Ways To Live Frugally On One Income To Save Money Fast

When you transition to one-income lifestyle, whether out of need or desire, it always affects the household budget. How To Live Frugally On One Income 2022

You need money in the bank, and you’re doing what you can to make it happen. You’ve stopped eating out, cut every unnecessary expense, and have even tried a money saving tip or two …

Yet despite your efforts, all the tips you’ve found on “how to live frugally on one income” haven’t made an impact on your savings account. And now you’re jaded over the whole failed promise of frugal living…

What Is Frugal Living? How To Live Frugally On One Income 2022

One of the concerns I had when I wanted to know how to live frugally on one income, was that I didn’t want to be stingy.

Contrary to popular belief, frugal living isn’t about being a cheapskate. Rather, it is about making the most out of the readily available resources.

In terms of the definition of frugal living, it honestly varies depending on the individual.

Why Should You Try Frugal Living?

Be honest with yourself, how many people do you know that are barely scraping by every month, just waiting for their paycheck? I don’t know about you, but living paycheck to paycheck does not seem like the dream life to me. Learn How To Live Frugally On One Income 2022.

Aside from the obvious reason, that frugal living will benefit you financially, there’s more to this lifestyle than that.

a) You Get To Relax

b) Shift In Priorities

Frugal minimalist living allows you to hone in on your expenditures and spending habits.

c) Debt-Free

Debt often feels like an invisible anchor tied to your ankles, pulling you down.

When you’re aware of your spending habits, you will not have this noose around your neck weighing you down. You will know how to responsibly handle your money and be free of debt.

Here are 30 habits to take a close look at in your life and see what changes you can make.

Live Frugally On One Income: 30 Simple Hacks

1. Save on Your Next Flight

Have you ever used a travel site in hopes of finding a Cheap Flight? They promise great prices, but they are so confusing to use. With technological advancements, you think finding a great deal on a flight would be easier.

2. Make Money On The Side: Live Frugally On One Income

I am wary to even include this because many articles about making money at home are just schemes to make money from recommending blogging products.

I really don’t want to do that because it’s gross, and I don’t think that online business is for everyone.

But if you need a little extra income in the long run and aren’t terribly short on money in the short term, blogging is a great option.

There is real income to be made online. Blogging or starting a YouTube Channel is the ideal side job for a stay at home mom who can work into pockets of her day.

But…. It can be time consuming, and attention consuming. You have to realize that for the first year you will not make any money.

Worse than that, actually, you will lose money. But if you are willing to put in the work when there is no reward, there is money to be made on the other side of it.

I am a VERY small blogger but still make a nice little side income from my work here.

3. Pay Down Credit Card Debt Sooner (Spend Less on Interest)

How much interest are you paying on your credit card debt? How much faster could you get out of debt if you had 0% interest?

Great News! Balance transfer credit cards and debt consolidation loans can help you lower your credit card interest rates down to 0% APR.

4. Shop Less & Buy Used: old fashioned frugal living

Okay this is a hard one. It’s a little deeper than just saving money on groceries or other household supplies. How To Live Frugally On One Income in Australia

I’m talking about those trips to Target because you need to get out of the house, those online orders for craft supplies because it feels good to order something.

Take a good look at why you are shopping. Are you bored?

Does it make you feel productive? Are you discontent with your home or appearance and continually trying to fix it?

This might require a little soul searching. When you’re done, here are practically ways to be a frugal shopper, totally essential when you are trying to live on one income:

Accept all hand me downs. Even if some of them aren’t in great shape, just take them and donate them or throw out what you don’t want. Why bother to do this? Because when you gratefully accept hand me downs, people remember that and keep you in mind when they have something else to get rid of.
Trick yourself into shopping less.
Be friends with thrift stores. There is SO much available out there at a huge discount. I have always gotten gifts and hand me downs for kid’s clothes. But a lot of people are skilled at getting clothes for the whole family at thrift stores.

5. Do It Yourself (When It Makes Sense) Live Frugally On One Income

There are so many things you can make yourself to save money! And there are so many things that don’t actually save you money, even though they seem like they might!

When you’re on a tight budget, you need to really evaluate whether DIYing something is the best choice. Here are some of the most practical choices for making things at home to save money:

Jams, pickles, and other simple home canned items.
Homemade soap and lotion has a bit of an upfront cost but pays off in the end. (You can even make your own dish soap for pennies!)
Baking bread is a great frugal hobby. The basics of bread baking are actually very simple.

Something that tends to be very cost-effective is giving handmade gifts. So even if you feel that learning how to make all these things won’t save you a lot of money.

They can help when it comes time to give gifts and you don’t have to scramble for a gift card at the holidays.

6. YouTube Is Your New Handy Man

When something breaks, look it up on YouTube! When living frugally on one income, it’s always good to know what can be fixed yourself and what truly needs a professional.

7. DIY Home Improvement

DIY projects are your best friend when trying to live frugally on one income. Search through Pinterest for budget friendly and DIY renovation inspiration when updating your house!

8. Save Money on Food: things to stop buying to save money

After the big, fixed expenses the most amount of money goes to food.

Food is the #1 place people overspend, and grocery stores know it. They use every tactic in the book to lure you into spending more money than you intended. Take these frugal living tips, and use them to cut costs on food.

Luckily, this is a category that makes it easy to save money. It takes a little creativity, but almost everyone has room to cut in their grocery budget.

9. Meal-Prep Delicious (and cheap!) Food.

Been thinking about meal-prepping but don’t know what to cook? Don’t waste your money on failed recipes that end up tasting horrible by day 3!

Instead, Sign up for $5 meal plan and get uber cheap meal-prep recipes sent straight to your inbox every Friday!

You will be given one week’s worth of meal-prep recipes + a curated shopping list, and every meal is engineered to cost no more than $2/person!

10. Meal Planning

I mean, this is a great tip you can use, when you’re wondering how to live frugally on one income. Buying ingredients in bulk and focusing on seasonal (cheaper) produce is cheaper than eating out.

Even though it takes up some of your time to prep each meal, it will be worth it. It is easy to be disorganized when it comes to meals which will heavily impact your grocery budget.

Having a meal plan will let you know the exact ingredients needed and thus you can hunt for the best grocery prices.

11. Eat More Meals At Home

Save hundreds, if not thousands, every month when you get into the habit of cooking your dinners at home.

It’s a much healthier option for your family, and you can exchange those $80 meals for food with way more flavor. In other words, try $5 Meal Plan for Free for 14 days. Your pallet won’t regret it.

12. Look at Your Biggest Bills: how to afford living on one income

When was the last time you looked through your bank and credit card statements? Do it again, but only this time, intentionally search for expenses you can cut.

Do you really need to pay for Netflix, Hulu, HBO, Disney+, and cable all at the same time? No! Buy one streaming services at a time, watch one to two shows at a time, and cancel your subscription. Get creative.

You can cut out all the lattes you want, but if you have a Mortgage or Car Payment that is beyond your means, you’ll never get anywhere.

Making a big change in your monthly expenses means you need to look at the biggest parts of your budget. You may need to make changes that are uncomfortable or even scary.

a) Lower Your Home and Auto Insurance Bills

Insurance companies are always telling you to, “switch and save.” But which insurance company will give you a better rate without compromising service?

b) Lower Your Power Bill

Did you know your city has multiple electric providers? That means the secret to lowering your power bill is as simple as switching providers.

Check out Electricityrates.com. Enter your zip code, compare the pricing in your area, switch to the provider with the best rate, and save!

The switch is also seamless: there will be no interruption of power being supplied to your house. All you’re going to notice is a lower power bill.

13. Use a Credit Card (Everything Is 2% Off!)

“Do you have to go into debt when you use a credit card?” No, absolutely not. In fact, if you do go into debt, you’re using your credit card wrong. How To Live Frugally On One Income in UK.

Credit cards have rewards (cash back, miles, perks, etc.). When you swipe your card, you get a percentage back on your purchase: sometimes it’s a flat 2% cash back on everything.

Sometimes it’s 3% cash back on groceries/restaurants, 2% cash back on gas, and 1% cash back on everything else. Certain travel cards will give you free checked baggage (that’s $100s in savings every flight).

So why are people afraid of credit cards? Because they have gone into credit card debt and got stuck paying interest.

14. Insulate Your Walls

Want to save $100s-$1000s on your electric/gas bill? Insulate your walls! This one-time price will save you tenfold.

15. Travel On The Off-Season

Want a resort all to yourself while also saving money? Book your next vacay during an off season.

Psst… Hawaii is still warm in the winter. This is How To Live Frugally On One Income in Canada.

16. Learn The Correct Way To Spend Your Money

There’s no faster way to build a savings than with budget. And no, a budget isn’t a tactic devised to make you live on the bare minimum.

It’s a tool to help you keep your income over your expenses (AKA: how to stop living paycheck to paycheck). Because as long as you can keep your income over your expenses, your savings must grow.

If you’re serious about building a substantial $20K savings, and not just looking for a few fun tricks to save a few extra dollars here and there… Learn to budget.

Learn to spend your money the right way so that you can live within your means and start watching your savings grow every month.

17. Buy In Bulk: Save money & Learn How To Live Frugally On One Income in 2022

One thing to keep in mind when you’re bulk buying is to make sure you only bulk buy items you will eat.

There is no point in getting 5 kgs of broccoli just because they’re cheap when in reality, you hate broccoli (although, in my opinion, they are the best vegetable out there).

Most stores will sell items for a cheaper price when you buy them in bulk. This is a great way to save money and keep your pantry shelves stocked up.

Tip- You can freeze vegetables and fruit that you buy in bulk to retain the freshness and taste! I also get frozen fruit for my smoothies so the fruit lasts longer and there is zero waste!

Personal Finance/Habits how to live on less than you make

18. Track Your Spending

If you’re just trying to figure out how to live frugally on one income, start here. You can track your expenses daily or weekly for a clear picture of where your funds are headed.

This habit is among the practices of people who are successful in their money management.

19. Have An Emergency Fund

An emergency fund is not some cash stashed away for you to get the latest handbag or sneakers. Building an emergency fund is one of the first few steps to take when it comes to money management.

20. Reusable Water Bottles

Every fitness guru, dietician, and grandparents would have pinned down the importance of hydration.

Although, how much money are you spending every time you get a water bottle from the gas station or convenience store?

21. Budget: Learn How To Live Frugally On One Income in 2022

You can’t be surprised that this tip is in here. Personally, I don’t have a strict budget that I follow each month.

Every time I get my paycheck, I allocate at least 20% to paying off my debt, savings, and investment.

22. Get Into Frugal Living Groups

Get into one of the many groups on Facebook to start practicing simple frugal living. You will gain useful insights from many others on how to live frugally on one income.

Extreme Frugality Tips: How To Live Frugally On One Income

23. Make Money From Your Hobby

Do you have skills that could make money? If you’re about to start whining and claim that you’ve got no skills, stop right there, take a breath, and think.

24. Walk Or Bike

Transportation costs eat up into the budgets of many.

Aside from being good for health, walking or biking to places that are close to you is ridiculously cost-saving!

It is an amazing free alternative to avoid getting stuck in traffic and going through the hassle of finding a good spot to park.

25. Find The Cheapest Mobile Phone

If you’re really into the extreme frugal living, having the latest technology gadget is not going to be a priority. Find the cheapest mobile phone and plan that you can get your hands on.

How To Live Frugally On One Income-Household Tips

26. Forget The Dryer: Live Frugally On One Income in 2022

Limit the use of dryers whenever possible. Simply hang a line in the house or your backyard and dry your clothes out in the sun.

This will save you money when your electricity bill reduces due to lack of dryer use.

27. Use Energy-Saving Electrical Appliances

Take a trip down to your local hardware store and look for energy-saving light bulbs and electrical appliances.

Skip on the air conditioner and stick to just fans if the weather isn’t unbearably hot. Avoid cooking with the oven if possible, and get on with the stovetop when making your meals.

Energy-saving appliances range from:

Freezers.
Dishwashers,
Refrigerators,
Humidifiers, and
Clothes washers,

Have a chat with your local hardware technician to get your hands on these items that will save you money in the long run.

Learning how to live frugally on one income also involves making small changes that can have a big positive impact on your wallet.

28. Forget The Dishwasher: Live Frugally On One Income

Wash your dishes instead of dumping them all into the dishwasher. If you’re a family of two, there’s going to be very few dishes for you to clean up after.

Wash and clean up immediately after each use of utensils and plates so that you won’t have to deal with the burden of cleaning piled-up dishes.

29. Unplug

Every single appliance that is plugged into a power socket is draining energy. Leaving these plugs in the socket will only cause an increase in your electricity bill.

If this is a tedious task for you, start by unplugging appliances that are not used often at homes such as:

The washer,
The iron, or
Unused lamps.

Use smart power strips instead to save some bucks on your bill by unplugging the major point at the end of the day.

30. Dish Soap Consumption: Try Live Frugally On One Income

Dish soaps are usually really concentrated and you don’t need that much each time you’re doing the dishes.

Prepare a smaller bottle and dilute the dish soap to prolong the shelf life of each detergent purchased. You’ll still have clean dishes regardless, so why not save some money while you’re at it?

Consider Financial Goals Before Living On One Income

Of course, if you have just been laid off, these are not going to apply unless you have already done them. I recommend as your Financial Coach to make sure these are in place right now.

FAQ: How To Live Frugally On One Income

a). How Do People Survive On A Single Income?

People who survive on a single income implement tips and strategies with the way they work with their money.

Here is where you see many adopting the minimalist frugal living lifestyle that has rapidly garnered attention over the years.

There are many ways to go about surviving on a single income, some of them are listed below.

Budgeting
Emergency Fund
Debt
Cut- Costs
Plan Ahead

b). How Can I Live With Very Little Money? Live Frugally On One Income 2022

There are two ways to go about this, one is to:

Increase your income, and
The other is to reduce your expenses.

Now, reducing your expenses is easier said than done because if you’re someone who likes all the finest things in life, this is going to take a lot of willpower, dedication, and discipline.

However, increasing your income is something feasible as there are tons of remote working jobs available for you to tackle right in the comfort of your homes.

c). Is It Possible To Live Off One Income?

The equation is simple, you learn how to manage your money and it is possible to live off one income.

I think the problem with us humans is that we tend to overcomplicate everything. If the first answer that pops to your head is no, about the question above, take a look at your spending habits.

There are thousands if not millions of families living off one income, and the secret lies in money management habits.

Upon practice, you will realize that less is more with frugal living. Those who successfully live off one income are disciplined and adhere to the actions required to achieve their financial goals.

d). What Percentage Of Your Income Should You Live Off Of?

The magic number that is circulating the internet when you typed this up in google is 50%. However, this number is adapted by Elizabeth Warren and her famous 50/30/20 principle.

In her book All Your Worth: The Ultimate Lifetime Money Plan, Senator Warren explains that your income should be segregated into three buckets:

50% on needs
30% on wants
20% on savings/financial goals

Implement this based on your income, your fixed and flexible monthly commitment. If you have high commitments like you’re paying for a mortgage loan or you’re currently leasing on a car, then alter it to fit your income.

However, your needs may not reach up to 50% of your income and you don’t need that much to sustain yourself.

If you can live off a smaller percentage of your income, by all means, play around with the number, and maybe increase the amount allocated for your financial goals. This is How To Live Frugally On One Income in US.

Benefits of Living Frugally on One Income

Spending less money

There are so many benefits of having one person in the home. You may actually find savings that happen.

Many times depending on the salary and cost of living where you are, earnings might just be a lot less than you think.

When ain’t into consideration gas, clothing, meals outside of the home, convenience foods, and other added work expenses, there may not be a lot of profit.

Being at home with children is a true benefit

Having more time with little ones that seem to grow so fast. Many parents feel called to stay home, and the tips above will surely help do just that.

Saving money and getting out of debt is a full-time job in itself

To be able to cook your find from scratch, finding deals, as well as planning and manage money down to the penny is relatively time-consuming.

Managed responsibilities

Having one person manage the home while the other leaves to earn an income may take some of the dress off around the house.

If one person takes on each of those responsibilities, it might be a blessing to your relationship.

Final Take On How To Live Frugally On One Income

Now, it doesn’t matter if you’re searching for frugal money saving tips in the UK, frugal dinner ideas, how to live frugally on one income, or frugal mom tips, these 47 tips on how to live frugally on one income, have got your back.

Not every tip here may float your boat but take your pick and build your confidence around money management!

Whether it was your choice or the fate of the world today to come home. There are tips to help you live a less expensive lifestyle and embrace frugality to make your financial, family, and personal goals happen.

Planning is always vital, but if you just didn’t have time to do that, jump in where you are and do your best.

Minimalism has become the new in-trend thing because more and more people are realizing that they are content with just a few staple belongings.

It doesn’t matter if you’re frugal living in the UK or the US, or Asia, or anywhere around the world, these tips will benefit you in one way or another. Learn more on How To Live Frugally On One Income to save money fast.

Related post: Things to Stop Buying to Save Money Fast