“How to live on little?” – Are you desperately looking for some easy ways to live below your means? Well, you can easily reduce your expenses by being frugal.
I’m adapting to frugal living and enjoying my life. In my 20s, thrifty living is helping me to live on little without depriving myself.
In this current blog, I’m going to reveal all the hacks that will help you to live on little.
How to Live on Little? SAY ‘NO’ to FINANCIAL STRESS
You can easily live on little by understanding budgeting and adapting to thrifty living. The first step that you can take to live on little is- know your cash flow.
Let me pitch some effective ways to live on little effortlessly.
23 Effective ways to Live on Little that Actually Work
You don’t need to take a lot of financial stress. Be calm and implement these easy tips to cut down all the extra expenses.
1. Prepare a kickass strategy for a MONTHLY BUDGET in less than 10 minutes
The zero-sum budget plan is very effective. That means you should allocate your every dollar in your monthly budget. You must know where you will be spending each dollar before spending it.
You don’t need to take a long paper and pen to start budgeting. Nowadays there are free budgeting apps. So you can easily prepare your monthly budget in less than 10 minutes.
2. Follow Smart SHOPPING HACKS
Whether you are looking for a pair of jeans or planning to buy beauty products, you can always save extra on every purchase. Try out easy shopping hacks that will help you to save more bucks.
No matter whether you opt for online shopping or offline shopping, you can use some awesome apps to save more money on shopping.
3. Enjoy growing your own kitchen garden to GET FREE greengrocers
The plantation is actually fun. You can pick up plantation as your new hobby and start to prepare a kitchen garden at your home. You will not need to be an expert here, start with plants like tomatoes, beans, mint. These plants will not need much maintenance.
In this way, you can enjoy plantation and also save extra bucks on greengroceries. Even I’ve many plants at home that are helping me to have fresh veggies without spending any money.
4. Prepare a BUDGET-FRIENDLY MEAL PLAN for the whole week
Yummy and healthy food is the basic need of all of us. But at the same time, you can save money on your meals if you pay some attention. You should think about how you can prepare yummy food with minimum money.
So make a budget-friendly meal plan. You don’t need to think at the last minute about making meals. In this way, you will not waste your food items and you will also save your time and money.
5. Flaunt your own fashion WITHOUT SPENDING more bucks on trending outfits
There is nothing wrong with buying a new pair of clothes or accessories. But there should be a limit on spending on such things. In fact, fashion changes every week. So you don’t need to spend a lot of money on tending, fancy outfits every time.
Nowadays you can get many DYI hacks related to fashion. You can watch such videos for free on YouTube to learn about DIY fashion. So you can try out DIY hacks when it comes to trending outfits or fashion.
6. Learn life skills that will empower you, also help to SAVE MONEY
Life skills will not only make you independent but also save more money. You can actually live on little if you learn life skills like cooking, fixing wire, plumbing work, repair, painting a wall and much more.
You can paint the walls at your house instead of hiring anybody. You can make repair works or plumbing work and save a minimum of $100. If you are a newbie in all these things then you can watch some videos online for free related to these life skills.
7. Use Public Transportation More
If you are going out with friends then choose a carpooling. And always choose public transportation more instead of using your private vehicle.
You can save money on fuel and all you will save maintenance cost of your vehicle if you avoid buying a vehicle for you. You can also have a bicycle instead of having a car. This will reduce your spending. This is what living on little is all about.
8. Cheers at home by preparing homemade wine or beer WITHOUT a big INVESTMENT
It may be your birthday celebration or weekend parties with friends, you can be more frugal. You can prepare tasty wine or beer at home instead of spending a lot of money on buying them.
There are a lot of videos on YouTube, where you can learn how to make homemade wine and beer. You need to implement such frugal tips to enjoy life. Here you can have fun but also you will be saving money.
9. Look for THRIFT SHOPS in your city for shopping
Thrift shop means where you can find secondhand products. Whenever you think of buying clothes or gadgets or furniture, first you can visit thrift shops. You can get the best secondhand products at these shops for less price.
You can easily save 30% to 80% of your money if you shop at thrift shops. During my college days, I used to get good books at the local thrift shop in my city for a discounted price. So you can also figure out such thrift shops in your local areas.
10. Avoid having a big house, which is costly
The shelter is the basic need of human beings to rest and stay there. But there is no such hard and fast rule that you should have a big and costly house. So avoid having a costly and big house, you just need a small house to stay in, that’s it.
You will be spending more time at the office or work, you need a house to cook meals and take rest. So you can even manage it in a single room if you are not having a family with you. So if you are a student or staying alone in a different city then opt for a rental room instead of spending more on a big house.
11. Enjoy home-cooked meals instead of eating outside food
Eating outside food once in a while is good. But if you are eating outside food more often then you must avoid it. This habit is not good for your pocket as well as for your health.
Well, it is found that a teenage girl or a teenage boy starts to spend a lot of money on eating outside food when they turn into 13 or 14. And average teenager spends $20 per week on eating outside food. If you inculcate such eating habits then in the long run you are going to overindulge in this.
12. Say ‘no’ to expensive parties
I’ve seen that youngsters mostly say ‘yes’ to friends all the time. No matter whether it is a movie plan or an expensive trip or parties, you must know when to say ‘no’. Avoid spending a lot of money just on entertainment or expensive trips.
Now you can enjoy trips or parties, which your budget allows you. You should learn to say ‘no’ to friends politely if you can’t afford any such expensive parties or hang-out plans.
13. Have fun during weekends without making a BIG HOLE IN YOUR POCKET
The weekend is all about having fun with friends and family. This is a good time to relax from all the work stress. But this does not mean that you should spend all your hard-earned money to have fun.
There are many effective ways to have more fun by spending less money. Trust me, you don’t need to compromise on your happiness. But implement frugal ways to have extra fun.
14. Making your SAVING GOALS interesting
Many people think that saving money and living on little is boring or difficult. In reality, you will learn interesting money management skill. So make saving money more interesting for you so that you can save more without feeling any burden or difficulty.
You can take interesting money saving challenge for 52 weeks. This money-saving challenge will help you to inculcate saving habits and you will learn to live below your means.
15. Don’t buy COSTLY gadgets due to peer pressure
You don’t need the buy a new version of the iPhone just because your friends are buying. It’s common to face peer pressure in youngsters and even in adults. So you should learn to prioritize your needs, avoid unnecessary costly gadgets.
If at all you want to buy any gadget then either you can get secondhand products or you can choose an alternative brand whose price is reasonable. You don’t need to pay extra just on brand names. Look for alternatives.
16. Be grateful for what you have instead of collecting costly things
I’ve seen a lot of youngsters who have a craze for collecting things. Some people spend a lot of money and collect different types of shoes. Some people collect jackets. So don’t do that, only buy those things if you need them and you use them often.
Be grateful for what you already have in your life. Know the value of everything. Being resourceful is a part of frugality.
17. Figure out alternatives for your EXPENSIVE HOBBIES
If you have any hobbies like painting then you don’t need a costly canvas set and costly paint or branded brush. Learn to follow your hobby with the basic tools that you can afford easily.
And if you have any expensive hobbies like scuba diving or car racing then try to replace such hobbies with new hobbies which are not that expensive for you.
18. Give a full stop to your bad habits that are EATING YOUR MONEY
Consumption of alcohol, smoking, all these habits are not good for your financial health and well as for your own physical health. So don’t overindulge in such bad habits.
Whenever you get a clue that you are getting to addicted to such habits, stop it immediately. In this way, you are saving your money as well as your health.
19. Be mindful of your FINANCES
Always think twice before spending your money. Be aware of your spending all the time. Whether you are spending $1 or $100, always ask whether is it worth spending.
Also, if you are paying for any product then always ask “Do I need this?”. If it is not your actual need then avoid spending your money on it.
20. SELL OUT all the unnecessary things that you don’t use anymore
Don’t cluster your room or a house with a lot of unwanted stuff. If you keep such things then they may need maintenance, thereby you will spend more.
So sell out all the things that you don’t need or don’t use anymore. For example, if you have any musical instrument and you are not using it then sell out. There are many websites online where you can sell secondhand goods. So you can utilize that money anywhere else.
21. Save money on utility BILLS
Whenever you leave home, check whether you have turned off the lights or a fan. And also don’t waste water. The more resourceful you be the more you can save money on utility bills.
You can also use some apps that will help you to negotiate bills. You can save money on your monthly bills.
22. Prepare HANDMADE GIFTS during festivals with less investment of money
Giving gifts on festivals is actually a good practice. It’s a celebration time. But make some changes in gift ideas. Start to prepare handmade gifts at home.
You can save money on gifts and also handmade gifts will create a great bonding between friends and family.
23. Immediately CANCEL all your unwanted SUBSCRIPTIONS to save extra
You many have subscriptions like magazines, Netflix or any other subscriptions that you have forgotten. So check them out and cancel them if you don’t want them.
You can save extra bucks by taking this action. So unsubscribe all the unnecessary today itself.
Lead a Happy life by Living Below Your Means
When you live below your means and live on little you will not create any unnecessary financial stress in your life. You don’t opt for any debt. So you can lead a comfortable and good life.
So if you are thinking about how to live on little then implement these 23 easy ways from today itself. I’m also enjoying my life by being more frugal. So you can also lead a happy and stress-free life by living below your means.