Frugal Lifestyle Tips - How to Live on a Fixed Budget

Are you searching for tips to living a frugal lifestyle in today's tight economy? As the nation's economic state worsens, most people are feeling the impact of scaling-down. Here are some easy-to-implement cost-cutting measures to reduce expenses and save money.

Groceries

Grow your own food, even if you have little space available. Edible plants like radishes, carrots, and lettuce can be tucked into the spaces between hedges and flowers. For apartment dwellers, container gardening is a thrifty way to cut grocery expenses.

Buy in bulk - share the cost with one or more friends if necessary to help everyone save money. Learn to love dried beans. Beans are a cheap way to lower cholesterol while providing low fat protein and other vital nutrients. Cooked beans freeze well and can be used as the basic ingredients for thousands of meatless meals.

Use meat as a side dish rather than an entrée. Focus on providing nutrient rich vegetables and fruits, with accents of meat. A delicious, filling meal can be made from salad greens, stir-fry chicken, some sliced almonds, and mandarin oranges. Serve with a side of steamed broccoli and mixed fruit.

Eating Out

Don't buy extravagant luxuries like coffee drinks or food items from convenience stores or vending machines. Pack a thermos with coffee, and buy healthy snack food in bulk, then repackage it in smaller quantities. Just eliminating one $5 coffee drink per week will save $260 a year. Fix a brown bag lunch with a sandwich on whole grain bread, carrots, and an apple. This belt-tightening exercise helps you cut costs and become healthier. You may even save on health costs.

Insist that children order from the kid's menu. If yours is a smaller appetite and the restaurant will allow it, order from the children's options also. If an entrée is larger, share it. Order water, as beverage price is an area where restaurants hold a high profit margin.

Entertainment

Most public libraries have extensive collections of movies in VHS and DVD formats. Borrow movies from the library, rather than renting from NetFlix or the local movie store. Pop your own popcorn and your favorite beverage and you'll save about $50 to $75. Trade movies with friends and other family members, as their entertainment preferences are likely to be similar to yours.

Scale-back on cable television add-ons like premium movie stations. Listen to radio programs like Focus on the Family's Adventures in Odyssey or visit: http://prariehome.publicradio.org to find Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home Companion.

This article has only skimmed the surface of the many ways to reduce expenses and find for tips to living a frugal lifestyle in today's tight economy. Ask friends and families how they are trimming budgets, or research the subject on the Internet for more tips from like-minded individuals. The money saved is well worth the time spent.