In my last post, I talked about how to survive on a million dollars. Now, I would like to talk about how to live frugally to make it possible to survive on a million dollars and not have to work for a living. By not having to work at a full time job, I would have more time and energy to spend more quality time with my family. Even if one does not have a million dollars, these frugal ways to save money still come in handy.
I like to use coupons and rebates whenever possible. Why pay full price for something if I do not have to? Now, I am not talking about going to the extreme while couponing, but just using the coupons for the items that I would normally purchase. Coupling coupons with weekly sales adds even more savings to your grocery bill. Another way to save on my grocery bill would be to make menu plans for the week or even the whole month and then creating a grocery list according to the ingredients needed to cook the food on the menu. Getting into the habit of using a grocery list would help me to control my tendencies for purchasing items on impulse, cutting down on my total grocery expense.
Along with using coupons in conjunction with the weekly sales, I would make use of money saving apps I have downloaded for free on my smart phone. One such app often has similar coupons to the ones that I have printed off of my favorite coupon website, so I am able to save double on certain items. There are even a couple of apps that allow me to scan my receipts to earn points towards gift cards to my favorite store.
I often find it more convenient to shop online especially during peak shopping periods such as holidays. Shopping online has its own benefit since there are several rebate sites that I can use to receive money back from my online purchases. There are different percentages that the sites offer for shopping on certain retail websites, so I normally check out the rebate sites to determine which ones offer the most money back at the retail site I chose. This can add up to a significant amount of money back to put to good use on other expenses. Receiving rebates for my online purchases is not limited to buying new items, so buying gently used items at discounted prices from popular auction sites makes another viable option for saving money.
Another way to save while shopping online would be using codes that you enter at the time of checkout which gives you a discount on the order. Doing a quick search of the internet would help me to find these before I start shopping online. Many retail websites usually have a certain dollar amount that makes the shipping free for my order, so I always make sure that I check this out before making my purchase.
My favorite way of saving money would be going to local thrift stores. Visiting my local thrift stores saves a significant amount of money for me on my children’s clothing and shoes. Children quickly outgrow their clothes, so it makes sense to purchase gently used clothing and shoes which would possibly cost a third of what they are brand new. Sometimes, I have even found brand new items at a huge discount.
Household goods and even furniture are easy to find at a thrift store and costs quite a bit less than bought brand new. Many times I find unique items that I would not find in a department store which helps me express my style in my home at a fraction of the cost. Buying used items would be beneficial to my wallet as well as the environment. Using a little creativity, brings new life to old furniture pieces and would create a unique piece of art for my home.
While using these methods to save money may not add a significant amount to the million dollars I would be trying to survive on, they would allow me to live at a relatively comfortable level and to avoid having a full time job. Saving as much money as I could on things I would use on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis, would give me the opportunity to put aside a small amount of money for any unexpected expenses or more for putting into my investments.
What are your favorite methods to save money? Do you have the same methods as the ones I have listed here or maybe some different ones? Would you still use money saving methods if you had a million dollars? Please feel free to share your ideas so others can learn from them and maybe incorporate them into their money saving plans.
Picture Credit: https://pixabay.com/en/piggy-bank-save-money-piglet-1019758/
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True, if you have the time because you have a million dollars in capital, you can really find the best time for shopping, and you have the time to find coupons, and use coupons.
@scheng1 I would really need to find the time to print coupons that would save me on everyday items since I would not want to work at a regular job. I use coupons now but not to the extent that I go in search of coupon inserts in the newspapers. I just go to my favorite coupon site to print off the ones I need. One site I use for coupons is a survey site and I get 10 cents per coupon I use. So it is like a bonus savings.
I love that you would still coupon, even if you were a millionaire! I'm that way too. I think I'll always be frugal, even if money is ever so plentiful that I no longer have to think about it.
@ruby3881 I have learned that even being a millionaire is no guarantee that I will always have money. In the past, I have not been quite so conscientious about money and would just buy whatever I wanted. This is how I got into the financial bind that I am an in now. Plus, right now I do not have a job so I have to try everything to save money on groceries and other items my family needs. So I will want to be more frugal if I were to have a million dollars since it really is not much in today's standards.
e too, I also use coupons from magazines and newspaper, cut them out and keep them.
When the due date is here, use them for groceries, save a bit but comes a long way.
I also buy online but use coupons and vouchers. Get around 20% of the normal price plus free shipping fee.
Although the amount is small, if you calculate those saving by the end of the month, you will be saving at least 10%-20% from your bill.
I will take any amount of savings because it all helps me to save some money and like you said it all adds up at the end of the month. I use coupons, Ebates, apps on my phone that gives me money back on groceries and ones that I scan my receipts into. It does not take me that much time to do so why not get rewarded for something so simple? I have become obsessed with saving money and earning money since I lost my job.
I am not a stingy person. But I am frugal in many ways. Coupons are not common in my country. However, whenever there are some shops offer a discount or on sales. I took the time to check it out and buy things that are needed. Being a practical person is also a good thing despite for having a million dollars sleeping in my savings account.
Spending money has been an art in all ages but money you cannot produce the only way to increase is just you must know how to draw money from the other pockets. Money land both are increased by snatching or by hook or crook. By honest means you cannot earn millions of dollars yntil luck supports you through lottery.
Do you hate it when you really need money, but your wallet is empty? No matter how little or how much money you have, spending it wisely is a good idea; it enables you to get the most bang for your buck. Follow these tips to reduce expenditures in key areas and adopt a safer overall approach to shopping.
Track your spending and income so you have an accurate picture of your financial situation. Save receipts or write down your purchases in a notebook as you make them. Review your bills each month and add those expenses to your budget.
Organize your purchases by category (food, clothing, entertainment, etc.). Categories with the highest monthly amounts (or monthly amounts you consider surprisingly high) may be good targets for saving money.
Once you've tracked your purchases for a while, create a monthly (or weekly) limit for each category. Make sure the total budget is smaller than your income for that period, with enough left over for savings if possible.
this buying something you don't need?) but in fact, it's easier to maintain your spending goals if you give yourself the occasional reward. Try to go cold turkey on unnecessary spending and you may eventually "crack" and splurge much more than you should