It is no hidden fact that we can turn around our lives financially if we plan our pleasures instead of just giving into our whims. Once you take the initiative and stick to it, you will find that you are saving a lot of money which you had been previously just throwing around. Never fear, it’s never too late to start. Here are a few simple tips for frugal living:

10. Watch less Television

One huge way to save money is to turn off the Television as frequently as possible. That way you’ll be less prone to advertisements, save money on electricity bills. Since Television takes up a lot of our time, minimizing the time spent with it will free up a lot of time for you to finish your other pending chores and more importantly, spend time with your family. Moreover, you can reduce the depression that comes with hearing about murders and robberies and what not.

9.  Yard Sale

Everyone has a lot of useful stuff that we don’t use anymore. Clothes that your kids have outgrown, old chairs and tables that you are just bored of, old utensils that work fine but you just don’t use or other unwanted clutter which still works fine. All of that stuff would be just perfect for a yard sale. And added and obvious benefit to a yard sale is that apart from earning some fast cash, you also free a lot of space in your home. Ergo, your house will look a neater than before.

8.  Cut back on Take Away

We all know what it feels like when you come back from work and you still have to cook dinner. Ordering a pizza seems perfect then. However, resist the temptation. Its unhealthy and making a habit of it will affect you monthly expenses. Instead you can maybe, prepare the basic ingredients for dinner in the mornings and come back and have lesser work to do. Alternatively, you could assign everyone in your family certain tasks so that your work will be highly reduced. This will character building for the kids, and healthy for family bonding.

7.  Give up alcohol, tobacco, cigarettes

It’s apparent that smoking, drinking etc. are all unhealthy for our bodies. However, these habits are also expensive. If you drink one beer or a few beers a day, that adds up to big money each month. Some people drink even more than that and it becomes expensive. If you can cut your drinking to the occasional party, and once in a while with friends and not all the time, you’ll save tons of money. Also, cutting back on smoking will help lowering your expenses. Not only will you save on cigarettes, which are expensive over the long run, but also associated costs and of course the huge, long-term medical costs.

6.  Eat out less

One of the biggest expenses in our daily lives is eating out — the average person spends well over $5,000 a year on eating out. Restaurants are expensive and expose us to health hazards especially fast food joints. It is much cheaper to cook at home. Once in a while, you can make dinner special by using fancy china, setting the table with more finesse or maybe lighting some candles. This will cost you lesser than eating at a fancy restaurant as you’ll be saved from paying all sorts of taxes in your bill. In short, cooking at home is a chance for family bonding and a much healthier option.

5.  Shop during sale period

Shopping retail is very expensive, especially when you can get equally good stuff during sale. Practice patience and wait for the Seasonal Sale offers when you need to go shopping. Moreover, you can buy a lot of stuff for the same amount for which you’d buy a single item at retail. This isn’t applicable for clothes shopping only, certain groceries that do not get wasted and need to be used year round such as tissues, tooth picks, room fresheners etc. can be bought I bulk during the Sale period. This way when you run out of something you won’t have to rush to the nearest retail outlet and buy it for a higher price.

4.  Use the Library for magazines and movies

Libraries, nowadays, are much more than places to check out books. A huge portion of your local library’s budget goes to maintaining information databases and purchasing computers to provide patrons with Internet access. They offer free access to computers and the Internet. Instead of getting a subscription for monthly periodicals or magazines, you can access them through the library for a much cheaper price. Libraries also keep a wide selection of DVD’s for their patrons so instead of buying a DVD you can rent it from the library. All these services, when added up, reduce a lot of your expenses. 

3.  Stop using cable

Cable is, hands down, a huge expense. Depending on the channels and services you choose and what provider you have, you spend around a lot of money just to watch TV. It’s something that you certainly want to reduce, so the simple solution is to just get rid of cable. Instead, purchase an antenna, which isn’t very expensive, and still get access to a variety of channels, sometimes with a better HD picture that cable would have offered you.

2.  Car pool or take the bus

Carpooling is infamous as an environment saving alternative. What’s more, it is good for reducing your travelling expenses as well. It makes for a fun ride to the school or office and gets rid of the boredom. If carpooling is not a feasible option for you then you could ride the bus to work. It is highly frugal method and will chip in a lot in reducing your expenses. Also, it is environment friendly and frugal.

1.  Find alternate cheaper sources of entertainment

Most of us go to clubs and movies in order to shake off the stress. However, these practices when added up for the entire year make quite a dip in our yearly expenses. So instead of going out for a new movie, you can wait for the DVD to come out and rent it with your family. And instead of going out to the club you can maybe hang out with your family and chill out over a few board games or some such other stuff which doesn’t make as huge a hole in your pocket.