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Some frugal habits are easy to admit to. Clipping coupons? Sure. Buying generic? No shame there. But there’s a whole other tier of money-saving moves that really frugal people do that they rarely admit to, usually because they sound a little cheap, a little awkward, or a little too much. Here are seven of them. Try one and see how much you’ve been leaving on the table. Ask for a Discount, Every Single Time Most people assume prices are fixed. They aren’t, not nearly as often as you’d think. Furniture stores, cable and internet providers, even some medical bills have more wiggle room than you’d expect if you simply ask. The trick is to ask calmly and directly: “Is there any flexibility on this price?” Worst case, they say no, and you’re exactly where you started. Best case, you just saved real money for the cost of one slightly awkward sentence. Negotiate Every Recurring Bill You Have This goes beyond asking for a one-time discount. Call your cable company, your car insurance, your gym, even your phone plan once a year and ask what promotions or loyalty discounts are available. Providers count on the fact that most customers never call, so the savings just sit there unclaimed. If you love the tips in this post, you’ll love my Frugal Living Planner. It’s the perfect next step for actually tracking bills like these instead of letting them creep up on you, and it’s only $10! Get it here! Shop the Curb (Yes, Literally) Curb shopping has a bit of a stigma, but plenty of perfectly good furniture, tools, and decor end up on the side of the road because someone was moving or redecorating, not because it’s broken. A little cleaning and it’s as good as new, minus the price tag. Take Every Free Sample and Freebie You’re Offered There’s a strange hesitation people feel about taking something for free, like it makes them look like they need it. They don’t, and you don’t either. Free samples, freebies from company sign-ups, and giveaways exist because companies want you to try their product. Let them pay for the introduction. Ask for Hand-Me-Downs Before You Buy New Kids’ clothes, baby gear, even furniture: if someone in your circle is downsizing or their kids have outgrown something, ask before you shop. Most people would rather hand something useful to someone they know than list it online for ten dollars. Return Things You Regret Buying, No Guilt Required If something didn’t work out, doesn’t fit, or you changed your mind, return it. Full stop. Stores build return policies into their business model; using them isn’t a burden on anyone; it’s simply part of how retail works. Holding onto something out of guilt just means you’ve paid for clutter. Squeeze Every Perk Out of Your Job Benefits Wellness stipends, FSA dollars, free counseling sessions, tuition reimbursement, gym discounts: most workplaces offer more than employees ever use. Pull up
Some frugal habits sound completely normal. Others sound like something your most intense relative would do, the kind of thing that gets a raised eyebrow at a dinner party. These fall firmly in the second category, and they work anyway. Wash and Reuse Ziplock Bags Yes, really. Unless a bag held raw meat, a quick rinse and an overnight dry on the counter means it’s good to go again. It sounds excessive until you realize you’re buying a new box every few weeks for something that can easily be reused five or six times. Turn Your Thermostat to the Edge of Comfortable You don’t need to be miserable, but you need to turn your thermostat just a few degrees past where you’d normally set it. A couple of degrees warmer in summer or cooler in winter, paired with a blanket or a fan, barely registers day to day but adds up fast on your utility bill over a full season. I created a 46-page Frugal Living Planner that helps you plan, save, and budget without the stress, and it’s only $10! Get it here! Shop the Markdown Bin for “Ugly” Produce Bruised apples, slightly wilted greens, the “sell today” meat: grocery stores mark these down fast because they need them gone, not because they’re unusable. A little extra prep (cutting around a bruise, cooking meat that same night) gets you the same meal for a fraction of the price. Cut Your Own Hair Between Salon Visits You don’t necessarily need to give yourself a full cut, just trimming your own bangs or split ends to stretch the time between appointments. It feels bold the first time you pick up the scissors, but a few tutorials in and it becomes second nature, and it can push a $60 (or more!) haircut out by another month or two. Use One Bar of Soap for Everything Hair, body, hands, even a quick wash of dishes in a pinch: one bar can genuinely replace several bottles of specialty product. It’s not glamorous, but it cuts down on both cost and the amount of plastic that ends up in your bathroom trash. Want a guided way to put savings like these toward something real? Check out the $1,000 Savings Challenge and start putting your extra cash toward a goal instead of letting it disappear. Get it here → $1,000 Savings Challenge Skip the Gym and Train With What You Already Own A membership runs $30 to $100 a month for equipment you can mostly replicate with bodyweight moves, a set of stairs, or a couple of household items. It sounds like a downgrade until you realize most people barely use half the machines they’re paying for anyway. Read More: 20 Truly Unique Frugal Living Tips To Help You Stretch Your Budget How To Save Money on Electric Bills 7 Unpretentious Frugal Living Tips That Will Make Your Life Simpler 6 Borderline Ridiculous Frugal Living Tips That Actually Work
A spouse’s death can change tax brackets, deductions, Social Security taxation and retirement-account rules, potentially leaving the survivor with a larger tax burden. Planning for the one-spouse scenario before retirement can create more options and fewer expensive surprise – Shutterstock The death of a spouse can create a retirement tax trap that has nothing to do with a surprise tax law. The problem often starts when one household loses one income source, then discovers that […]
You picked up a package of ground beef at the store this week and did a double take at the price. You’re not imagining things. That single pound now costs more than a fast food combo meal did five years ago. Prices have moved so far past what people budgeted for that entire categories of […] The post 21 everyday things that got too expensive, so people just stopped buying them appeared first on Wealthysinglemommy.com.
EDITOR’S NOTE: As the student loan landscape changes, half or more of a student’s loans might need to be private loans. WCI can help and start you down the road to financial literacy at the same time. If you use a WCI-recommended private student loan partner to secure your private loans, you’ll get cash back AND the student version of our signature course, Fire Your Financial Advisor. Check out our student loan providers, and get […]
For years, my wife Nicole and I kept putting off creating a living trust. That became harder and harder to justify. I regularly encourage families to build wealth, invest consistently, and protect what they’ve worked so hard to earn. Yet despite having wills in place for more than a decade, our estate plan hadn’t kept pace with our financial lives. As our family’s net worth approached $2 million, we owned a paid-off home, investment accounts, […]
A rustic wooden bowl holds a warm serving of rigatoni pasta coated in rich sauce, topped with savory bits and a generous dusting of cheese. Preparing elaborate gourmet meals can quickly stretch your food budget when you have to buy a long list of single-use components. Pexels. “Budget-friendly” recipes are a staple of food blogs and social media, often highlighting a primary ingredient like beans or pasta that costs mere pennies. However, these recipes frequently […]
Managing money as a family isn’t always easy. Between paying bills, saving for your kids’ future, planning vacations, and preparing for retirement, it’s easy to feel like your money has a dozen different jobs. The right budgeting app can bring clarity to the chaos. Over the years, I’ve personally used or tested every budgeting app on this list. Some, like Monarch Money and Crew, have become part of my family’s daily financial life. Others I’ve […]
Your loan servicer sent another email. This one says your SAVE plan payment is changing. Interest is back, your due date moved, and the letter reads like legal language, not help. You are not the only borrower confused right now. The SAVE plan is winding down, and federal student loan repayment looks different in 2026. Here is what changed and what you can do about it. Why the SAVE Plan Is Ending Now A federal […]
Share to Facebook Burnley has been named the cheapest place to buy a house in the UK, with an average price of just £117,636. That is less than half the UK average of £268,132, according to HM Land Registry data pulled together by the HomeOwners Alliance. Burnley tops a list dominated by former industrial towns in the north of England and Scotland, where property prices have never caught up with the rest of the country. […]
By Josh Daily, WCI Columnist
Previously we’ve run through how to open an online broker account and how to buy and sell ETFs. Today we’re going to look at purchasing an index tracker fund. Next stop, the world – muhaha! (Oops, did I say that out loud? I meant to write: ‘Next step, a globally diversified passive portfolio’…) What is an index tracker fund? An index tracker fund is typically an Open Ended Investment Company (OEIC). In normal-person speak, this means […]
For many families, supporting parents, siblings, and extended family members living in India is a deeply meaningful commitment. For many of these families, however, that financial support would add to their already difficult work of managing household finances in the United States. In addition to domestic expenses in the United States, many families also haveKeep Reading Bridging the Distance: A Parent’s Practical Guide to Budgeting and Overseas Family Support was originally published on WhatMommyDoes.com