17 Extreme Frugal Living Tips
This post may contain Affiliate Links
With the cost of living crisis intensifying, and things set to only get worse as the year progresses, I’m going to take a look at some extreme frugal living tips, which when combined could help you save a tonne of cash.
17 Extreme Frugal Living Tips
1. Cut Dishwasher Tablets In Half
Did you know that running a full dishwasher is actually cheaper, energy-wise, than heating the water for washing up in the sink?
If you want to push those savings even further, try cutting your dishwasher tablets in half. Most people find that they get the same results but for half the cost.
2. Use The Sun To Heat Washing Up Water
If you don’t have the luxury of a dishwasher to use, then heating up the water to wash up is what will be costing you money. On a hot day, place a bowl of water outside, covered with a black bag.
The sun will heat the water enough to wash up by dinner time.
3. Switch To A Family Cloth
Family cloth is not for everyone, but it could save you a lot of money in the long run if you decide to give it a try.
A family cloth is a set of cloths or wipes (these can be purchased or homemade) that are used after going to the bathroom. They are then washed and reused, a bit like cloth nappies.
While this is an extreme form of money-saving many people also do it for the positive impact it has on the environment. An alternative option is to use a bidet, although this is admittedly much more costly in the short term.
4. Regrow Vegetables
Have you ever tried to regrow vegetables from the ones you already have? Pop the end of a lettuce or spring onion in a jar (GU pots work perfectly for this) and then place it somewhere warm, such as on a windowsill.
Eventually, you should start to see some growth which can then be cut and eaten. The whole process can be repeated over and over again.
5. Sell Old Jars On eBay
You’ve probably heard the phrase ‘one man’s trash is another man’s treasure’ right? Well, there are lots of things from around your home that can be sold, most of which would usually just end up in the recycling.
GU pots and Kenco Coffee jars are two items that do really well on eBay as people often buy them for craft projects and for weddings.
Related Post – 14 Ways of Upcycling Gu Ramekins
6. Extreme Frugal Living Tips – Reuse Teabags
I know people are horrified at the thought of reusing tea bags but if you drink multiple cups a day, then it does make sense. Especially, if like me, you prefer a much weaker brew.
While this might only save a small amount over the course of the year, I think we are in a place where every little counts and some frugal practices quickly become something you do without even thinking about it.
7. Rescue Burn’t / Overcooked Food
Cooking for a family can be stressful and when it goes wrong, the overwhelming temptation can be to bin the lot and either start again or phone the takeaway.
However, there are plenty of ways you can rescue overcooked, burnt and even over-seasoned food.
You can read my full post with lots of examples – How To Rescue Overcooked Food
8. Go Skip Diving
Skip diving is a great way to bag items for your home, totally free. It’s amazing what other people throw away, especially when it comes to furniture, homeware and appliances.
There is one main rule to think about when skip diving.
Only ever take from skips that are on a public highway. For skips on private lands – such as a driveway, garden or outside a supermarket you’ll need permission, either from the owners of the property or the construction workers who are using it.
While skip diving isn’t illegal, you could be arrested for trespassing, so do be careful.
9. Cancel All Subscriptions – Including Your TV license
I only usually recommend this as part of an extreme frugal living regime or if you have friends who don’t mind you using their accounts from time to time.
The thing is, often when we’re cutting back, we cut back on nights out, eating at restaurants and family day trips. I kinda feel that without those, it is nice to be able to watch something decent on the telly of an evening!
However, if you really must cut back on everything, including your TV license you can still watch programmes on catchup – it’s watching live that is the issue.
10. Dent Your Loo Roll
Fed up with children that seem to use reams and reams of toilet paper but don’t fancy the family cloth idea mentioned above?
Putting a dent in your loo roll, or bending it slightly out of shape, prevents it from rolling so easily from the holder, meaning most people (kids and adults included) will use less overall.
11. Time Your Showers and Banish Baths
Heating the water for a bath can be pretty costly, so banishing baths altogether can be a great way to save money.
Limiting time in the shower can also save money on both electricity and water bills and don’t let it run for too long before getting in either. Most electric showers only take a minute or two to heat the water but people will often run it for five to minutes hopping in (my husband is terrible for doing this and it drives my money-saving mind crazy!)
12. Collect Shower Water
Talking of shower water, you could use a bucket or two to collect that shower water as it heats up. This can then be used for other tasks around the house such as watering plants or cleaning.
13. Stop Washing Your Hair So Often
How often do you wash your hair?
Lots of people wash their hair every day or every other, and to be honest, it’s just not needed. As someone with curly hair that I set each time I wash it, I only wash my hair once every five or six days.
Of course, I do shower in between this!
Washing your hair less often means shorter showers, which saves on electricity and water and means you’ll be using less shampoo and conditioner too which is another saving.
14. Cut Your Own Hair (and your famillies!)
During the lockdown, lots of people switched to cutting their hair as access to hairdressers was so limited.
While I do admit that some hairstyles need more frequent cuts than others, I’m lucky enough to be in a camp where I can just trim the ends at home and no one would know any different. If this is something you plan to try, I do recommend investing in a pair of proper haircutting scissors.
If you have children or a partner that has short or shaved head styles, then these can easily be achieved at home with a decent pair of clippers and a little bit of know-how.
15. Find Your Local Freecycle / Free To Collector / Waste Saver Group
These groups are great for picking up items that you need for free and preventing things that have lots of life left in them from going into landfills. Most towns and villages have a group or if you live in a city there might be one for your street or local area.
Most groups allow you to put out shoutouts for things you need as well as allowing listing for items being given away for free. Don’t forget to give back to these groups when you can and help others who might be in need.
16. Put Yourself On A Clothes Buying Ban (and mean it!)
Buying clothes is one of my biggest weaknesses and is probably where most of my ‘fun money’ goes aside from cake dates with my bestie.
Even though I buy almost everything second hand I probably buy far more clothing than I actually need.
Check if you need any essentials such as swimwear, pants or knickers and socks and then put yourself on a clothes buying ban for six months or even if year.
As well as saving you money, it can also help you make use of the clothes that you already own by repairing, restyling and repurposing them.
17. Extreme Frugal Living – Bulk Buy & Batch Cook
Two of my favourite ways to save money are bulk buying and batch cooking. Of course, to make this really work you do need a good-sized freezer.
If you can afford it, bulk buying will save you money in the long run. Things such as carrots and potatoes can often be bought in 25kg sacks direct from the farmer for a fraction of the price that you would pay in the supermarket.
You’ll then need to prep these to make sure they don’t go off before you can use them. This could mean making sliced carrots or mashed potatoes in portions for freezing or making whole dishes such as casseroles which can be frozen and then reheated at a later date.
Using your slow cooker is a great option for batch cooking as it’s really cheap to run and depending on the size you could make six to eight meals in one go. These then just need a quick blast in the microwave before eating.
I find having plenty of ready to go meals in the freezer also helps us to avoid the lure of the takeaway on busy nights!
I hope you’ve enjoyed these extreme frugal living tips and will be able to put some of them to use in the coming months as many of us are forced to tighten our spending habits even further.
