Frugal Living Without Being A Cheapskate: A Guide For The Discerning Moneysaver

It’s no secret that we live in a time where people are extra-cautious about their spending. These days there are so many layoffs from even the biggest companies. We want to make sure that we don’t lead an extravagant lifestyle in case the worse happens.

 

Many people find that they spend too much money on life’s little luxuries. But did you know that you don’t have to live like a cheapskate to be more frugal with your money? The focus of today’s article is to show you some ways to better manage your personal spending.

 

Keep reading to learn more about what they are. By the end of this article, you will wonder why you never thought of these ideas yourself in the first place!

 

Stop buying books

 

Are you a bookworm? If so, you should stop buying books and move towards digital technology to read the latest novels! The naysayers out there will say that one can buy secondhand books cheap.

 

But there are a few downsides to having a large collection of books. First off, they take up a lot of space. Then there’s the question of how often you will read the books. Chances are you will only read most of your books once.

 

And if you are lax with your home cleaning regime, your once-shiny books will look dull, lifeless and worn. Not to mention that the pages of your books will turn yellow from the sun! A better solution is to buy yourself an Amazon Kindle.

 

In a nutshell, the Kindle is a basic digital “e-book” reader. You can buy electronic versions of your favorite books cheaper than the paper-based versions. And what’s more; the Kindle is lightweight – unlike a book!

 

You can store many e-books on your Kindle. One awesome thing I like about the Kindle is that the higher-end models work just as well as tablet devices like the Apple iPad. That means you can go online, use Facebook, check your email and so forth.

 

Do your grocery shopping at the right time

 

It’s a well-known fact that grocery stores reduce the prices of items that have a short shelf life. Otherwise, they end up getting thrown away. There are plenty of food and drink products that you can freeze or store in your refrigerator. Those items will last longer than the use-by date.

 

Find out from a member of staff when they usually reduce their prices. That way, you can go in and do your grocery shopping at that time to get lots of bargains! Sometimes they will reduce the prices of items with damaged packaging. But the products themselves are otherwise usable.

 

It will amaze you how much money you can save by changing your approach to grocery shopping!

 

Stopping buying expensive coffee

 

When you’re on your way to work each morning, you might stop off at your favorite cafe en-route to your workplace. A coffee might only cost you a few bucks, but that money spent soon adds up over the year.

 

The good news is that you can still drink your favorite coffee drinks each morning but without paying so much for the privilege! In case you are wondering, I am not advocating that you run off with your drink without paying for it!

 

What you need to do is buy a flask that will keep your favorite hot drink warm each morning. You can then prepare and make your drink at home each morning before you leave for work. Now you can keep that extra cash in your pocket and use it towards something more worthwhile!

 

Everyone is always complaining about the price of gas these days. In America, many of us drive big gas-guzzlers that cost a fortune to fill up with gas. If you live alone or seldom carry passengers with you, consider selling your car and buying a motorbike.

There are so many benefits to two-wheeled transport. First, they cost less to buy. Even a BMW motorbike like the one shown above is cheaper than buying a new car. Insurance is also cheaper as well. You only have to get some BMW bike insurance quotes to see what I mean.

And the best thing of all? Gas mileage is superior on motorbikes! Because they weigh so little and have small engines, you can expect a minimum of 40 MPG on most motorbikes. Oh and did I mention that they are great for avoiding traffic jams?

Some people might say that buying a classic car is better than buying a motorbike. That’s because they are simple to maintain unlike today’s cars. In some cases, this is true; the (original) Mini is one example.

If you get some Mini quotes for classic car insurance, you’ll see they are cheap to insure too. After all; they only have little engines smaller than 1.0-liter!”

Buy most of your stuff online

 

Some people will just buy stuff from local stores as and when they need them. A few folks will even buy on impulse! Both of those approaches to buying stuff are bad for your wallet. The Internet is an excellent way to buy the things you want without paying so much for them!

 

 

 

Websites like eBay offer plenty of bargains on new and used products. And there are many “outlet” websites where you can buy discounted items that are  cheaper than store prices.

 

If you have a smartphone, you can use apps like Google Shopper to compare online prices if you are in a bricks and mortar store. That way if it’s cheaper to buy online, you can do that instead. A lot of people “showroom” to save money on the things they want.

 

Cancel your cable TV

 

One luxury that millions of people have in their homes is cable TV. Yes, the vast choice of TV and radio channels offers many benefits to the discerning home consumer. But did you know that you can watch most of your favorite movies and TV programs through the Internet?

 

Services like Netflix offer you a huge choice for a small monthly subscription fee. There are also some websites where you can watch TV programs on-demand for free.

 

As long as you have a good broadband or fiber connection to the Internet, you will have no issues watching streaming TV and radio programs online.

 

Thanks for reading today’s article; I hope you have enjoyed it!