By now in 2024 we are all probably well aware of the rising costs and most of us are looking for more was to practice frugality in our everyday lives. Being a homemaker as a one income family on a debt-free journey could sound quite challenging. However, I’ve been finding all sorts of ways I can make a difference in the home to stretch my husbands paycheck as far as possible. Is it weird to say its actually kind of fun?!
Frugality is often misunderstood as simply being cheap or penny-pinching. However, it is much more than that. At its core, frugality is about making intentional, mindful choices with money, time, and resources. It’s about getting the most value from what you have, rather than always pursuing more. It doesn’t mean sacrificing quality of life, but rather being thoughtful about where and how you invest your resources.
Part of my job as a homemaker is finding ways to steward the money my husband brings home wisely. Being at home means I have the time to find ways to stretch our dollars and become more savy around the home. Doing this shows major respect to your family in many ways.
One being to your husband, as our husbands spend majority of their days away from home one way we can show gratitude towards his hard work is managing the money well and avoiding being careless. It’s also a benefit to your children as it teaches them financial responsibility and when you as the adult practice financial responsibility that bless them long term if you’re able to provide for them securely without fear. Being secure financially also allows us yo do things like have savings for our children for their adult years.
One of the most obvious benefits of frugality is the ability to save more money. When you stop spending on things that don’t bring real value, you free up resources for more important financial goals. Whether it’s building an emergency fund, paying down debt, or investing for the future, frugality helps put you in control of your financial destiny.
Financial worries are one of the leading causes of stress for many people. Living frugally allows you to reduce financial pressure by lowering your expenses, giving you peace of mind. You might find that, over time, not having to constantly keep up with consumer trends and societal pressures can be quite liberating.
Frugality often goes hand in hand with sustainability. By buying less, reusing items, and being more conscious about our consumption, we reduce waste and our overall environmental footprint. In this way, frugality is not only good for your wallet but also for the planet.
Living frugally can also mean spending less time working just to keep up with material desires. When you prioritize needs over wants, you free up time that could be spent with family, pursuing hobbies, or developing your career in meaningful ways.
Making food from scratch is not only healthier for your family but it saves you money! Try starting with simple things like sandwich bread, bagels or applesauce. For instance if your family eats a lot of yogurt and granola you can easily make yogurt with little effort in an Instant Pot as well as granola. You don’t need to cook everything from scratch. Start off with one recipe at a time and if bread making is really overwhelming for you be on the lookout for a bread maker from your local thrift store and have homemade bread everyday for pennies!
Pinterest meals can be fun. However, what I’ve found is that a lot of them require all kinds of ingredients and speciality items you’ll never used again and that add a TON to your grocery budget each week. This goes along with my previous tip of ingredients of packaged. Keep meals simple and cook like our grandmas used to! Add a protein, carb and veggie and call it a meal!
When needing to purchase someone always check things like Facebook marketplace or your local thrift store first. Just recently we needed a toaster oven so, I went on marketplace, found one for $20 and picked it up that night! Avoid shiny objects syndrome and imagine that brand new item in the store after only a few uses and remember its only new once! It’s not worth it!
Be mindful of your utility usage! We were wasting so much money by being carless with our utility usage. I cut our utility bill almost in half the first month being mindful. I’ll be making a blog post on this soon!
My husband and I are currently going through Dave Ramsey’s baby steps and its really resonating with us why its so important to go debt free and STAY debt free! Any debt you currently pay monthly can start becoming more income each month.
A budget is crucial to having financial peace. I’d bet most people don’t know their true financial state… Getting on a budget just to be aware of where your money is going is not only eye opening, its freeing. My favorite budgeting app is the EveryDollar Budget by Dave Ramsey. We use the premium version which syncs with my bank transactions for easy budgeting.
Here’s a link for $10 off EveryDollar!
If you have young babies I’d give cloth diapering a try to save tons! I’m currently using Esembly Cloth Diapers but Mama Koala is also a great affordable option! Using cloth diapers could save you about $1,000 a year!
Here’s a 20% off coupon link for your Esembly Baby order!
Do you really need that streaming service, gym membership, or magazine subscription? If you aren’t using something regularly, cancel it. It’s easy to forget about these recurring costs, but eliminating them can lead to significant savings over time.
Living frugally is a choice—a way of life that prioritizes long-term financial and emotional well-being over short-term indulgence. By being intentional with your money, you can live richly, even without a high income or extravagant spending habits.
Ultimately, frugality isn’t about how little you can spend, but how much you can get out of what you have. By embracing this mindset, you might just find that the most fulfilling life isn’t necessarily the one with the most stuff, but the one with the most meaning.
