Save $1000 with 10 Frugal Habits

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Frugality is essential if you want to build wealth. If you can save, you’ll be able to invest into your retirement, pay for your child’s college tuition, or pay down your own debt! Check out this list for how to save 1,000 with 10 frugal habits.

I wish our culture was different when speaking about money. Nobody ever brags about the amount of savings they put away this week, or how much money they set aside for their retirement. No, we show our money through buying things.

“Frugal Living Tips to Save $1000” Will Never be Sexy

I get it. Frugality may never be “sexy,” but everyone does it. Do you buy the less expensive brand of noodles with the same exact ingredients as the name brand? Then you’re frugal. Do you save for the quality wood when redoing your bathrooms because you know it’s an investment? Then you’re frugal. Do you hold off on going out to eat during the week because you want to pay for a vacation this year? Then you’re frugal. You’re probably more frugal than you think, and it’s time you start embracing this aspect of your life, even if it’s not culturally applauded.

By contrast, what is culturally applauded is buying an extra large house, getting a car loan for a car you can’t afford, and buying excessive amounts of clothes, jewelry, shoes, equipment, or cosmetics. Technically, we’re all living in houses we can’t afford…However, houses sometimes can be an investment, but cars immediately lose value once driven off the lot.

Likewise, the richest people I know are intentional with their money, and even they follow some frugal living tips to save $1000 . Additionally, this means being intentionally generous as well. They always have been, even when they weren’t rich. Dare I say there were days when they too were frugal.

Turns out that frugal practices are not that hard, and might lead to more happiness and health anyways. Eating meals at home leads to a healthier diet. Bringing your own coffee to work cuts down on added sugars. Not watching T.V. supports more family involvement, and quality development in children. Not to mention if you turn off the T.V. you’ll probably be less likely to compare your life to others and as a result buy less stuff that doesn’t bring you joy. The benefits of frugal habits support your own wellness, and these habits save you money!

My Frugality Story

Most importantly, as a teacher, I was forced into the frugal lifestyle. When I snagged my first teaching job it was during the Great Recession and my husband was in graduate school. I made under 30,000 a year with a 2 hour commute each day.

Moreover, growing up my family was also pretty frugal. My mom made meals at home. We packed lunches on trips we took, and we didn’t get the coolest clothes or shoes. They definitely rocked the “frugal living tips to save $1000” monthly. However, I was rich in many other ways. I was fully supported to grow and develop in a loving environment. When I asked for something that I felt I needed, like soccer cleats, or hockey sticks I got it. When I wanted to see a movie with friends, we had the money. My parent’s way of spending money was intentional, and generous, but not frivolous.

Frugality and Minimalism Tips to Save $1000

Consequently, frugality has taken a new meaning in my life. Frugality is related so closely to minimalism and even the environment. I’ve always had a weird twitch that stopped me from wasting. Perhaps it’s my Finnish upbringing, a culture known for its thriftiness, but I hate wasting things. This can be money, food, time, or products. A piece of me dies if I have to throw out food that has gone bad, products that are expired, or clothes I never wore. I seriously hurt knowing that I didn’t use something to it’s fullest potential.

Additionally, this relates to teaching. I hated seeing wasted potential in students who lacked drive, were addicted to drugs, or just didn’t see their own passions. If only we could use everything to its fullest potential! How beautiful this world would be if we didn’t live in excess of unwanted things, wasted potential, and refuse. I believe we can and will because many Americans are in debt.

Frugal Tips to Fight Debt

Consequently, frugality to me is also related to our debt free journey. We’ve been trying to aggressively pay off $170,000 in student loan debt. We want it off our backs, like yesterday. The real deal is that frugality alone will not pay off that massive amount of debt, which is why next month’s posts will focus on bringing in more money. Frugality can set up habits, but you’ll still have to hustle. You can’t just be stingy the rest of your life and expect to get out of debt. No, you’ll have to use your talents to create services or products that benefit people.

However, frugality, like the habits listed below, could bring in an extra $12,000 a year. Who doesn’t want $12,000 more a year? That’s like giving yourself a raise. Plus a lot of these habits will make you healthier. Sounds like a win to me.

Frugal Living Tips to Save $1000

I’ll be breaking these down in this month’s posts to help you navigate simplifying these decisions. Here’s my quick suggestions for cutting down your monthly expenses.

1. Bring Coffee to Work – Savings 120$

Firstly, David Bach, author of Smart Women Finish Rich suggests that cutting out your $5 morning latte could turn into $2 million by the time you want to retire. Let’s break it down. $5 a day turns into $2,000 a year. Stocks on average gain roughly 11% interest. If invested from age 23 until age 65 that 5$ a day could turn into 2 million by retirement age (Bach 95). That latte seems pretty expensive now!

2. Bring a Lunch to Work – Savings $150

Secondly, buying a reasonably priced lunch at 5$ a day, would still set you back by 150$ a month. Also, lunches that you buy on demand are more likely to be unhealthy, especially under the cost of $5.

3. DIY workouts or exercise – Savings $50

For example, the average gym membership is 50$ a month (Dellaverson). If you’ve already set up a habit of exercising, it might benefit you to cut your membership. According to an article on CNBC “people who buy annual gym memberships often overestimate how much they’ll actually use the facilities by 70%” (Dellaverson).

Also, my brilliant RN friend Sara Halcumb wrote a post on how to exercise without hitting up the gym. You can check it out here.

4. Making Dinner at Home – Savings 250$

In addition, another healthy habit and money saver is cooking at home. According to CNBC “The average household spends an average $3,008 per year on dining out” (Martin). Yikes!

5. Buying less Meat and Dairy – Savings 80$

To clarify, I averaged this basing it on my own grocery costs when we don’t buy meat or dairy. We’re lucky in that my husband likes to hunt and fish. For much of the year we don’t have to buy meat, and I eat very little dairy. When we don’t buy meat or dairy the cost of groceries decreases by about 20$ weekly, so about 80$ savings a month.

6. Not Comparing Myself to Others – Savings ??

Unfortunately, this can’t be quantitatively estimated, but comparing yourself to others drives a lot of people to buy things. Keeping up with the Jones’s will lead you to a larger home, fancier car, more expensive clothes and the latest luxuries and gadgets. Even cell phones are now a way to compare your finances, and all of this will not lead you to save $1000 or promote frugal habits.

Consider not getting the newest and best luxuries right away. In fact, you can save a lot of money by just buying last year’s cell phone, not the brand new iPhone right when it goes on the market. It’s the same concept of buying a brand new car fresh off the lot. As soon as you drive it home, it loses a lot of value.

7. Simple Morning and Nightly Skin Care Routine – Savings 200$

According to HuffingtonPost women on average spend 8$ a day on products for their face (Johnson). Wow! That’s more than the lunch you were planning to buy today!

For example, I combat this money suck is by simplifying my routine, and using less products daily. I work from home and so there are some days where I don’t want or need to wear make up. I’ll wash my face and use some type of moisturizer, but I don’t use multiple products on these days. These routines serve me well for morning and night to simplify the products I purchase.

8. Capsule Wardrobe – Savings $140

According to Huffington Post the national average spent on clothing for adults is $140 per month (Rotondi). Compare this in the 1930’s where “the average American woman owned nine outfits. Today, that figure is 30 outfits — one for every day of the month” (Johnson).

Consequently, one way you combat this cash drain is to create a capsule wardrobe. Courtney Carver explains this in Project 333 where she challenges women to create a wardrobe made up of only 33 items. I also wrote about clothing items I don’t buy, and benefits of a personal stylist to help you get started on a minimalist capsule wardrobe.

I also am a fan of a uniform. It doesn’t have to be full on Steve Job’s dad jeans and black sweater type uniform. No it can still have style and personality, just focused. Perhaps you only choose specific colors like black, blue, and stripes. Or you buy the same brand of jeans always because they look the best on you.

My less fashionable uniform is my mom uniform, but it’s really for function. It’s made up of T-shirts, yoga pants, and zip up hoodies and I wear this on rotation every week. It keeps things really simple when I don’t have much more than a few minutes to get ready for the day.

9. Cutting Cable – Savings $100

Another frugal living tips that will help you save $1000 is to cut cable. You know you want to. Do you really watch all those channels? You don’t. Plus there are a variety of other entertainment options for a fraction of the cost: Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu to name a few. Cable is expensive. Get rid of it. In fact, you should probably just stop watching so much T.V. in the first place. You can read more about this blogger’s experience with cutting cable here.

10. Seek Free Entertainment – Savings ??

Lastly, my favorite forms of free entertainment for our family are: walking to the park, hiking a trail, watching a sunset, biking, swimming, reading a book from the library, writing or creating. Moving my body and being outside could provide hours of entertainment and they help me stay healthy. Consider free forms of entertainment.

Final Thoughts on
Frugal Living Tips to Save $1000

As you can see, what is culturally accepted might not always be the best choice for you and your family. Try to think outside the box and really look at some of these habits. Perhaps you only get coffees on Fridays instead of every day, or you have a spending freeze for a month on cosmetics, jewelry or clothes? Think critically about what habits are worth to keep and what habits could be cut to save you money this month and the rest of the year.

Join the Discussion on
Frugal Living Tips to Save $1000

To sum up, what habits of these could you add into your monthly routine? What habit has already saved you money?

P.S. I always ask readers to follow me on Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook. I consciously try to document my everyday simple life. Since we happen to be on a debt free journey it can be motivating because most of my activities are intentionally inexpensive. However, if you’re trying to cut out social media, you’ll need to subscribe directly to this blog.

Author

-Maria Halcumb
B.A. in Secondary Education, English, and Physical Education
M.A. Ed. in Curriculum & Instruction and Reading Specialist

Sources:

Bach, David. Smart Women Finish Rich: 8 Steps to Achieving Financial Security and Funding Your Dreams. Broadway Books, 1999.

Dellaverson, Carlo. “The True Cost of Gym Memberships.” CNBC, 11 Sept. 2008, www.cnbc.com/id/26663228/.

Johnson, Emma. “The Real Cost of Your Shopping Habits.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 9 Dec. 2016, www.forbes.com/sites/emmajohnson/2015/01/15/the-real-cost-of-your-shopping-habits/#2c61a7031452.

Johnson, Sissi. “How Much Is Your Face Worth? American Women Average at $8 per Day.” HuffPost, HuffPost, 8 Mar. 2017, www.huffpost.com/entry/how-much-is-your-face-worth-american-women-average_b_58befa65e4b06660f479e594.

Martin, Emmie. “90% Of Americans Don’t like to Cook-and It’s Costing Them Thousands Each Year.” CNBC, CNBC, 27 Sept. 2017, www.cnbc.com/2017/09/27/how-much-americans-waste-on-dining-out.html.

Rotondi, Jessica Pearce. “Finally, Someone Talks About Another Hidden Cost At Work.” HuffPost, HuffPost, 10 Jan. 2012, www.huffpost.com/entry/office-wardrobe-worth-its_b_1085054.