21 Old Fashioned Frugal Living Tips to Try Today (that will save you thousands 💰) 

One of the best ways to save money is to learn to be content and thankful.😊

How to save money: get off of social media. It's where (broke) people pretend to be rich, their highlights are lies, and you end up feeling sorry for yourself and start shopping. 😅

My dad is Greatest Generation. He had folders of cash for different things. House, country house, car, food, etc. He stuck to a budget but we lived really well. He said good food was important. He drove a Ford all his life and did not show off wealth. He said happiness was living out of sight of others to not provoke hatred and jealousy.

Water only family, zero restaurants for many years, and 90% of our clothes are from yard sales ($0.25 - $1 each).

My gr grandmother washed aluminum foil multiple times for reuse. Most people have no idea how frugal earlier generations were. Her frying pans were from just after her marriage, over 60 years old at that point. The answer boils down to...do not buy stuff.

Growing up fruit juice of any kind was only at breakfast and only in a small 3oz glass. In the summer we had pb+j sandwiches everyday for lunch with a pitcher of Kool Aid and some Dixie Cups. We ate outside unless it was raining. I grew up in the generation where Moms locked their kids outside in the summer all day while they cleaned the house. Walking across a wet floor was a instant death sentence! 😂😂 The pitcher of Kool aid was meant to last the afternoon. When it was gone you drank out of the hose. Im still alive and never suffered any major health problems. Just usual cold flu. Hopefully Im immune to a lot of bad germs 😂

I just bought 2 quality overalls at an estate sale for $15. One of them is over $80 retail. I'm a homesteader and overalls are pure awesomeness.

Don't have a half hour? Here's all 21: 2:14 - Cook at home 2:54 - Cook from scratch 3:45 - Use simple recipes 4:20 - Wear an apron 5:36 - Drink only water or milk 6:12 - Make coffee at home 7:14 - Learn basic baking skills 8:32 - Reuse old jars and boxes 9:44 - Buy in bulk when it makes sense 10:20 - Plant a small garden 12:35 - Consider learning how to can and preserve 14:02 - DIY home renovation instead of hiring a specialist 15:57 - Buy off-brand products 16:50 - Learn basic sewing skills 17:50 - Use a laundry line instead of a dryer 18:48 - Declutter 19:43 - Bartering, trading, and swapping services and skills with others 20:52 - Buy second-hand clothing 21:43 - Invest in quality pieces instead of cheap furniture 23:04 - Focus on the improvement you've made and not what you haven't yet accomplished. Honestly, as somebody who has lived in poverty most my adult life, this entire list sounds like a rich people's "how to be frugal" because I never had the choice BUT to do all of this stuff. I'm going to need somebody who doesn't have money - doesn't have a yard... I'm gonna need them to give me some tips cause this shit is basic AF. I'm shaking my head at the fact that anybody actually needed to hear this. 🙄

I love that you mentioned saving jars. I’m 56 and my grandmother had an old jar cupboard down in the basement of her extremely modest home. I have an affinity for jars and when Grandmother died I was able to take as many of her jars that I could take. I have some really old jars that I grew up seeing in her pantry and refrigerator. I cherish those jars and will pass them down to my children. Thanks for the memories.

Don’t twist the biscuit cutter. It seals the edges which makes for a lower rise.

One of the best things you can do to save money is to surround yourself with people who share your money values and goals. Or at least only talk about money who reinforce those goals. I used to work in a place where most of my coworkers were also friends. One year there was a glitch with my professional license and I couldn’t work for a couple of weeks. A friend with whom I did talk money said it was all she could do to not laugh or say anything when people said they didn’t know how I was managing. My friend knew we had savings, no debts other than our mortgage and were months ahead on paying that. It was never my intention to fool anyone but years of telling my coworkers, “I’ll pass, it’s not in the budget.” meant they assumed I was chronically broke. Some of my friends/coworkers would vacation together, I get invited, think about it and decide the only reason for going was to spend time with people I liked and I could do that closer to home and save thousands of dollars. Because I had other goals, it was never in the budget.

My great grandmother was an organized hoarder. She grew up during the depression and saved everything! She had boxes and boxes of yarn in her basement. They smelled like moth balls but that's how I learned to crochet lol 😆

I remember 10-20 years ago when my kids were little, stay at homes were frugal. Everything was a trade off. We gave each other hand me downs in garbage bags and borrowed things. Some went without cable to have a gym membership or bug company. Now it seems like no one goes without anything anymore. And the thing is that now they all work to make ends meet. Most of these women are now divorced and hire out Nanny’s and housekeepers. Times have changed.

Regarding high quality furniture: sometimes you can find a really nice piece in a thrift store as well!

I don't have an outside clothesline, so I hang clothing to dry inside. I've discovered that it makes your clothes last SO much longer--especially the more fragile items. So in the long run, you not only save money on electricity by not running the dryer; you save money on buying clothes!

I don't think you're "predisposed" to spend or not. I think you learn to be frugal or a spendthrift from the role models you had growing up

I am not tall, 5', hard to reach in chest freezer, so with all the advice to be prepared in case of loss of electricity, water, etc. so I put water in containers and line the bottom of the freezer with them. I have saved water and made it easier to reach in the chest freezer.

I do almost all of these things. I have always known how to sew and mend clothes (I made my own wedding dress because at that time we just bought a house and we were house poor and I didn’t feel like spending a lot of money on a dress that I would wear for a few hours. I am able to tailor things for the house like curtains and make gifts. I love baking my own sourdough bread, preserving vegetables and fruits from our garden, making our own beef jerky, etc. We are fortunate to have a big yard where I planted many fruit trees and I use every bit of it. We are also healthier. I don’t belong to a gym. I exercise at home, run in my neighborhood. We don’t eat out and do not drink coffee. I have never felt I was “depriving” myself. Over the years we saved enough money to retire early, our home is paid off and we have zero debt. I look at people spending money left and right and wonder how they can afford it all. And they don’t even seem happy. I am very happy.

I have been cooking from scratch for YEARS! My husband is an amazing meal planner. I started wearing an apron all day. I can't drink coffee anynore but made coffee at home when I did drink it. We are now WAY out in the country so it is supwr easy to avoid coffee shops. I grew up eating fast food but thanks to RU-vid i have spent the last 17 years teaching myself how to cook ane BAKE. I am an excellcent baker! I LOVE it and I do sourdough. Also i SAVE jars and containers! We uae them for food storage and glassware! So aweosome! So fun that i have been doing these things for years! We have six children and my husband has a great job but money is still so tight.

I’m English and like my Mum, I’ve always worn aprons to cook and do housework. It saves ruining your clothes and means far less washing. I have a collection of pretty aprons hanging in my kitchen and I enjoy wearing them. Some are homemade, others I bought reduced in sales. I’m always amazed at how much money people waste on luxuries then complain they don’t have money for necessities. I was brought up to know how to spend wisely, save money and keep priorities in the right order. Rent and utilities first, then food and clothing etc with what’s left. Just because something is cheap, does not mean you have to buy it. Save as much as you can, so you always have money for emergencies. As far as possible, don’t get into debt. Go without. It won’t kill you and peace of mind will make it worth while.

My parents, both children of the Depression, were so frugal they could make penny scream civil rights abuse. Some of the things they would do were insane (dragging us out to a fishing pier for a 24/hr marathon fishing trip, and freezing all the fish for the rest of the year) and some were not (having a very large garden and canning and freezing vegetables). Some things weren't as frugal as they thought (or aren't anymore); ex. my mother would drive to 3-5 different grocery stores in 1-day for coupons and deals. Today, with gas prices, that isn't frugal anymore. The rest are excellent ideas. And then there are the people I know who think a $600/mth car payment is a necessity (not) or buy delivery constantly (grocery, uber eats, door dash). Cell phone bills that are astronomical. We need to discuss the so-called modern conveniences that are holding people back from truly saving money.

"That is a dang good box"😂I literally said these words a few days ago 😂😂

Every single tip I'm just like "YES. YES. ABSOLUTELY. HOME MAKERS UNITE!!!!"

As a compromise between homemade meals and eating out, I gave myself permission to keep a couple of frozen meals on hand. They may cost more than a real homemade meal, but they are still only a fraction of the cost of eating out, and only require 15 minutes in the frying pan. Basically no work.

*Use it up, Wear it out, Make it do, or do without!* 👍🙂

I love this video, I can relate because I painted an 1800 square-foot house, a 700-square-foot garage, and a 2000-foot 1 and 1/2 story shop on our property for under $1000 by doing the painting myself. I am a small woman but have great ladders and love to paint. I painted all the rooms inside the house and saved tons of money over the years by doing it all myself. I have even refurbished furniture, upholstering and refinishing the wood myself. I was a homemaker all my life and was never bored because I saved us lots of money doing things many people pay others to do. I didn't even consider hiring someone to do the painting but looked into what I saved. I also learned how to wallpaper and did that in our homes. Saving thousands, not to mention sewing all the curtains for the windows. The shop alone would have cost me around 8,000 dollars to have someone else paint it, then the house about $5,000, the garage the same, so I saved us over $20,000 by painting these buildings myself and I did it with a brush and roller, a much better job than if they had been sprayed. When we do things ourselves we can do a lot more for a lot less allowing us to afford things we might not normally be able to afford.

I always wear my ‘home’ clothes at home, these are older favourite items, clothes i wear out are therefore kept cleaner & reused, saving on washing. My parents did this too. Just another idea. Thanks for the apron reminder though, i will try to do this too.

It’s definitely a change in mindset. I teach in a high school and had thought about starting a planning and budgeting club. To test the waters, I asked the kids if eating out or cooking was cheaper. More than half thought it was cheaper to eat out. Only a handful said their household used budgets or that they went grocery shopping with their parents and took notice of prices. It’s not just the teens either. I’ve seen on social media where many echoed this sentiment and doubled down when told differently. It seems they are hyper-focused on the immediate without much thought to monthly or even weekly.

I do a lot of these tips already and always did, however I do splurge when I really want something cool. I’ve had a couple of extremely thrifty family members die with accounts full of money they wouldn’t spend to make their lives happier or more enjoyable, and then greedy family members fought over it and the family broke all apart over that money which then got spent in a millisecond. Yeah to heck with that, you get this one life and it goes by so fast. I’m going to buy the thing that I really want when it comes up, and have no regrets. I consider the thrifty part just saving up for something better later on when I see it. I just choose carefully when I do buy something and think the purchase through.

I am regretting not investing in stocks ever since but still grateful i kept money in the money market. With about $200k maturing soon, i plan investing in the stock market. What stocks should I look into as a newbie to safely grow my money?

My mother used to give my sister and I lessons on how to hang a nice laundry in. She was horrified if the sheets weren't hung perfectly when the neighbors could see them.

Repurposing old lumber for raised beds, old 20 gallon tubs, old stock tanks etc. can all be used to do gardening on the cheap. Also, saving seeds from your current garden for next years garden.

Even back in the 60s and 70s we didn't eat out very often. My mom and grandmother cooked 3 meals a day. My mom made our clothes so she used the scapes to make aprons for herself.

I do all of these and agree. Please teach your children these skills people. So many people never learn from their parents and never teach their kids, skills have been lost. I have thrifted for most of my life and the key is consistency and to really look. My son is fourteen and 99% of his clothes came from thrifting and they were so nice after I could sell them after. I would add several things that save every month. Learn to do your own hair, cut and coloring and teach your kids the same. I have been cutting my own hair since I was 13 and am now 52. My husband gifted me a spa day one time for cut and color and $150.00 later I was like, never again. We know our own hair and how it lays etc. it's not as hard as many think it is. Same with your eyebrows, fingernails, toes and personal grooming. I also send lunch with my husband and son almost every day. It's a huge expense to buy school lunches or lunches out. We are also a water family and tea, sometimes limeade. I won a starbucks card and got an Americano after waiting 20 minutes and gave the rest of the gift card to a near bye customer, they're very overrated. I also make espresso at home daily and a small stove espresso maker is also better than people think. I would add, don't eat from a gas station ever, it's and expense that is unnecessary. When we are going to be out for extended periods of time, I bring a cooler, water and food. A great food extender is rice or beans to meals, soups, making your own snacks etc.

APRON WEARING is truly another fabulous idea! I got mine at an estate sale. My son bought it for me. ❤❤❤

Last year I took appart my neighbours old shed when they where throwing it in the skip, broke it appart, cut it up, drived the wood and now using it as kindling for my fire. Big project but saving me tonnes of money on wood over this year. Always get the old newspapers from my parents to use as starters too. Also reccomend investing in antique furniture as it's often much more sturdy and well put together than modern furniture and if you keep it nice and need to sell it later you will usually get your money back. I don't use a dryer at all as i'm sus about them, so air dry everything (live in a cold climate), it also keeps my clothes looking nicer for longer. Invested in merino wool under layers which you rarely need to wash too! Also cutting up old clothes for dusters and then washing and reusing them. Not bought any dusters in years.

I started a true garden this year. My husband got 4 of those same containers and he set up irrigation. My mom is almost 92 and she loves a tomato sandwich better than anything. I got three different types of big tomatoes and two types of cherry tomatoes. My husband scolded me for buying them all at the same time. We ended up with around thirty tomatoes every couple of weeks. But, we did a couple of gallons of my grandma's vegetable soup with only having to buy 5 tomatoes. She is so tickled to have the garden and she would go out and inspect it. I also had banana peppers and squash. Do not put squash in a half container! Just having fresh tomatoes did so much good for my mom. She always said that Alabama had the best tomatoes. She lived in Mobile, AL for 63 years, before I moved both of them to Pensacola, FL. We live off Exit 5, literally 5 miles over the state line, and you go back a couple of miles, so it's probably 3. She did admit this year that my tomatoes were as good as my Daddy's!

I have a picture of my great grandparents in their garden. It’s probably around 1950 and she has her apron on. It’s at the waist and all the way to her hem below her knees. I love it! She’s got fertilizer at her feet and they look exhausted. It’s a motivating photo 🙂🙂

My parents gave us a freezer as a wedding gift 30 years ago and it is our single best way of saving money on meat. I know how to can with a pressure cooker, but usually opt for thigs that only require a hot water bath--salsa, pizza sauce, jams & jellies. Making homemade pizza is a great way to save money on a versitle meal that everyone loves.

This is such an easy one for me to know why I love to spend. As a child there were no other children to play with in my neighborhood, I had two older sisters who never wanted the pesty baby sister around them so life for me was pretty lonely. I was born and raised in the city of Philadelphia and on my block where I lived was the strip of row homes and then I could just walk down the street to the avenue which had multiple stores around 2/3 of the block. Stores from pharmacies to Kresge's Five & Ten to butcher shops, men's clothing stores, women's clothing stores, paint & glass stores, barber shop and so on. I spent my young life in Kresge's Five & Ten where I could eat lunch alone, shop alone and my friends were the saleswomen at Kresge's. They all knew the little kid who spent hours per day in the summer months shopping with a quarter. Most items I purchased were crayons, coloring books, paper, books, goldfish, and so my days of shopping began very early in life. My mother suffered from depression and dad worked insane hours as a UPS big rig delivery driver so he spent full days and nights on the road. Today I prefer the company of just being by myself due to my upbringing. I'm alone but never lonely, I am very creative and enjoy DIY jobs on my home and have literally saved thousands upon thousands from plumbing jobs, painting, landscaping, extermination, farming, and endless other jobs. Obviously I no longer live in Philadelphia as farming would have been out of the question. I bought this house for 25k twelve years ago because the area was so rural and the house was built in the 50's with obvious 50's issues. Asbestos, lead, but I did buy the house after they hooked up a public sewage system. Go figure. I can also include reclamation work for lead and asbestos. Didn't realize my golden years would be spent busting my hump. Oh, can't forget about the masonry jobs, not little cement jobs huge retaining wall reconstruction, hauling huge boulders as well. So, I learned to spend early in life and save late in life.

When my boyfriend and I started living together we had a talk one day on why I do my “weird” habits that weren’t the societal norms of today (I’m 24) such as saving jars, canning foods, crocheting household/clothing items, mending my clothes, how I budget and stick to a budget, how I’m resistant to buy things new or expensive items and thrift items instead and quite a lot of things. We were going over to my mother’s that day and I said you’ll see when we go over to my mom’s, he said oh it’s just how you were growing up so you just continued doing what you grew up with and he now appreciates all the skills that I do have. Another tip on the gardening aspect my family does a family communal garden where each member buys certain plants (it’s normally at my mom’s we plant the garden) then we come to tend to the garden, then come harvest we harvest and have a canning party and and a ferments party where we pick apples and make apple cider vinegar and sauerkraut it’s so much fun and you learn the skills from family members

You didn't mention about another reason why previous generations lived more frugal and thrifty. This one is important. My parents were born in 1928 and 1936. They were children of The Great Depression. They knew what it was like to go without. People who had to deal with this were afraid of "out-living their money". My dad's occupation was that of a financial planner after he returned from The Airforce. He did it 36 years before he retired. He knew the value of a dollar, and we lived thrifty with things such as recycling laundry water (old machines had that capability). We had timed showers. We ate at home nearly every night. My mom taught me basic sewing skills. I used to darn my socks when they got a hole. My dad made it look like we were basic middle-class. My brother used to tease him on the level of thrift. My dad told him, "Hey! I'm a millionaire. I can do what I want. I don't want to do...". It wasn't until my dad passed away that my brother and I saw my dad's portfolio. He really did *die a millionaire!* We both were stunned. He never made over 45k a year in his lifetime.

My grandmother always used bar soap. She never had bottles of soft soap at the sinks.

Girl! I don't know if you can see the dislikes, but I have a chrome extension that allows me to see them, and this video has no dislikes! None! And 10k likes! That is the highest number of likes I've seen for having absolutely no dislikes. Crazy

For first time growers, plants in season in September are these: Radish (easy and fast) Spinach (fast) Certain types of lettuce (very easy and fast) Certain types of beans Certain types of peas Certain types of carrots Kale Arugula Flowers to grow in September Marigold Certain types of poppies Certain types of Peonies, you'll get blooms next year Pansies (some varieties are edible if grown without harsh chemicals, and can be used as salad garnish, too) Asters and daisies

OK, first of all I am not a "commenting" kinda person but I just had to hop soon here and say that this is one of the most non-crazy, logical, common sense advice on the internet. Thanks so much. no nonsense, "I am going to start a farm' kind of advice I have ever heard. You are right on with what you are saying. I love how your "know your family" and what your needs are approach to life. it's just great advice, Grow on what you know. If you find that you loved the tomatoes after growing and consuming that one tomato plant you purchased at Home Depot last summer then by all means this summer ..... GO FOR IT!!!! Thanks again so much for these truly common sense gems!! God Bless you and your family!❤

I’ll repeat - #1 - eat at home, it will save you thousands $$ and it helps in losing weight. And thank God for YT! My first go to for any problem or question I have. I do a lot of DIY at age 76, more than I’ve ever done. I also yearn for the old fashioned clothes line in the back yard. Dryers ruin your clothes and jacks up the elec bill. To be fair, if you are a single working mom, these tips might be a challenge, unless you include the kids for an exciting new adventure..yeah, right!!! Lol! Good luck and God bless the single working moms🧡

A few other tips I’ve learned and use: When thrifting, if it looks good on the hanger (no to minimal wrinkles) it will be easy to care for. Cut sponges in half or thirds. I also cut my dryer sheets in half and only use them for loads that have things that get lots of static.

I would definitely add children’s clothing hand-me-downs - not buying all new clothes for every child you have and only buying clothes when its actually needed.. thats a HUGE expense. In my country growing up we used to get winter shoes or jackets as a birthday or Christmas present and we used to get shared gifts w/ siblings (a big Lego set for example).

My husband and just spent almost a year living in a hotel, awaiting our home. We spent SO MUCH MONEY eating out (mostly)! Glad to have a kitchen again.

She should add : having an alternative than driving. If you’re close enough to the grocery store or certain places you need to go, invest in a bike if you don’t already have one, because not only is it exercise but it saves on gas ten fold! I rode my bike to work from June - October, (mind you my work is 30 minutes away by bike, 10 by car) it helped me lose weight and saved so much money on gas during the season I use the most. But even if you can’t bike to your work, even biking to meet up with people, or to do your groceries or any other errands like a dentist appointment goes a long way.

She is v pretty n has good olde fashioned common sense

Big ups to everyone working effortlessly trying to earn a living while building wealth. I’m 62 and my husband 65 we are both retired with over $3 million in net worth and no debts. Currently living smart and frugal with our money. Saving and investing lifestyle made it possible for us this early even till now we earn monthly through passive income...

I don't understand how anyone likes or loves Starbucks. Even the mildest coffee they sell gives me a stomach ache and makes me feel sick.

I love the hair. Please show us how it's done. Pretty and polished.

This is why I'm so thankful to have been raised by my grandma and great grandmother. They survived the Depression and WW2 rations with households filled with children by doing these things and others. Shopping sales also helps! Stocking up your necessities and pantries when sales was a huge advantage! Canning, growing food, hunting & fishing, etc... Even my dad did this in 60-70s to keep us fed, did odd jobs when laid off from construction, etc...

Jam jars are always worth keeping. You can recycle them, sterilize them for making homemade jam. Another big saving especially if you grow your own fruit. Also, when fruit is in season, it costs much less. Remember to buy new jar lids with the rubber seal unbroken or spoilt to make sure the jam stays sealed for a long time. You know what goes into your homemade jam and it's to your taste, for the amount of sugar, for example

Sewing can also save you a lot of money when you have children. They seem to grow all the time. I would love to learn that more and better because I saw so wonderful fabric in the store and they all were less expensive than having to buy new stuff for the kids all the time, seeing them grow so fast....

Speaking of saving jars. My neighbor buys all sorts of foods and she saves the jars for me. I dehydrate a lot of things and use commercial jars to store because jars are better for storing my DH foods. Keeping a variety of sizes is perfect because some foods really shrink when DH so I keep a variety of sizes. I also can, using commercial jars leaves my mason jars for canning and preserving.

Timestamps: 1) 2:10 Cook at home 2) 2:55 Cook from scratch 3) 3:42 Simple recipes (she skipped 4?) 5) 4:16 Use an apron 6) 5:34 Limit Drink Options (just water & milk/coffee) 7) 6:10 Make coffee at home 8) 7:13 Learn Basic Baking Skills 9) 8:30 Reuse old jars and containers 10) 9:44 Buy in bulk when it makes sense 11) 10:20 Plant a small garden 12) 12:33 Preserve foods 13) 14:01 DIY home projects 14) 15:54 Buy off brands 15) 16:51 Learn basic sewing skills 16) 17:50 Set up laundry line 17) 18:47 Declutter 18) 19:42 Swap or Trade or Barter 19) 20:51 Buying secondhand clothing (thrifting) 20) 21:40 Invest in quality pieces 21) 23:02 Focus the gain not the gap

Yes! I think I could agree with everyone of these!! So many good ideas! Using simple every day ingredients. My daughter tries many different things and it costs her a boatload of money and then she never uses the ingredients again. Learn to make and bake anything .. We see things in the store and my kids say they would like it, I respond let's go home and figure out how to bake it!! As for aprons... I LIVE in mine every single day!! My children have to remind me to take it off before going into the store, but yes, it has saved my clothes so much!! We are bulk buyers for basic cooking supplies. Flour, sugar, milk.... We buy 9 gallons of milk a week for our large family. But I do not buy anything other than that. No soda or juice. We will bottle or make our own grape juice and apple juice once a year. Garden every year, and can what we are able to. Waterglass and preserve our eggs. But When we were really young and broke, milk is all my little ones had!! ... full fat milk!! Even though I am only 47, Both my parents and inlaws grew up in the great depression. Fix it up, use it up, or do without was the motto we lived by!! So I feel that many of these ideas were ingrained into us both. Clothes are line dried, I purchase clothing from the second hand stores, and then modify and taylor our clothes and my husband is our own super handy dandy man!! At the end of each day, we still feel broke, but we have never felt more blessed and happy. Our home will be paid off in six months and thats on a one income family and seven children. Life is good and it is doable to get by with less. Thanks for these ideas!

Baking is not as scientific as people worry about.. having that mindset keeps people from even trying… it’s more fun than work and worry! God Bless 🙏🏼❤️🙏🏼

What a classy lady

So true about de-cluttering and organizing so you don't buy something you already own. As I say to myself, if I can't find it, I don't own it!

This video reminds me so much of what my grandmother would have told me. I miss her so much! I wish I would have listened more closely, asked more questions & asked her to teach me some of the things she used to do that I would love to know the way she did them. My advice…talk to & learn from your grandmother’s because she won’t be here forever.

Really glad that I do the majority of these already. Seems like a lot of common sense stuff and I’m grateful to have had my grandparents to learn from too. The couple things I don’t do regularly but hope to better my skills are the sewing (I do small stuff by hand but need a machine too) and canning more things (I’m currently only dry canning). I’m thinking pretty soon more people are going to have to wake up and learn these skills and implement more common sense to survive.

Foraging!!! I have collected fruit to make jams. I freeze so many kinds of berries. Always on the lookout for another sweet spot

When our kids were growing up I bought most of their clothes from clearance racks at discount stores at the end of summer and winter and I made a lot of my own clothes when I could find fabric super cheap. I would buy my kids clothes a size or two larger. They were so excited when I'd pull out new clothes the following year. I never had luck finding decent items at thrift stores or rummage sales, so this worked well for us.

That gain and gap philosophy also works by focusing on what you have (gain) instead of your lack (gap). This helps to curb our shopping, which saves us money.

You mentioned herbs... we buy a lot of cilantro at our house. We love tex-mex food. Anyways, I wash my bundle of cilantro, pat it dry, trim off the excess stems, and package the cilantro in a tupperware or some sort of container with a lid, with a just damp paper towel around the bunch. I can't believe how much longer it makes it. We got an Aldi package of cilantro to last a whole month! Stayed fresh and green and yum!

Another thing-people can keep a jug or dispenser of tea in the fridge, unsweetened. It’s cheap and lasts awhile. I didn’t keep soda in the house when I had kids. My kids got used to grabbing unsweetened tea on the regular. It comes in flavors too, if that would help. Fast forward to my son getting his braces off. Usually the orthodontist really has to clean the teeth whenever brackets are on long term. The doctor looked up at me in shock and said “what are you doing at your house that no one else does? His teeth hardly need to be cleaned around the bracket placements! They are in such good shape!” I said “I don’t keep soda in the house, we keep a tea jug instead. I don’t add sugar.” My kids hardly had a cavity either. Milk is great for bones/teeth strength, but it’s also got natural sugars in it. We drink it within reason.

very inspiring, especially the last bit about focusing on how far we have come, not how far we have to go. I needed to hear that today. Thanks!

With regards to sewing visible mending has been helpful for me. My socks last a lot longer now I can darn them. I've also fixed my t-shirts, my leggings and my dressing gown.

I learned from my frugal Mom, Grandma & aunt many things i still use today. Shopping for what you really need, bargain shop at thrift stores /yard sales, baking & cooking, gardening, redo old things into new things for your home, sewing & crafts, canning,... Many are good basic life skills that shoulb taught again in schools❤!

We do coffee, tea, and milk. We do have soda stream for occasional use. But we also grew our 52 weeks of food in our farm this past year and are track to do that again.

Currently so broke a value taco isn’t even a conversation, but there’s a lot of helpful hints here that have helped! It’s also helped shape my future goals, like to invest in being able to provide experiences at home instead of spending money to have them elsewhere

The ‘50’s look of the vid caught my eye (I’m 72) and truly enjoyed watching it. I’ve implemented many of the things you’ve listed throughout my life & recently went back to canning & even learned how to dehydrate & preserve many of my garden items via RU-vid. My downfall, trying to ‘let go of THINGS!’ Lol 😂 Totally enjoyed it…you have a new subscriber 👍🏼❤️

I’m a tea guy and I use a loose tea basket for brewing open pour, no Kureig to me that’s time and money wasted on those K-cups or cleaning that coffee machine.

Amen on the cheap vs quality furniture! We have also learned this lesson the hard way. You absolutely get what you pay for. I’m so glad I just discovered your channel! Excellent content. Also, your makeup is so beautifully done!

My grandmother always wore an apron. She made hers, of course. I’ll need to find some. 😊

For flavored coffee, try spices, or tea bags! I love adding pumpkin spice to the ground coffee before brewing...I also used to love an organic raspberry syrup in my coffee and discovered that a fruity tea bag added to brewing can give me a nice flavor and spare me money and extra sugar

I am a bigger female. Paula Deen aprons are my favorite! Cute prints and way more covering than other aprons and adjustable. I LOVE aprons.

It's amazing how so much of this is considered "out dated". I'm 39 but I am my father's daughter and he is 73. And so many of these things are just second nature to me as it's how I was raised. You are always fun to listen to Angela and I love how you coordinate your hair and clothing to the topic. It's not necessary at all but it's a fun detail that I think you also seem to enjoy. 😊

Your hairdo is lovely.

I’m frugal and am naturally a saver. This is a phenomenal video Angela.

Oooo love this video and your outfit! The concept of frugality was a normal concept up until recently. As in "Don't buy what you don't have money for" was common sense. If my grandma (and past generations) came back and observed our world today they'd call us all idiots who pretend to be rich but aren't. 😂

Another thing I like to do to save money on food is shop from my fridge. It really forces me to get creative with recipes and it’s satisfying to see my freezer and pantry slowly grow more and more empty between checks. Once everything is nice and empty, I only buy what I truly need. This keeps my grocery bill under $100 (for two people, might not be feasible if you have children) One day, when I have a house, I will have a garden to save on fruits and veggies, because that’s a main staple in my diet.

I come from a long line of extremely frugal people. It is a way of life. And actually almost a hobby. And I do not lack in anything.

I used to absolutely break every one of these rules daily. It was interesting to listen today and see i now follow every one of them. My reason for change wasnt to be frugal. But due to since covid , awful food and awful service at restaraunts and stores and such.. im just not paying the idiots of the world to buy their garbage any more.. however. I gotta say.. the savings are massive and now habit.

Holy cow, that explains a lot about my family. My father had always pinched pennies so tight they screamed. I'm that way too. My parents grew up during the depression. I always thought that was the reason why dad was the way he was. But this makes sense. We always had a garden, I still do, and mom always canned and froze what dad grew. We'd go out to eat one night a week to eat.

Learn to cook one-pot meals. The Spanish paella as a basic is super easy to adapt for meals. You can even cook pasta with this method. It's then called fideua.

I love my aprons too. I feel like putting one on puts my mindset into homemaking work mode. If I have that apron on I’m on the move getting things done. Plus I was forever ruining my clothes and got so tired of it. Now I ruin a lot less of my favorite shirts. 😊 I’ve never heard anyone else mention wearing an apron before.

My thing is ice-cream containers for freezing stuff. My kids hate opening them and seeing frozen dill or broccoli 😂

about cooking at home… most of our grandmothers were not working 60 hours a week like most women nowadays are forced to 😭 i miss cooking but im exhausted.

I love Goodwill! I love the fact that I not only get great clothes, it is a time saver because my clothes are all in one place.

Love all your old fashioned tips. I knew an elderly woman in my childhood who did all these things and with real style. You have such a lovely look with the single strand of pearls, the shirt waist dress of soft blue, very attractive hair style, and absolutely perfect, feminine make up. A fine example of traditional values with updated sensibilities. Good work!

I was excited to get some tips because we're strapped. But so far over half way through, and I've been doing basically all but two of these for years already 😅

I was lucky enough to have retired right as all the craziness of Covid hit. I started dehydrating produce and have graduated to teaching myself how to can much of my own food. I'm so glad I did. And, I only can food that I know I will eat.

That is a good jar. That is a good box is something I say every day.

I love saving jars!