, or whatever else you wanna celebrate.
If you’re alive, healthy, and surrounded by loving family members and friends, rejoice. Why should I waste my time and money on a useless trinket you don’t want and don’t need?
#6 Eating Ramen Noodles
When I was a kid, I loved ramen noodles. I don’t care for them as much anymore, but they’re still a quick, low-cost dish you can whip up when you’re famished and you don’t have anything else prepared.
Whenever you talk about Ramen, suddenly, everyone is a health nut. Let’s get one thing straight: I don’t eat healthy 100% of the time, and I don’t pretend to try. Ramen noodles aren’t nutritious but neither are many staples in the American diet. If you’re going to destroy your health–and you shouldn’t–you might as well save money to put towards your inevitable medical bills.
#7 Forgoing Cable
Without stealing, I can watch just as much TV as anyone else.
How do I do it?
- Hulu
- Netflix
- Amazon Video on Demand
Believe it or not, I’d rather get my television fix from the internet machine. That way, I don’t have to bolt home at a certain date and time in order to watch my favorite programs. When I’m in relaxation mode, I catch up on the shows I enjoy, or some Hallmark Hall of Fame movies.
#8 Living in a Small Apartment
My place is located in a relatively safe neighborhood with convenient access to parks, trails, restaurants, libraries, public transportation, and jobs. On top of all that, it’s affordable.
For a similarly priced, larger space, I’d have to move waaaaay out to suburbia, i.e., hell.
Small spaces are awesome because you don’t need a ton of money to decorate them. Right now, my little apartment has all the furniture it will ever need.
So as not to clutter my living space, I rarely bring new items into my place. The other day my mother suggested I buy a vacuum. The horror! I don’t have room for that! I’ll sweep the rugs, thank you. Money = Saved.
#9 Drinking Boxed Wine
A few weeks ago, one of my friends complained about me drinking his $40 a bottle wine when he wasn’t home. *Shrugs* It’s all the same to me.
Sure, some wines are better than others. The best wine I’ve ever tasted was a Kabinett Riesling that set me back twenty smackaroos. But like I said earlier, I don’t drink wine for the taste, so the $3 a bottle stuff suits my palate just fine.
#10 Staying in Hostels
New York City is one of my favorite places to visit–too bad it’s super expensive.
Weekend getaways shouldn’t equal the price of a freaking laptop or six pairs of amazing jeans. While a decent, Manhattan hotel can easily run $200 a night, hostels cost less than half that. You give up almost all of your privacy in a hostel, but the trade off is well worth it.
Of course, there are some things I’ve given up that I wish I didn’t have to, but most of the sacrifices I’ve made really aren’t so bad.
Do you have any frugal living strategies that make you feel like you’re not sacrificing a thing?
Shawanda Greene is a free thinking, frugal gal whose only vices are boxed wine, lip balm and money grubbing. You can find more of Shawanda's musings at 
Shawanda, let me just say that you have a gift for writing posts that are both practical and entertaining. 🙂 I concur with most of your points although I don’t drink much coffee or wine.
I want to point out to your readers that even men can save on having their hair done, especially if they have a SO to help. My husband and I invested in a $50 clipper several years ago, and boy, that thing has way more than paid for itself! I also just recruit my mom to trim my hair occasionally. I haven’t visited a hair salon since my wedding day over 8 years ago. I think it’s been even longer for my husband.
I also don’t bother doing my nails either professionally or at home. My husband doesn’t seem to notice one way or the other, and I’m lazy, so I stick with stuff that makes maximum impact: a couple of hair barrettes and some lipstick is about the extent of my beauty routine. 🙂
In addition to saving on cable, you can save on your phone bill by using an Ooma. My husband was smart enough to snatch up the original Ooma (completely bill-free) several years back. If you use a newer Ooma, they bill you, but only for taxes, I hear. Our only utility bills now are Internet, power, and trash pickup. Also, we share a pre-paid cell phone (not a smartphone) — it comes to about $100/year. Saving on monthly bills really adds up over time.
We have been tightening our budget also (family of 4 including an 18 and 21 year old). I started by reevaluating out utilities (cable/phone/electric/water/cellphone) and cut about 300 bucks a month (thank you hulu, netflix, ota, ooma, and sprint) … Yahoo! Then I looked at our grocery budget (reduced processed and ready made foods and try to use more real food) and cut another 50 – 75 per month. But the surprising budget helper was my Nook …. yep the Nook! I am an avid (rabid) reader and asked for the Nook (simple touch) for Christmas. Old me bought paperbacks and magazines constantly …. Nook me reads lots of free books from B&N (and avoids going to the store, getting a Starbucks, and picking up multiple books) downloads books from my public library. I found a variety of new authors to follow (many for 2.99 or less) and it won’t let me buy the same book twice …. (can’t tell you how many times that happened with re-released paperbacks). As for magazines …. well, I’m embarrassed to say I had subscriptions to at least 10 magazines a month and bought several at the checkout … now I don’t have/buy any. I’ve shifted to blogs and pintrest for inspiration and escape. And again with Magazines having multiple covers (and earlier delivery to stores than home subscriptions – grrrrrr) and not knowing if my subscription had run out, resulted in me purchasing a magazine at the strore just to find the same one in my mailbox a few days later. Huge waste. One of the best side-effects from these changes is the reduction in paper in my life…. that’s a great thing !
Although I am not a coffee drinker or been to a hostel, I think the above are all good tips. I am not much of a wine drinker, but don’t have a problem with boxed wine – like other have mentioned below, you can make a Sangria or add club soda or flavored water. I also read an article that said whipping it in a blender for a minute can improve the flavor, but I have never tried that.
I don’t see anything wrong with fast food as long as it is not every day.
Other ways you can save is ditch having your nails done professionally, which starts at about $18 and fill ins for around $11. Using a base coat and top coat can help your polish last longer and if you want to get creative, there are all sorts of free tutorials on the web. My favorite is http://robinmosesnailart.blogspot.com/ and she also has videos on Youtube.
Another thing when traveling is to try Hotwire.com or Priceline.com. While you don’t get to pick where, you can score some very good deals if you know a little about where you are visiting and areas to avoid. We have stayed several nice motels and hotels with swimming pools and complimentary continental breakfasts for 1/2 to 1/3 of the listed going price using these options.
If you are going on a day trip or two over the weekend that would put a lot of miles on an already old car, renting might be a better option. If you can check it out after 6pm on Friday and get it back before 7am on Monday you might be able to score some very good rates and less chance of worry of breaking down in an unfamiliar area (especially if you are a single parent with a child or children).
I’m a bit confused about the $40 wine story. I suppose I’d be a bit miffed if a friend was visiting and just helped themselves to my panty especially while I wasn’t there. I suppose if they asked or I had given them prior license to do so, I couldn’t complain. Though personally, in either case I’d wait to start the alcohol until people were there.
I’ve never had boxed wine so I can’t say that it tastes different. Though when I was in Italy they had small wine shops that you could bring empty two-liter bottles to and they’d fill it up with wine for a few euro. Recylcing and cheap wine, now that’s the way to go.
I don’t really do the vegetarian thing either, but it’s not really a ‘line’ I’ve drawn. After all I’ve still made occasional veggie dishes (and eaten those provided by our friends). Some days veggies are just something I want to eat more. It’s always a bit humorous to me if I order something vegetarian at resturaunts how they try to point out all the sides with animal products, and I have to reassure them that I just felt more like their vegetarian option than meat, and it’s nothing more than that, so I’ll take the side cooked in animal fat just fine.
ok boxed wine is disgusting.. I don’t consider myself much of a wine connoisseur but seriously? anyone can tell boxed wine from bottled.
And do NOT take the soda with the combo meal. Just stop drinking soda. And stop buying fast food. You’re basically buying poison for your body, and adding soda on top of it is just insult to injury. Why would you pay for heart disease??
Are you serious? Not to sound conceited, but I eat fast food (as well as ice cream, cookies, potato chips…) on occasion, and not only am I healthy, but my body is pretty smokin’ hot. And it’s not because I’m genetically gifted. I exercise, and for the most part, eat nutritious meals. The reason people have such a hard time developing healthy, sustainable eating habits is because they buy into the faulty logic that they have to be perfect. That’s simply not true.
I agree with you 100% Bridget. Soda, pop, fast foods are the worst enemy for your health.
Psh I like making Sangria out of boxed wine and no one can ever tell the difference. I don’t volunteer the information that it’s cheap, and no one is ever rude enough to ask. These are all really good suggestions!
Ha! My supermarket actually sells boxed Sangria. You can get the equivalent of 6.5 bottles for like $14.
You must not know what quality is. Boxed wine? This is the most disgusting wine I ever had..only once and I told myself: I will never have this again.
I clearly don’t know what “quality” is and even if I did, I wouldn’t care. I drink wine because of the euphoria it provides.
Cheap wine and fast food??? Ha Ha Ha. The worst you can get into your body. I agree with Bridget above. Because you are slim, it doesn’t mean you are healthy hon. And maybe the reason you are still slim is because you are young, but once your body ages, fat will start piling up. However there is no good nutrition in fast foods, so if you keep feeding your body with that, your organs will start failing. I’m into natural everything, food and healing, so I see fast fooding as a very bad thing.
I’m 30 years old, hon. So I understand how one’s metabolism slows over the years. I know that being thin doesn’t mean I’m healthy. I’m healthy, because as I mentioned to Bridget, I work out and for the most part, I eat a healthy diet. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, that’s not gonna change.
If you want to live your life eating “natural everything” and whatever other bland food that makes you feel superior to the rest of us, be my guest. I’ve attempted 100% clean eating, like many people, and it’s a losing battle. Moderation is key. Maybe you and Bridget are so disciplined you never eat fast food, cookies, pie, whatever, but it is possible to maintain a healthy body even if you don’t completely give up junk food.
Excellent post. I truly love the challenge of being frugal. Even if I was a billionaire I’d be frugal and stretch a budget, I thrive on it. I may do a follow-up on this (linking back, of course!) with a top 10 of my frugal habits I don’t mind. 🙂
Thanks, Van! I’m with you. Even if you have a lot of money, that doesn’t mean you have to waste it.
One does not become a vegetarian to save money. Being a vegetarian is actually more expensive simply because most of us also happen to eat healthy which means more expensive food from expensive places like Whole Foods, etc. One becomes vegetarian because torturing non-human animals is wrong, the industry is destructive and from an objective standpoint meat is actually pretty disgusting.
That’s interesting, because I’ve talked to several vegans who couldn’t care less about animals. They do it for health reasons. So there’s clearly more than one reason to stop eating meat. Personally, I think you can eat meat and be just as healthy (or even healthier) than someone who doesn’t. By the way, I wouldn’t call terms like “disgusting” objective.
Vegan is not really just a diet, when you’re vegan you don’t use animal products, meaning you don’t wear them(leather), or help exploit them(going to the circus, breeding animals, etc.). Pretty much anything that could hurt, kill or exploit animals in any way. If you’re friends follow a vegan diet that’s good for them, but unfortunately, they are not vegan, they just eat healthy. Unless there’s something I don’t know about how not wearing leather is good for your health.
Also, one can be vegan and still eat garbage and be unhealthy.
Okay then, my friends are dietary vegans. My point still remains, they’re not in it because they care about animals. Their motivations are totally separate. There are people who support going vegetarian one day a week in order to save money. I am not one of them.
I don’t think calling meat in and of itself disgusting is objective (or correct), but I’d argue many meat factory conditions can be. Admittedly I’m guilty of supporting the industry’s bad practices (and I’d bet many other industires too), after all, at the grocery store it’s out of sight out of mind unfortunately.
I have so many common frugal techniques as you, like slow-cooking and making your own coffee. I hang my clothes to dry rather than pay to dry them in the dryer in my building. I work-out at home instead of the gym. Make my own bread. I’m going to try to make my own peanut butter eventually…that stuff is expensive, yet so easy to make! I disinfect my surfaces with vinegar and baking soda, that way there are so many uses for one item. I use olive oil as a make-up remover and deep conditioner…there’s so many things that have multiple uses, it’s hard NOT to be frugal!
I need to start using vinegar and baking soda to disinfect surfaces in my home. The name brand disinfectant is a taste too expensive for me.
I understand where you’re coming from with the peanut butter. I’m a big fan of black beans. Earlier this week, I went to the store and learned they’re now over $1 a can. That’s insane. So, I bought dry beans and cooked them in my slow cooker. You get about three times as many for the same price.
The only thing I couldn’t do is the gift thing, at least not for my parents – they’d make me feel guilty, believe it or not! Oh and the boxed wine – no can do! But I have made my own wine from kits purchased at a winery & it wasn’t bad. My biggest thing right now is packing my own lunch & snacks every day – I’ve become somewhat of a tyrant about it, actually! But it does saves money & I feel like I have more control over eating healthy, so it doesn’t bother me at all 🙂
My family totally respects my position on gift giving. I think one Christmas I just let them know not to expect anything from me. It probably would’ve sucked if I sprung the news on them Christmas morning.
I have 3 pairs of shoes: 1 pair for work(plain leather knee-length winter boots – suitable for office wear in England and worn by a lot of women considering the weather), 1 pair of sneakers for exercise and 1 pair of ballet flats for casual wear. I’m a girl that just never liked wearing heels or understood the whole shoe obsession thing. I only buy new shoes to replace the ones I have if they literally start falling apart(5 years each on average – and I’m the type of person who walks and takes public transport a lot since I don’t have a car).
I’ve gone back to wearing glasses instead of purchasing soft contact lenses that need replacing at least once a month.
On the other hand, I do like fancy coffee at cafes. I only buy coffee twice a week at the very most though :p
Five years for shoes?! Mine couldn’t possibly last that long, but then again, I think I walk like a mule.
I would add water from the tap and a reusable stainless steel bottle. I know so many people who drink only bottled water.
I’m with you on tap water. Where I live now, I can barely tell the difference between bottle water and tap water. When I lived in Orlando, FL, the water was pretty disgusting. For some strange reason, it smelled like eggs. Yuck.
I’m totally with you on the coffee and doing my own hair but I’ve had HORRIBLE experiences in hostels. You can often stay in a boutique hotel for the same price as staying in a hostel – plus, people won’t steal your stuff.
Yeah. There’s definitely a greater risk of theft in hostels. I was thinking about staying at the YMCA in New York City next time I go. You get more privacy for the same price as a hostel. However, some of the reviews were downright scary. I’ll check out the boutique hotel options for my upcoming trip to NYC. Thanks for the suggestion.
I just recently had my first box of wine on a girls trip, and it was actually great. The price was great for how much you get and there are actually some decent wineries that have boxes of wine to buy. I also almost never order soda at a restaurant. Not only do I not want to pay $5 for a can of pop but I sure don’t need all those empty calories.
I used to buy a box of Sangria that actually tasted pretty good. The per bottle cost worked out to just above $2. Every now and then, I’ll stumble upon an actual bottle of wine that retails for $3 or $4. Amazingly, I still think that’s too expensive.
I agree with all of these! My favorite one is the coffee one, I am totally fine making my own coffee at home, it saves me so much.
Personally, I think a cup of Folgers coffee tastes pretty good. It’s not as good as Seattle’s Best, but to me, it still tastes better than a lot of the stuff I buy from restaurants.
I pretty much agree with all of these! Instead of buying gifts for people, I like to pay for us to have an experience together, like go for coffee/drinks, a movie, etc. I’ll also get consumables for people as gifts. Last week boyfriend got a bottle of his favorite bourbon and a four-pack of his favorite beer from me and was SO happy. ;o)
Those are great ideas. But I’ll pretend I didn’t read them. I don’t want my loved to find out I know how to give thoughtful gifts without spending a ton of money. 🙂
I do this too! For my dad and brother’s birthdays this year, they got $25 gift cards to Regal Cinemas and for my brother’s and his girlfriend for Christmas they are getting a restaraunt gift certificate. In the past I have also given massage certificates for friends for weddings. You aren’t waving money with these ideas but I like the idea of giving people experiences instead of clutter.
I’m good with all of these points, but I would also include pedicures/manicures. I can do a better job than the esthetician I see (with exception to my cuticles). I save $40 bi-weekly by doing this myself.
However, we don’t get Hulu here in Canada. Wish we did.
P.S. Liquor/wine/spirits are very expensive here in Canada. I always bring back when I travel to the U.S. My fridge is currently stocked with Sam Adams
Hulu still isn’t up in Canada? I thought they’d be over it by now.
I’ve been looking for a quality, inexpensive manicure kit. I’m sure I could do just as good a job giving myself a manicure as a nail technician. Plus, I’m a little concerned about the cleanliness of a lot of nail shops. To save money, I just run around with raggedy cuticles. I acknowledge I need to do better.
I’m actually very okay with all of these, too. The one thing though, that is different in Canada, is that boxed wine isn’t cheaper (in the liquor stores near me, anyway) – it’s the same price as bottled because it’s usually the same brands with just more in the box than in the bottle.
They don’t even give you a discount for buying in bulk? That stinks.
Although I don’t drink boxed wine, I do drink cheap wine from trader joe’s. I probably wouldn’t bring this to a dinner party, but I don’t mind drinking it myself. I also have a friends who travel…A LOT. Why I do want to have some travel, I don’t mind staying at home or taking a staycation. I’m very comfortable being home and they seem rather restless.
I wish I took more staycations when I was working. Sometimes going on a vacation can be exhausting.
I couldn’t drink boxed wine but I’m pretty comfortable with your other choices. I recently stopped buying Tassimo cups to go back to “traditional” coffee. I still prefer Tassimo cups but they are a lot more expensive. I rather save a few bucks there than drinking better coffee… a sacrifice I’m not ready to make with wine 😉
If I bought better quality wine, I wouldn’t be able to drink at bars–as often as I do. I had to make a trade off somewhere. 🙂
I hardly ever order anything besides water when I’m out. Saves a lot!
Water is refreshing. If I’m thirsty, I actually prefer water over a sugary drink.