Have you ever visited someone’s home and admired their gorgeous new leather sofa, only to discover that they found it for free on a pre owned website? Or eaten dinner at a party to then be told that what you just ate cost only a few dollars to make?
We live in a world where consumers are demanding better value from the suppliers and this isn’t just across one area or industry. It is everywhere. So, are you still paying full price for goods that you could be getting for a fraction of the cost? Or are you wise to the benefits of doing your research to get the best deal?
Frugal living is all about saving money across your food and living expenses. Some families have put themselves on an extreme frugal routine where they live on the basic bones for one year. The point of the exercise is to help them realise they are throwing a lot of money at things which aren’t necessary.
Food is a great place to start. Firstly, if you want to get really frugal then you should be growing your own vegetables at home. It isn’t hard, you don’t need a lot of space. Even just growing tomatoes or strawberries in pots on the patio can help reduce the amount you spend on food. Buying fresh may seem more expensive than heading to the ready meal aisle, however it all depends on what you are cooking. Plus if you are making meals yourself, you can cook in bulk and freeze down. You don’t have to be a culinary goddess to make some really brilliant recipes.
The internet is a brilliant resource when it comes to money saving. Not only can you compare the prices of most service providers you can also get some ace tips, like these on http://www.dontpayfull.com/blog/how-to-save-money on other areas you can make great savings.
Branded goods are another big money loss. We are led to believe cleaning products such as Cif or Fairy washing up liquid are better than the non branded ranges, however this simply isn’t true. In fact, making your own kitchen cleaner from vinegar and bicarbonate of, or baking, soda gives you a fantastic product which also has a fine grain in it to help life the grease.
In a recent marketing push by https://www.walmart.com three families had their favourite branded products replaced with the own brands. Out of the three families and 18 different products used, only one branded product was prefered.
You see with the advancements in technology and the basic understanding we have of how things work, it is now possible to reproduce these items at far less cost to the manufacturer. There is also a huge saving on branding and marketing too as it falls under the supermarket generic branding and marketing budget.
Take a financial detox and see if you can enjoy the frugal life for a while. You’ll be amazed how cash savvy you become!
