The Cheapskate's Guide to Frugality

I'm a freelance writer. As most freelancers, I don't always have a steady income to depend on. Sometimes I work my butt off and expect a large paycheck, only to be told that I won't get paid because one my editors had an issue with some of the details in my articles. With such an unpredictable profession, being frugal is an essential part of survival. Not only does being frugal allow us to pay our bills on time, it also allows us to stash away some money for a rainy day. Below are my cheapskate tips to living a frugal life.

Clip Coupons:

I'm sure you've heard that clipping coupons can save money, but you don't know what you're missing out on until you become an extreme coupon shopper. Novices to couponing are happy to trim a few dollars off of their grocery bills, but seasoned coupon shoppers have one goal in mind: shaving 50% or more off of their grocery bill.

Strategically planning your grocery shopping list is essential when you're a cheapskate trying to like a frugal life. Instead of making your grocery list and then looking for coupons, create your grocery list based on the sale items matched up with coupon items. I do this every week and save no less than $25 on my weekly grocery bill or $100 per month. Another local woman was in the news (Liberty, NY) because she saves over $200 by using this very same method.

Account for everything:

Many people don't realize where their money truly goes. Logging everything you spend can be a real eye opener. Our bank account kept getting lower and lower and I had no idea where all the money was going. We were clipping coupons like it was our job and using other cheapskate methods to live frugally. Well, after logging our every purchase that we made for an entire month, I realized that we spent over $160 on fast food each month! That is a lot of money for two people to spend on fast food in one month. Because of that eye opener, I log everything that we spend money on, from bills, to trips to the convenience store. This has really allowed us to get a hold on our money.

DIY:

I am a decorating addict. There is always a decorating project to take on in my house. But, such a decorating addiction could make our bank account take a big dip every time I get the itch to redecorate. Instead of spending our hard earned cash on new furniture and décor. I take the cheapskate approach to decorating: the DIY approach.

This means that I create inspiration boards about how I want the room to look, then find a way to create the pieces myself or reuse the pieces I already have in my home. For example, I'm planning on giving our bedroom an overhaul soon. This overhaul will consist of a new dresser, drapes and an atomic mirror hanging over our bed. I'll be sanding down or dresser, repainting it and installing new hardware, sewing my own drapes and creating the mirror myself.