Extreme Frugality Tips from Top Frugal Experts

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Learn how to live a frugal lifestyle from those who are living it.

I think you will agree with me when I say that there’s a lot of wisdom–money wisdom to be exact on the internet and they can be overwhelming. That’s if you do not know where to look.

But if you have been looking for no-BS extreme frugality tips that you can include in your life, then look no further.

There are plenty of people who have practiced frugality and had success with it. So, I thought it would be useful to learn from them.

Therefore, I reached out to a few reliable frugal experts and asked for their top 3 extreme frugality tips, of which they willingly contributed.

Extreme Frugality Tips From Top Frugal Experts

Extreme Frugality Tips From Experts

Here’s what they shared, in no particular order:

Tuppenny’s Fireplace

My top 3 tips for someone who needs to save money right now would be:

1. Turn your heating off and layer up. If you need to wrap up in blankets on the sofa then do it. If (when!) you get cold sitting down, get up and move about to warm up.

2. Buy your groceries from the clearance & reduced section only. Aim for a minimum price of 50% off. You might have some weird food combinations but hey, you’ve saved money and it’s only for a short while.

3. Walk everywhere that is less than 3 miles away. It takes more time than driving but you will save on gas/petrol.

If you liked what you read, head over to Tuppenny‘s Fireplace for more tips.

Six Dollar Family

Top 3 I would say are:

1. Downsize your home as much as possible – Most of us live in homes that are far too large for what we truly need. We pay for those homes. I did this myself in 2016 and blogged about living in a hotel with a child after.

2. Change how you cook and eat to include more fresh foods, foods you’ve caught/hunted yourself and foods you’ve grown yourself. Fast foods and convenience foods are no only making us fat but they’re making us broke as well.

3. Barter – Barter, and trade are both lost skills but done correctly they can save huge depending on what the trade is for.

You can read more tips from Six Dollar Family Tips here.

Orison Orchard

Here are my top 3 extreme frugality tips:

1. Don’t waste. When do you get the worst gas mileage? When your car is idling. It’s the same with groceries. No matter how good you are at shopping frugally, throwing food out is literally throwing away money. Leaving lights on or neglecting to insulate your home properly wastes electricity. Whether groceries or utilities or clothing, don’t buy more than you need and don’t let what you buy go to waste.

2. Don’t spend impulsively. Take time to think your purchases through, even the small ones. Your $5 daily coffee purchase adds up to $1825 per year. Do you really need a new pair of shoes? Think about what all of those nickels and dimes could do if invested.

3. Never pay interest. Why would you pay someone for the privilege of using their money? It might take a little more time to save up for the things you want, rather than purchasing them on credit, but it will save you boatloads of money in the long run.

All of these things take discipline, but learning to discipline our spending will carry over into other aspects of our lives and benefit us in unimaginable ways.

Head over to Orison Orchard for more great tips.

Swift Salary

Here are my favorite extreme frugality tips that don’t go too far, but still provide good savings:

1. Take cold showers – Taking cold showers not only eliminates the cost of heating water, but it also has numerous other benefits. For example, since taking cold showers consistently for about two years now, I’ve noticed increased willpower, a better ability to handle stress, and I also get sick far less often.

2. Don’t wash your clothes as often – This one could be taken to very extreme levels, but I’m not recommending that. All I’m saying is, we often wash clothes that aren’t actually dirty. This not only costs us money in the laundry room, but it also causes our clothes to degrade more quickly. The solution? For clothes other than underwear, if they don’t look dirty, give them a smell test before tossing them in the hamper. You may find they can go another day without being washed!

3. Cut your own hair – This is one that is most likely going to easier for guys, but I’ve seen girls do it too. There are tons of tutorials on the internet showing how it’s done, and if you’re feeling brave, it could save you a good chunk of cash. And hey, hair grows back anyway, right?

If you love these tips, head over to Swift Salary for more great tips.

Caroline Vencil

I’d love to share some of my favorite tips for extreme frugality. 🙂

1. Always look for coupons and deals (but don’t let it take over your life to save $0.10) – Wouldn’t you rather go to a restaurant knowing you have a $10 off coupon than go to one just like it without one?

2. Always plan ahead – The decisions from today impact how you use your money tomorrow. If your impulse to buy everything from Target today, that means that you will have less money to put toward your financial goals tomorrow.

3. Always look to buy something used before buying new – Shopping thrift stores, or even buying used cars or refurbished laptops and phones can save a lot of money.

If you liked what Caroline shared, check out her blog for more tips.

I Like To Dabble

Some of my favorite frugal tips are,

1. I’m a drinker but I don’t really drink at home. So if we go out to eat, I always scope out happy hour specials before we go out to see where I can get the most bang for my buck.

2. We use Trim for lowering our internet and cell phone bills. They negotiate the rates for us and automatically do it at the beginning of each year so we don’t have to lift a finger and get savings on our wifi and cell phones.

3. If it’s a beautiful day out, we love to hike. It’s free and a form of meditation for us. We also love going to free festivals and free museums (which if you live in st. Louis, a lot of museums are free but if not, go to your local library because they often will have museum passes that you can get for free).

Looking for more? Check out I Like To Dabble for more tips.

Go From Broke

1. Get a roommate or rent out a room in your house. Housing is most people’s largest expense. Try to reduce it or turn it into a source of revenue.

2. Ride a bike instead of driving. Transportation is another huge expense for people. Switching to a bike will help you eliminate car payments, avoid rising fuel costs, and reduce wear and tear on any vehicle you already own.

3. Cut your own hair. It may not seem like much but the average haircut several years ago was between $35-45. Depending on how many haircuts you’re getting that could be upwards of $500 a year!

Loving these tips? Check out Go From Broke for more tips.

The Fun Sized Life

1. Wear dirty clothes. Don’t worry, we’re not dumpster diving for clothes. But if you wear a pair of jeans for the day, and nothing too terrible has happened to them, hang them back up and wear them again later in the week. You can do this with shirts and pajamas as well. It definitely cuts back on the number of times you do laundry each week

2. Pick up loose change. A penny picked up from a dirty parking lot is a penny earned.

3. Shower at your gym. If you are a frequent gym-goer, then make sure you are getting your money’s worth and use the facilities. This can not only help your skin out by washing away the sweat but can also save you by avoiding adding to your water bill.

You can check out the rest of the tips at The Fund Sized Life.

Final Thoughts On Extreme Frugality Tips

These are all awesome tips and I love them all. I am already doing some of them but I’m excited that I learned more from these experts.

I’m sure there are a lot more out there. However, it won’t really help you if you won’t act on them.

It is so easy to LEARN LEARN LEARN and NOT ACT on the things you learn.

You do not have to do everything at once. Just choose one that you can incorporate in your daily life and work from there.

Focus on your goals and you’ll see that every little thing can add up and help take you closer to your goals.

If you’re looking for more saving tips, go check out this post.

What are some of your extreme frugality tips?