Frugal Living 101

Save Money, Frugal Living, and Frugal Lifestyle: How to Create Frugal Meals

Now it’s time to learn about how to create your very own frugal meals that will save you time, headache, and of course money.  There are many ways that you can save money by creating your own frugal meals and should be planned out each week to ensure that you are living the true frugal lifestyle and creating more money in your pocket as well.  Here are a few tips and suggestions to changing you and your families eating habits into a delicious and creative “frugal” lifestyle!

Save Money, Frugal Living Lifestyle and Frugal Family

Cutting down Prices on Meats – with the price of meats at your grocers at an all-time high, many people find themselves dreading to go through the meat isle of your local grocery store.  Realize that it doesn’t always have to be that way and you can come off getting a cheaper rate when you purchase your meats in bulk.  Everyone knows you can’t simply purchase tons of meat and eat it all in time before it goes bad, which is why it is a good idea to have a deep freezer to store their extra meat not being used at the time.

Having a deep freezer to store extra meats allows you do by larger quantities of meat and store the portions that you won’t be using at that time, which saves you a ton of money in the end.  Buying in bulk really is a great way to save you money each month on food products.  Hamburger meat is of course the cheapest meat that you can purchase and you can buy them by the pounds at a cheaper rate in comparison to other meats.  There are tons of meal ideas when it comes to hamburger meat and is your best option when it comes to purchasing meats “frugally.”  So make sure the next time you are shopping frugally in your grocery store that you choose to buy in bulk at the meat department and you will see how much money you can save at the end of each month by using this money-saving method!

Grow Your Own Garden – This is a great way to cut down on your costs when it comes to purchasing vegetables.  Making a garden is not a hard task at all and can also help you through the winter months, if you make a big enough garden.  You can literally buy seeds, soil, and start tilling your way to savings that you never imagined!  Many of your own home-grown vegetables are tastier in my opinion than store-bought produce anyways.

When you take in effect of how much vegetable seeds cost you as well as the soil needed to help your garden grow, you truly are making a great savings and vegetables that can last you all year round.  No more spending gobs and gobs of money buying vegetables at the super market, you now can save all of that money and eat your own homegrown vegetables.  You can also deep freeze the vegetables that you won’t be using, then when you are running low you simply go to your deep freeze and pull out a ton more food for both you and your family.  This is a BIG-TIME money saver and a great way to start living frugally…trust me!

Video Summary: This is a perfect example of frugal living and frugal lifestyle. However, being frugal at the beginning and you don’t have to worry about getting into debt-ridden situation in the first place – unless some un-foreseen circumstance or just plain bad luck.

Use Leftovers as Much As Possible – this method is really great for larger families!  Using leftovers can come in quite handy when it comes to saving money on meals!  Try creating meals that you can store in your freezers or for the next day for lunch or dinner.  You can easily create two pots filled with delicious spaghetti and freeze the portions that you and your family have not consumed to eat them at a later date.  You are literally making your own convenient meals…without of course paying what you would normally pay for a convenience meal.  You can also create chili and save the leftovers for a later date in the same manner.  This is a mega money saver!  You can also pre make bigger quantities of other foods or meals and freeze them to set for a later date!

Many people also find that cooking a turkey or ham and then slicing it up to make different meals is a big time money saver.  Think about all of the many things you could literally make turkey and ham out of… you could literally slice it all up and make your very own sandwich meat, or even make various different meals such as turkey salad.  You can research and find other tips and ideas with leftovers online to help you with saving both time and money, while at the same time giving you delicious recipe ideas that you can use to spread your meals out and make more out of your meals!

Create Your Own Desserts vs. Expensive Premade Desserts – Alright Betty Crocker, it’s time for you to pull out your oven mitt and your apron… it’s time to make your very own inexpensive desserts that the whole family will love!  It is proven that created your own homemade food items will save you a ton of cash and this is no different with pastries or desserts!  In fact you can even live “frugally” by baking your very own bread.  The reason why it is so cheap to create your own desserts is because the ingredients that you use can be bought in mass quantity and are very inexpensive to purchase.  Rather than going out and purchasing an already premade dessert why not save tons of money following your favorite recipe book and creating your own “frugal” desserts!  This is another great way for you to save money that you can literally see at the end of the month!

There are tons of different recipes online that you can find that will help you create your very own “frugal” meals that your entire family will love!  Make sure that you keep everyday spices in stock as well as flour.  You will be surprised out how easy it really can be to save money eating the “frugal” way… don’t just take my word for it… find out for yourself!

Frugal Living, Save Money, and Frugal Lifestyle: Clothing Your Kids and Yourself on a Frugal Budget

Many people don’t realize that they can still dress fashionably without paying that designer price tag, but you can!  There are many different tips and suggestions that you can use to help save you and your family money while at the same time keeping you up-to-date with the trends of today!  Here are a few pointers you can go by when deciding to start living your “frugal” lifestyle!

Play Clothes vs. School Clothes – Everyone knows that kids can be very harsh on clothes especially when they are with their friends and playing in mud, dirt, and sand.  You can save yourself a whole bunch of money by making your kids change out of their “good” attire for school and public places and change into play clothes that you don’t care about getting stained or torn.  Many people find that they can find cheap play clothes at secondhand thrift shops.  You can find shirts, shorts, and pants for as cheap as $0.50 a pair.  Why spend tons of money on clothes that are going to be messed up… in the end by providing your kids play clothes to change into after school, you will save yourself tons of money by not having to replace the “good” clothes as often.

Create Clothing Bins for Storage and Future Wear – This is a great idea if you have more than one child and you can also use this for yourself and your spouse.  What you want to do is create bins for clothes to store in your storage or attic.  Each of the bins need to be labeled with the appropriate gender and size.  You can also separate the bins in seasons if you’d like.  If you have an older child and a younger child of the same gender, then this is a great way to store hand me down clothes when the younger child reaches the appropriate size to wear the clothes from the older sibling.  Hand me down clothes are a great way to save money, and doesn’t have to be looked at as a bad thing.  As long as the clothes are taken care off, they can virtually still look like new for the next kid coming up into the appropriate size.

Money saving Tips and Frugal Living Success

You can also shop secondhand thrift stores for future up sizes that your kids can grow in to.  Remember that all secondhand thrift stores do have clothing items available that are from retailers of name brand clothing that literally still have the price tag on them, so take advantage of those savings and quality, even if your child isn’t that size just yet.  You can easily store the clothes in a bin labeled with the size of the clothes and then when your child reaches that size you can use those clothes.  You will be surprised to see exactly how much money you can save using this method… and still be able to have the name brand clothes that your children desire, just at a dramatically low price!

Shopping for Discounts and Seasonal Sales on Clothing Items to Store – Each year clothing retailers will host a huge sale for all of their season ending clothes.  This is a great way for you to get bargain prices on name brand clothes that the whole family will love.  The trick to this savings is to shop for clothes that your child can wear for that next season, which is most commonly one to two sizes up from what they are wearing currently.  You can great discounts on coats this way also.  Many of the clothing retailers will have clothes marked down to even 80% off, which is a great savings and a way to get more clothing at a cheaper price.

Try doing this for each season and you will be surprised out how much you have saved yourself when it comes to the next season and you already have a wardrobe for both you and your family and spent only a fraction of the price that you would normally spend.  Most department stores base their discounts per season, so keep your eyes peeled during the months of summer, fall, winter, and spring for discounts and savings for the upcoming year’s wardrobe and save tons of money the whole step of the way!

Buying Clothing Items from Secondhand Thrift Shops and Discount Designer Department Stores – Many people are finding that purchasing their clothing items from secondhand thrift stores or discount department stores can save them tons of money when it comes to dressing for less and of course still remaining stylish.  Many of your discount designer department stores such as, Ross’s, Marshall’s, and Stein Mart sell designer clothing at more than 50% less than what you would pay for them in regular designer retail stores.

The perk to using this shopping method is that you can still buy designer brand names; you just don’t have to pay the outrageously high price tags that the clothes are normally marked as in other department stores.  What happens is much like what happens with the secondhand thrift stores, when a retailer changes seasons or inventory, the left over items are then sold to these secondhand thrift stores and discount designer department stores for an amazing price and then they are able to offer them to their customers at an extremely lower price.

Most of the secondhand thrift shops as well as discount designer department stores carry all sizes from baby, toddler, child, teen, and even adult and if you can’t find your size for that particular season simply do like I said before and buy clothes seasons in advance and store them in your conveniently labeled bins with the appropriate size and gender.  This is a great way to save you and your family a chunk of money but still gives you the ability to stay with the trend of today’s time also… which the kid’s will definitely love!

So the next time your deciding to hit up the sales and clearance racks for you and your families clothing, make sure that you use these helpful tips, strategies, and suggestions to save you tons of cash and puts money that you would normally spend back into your pocket!

Save Money, Frugal Living, and Frugal Lifestyle: Family Fun The Smart Way – Family Fun for the Frugal Family

Living frugally doesn’t have to mean no fun at all!  There are tons of different things that you and your family can do and have fun with without having to spend an arm and a leg to make it possible.  As we all know it can cost a family of four anywhere from $70-$80 to go to the movies, and most of the time that doesn’t include popcorn or drinks… you can take on an extra $15-$20 bucks for that!  Let alone if you wanted to even attempt to attend a sporting event with your family, which can cost anywhere from $200 to even $400, just for a fun family event that everyone will enjoy!

What many people don’t think about is how the whole family can still have a fun and exciting time without spending mega tons of money to do it!  Here are a few suggestions of some fun family activities you can do to give your family the same fun, enjoyment, and laughter that those expensive family outings cost you!

Pizza and Movie Night – This is a great money-saving activity that the whole family will enjoy.  Simply buy a couple of your favorite frozen pizzas and rent an inexpensive movie from your local movie store that the whole family would enjoy, and you have created a night filled with laughter and fun at a fraction of the cost that you would pay going to the movies.  You can even incorporate some popcorn if you’d like and dim the lights low to give your home a “real” theater effect.  This can also serve as a plus for the family because now you can pause during bathroom breaks, and no one will look at you crazy for laughing to loud!  You can easily have this family fun night for the entire family for under $20.  A great savings compared to spending $100 at the movies!

Family Game Night – Pull out your favorite board games and start letting the laughter and fun pour in!  This is a great and inexpensive way to ensure that you and your family have a fun and exciting night!  Using board games such as Monopoly, Scrabble, Checkers, Chess, Charades, and Yahtzee (to name a few) have always been a great way to pass the time by and fun while doing it.  You can even incorporate some frozen pizzas or popcorn to add to the mix. The best part is this activity, unless you don’t already own a board game, is literally free to do!  Plus you will love all of the memories you get when incorporating this type of family fun right from the convenience of your own home!

Camping, Hiking, or Biking – If you have a tent handy and camping equipment, then you are already one step closer to creating some mega family fun for a very inexpensive price.  Many people opt in to using campgrounds, which at your local park can be very inexpensive, or you can simply use your own backyard for family camping fun.  Simply put up your tent and treat it as if you were camping on a campground.  Incorporate games such as horseshoes, potato sack races, or even volleyball.  You can also build your own campfire and literally cook food from it or roast marshmallows.

Frugal Living and Save Mone

Another great family fun activity that is very inexpensive is a hiking trip.  There are tons and tons of parks that have marked and available hiking trails that you can venture out on for free!  So pack up your hiking gear and through on some boots and you can find great outdoor hiking fun the whole family will enjoy!  The same applies to biking trails! This is also a free activity that can also be an added plus to extra exercise for the entire family.  Grab your water bottles and be sure to wear your biking helmets for a great activity in the outdoors!  Many frugal families find outdoor activities very fun and inexpensive and a great money saver that will give you memories of a lifetime!

Internet Family Fun Night – Now more than ever our world is turning to the internet for virtually everything and you and your frugal family can also!  You can find many games, videos, and even movies free to watch all online and from the convenience of your own home! Many of the games can be played with multiple players also so that everyone is included in the family fun.  The best part is you do not have to spend any money for instant fun, and the games and movies are endless when it comes to the internet!  You can literally find hundreds of different games and movies available right at your fingertips!

Local Museums, Free Events, and Baking Fun for the Whole Family – You can also find family fun locally.  Check around at your local museums to see what their admission fees are, most commonly they will be very inexpensive, and can provide fun for the entire family! You can also search your local newspapers for upcoming free events such as festivals and even fairs that can be very inexpensive!

The more you look the more you will find available events in your area for a very cheap price!  Another great family activity that you can do for free is having a family baking night.  Kids love baking things and they will love the idea of getting to bake something themselves.  Try cooking cookies or small cakes that they can decorate on their own with their favorite toppings!  Make them all homemade and you will have a fun-filled family night that is both tasty and money-saving!

So the next time you are planning your family fun night try incorporating this “frugal” family fun activities to save you money and still give your family the fun and excitement that every family needs!

Please check out the third and final part of “Frugal Living Frugal Lifestyle and Save Money 3 – Your Stress Free Roadmap to Financial Freedom” for more money-saving tips and information about save money, frugal Living and frugal lifestyle.

Frugal Living Lifestyle 101