10 frugal Homemaking Secrets

You might have sworn to save money, and you’re doing everything that you can to try and do so. But frugal homemaking on a budget is not always that obvious or easy.

You’ve cut down almost all your personal expenses, but still, your monthly household budget is not where you need it to be.

You did not save as much you wanted, and there was still some heavy expenditure you could not control.

Where did you go wrong then? 

Chances are high that your overall household budget is the culprit here; to be more specific, groceries and electricity.

So, how do you save money there? They are the necessities of life, and you cannot eliminate them to save money. What remains then? 

The answer is simple: you do not have to eliminate or cut radically. Instead, you can make use of some frugal homemaking secrets I’m going to reveal in this article. Read on!

What is frugal homemaking?

Frugal homemaking is all about using your homemaking skills to manage your home in a thrifty and frugal way. You maybe a stay at home mom, or on a budget or one income, or perhaps you are just a fan of old fashioned frugal living.

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For a thousand and one tips on the pleasures of homemaking and help in creating your own homemaking systems you will find these books invaluable! Try to get them from your library or buy a used copy from Amazon. That’s the frugal way!

10 frugal homemaking secrets to live on a budget

Homemaking on a budget is all about making the best of your homemaking skills and systems with the money you have got. Many people love the pleasures of homemaking such as being a stay at home mom, homeschooling, baking and plain and simple old fashioned frugal living.

Balancing your budget and making the money you have stretch for the whole month, and some, can be a tricky thing to get control of.

There are many other tips for living with very little money. The key success for me is that it’s all about doing small things every day. Each of these frugal living tips won’t save you thousands every month.

But they will certainly add up to a tidy sum over time.

1. Cut down on your grocery bill 

If there is somewhere we overspend the most on, it is groceries. It’s the most flexible part of your budget. Many other bills are set in stone, not so your groceries.

We go to the big stores and keep on taking things off the shelves even when we don’t need them.

This is exactly what you do not have to do. As a prudent homemaker you need to buy what you need and nothing else.

Here’s how you can ensure that:

• Make a list before going to the grocery store and tick to it strictly
• Look for money saving deals on groceries
• You can also go for online grocery shopping apps. They offer great deals and you would be less likely to buy in abundance
• Most importantly, set a grocery budget 
• Look for bulk deals

Related posts:

70+ Best Ways To Save Money On Groceries

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2. Choose cheaper brands 

Do you have your favorite brands of food or other household items? Are they economical? 

If not, can you get other brands that offer similar products at a much cheaper price? If yes, then go ahead; make a switch if it saves money.

Likewise, you can also change your consumption habits a little bit by taking a leaf out of 1940s frugality and going for cheaper food options.

For instance, meat like lamb or beef is more expensive, and it can cost you heavily if you and your family consume it regularly. Instead, you can go for cheaper options such as chicken and pork. 

Or even better, if you can adopt vegetarian eating habits then you would save much more, simply because the meat and meat products are expensive.

In 1940s frugal living and homemaking, meat was a tiny part of many meals, given to adults who worked physically hard. Potatoes and bread were the mainstay of old fashioned frugal recipes. Because they were cheap.

But if you worry that your daily protein consumption will decline, think again; because items like beans, broccoli, and pulses can be really good make-shift sources of protein. 

Switching to the generic or store brands is one of my best frugal homemaker tips I can give you. I saved so much money by focusing on generic and value brands!

Related posts:

21 budget meatless meals to save money

20 Easy Cheap Vegan Recipes Everyone Will Devour

3. Start meal planning 

When you know what to cook, grocery shopping would be a hell of lot easier for you. You would be only buying what you need to cook meals from scratch and nothing else. 

So, sit with your family on weekends to meal plan and decide each and every dish you’re going to make next week and buy the groceries accordingly.

Related posts:

7 Meal Planning Strategies All Beginners Should Know

9 Meal Planning Mistakes You Need Solutions For

4. Do not waste food

Wasting food is not only a wastage of money but it is unethical as well.

There are millions of people who do not have the luxury of having food on their table every day. We can waste up to 30% of the food we buy!

Therefore, you have to be grateful for what you are eating, and ensure that you do not waste it. 

Here are a few tips to make sure that happens:

• Be mindful of the quantity, only take as much as you need
• Finish leftovers first before cooking something else 
• Buy groceries in the right and limited amount

5. Start a garden 

Just calculate how much you spend on fruits and veggies in a year.

Now, what if you grew, if not all, some veggies and fruits right in your backyard? Imagine how much you would end up saving on your grocery bills!

Not just that, by planting your own fruit and vegetable garden, you would also be protecting your family from harmful preservatives and pesticides that market vegetables carry.

Your produce would be much healthier. 

Also, don’t let it just be a money-saving motivation. There are ample benefits of having your backyard full of fruits and veggies.

For starters, they improve the look and feel of your home, at the same time, it could become your hobby, something you would enjoy. Growing your own food is a great homemaking skill that many of us love.

Related posts:

21 benefits of allotments and growing your own Food

12 downsides to having an allotment and growing your own food

6. Cut back on your AC Bills 

Your air conditioning bills contribute significantly to your electricity bill. Yet, it might not be easier for you not to use AC especially when it’s so hot outside. 

But keeping your AC on all day would not only heavily affect your bill, but it will also be a wastage of resources.

Here’s what the frugal home would do instead:

• Draw your curtains. It will keep your home cooler
• Open windows in the early morning for cool air
• Invest in energy-efficient air conditioners
• Change your air filters regularly

7. Cut down on overall electricity bills 

You can save enormously if you change your habits a little bit, be a little bit more of a prudent homemaker, one who pinches some extra pennies.

Here’s how:

• Do not leave your fans and lights switched on if you are not in the room
• Do not keep the appliances plugged in after use
• Skip using your dryer, instead, hang dry your clothes using an indoor airer
• Switch to energy-efficient light bulbs and appliances
• Air-dry your dishes instead of heat drying them in the dishwasher
• Only do the laundry when you have a full load ready
• Install solar lights for outdoor use

For lots more tips on saving electricity check out these posts:

How To Save Electricity Doing Absolutely Nothing

How To Keep Your House Warm In Winter And Save Money

8. Don’t waste the water

Your water bills still count therefore, if we are to cut back on resources to save money, it includes water as well.

Here’s are some frugal homemaker tips you can do to save water:

• Take shorter showers – use a shower timer
• Don’t keep the tap open while shaving or brushing your teeth
• Go for low-flow showerheads
• Run full loads of laundry and dishes

9. Cut back on your cable bills 

Gone are the days when we’d be glued to our TVs, now as the world has changed and technology is roaring; we turn towards OTT platforms, so much so that we hardly use the TV. 

If you are going to have the frugal home you want perhaps it’s time to get rid of your cable connection and get a Netflix/Hulu subscription instead. You can also check out their bundle packages to save more. 

10. Frugal means Saying no to impulse buying 

I know, it’s hard to control your shopping instincts when you are addicted to it.

But, impulse shopping can impact your budget greatly especially when you’re tight on money. Therefore, be very mindful of your purchases.

Learn to differentiate between what you want and what you need. Only buy what you need, and control yourself while you are at it. 

To do that, you can stop making use of credit cards, and wherever you go, take just a limited amount of cash so that you don’t buy unnecessarily.

Secondly, if you are aware of your shopping triggers, avoid going to those places altogether. 

Related posts:

How to stop spending money on clothes: 10 Simple Tips for Success

How To Stop Shopping: 9 Tips For Success

Stop Spending Money On Unnecessary Stuff

✅ Do you need to save money right now? Want to embrace being frugal and how it can transform your finances? Then find out how to become fabulously frugal here.

How can you be a more frugal homemaker?

There are many ways to be frugal with your homemaking. The more homemade things you make, the more frugal a homemaker you will be.

Frugal family homemaking can be helped by making your own household cleaning products. This could save you quite a bit and reduce the number of bottles in your cupboards.

DIY old fashioned homemaking and living is all about make do and mend. Not only that, it’s also about being creative with what you have.

DIY your Christmas gifts each year. You can even go down the route of recycled gifts to be kinder to the environment and be more frugal.

Related posts:

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What else can you do to cut back a bit as a frugal homemaker?

Buy secondhand as much as possible. Clothes, toys, tools, furniture and of course cars to name but a few. You can save up to 90% of the brand new cost if you go vintage.

Bake your own homemade cakes and bread.

Sewing and mending os one of those forgotten homemaking skills that can really help you cut back. Mending clothes extends their life, meaning no replacements need buying.

how can you live on one small income and one of you stay home?

Living on one income is about making choices. You can anything you want, but not everything you want. If you want to be a frugal family with a stay at home parent, cut your cloth and your budget accordingly.

Keep your entertainment costs close to zero by finding things to do with no money.

Focus on frugal family food. So hearty meals, cooking from scratch, with cheap ingredients and small amounts of meat stretched by lentils, beans and oats.

Frugal homemaking on a budget, successfully

I know cutting back on household bills and living frugally can be a hard nut to crack, but when you keep trying and practice a little self-control, it becomes a lot easier than you think.

Just believe you can do it, and that will be it.

I hope these frugal homemaker tips help you. Take inspiration from them, come back later and let me know how they worked out for you in the comment section.

For more frugal inspiration and to build your frugal muscles why not join the frugal foundations email course today?

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Last Updated on 10th January 2022 by Emma