Frugal Living For Beginners: How To Get Started

Being a beginner at anything new can seem daunting, even simple frugal living for beginners will seem hard and possibly very different from what you are used to.

I say ‘seem hard’ because it’s not really, not once you know how and that is exactly what you and I are talking about.

How you can be living a frugal life and enjoying it.

Let’s start at the beginning though.

You are new to being frugal and you probably have been overspending for a long time.

You need help to change your lifestyle and develop your frugal mindset.

You have heard enough about frugal living to think it could be the answer to your spendy lifestyle but you have no idea how to get started.

And you think you are going to have to cut back massively and go without, which doesn’t sound enticing does it?

In fact you have tried cutting back before and failed and you hated that feeling, right?

Frugal living for beginners, or the seasoned frugalista is not about doing without.

You can definitely live happily AND frugally.

I will show you what to do first so you don’t fail whilst dipping your toes into frugal living and show you how to build your frugal muscles.

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The Frugal Lifestyle

You need to know straight off that there is no one size fits all.

How you do frugal will be different to how I do it and how your neighbor does it.

Because it’s not a cookie cutter approach. It’s more a mindset and you apply the parts that mean the most to you, to your life.

You might have a decent income but have massive debt. Whereas your neighbor might have 5 kids and only one income.

You can both be learning about frugal living for beginners and embrace the frugal lifestyle but it can look and feel very different.

Wikipedia explains frugal as thus:

Frugality is the quality of being frugal, sparing, thrifty, prudent or economical in the consumption of consumable resources such as food, time or money, and avoiding waste, lavishness or extravagance.

To me the frugal lifestyle simply means being smart with your money.

Ensuring your money has purpose and is not wasted on things you do not need, only want (temporarily).

Your frugal life is about making the right spending decisions for you so you can afford the things you want and be happy about the things you don’t have.

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.

Frugal Living For Beginners – What Can It Do For You?

Perhaps the question should be what can frugal living NOT do for you?

Because when you are living a frugal life and enjoying it you cannot think of anything you are missing out on.

There are going to be things you won’t do that perhaps you used to, but once you have moved past the frugal living for beginners stage you won’t be interested in those things.

Not to the point where you miss them.

To me it’s simple; frugal living helps you embrace a full life, one where you are not getting into debt, worrying about money or are surrounded by stuff that you bought on credit.

Frugal living will help you:

  1. Pay off debts
  2. Plan for your future
  3. Stop worrying about money and sleep easy at night
  4. Enjoy a more simple, rewarding lifestyle
  5. Stop asking why am I poor?
  6. Save money towards things you truly value
  7. Appreciate the things and people in your life
  8. Know the difference between frugal and cheap

For more in the series on frugal living check out these posts:

200 Best Frugal Living Tips to Save Money

Frugal Fatigue: How to Beat It

15 Best Frugal Living Tips From The Great Depression To Use Today

75 Old Fashioned Living Tips to save money today

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Frugal Living Vs Cheap Living

When you are just starting to learn about how simple frugal living can help, you can get caught up in the popular confusion of frugal vs cheap.

When you are frugal you have a purpose for being so.

It could be you have debt to pay off or you have long term financial goals you are determined to achieve.

The best frugal living tips help you save money and stretch your money that bit further.

But saving money at any cost is not being frugal, it’s being cheap. Being cheap is about saving money no matter what.

No matter the impact on other people, no matter the impact on the environment, indeed often its no matter the impact on yourself.

So many cheap people seem to cut their noses off to spite their faces. i.e. they will focus on being cheap at the expense of their own enjoyment.

No going out for a meal with their friends, ever.

No warm fluffy feeling when they buy a present for a friend, because they just wouldn’t buy that present.

All in the name of saving money.

My advice? Don’t be cheap, be frugal and love it.

How To Be Frugal Without Being Cheap

  1. Be really clear about your goals
  2. Understand what you are doing and why
  3. Be aware of how your decisions could impact others
  4. Take steps to minimize your impact on others by tweaking frugal decisions
  5. Save money for the right reason
  6. Don’t penny pinch for pinching’s sake
  7. Don’t be frugal at the expense of others
pile of books with pink roses in white jug

Frugal Living For Beginners, 9 Easy Ways You Can Get Started

Here you are right at the beginning of learning how to live simply and cheaply, what can you do today, this week, that will set you on the right course?

Try really hard to not fall into the trap of making these common mistakes people make when trying to be frugal.

Mistakes happen but steer clear of those 3!

First things first, if you make a mistake, know that it is not a mistake only a learning experience.

Thomas Edison (inventor of the lightbulb) said:

“I have not failed, I just found 10,000 ways that did not work”

These 9 actions will get you started and help you make a difference to your money situation this week.

1. Have Goals

I loves me a goal. And I want you too.

Goals give you something to aim for, without them you can wander aimlessly along, spending money you don’t have.

Start with goals that you feel you can achieve in the next week and month.

The focus is on achievable.

Many people start with cutting their grocery budget. If you usually spend $200 on groceries every week, please don’t set a goal of just $100.

Cut yourself some slack, you are after all, a frugal novice right now.

Set a goal of say 10% less than you usually spend. Once you have achieved that, set a new goal of 10% less again (e.g. 20% down).

Lock these achievements in by achieving each week and move on to a further goal. Within 6 months you could easily achieve that $100 grocery budget.

As you are starting out please don’t set yourself too many goals. Focus on 2 or 3 that will make a difference right now.

Next month you can focus on other goals.

Grab your copy of the money saving mini bundle to start saving money and setting your goals

2. Start Small

Too many of us reach a crisis point and think the only way to survive is to go big.

But when you go big with changes you run a huge risk of failing and going back to your old ways.

I’m not a lover of the term ‘baby steps’ but it fits what I am trying to say here. Start small with your changes and the frugal living tips you embrace.

We are talking about lifestyle changes, changes that you and I hope you make on a permanent basis.

Money saving swaps are a great way to start small, you’re buying a similar product, just cheaper.

When you’ve been living life a certain way, many of your spending habits are just that, habits. And we all know how hard habits can be to break or change.

Related post: The Best Money Habits To Transform Your Wealth And Happiness

freesia posy in glass bottle with water jug behind

3. Pace And Reward Yourself 

It’s all too easy to make a few changes, see success then jump feet first into making all the changes you think you need to make.

You may well need to make those changes but you are not running the 100m sprint, it’s more of a walking marathon. I love this saying:

“Less haste, more speed”

Don’t be hasty in making too many changes, you will achieve more by pacing yourself, being successful in some of your new spending and frugal habits.

When you achieve your small goals make sure you reward yourself.

I’m not talking a slap up meal at a swanky restaurant. That’s not a treat when it derails your budget and your spending plans.

Rewards can take many forms and don’t even need to cost money.

Rewarding yourself for small achievements helps you focus on what you want to achieve.

4. Learn To Say No

Only you spends your money. So if you are overspending and need to stop then I’m afraid to say it sits firmly at your door.

When you are used to spending too much, it can be very hard to stop spending money and start saving.

One of the best frugal living tips I (eventually learned) was to learn to say no to yourself and to others.

You need to stop the lifestyle creep of always spending everything you earn.

Never feel bad about saying no, if it’s what needs to happen to help you start living a frugal life and enjoying it then say no and be proud to do so.

Other ways to help you say no is to set money challenges for yourself. These posts will help you get started:

How To Be Successful With A No Spend Challenge

How To Make No Spend Days Successful (And When Not To)

orange and yellow flowers in glass bottles

5. Know What You Are Spending

I am sure you ‘sort of’ know how much you are spending. After all, you know how much you earn and roughly what you owe on credit cards.

But having a deeper knowledge of not only how much you are spending but on WHAT makes life so much easier.

It’s what you are spending your hard earned money on that will help you to live more frugally.

One of the easiest ways to know what you are spending your money on is to note down everything you spend.

You can use an excel spreadsheet, a budgeting app like Mint or YNAB or a plain piece of paper. Personally I use a very basic spreadsheet and focus on my main categories.

Categories You May Want To Track as a frugal novice

  • Groceries
  • Pets
  • Kids
  • House stuff
  • Presents
  • Tools
  • Bills
  • Entertainment

I find it easier to track my spending by noting down what I spend regularly.

If I wait for 2 weeks before updating my spreadsheet I can guarantee that not only will I miss off a few things, it doesn’t help me focus on being more careful about my spending habits.

Whereas when I keep my spreadsheet update weekly or more often not only is it more accurate, it helps me keep a good, frugal mindset.

Being as accurate as possible helps you to identify where your problem areas are.

You can start today by going back over your bank and credit card statements for the past month to see where your money was spent.

You could pinpoint your spending problem right now with this little exercise. Which will then allow you to take the next step below.

yellow tulips in white jug with clock in background

6. Address Your Worst Spending Issue

When your finances are a mess where do you start?

No matter how keen you are, when you start out on the journey towards living more simply and cheaply you can’t do everything all at once, you will fail.

I can’t tell you how many times I tried to focus on achieving every line of my new, improved (badly made) budget.

Needless to say I failed more times than I succeeded. It wasn’t until I decided to focus on my worst problems that I turned a corner.

We all have a problem area when it comes to our money.

It could be your grocery budget, it could be costly entertainment costs or it could be clothes shopping.

What I have found, as others have, is that if you focus on your problem area and make changes, you will notice an improvement in the other areas as well.

My worst spending area has always been grocery shopping.

I just love a bargain and I justified my overspending every month on the basis that it was food, it was cheap and we would use it eventually.

So not a waste.

But that mindset trickled out into other areas of spending. It’s for the kids, it’s for work. They are called excuses and we do it to ourselves constantly.

You probably know what your worst spending area is without even looking at your credit card statements.

If you don’t, or are in denial, then use the step above to understanding what you are spending and identify it that way.

Then set yourself a goal to reduce that spending – remember baby steps though.

glass jars of stored dried goods

7. Tackle Your Food Budget

I think everyone has wriggle room in their food budget. If you really don’t then frugal living for beginners is absolutely not what you need to be reading!

There are so many frugal living tips and ideas to reduce your grocery budget. You can:

  • Drop down a brand
  • Reduce the amount of protein you buy
  • Use cheaper cuts of meat
  • Have more meatless meals
  • Shop at discount stores
  • Shop from your cupboard
  • Focus on cheap and easy meals
  • Reduce how often you go shopping
  • Meal plan
  • Shop with a list

And so the list can go on and on.

I can’t tell you how much your grocery budget should be because it is completely dependent on where you live and what stores you have access to.

What you will want to figure out, is how you can cut your grocery budget. Aim for a 10% cut. If you achieve that 2 months running, drop it by another 5 or 10%.

These posts will help:

When Money Is Tight, How to Enjoy A $35/£30 Grocery Budget For 2

18 Things We Cut From Our Food Shopping List To Save Big Money

10 Simple Reasons Your Grocery Bill Is So High & How To Cut It

For more help in reducing your grocery spending join the grocery budget challenge

8. Don’t Spend For Fun

Fun doesn’t have to cost any money at all.

If you are used to paying other people to entertain you then you could save a good chunk of money quite quickly.

I remember I used to go shopping for fun. Spending money is fun, until you get your credit card bill and don’t know how to pay it.

You need to learn how to stop spending money on unnecessary things because these are the things that blow your budget.

It’s very easy to spend $50 – $100 in a couple of hours when you have a night out at the movies with a meal.

But you could have almost the same experience at home for just a few dollars or even free.

Grab a free movie or buy an old DVD at a thrift store and make something easy and delicious at home.

Other free activities could be:

  • use your library for free books and activities
  • have friends round for supper
  • have a traditional games night
  • activities in your community
couple with shopping bags

9. Be On The Same Page As Your Partner

If you are part of a couple then being on the same page as your partner is one of the best frugal living tips I can give you.

Being a frugal couple means you are both working towards common goals together. There is power in joining forces and being a team.

Often couples find that one is more spendy than the other, this is fine when the money is there. Not so fine when you are racking up debt.

And it can be hard to get your other half to see the light just because you suddenly have.

When you are a couple with very differing money habits then it can cause no end of problems.

Resentment of the other persons spending habits (whether you are the spender or saver).

Secrecy over money to avoid confrontation.

A feeling of ‘if you can’t beat them, you might as well join then’ – which doesn’t help your finances one iota.

Being part of a frugal couple is worth fighting for and supporting your other half in seeing the benefits of getting on the same page.

Have a read of these posts about couple finances:

How To Manage Money As A Couple: 9 (Successful) Strategies

Debt In Marriage – How You Can Prevent It Ruining Your Relationship

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Start Your Frugal Living For Beginners Journey Today

Today is the day.

No need to wait until tomorrow.

No need to wait until you are paid.

You don’t need to buy anything to start your frugal journey. These 9 simple actions will make a difference to your money today:

  1. Write down 3 goals you are going to achieve this week and this month
  2. Make sure they are small and achievable goals
  3. Pace yourself and have a reward when goals are achieved
  4. Learn to say no to unnecessary things
  5. Start tracking what you spend each day, week and month
  6. Set a goal to tackle your worst spending problem, today
  7. Attack your grocery budget – there is money to be saved
  8. Don’t spend for fun
  9. Get on the same page as your partner

Once you have tackled these frugal living tips and ideas why not take the next step in saving money and grab your copy of the Money Saving Mini Bundle today?

Come and follow me on Pinterest for more money saving hints and frugal tips!

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Last Updated on 10th January 2022 by Emma

About Emma

I'm here to help you become confident in making the best money decisions for you and your family. Frugal living has changed my life, let me help you change yours.

2 thoughts on “Frugal Living For Beginners: How To Get Started”

  1. I’ve always found frugal living to be a bit like a game. It’s hard when you start, but when you get better at it you’re constantly trying to beat your high score. Great article!

    Reply
    • Hi Kellie! I like that way of describing frugal, because it does take a bit of getting used to. The more you do it the better you get and the more you want to do – so true. Thanks for stopping by!

      Reply

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