Unlock Your Financial Potential Part 3: 10 Saving Money Hacks for Daily Frugal Living

Disclaimer: The information provided in this blog article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or professional advice. Always consult with a qualified financial advisor before making any financial decisions. The author and publisher are not responsible for any losses or damages resulting from the use of the information provided.

Check out these related articles you may also enjoy:

• Unlock Awesome Financial Potential Part 1: Smart Saving and Frugal Spending Essentials
• Unlock Awesome Financial Potential Part 2: More Excellent Frugal Fitness

Stretching dollars doesn’t have to be hard! You can do it without sacrificing your lifestyle. These saving money hacks are perfect for anyone committed to daily frugal living. From small everyday changes to smart financial habits, these tips will help you keep more money in your pocket starting now.

1 – Discounts for Bundled Purchases

This doesn’t apply everywhere but there are still cases where bundling purchases gets you a discount.  Whether it is a vendor or a insurance company you may be granted a discount if asking if you can save by buying more if you truly need to buy more.

2 – Eat Before Grocery Shopping

Raise your hand if you’re in the club!  Ever been to the grocery store and every single thing you looked at made you hungry? LOL

We’ve all been there right?  Your mind will go a mile a minute drooling at the idea of eating the entire grocery store.  

Unfortunately, this also leads to spending more money at the grocery store because, in the moment, when you’re starving, daily frugal living goes out the window and nothing sounds bad.

Don’t stop at just making sure you have eaten.  Make sure everybody eats before they go on the grocery store trip.  Especially when it comes to those that will add things to your cart when you’re not looking!

3 – Drinking Gets Expensive (So Be Cheap About It)

Drink at home and drink water it is cheap!

Ok so most likely you won’t think drinking water is fun so for those who will actually drink the other stuff consider these… Especially when going out, if you keep track of what you spend on drinks you’ll probably immediately ask yourself if the time and money you spent were worth it.

Prices for drinking are generally 2-3 times what you would pay versus doing it at home.  If opting to drink, doing so at home also prevents drinking and driving when you don’t have anywhere you need to drive to.

So what else might you bump into for expenses when drinking out? There’s also a need for some folks to have this pesky craving to eat while being out which also adds to more spending.

How about those that realize they’ve had too much to drink?  You are likely opting to pay for a ride home and then will still end up going back to get your vehicle later which also costs time and money.

4 – Drink Some Sunlight

I know why you came to this one.  You want to know how to gulp down some sun.  It’s easy, stand in the mist of the sun beams.  So why is this some advice?

It is often forgotten the energy and benefits that can come from getting the proper amount of sunlight.  Instead of ordering that extra shot of espresso or for that extra energy boost, try basking in some sun. 

Research shows that as little as 5 minutes of sunlight has tremendous benefits.  The sun helps the body make Vitamin D. It aids in the regulation of your immune system, blood pressure, and blood sugar.  Additionally, your bones and muscle health with say a big thank you. [1] 

Did you know that sunlight can kill bacteria in dust? [2] Just sayin…lol

5 – Buy a Chest Freezer

So yes, buying an additional freezer has its costs but does it save you in the long run?  If you have the ability to take advantage of a deal at the store, this might be a way for you to pack in some savings.  Having somewhere to store bulk purchased items when they go on sale can be a big win of savings down the road. 

6 – Pack Your Lunch

With rising grocery prices, many families are focused on stretching money to cover eating expenses. Sounds very “old school” but packing your lunch can save you tons of money.  Things are not getting any cheaper when eating out, so this can be a simple win with a bit of planning.

Cook multiple meals at once or maybe have a marathon of preparing lunch for the week!

7 – Set Time Aside to Focus on Your Finances

Some people make a monthly appointment to get their hair done or maybe check in on your kids classes/homework.

The question is do you set some time away at least once a month to grapple with your finances?  The more often  you do this the less daunting it will be.

8 – Uninstall Apps That Allow Easy Shopping

One click shopping can be a disaster if you don’t have good willpower and control over your spending.  If you struggle with this and you have shortcuts and apps that allow quick purchases it may be time to make things a little harder on yourself.

Uninstall ‘Em! Unlink ‘Em!  Outta here pronto!

This will make it an extra effort to purchase things you really need and not just because of an easy way to shop and an impulse.

9 – Return Things

Buy things that you don’t use and then don’t return ’em? 

You may not be totally at fault.  Sometimes stores make it harder to return items (there’s a reason for that.)

However, even if that is the case it is wise to check into returning something before making a purchase.  Is there an easy way to return it?  If it’s online do you have to pay for shipping?

10 – Take Care of the Things You Have

When you have purchased an item, say a printer for example, what do you do with it?

• Do you perform the cleaning cycles as stated in the manual?
• Regularly dust and look for any paper jams/paper pieces?
• Print a test page to see if inks are printing properly?
• Update firmware?

Or

Do you wait for a problem to occur and then troubleshoot and try all things and workarounds to avoid having to purchase a new product?

Or

Do you wait for a problem, try a thing or two that doesn’t work and decide you’re better off with the newer technology and purchase a new one.

While there is no perfect answer, it is always better to perform regular maintenance on an item like this.  Think of a car.  You have to perform regular maintenance like oil changes to ensure everything runs smooth to avoid a breakdown.  If you wait until there’s a problem you may pay a higher financial cost or have such a big issue it is cheaper to buy another.

Let’s Wrap This Up

…and there you have it folks! Time for an action. Pick one of the topics above and test it out! Jot down how much money you save and let it be a journal of inspiration to save the do-re-mi!

References

1 – Ccrn, K. H. R. B. (2024, June 21). 8 Proven health benefits of sunlight. GoodRx. https://www.goodrx.com/health-topic/environmental/benefits-of-sunlight

2- Fahimipour, A. K., Hartmann, E. M., Siemens, A., Kline, J., Levin, D. A., Wilson, H., Betancourt-Román, C. M., Brown, G., Fretz, M., Northcutt, D., Siemens, K. N., Huttenhower, C., Green, J. L., & Van Den Wymelenberg, K. (2018). Daylight exposure modulates bacterial communities associated with household dust. Microbiome, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-018-0559-4