How To Scrimp and Save Money
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Scrimping is the process of taking small cuts to everyday expenditures that result in tangible savings. It’s about spending less money than necessary to reach a goal, economizing the resources you do have to help you spend less and making the most of what you have.
I got into scrimping during the pandemic out of necessity. The revenue I was earning from my primary income stream at the time dropped 60% overnight. At the same time, my fiance's main income stream vanished completely for 1.5 years.
While we’ve created new income streams since that time, there was a lag between the time the income vanished to the time it reappeared through other sources.
It was during this gap that I got into scrimping to save money and now I’m hooked for life, because it paid off.
Despite the financial uncertainty mentioned above, during this same period, we managed to save enough money to buy a house and still have money left over for updating it.
No matter what your financial situation, you can scrimp to save money and resources too.
Below are things I learned in my nearly 5 year journey of scrimping to save money and the use of these tips, made a very uncertain time easier to manage.
37 ways to scrimp and save money:
1 - Trade luxury items for low cost dupes
Review your budget and identify your little luxuries.
Everyone has them; mine is personal care - makeup, skincare and haircare. Yours might be high end pet food or some kind of hobby toy. Every time a luxury item is used up, research comparable items with similar ingredients you can get for less.
Make the switch in stages.
If you’re using professional brands, switch to drugstore brands. If you’re using drugstore brands, switch to dollar store brands. Eventually you’ll find something you like for less - stick with that.
2 - Inventory your resources
Before buying anything, do an inventory check. Dig through your cabinets, attic and basement to see if you have the item in a hidden box somewhere. You may! It’ll save you time as well as money to just check first.
When you’re out shopping and see something cute, mentally check if you already have one, and if you do, don’t get it - even if it’s on sale. If you’re not sure, you’ll need to check first, so don’t get it - even if it’s on sale.
If you have one at home and it works, you don’t need another.
3 - Buy for longevity
When you do buy, think about how long certain items will last you before going home with anything.
For example, let’s say you need a new brow makeup product. Check the ounces you get per tube and keep in mind, different product formulations have different lifespans.
Powders last the longest, pomades last the second longest, and mascara like-products are the first to go. When possible, choose the item where you’ll get the most for the money and its marked shelf life is 24 months, rather than 3 months.
4 - Get the value size
If there is a product you use regularly, see if there is a unit price discount and take advantage of it. You are going to use it anyway so you may as well pay less.
I recommend starting your value-sizing with soaps like laundry detergent, hand soap, shampoo, face wash, etc.
5 - Do I want this item now or do I want to have money for Christmas?
If you don’t celebrate this holiday, replace “Christmas” with any big goal you’re saving for.
Maybe you don’t have a big goal and you’re saving for a future Black Swan Event that may come one day. In that case, replace “Christmas” with “a Big Emergency Expense.”
Any time you’re tempted to buy something that’s non-necessary, like a little treat when out and about, ask yourself if you really want this now or if you’d rather be prepared with enough money for the XYZ event.
6 - Don’t get a new pet
This one may be controversial, but it worked for me.
While they may offer companionship and/or a dopamine boost, they are technically expensive luxuries and their expenses will add to your financial burden.
Imagine you’re stressed about your income falling, while the expenses keep on coming and the income increase you prayed for has yet to materialize.
When you add a pet, your expenses are going to be even higher. Now you are more stressed about money, and the pet’s dopamine boost isn’t making up for the level of stress you now feel. Sadly, you could remain stressed even after obtaining said pet.
Unless you can find a way to make an income on the pet, a new pet may be above your means.
7 - Stop sharing your scrimping gains with people who don’t understand
If you share your economizing ways with someone and they chastise your efforts, stop. Sharing further will only take the wind out of your sails and slow your success. You don’t need to explain yourself or defend it.
Continue only sharing your scrimping gains with others who agree - maybe this means joining Reddit or Facebook budgeting groups for inspiration.
When you stop sharing frugal wins with demotivating people, you get to keep all that excitement energy to yourself and you can use your stored excitement to excel even more quickly toward your savings goals.
8 - If it’s free, it’s for me and I’ll take 3!
While there are costs associated with taking freebies, when you’re scrimping, every free sample can help. The time or energy costs can be worth it to acquire most handouts.
If someone offers you a free resource you can use, take it. Even if you can’t think of anything immediately to do with it, if you can remotely envision a potential future usefulness, say yes - you may be able to trade or repurpose it later.
9 - Spend other people’s money first
Prioritize spending other people’s money above your own by using free or gifted resources first. Even if you’re currently using something from your own supply when gifted a new, comparable resource, pause using your own supply and use the gifted resource.
When you spend other people’s money, it saves your own.
10 - Calculate the potential rewards with a long term view
Calculate how much you saved trading down. Use a Percent Decrease Calculator and a Unit Price Calculator to evaluate how much of your money you get to keep when downsizing brands and it will motivate you to continue.
Every time you save money scrimping, calculate how much you saved during that one transaction. Now calculate how much you’ll save if you continue to save money on the same transaction repeated over 1 year, then over 20 years.
Once you see the long term savings, envision what you can do with these larger sums.
The scrimping will start to look like paid off cars, paid off student loans, a paid off house and money saved for big life dreams. It’ll help you keep your eye on your prize - what you’ll do with all the money you saved.
11 - Ask to borrow it first
Next time you need a resource, ask your network if anyone has it. Your family and friends may have it laying around. Your local library may have the book you wanted to read.
12 - Look at your waste differently
Before you donate your clothing scraps to the thrift store, consider if you can use them for rags, a new t-shirt rug or as nail polish remover pads. Before you trash some clutter, ask your social network if they can use it. Before you throw away anything metal, consider if it’s worth it to trade it at your local scrap yard for cash.
Just because you don’t need it in its current state, doesn’t mean it can’t be broken down and used in other ways. Or, someone else you know may be looking for that item and you can give it to them.
13 - Use less of everything
Don’t run the water for so long when doing dishes. Shorten your showers. Avoid running water while doing your skincare routine.
Maybe you don’t need to wash your hair every day. Maybe you don’t need to do a full face of foundation every morning. Maybe just a few dots of concealer is all you need. Maybe you don’t need to heat every room of your house all the time and can close heat vents to rooms not used as frequently.
Even using fewer kitchen tools when making a meal will help - it decreases the water and soap needed to clean them.
Every time you think of using something, consider how you can use less of it. Using less will make your money last longer and whatever you don’t need to buy, is savings in your pocket.
14 - Leave the house with a list
Make a shopping list before you go out for errands. Stick to the list. Aim to not deviate from the list.
15 - Challenge yourself to spend the least amount of money
Whenever you leave the house, challenge yourself to spend the least amount of money you can. Gamifying your scrimping helps. Simply say to yourself, “today I will keep more of my money than yesterday.”
16 - Before checking out, double check your cart for excess
Look at your cart and internally ask yourself if there is anything in it that you do not need right now and see if you can take anything out.
You may be able to put back a few things. This often results in $5-10 in savings for me per trip and over the course of a year, it can add up to hundreds of dollars. Hello, paid utility bills.
17 - Don’t go crazy on getting festive
Just because it feels like everyone has the latest holiday fashions and decor, doesn’t mean you need that stuff.
Before buying anything new for any holiday, take out your holiday gear from last year and evaluate what you have. Use these decorations first, repair what needs to be repaired and replace what needs to be replaced.
Once you have a good eye on your current “holiday holdings,” then decide what, if anything, you need. It might be nothing.
18 - Get serious about couponing
Couponing pays off. Find out what stores you shop at have the best rewards and coupon programs, then shop there. Use their system to earn free items, money off your bill and discounts with their affiliates.
Once you get serious with it, you may have those moments you only thought you’d see on TV - where the manager has to approve your transaction as the register froze from you saving too much! This happened to me recently and it felt like a dream come true.
Now layer cashback rewards when you order online and ahead of time. Use programs like Rakuten to see if the store you’re planning to buy from offers cash rebates from your purchase and place an online order for pick up.
19 - DIY Things
20 - Eat in-season foods
Before shopping for groceries, check the flyers for the 3 nearest grocery stores. Identify some common themes with what’s on sale. This will help you start to notice trends regarding what’s abundant and thus low cost, and when.
At different times of the year, certain foods are cheaper than others. Once you get to know the seasonal food cycles in your area, you can eat healthy but for less money.
21 - Build your next meal plan off your current pantry’s remnants
Before getting more food, evaluate your ingredients. Look at each remaining ingredient and while holding it, think about what else you can pair it with. Then build next week’s meal on it, only getting the necessary ingredients needed to complete the meal.
22 - Put it on “the list”
Even when you can see eventual improvements needed down the line, not everything needs to be replaced or upgraded right now.
You can put things that you know will be needed in the future but are fine right now on “the list.” This list can be a literal note sheet you have set aside for purchases needed in the future or it can be a mental list.
You will never complete all the upgrades on the list as the list is infinite and it will keep going forever. Make peace with this fact.
23 - If it’s not broken, don’t fix it
If a company comes out with the latest thing, but your existing thing still functions, you may not need the latest and greatest right now. If it still works, you may be okay keeping your existing infrastructure in use for now.
24 - Use up what you have
Rushing out to get the newest lipgloss isn’t going to drastically change your life. Use up what you have first and get more when you’re about to run out.
25 - Designate a de-influencing buddy
This applies to you whether you have someone in your life to do the job or not.
If you have someone in your life who will do the job, ask them to talk you out of buying things. If you don't, your inner self or personal journal will fill the role.
Anytime you think about buying something, ask your de-influencing buddy (or yourself) to convince you that you don't need it. If your inner self is the buddy, dedicate your contemplation or journaling time for this task.
If you need a virtual de-influencing buddy, check out Underconsumption Core on TikTok. You’ll find a suite of creators ready to inspire you to not buy.
26 - Bring your resources with you
When you leave the house, carry a large bag to pack anything you may need while you’re out - water, food, basic first aid supplies. I carry multitasking essentials like pain killers, eye drops, essential oils and creams.
That way, if you get hungry, a headache, a sunburn or indigestion when you’re out, you won’t pay a “being unprepared” tax for acquiring those same resources at the gas station.
27 - Check in with your money every day
The term “don’t sweat the small stuff” doesn’t apply to you; your new mindset is the small stuff matters and it adds up to big stuff. Pennies will ultimately result in dollars. Dollars ultimately result in real needs getting met.
Every day, open up all your financial accounts. Evaluate how much money you have. Review the income and expenses in your ledger. Make real-time, live adjustments to your budget based on your ledger.
Something you were going to buy yesterday, you are now going to hold off on. Something you waited on purchasing, is now an emergent need you need to push to the front of the line. You want to monitor your spending daily to make these “live” adjustments in response to your budgets’ capabilities.
The reason daily monitoring is necessary is because when you’re scrimping, it could be because income is low and this means there’s a lower margin for error. Just one uninformed money decision will put you in the negative. This is why taking a daily pulse matters.
28 - Take the 0% interest loan
Defer the expense. If you can extend your payment terms with no negative consequences, do.
When you take a 0% interest loan, the money in your savings will continue to earn you interest for longer, and you’ll squeeze a little more money out of your money before giving it up.
For example, a credit card has 30 days of no interest, no payment terms before your first payment with interest. PayPal credit can offer you 6 months no interest or payment.
If you have a business with inventory, wholesale suppliers may offer you no payment, no interest terms in a 60-90 day grace period, so you can make money on the product and pay off the inventory with the revenue.
29 - Don’t splurge on payday
When income does come in, don’t immediately spend it. Wait 24 hours to 5 days, to just let the money sit, even if you have a list of projects that are awaiting funding.
The reason is because when the wells have gone dry so to speak, once the rain comes, and it will at some point, you may feel very rich and accidentally over-indulge when you need to make it last.
Depending on the nature of your income, you may not know when the next payday will come or what expenses will pop up when it does. So, give yourself a cooling off period when money arrives to think through your expenditures. It will help you be more strategic when allocating the funds.
Also, letting the money sit allows you to get comfortable with what it feels like having money around. If you have a history of going through famine times and not having enough money, having a lot of money may feel weird. In order to increase your savings, you’re going to need to become comfortable with money just existing near you.
This waiting period helps you pause to experience the peace of mind that comes with more money around, which can help motivate you to want to keep it around longer.
30 - Build your wardrobe around clothing staples
Choose neutral colors that would pair well with each other, then mix and match your outfits. Avoid trendy patterns and styles, and get to know your color preferences.
When building out your wardrobe each season, replace worn items with classics.
This Minimalist Wardrobe Pinterest Board is good for inspiration.
31 - Select skincare products that match your skin type
Start with 3 basic skincare items - cleanser, moisturizer and sunscreen. Select them for qualities that match your skin type. If you have dry skin, acne prone skin, mature skin, look for items marketed to help with those concerns.
After you have your basic skin type targeted skincare items, then add desired treatments for conditions you want to improve - wrinkles, large pores, dark spots, etc. You don’t have to target everything all at once - just choose 1 or 2 skincare goals and add 1 or 2 treatments for that. Switch it up next season.
You now have a max of 4-5 skincare items, this is manageable and sustainable.
32 - Avoid going on a long and expensive vacation
Did you know my parents never took me to Disneyland and I turned out fine? I don’t even have a desire to go today!
If you’re scrimping for a big life goal, don’t go on costly vacations. You’ll waste money on temporary fun, meanwhile sacrificing long term security. It’s pleasure now for more pain later.
Besides, all that you’ll do on vacation is worry about money! Instead, save the money and pair down - do something fun and local instead, like a day trip to your favorite town or nature spot.
Or, spend a “vacation” day researching and doing what it’ll take to achieve your bigger dream instead.
33 - If you can’t save money, save resources
If your margins are thin or you have a budget deficit, you likely won’t be able to save money, so instead, save resources. You’ll want to decrease your repurchase frequency, store items for later use, harvest raw materials from your surrounding area for the next season and so on.
Look at all resources available to you as potential money in the bank that you don’t have to earn. For example, over the years, you acquired multiple irons. Rather than selling all your extra irons at a yard sale, save one for a backup when your current iron dies.
34 - Use prayer, meditation or quiet contemplation
Use prayer, meditation, manifestation practices for allowing inspired ideas to come to you in your contemplation period.
There are many times I “wished” for a resource before buying it, only for someone to show up on my doorstep with what I was wishing for or offer it to me in the following days. What I didn’t spend, I can now save.
While your prayers may not be answered immediately, they can get answered, so it’s worth directing your meditative intent towards your scrimping and saving goals.
35 - Go through your house and evaluate everything for saleability
Turn your existing resources into savings.
Walk through each room of your home and evaluate every item. Am I using it? When was the last time I used it? If it’s just sitting there and collecting dust, can I sell it?
A word of caution here: Don’t sell it if you’re actively using it or you can use the item to create additional residual income in the future through another sellable product or service.
For example, if you own a rare plant and can sell cuttings from the plant year after year - don’t sell the plant, sell the cuttings and you’ll earn more money for longer.
36 - Look into high interest savings accounts
Make your savings work harder for you.
You may be able to earn more money on your hard earned savings when you put it in a high interest savings account. In a high interest savings account, you could make upwards of 4-5% of income.
37 - Take the money you’ve saved and invest some of it into income generating assets
Now that you’ve scrimped some money and have some savings set aside, think about ways you can use it to generate more savings. You may have a hobby you could strategically invest into and monetize. You may decide to furnish your home with antiques that hold their value.
You may decide to put your money into dividend earning stocks like VYM or VDIGX.
Okay, so these are 37 ways you can scrimp in different areas of your life in order to save more money and make the money that does come in, last longer.
One of the benefits of scrimping besides saving money is that you’ll be walking more lightly on the earth. You’ll be conserving your resources, making the most of and using up what you have. You’ll naturally develop a knack for making things stretch. When you make things stretch, you use less and this lowers the strain of resource use on the environment.
As a consequence, you’ll be saving precious resources for future generations, too. Not only will you benefit materially and financially from scrimping, so will your children and grandchildren.
When you consider it all, it makes the effort that you put into scrimping today worth it.
Scrimping is a valuable skill, and a source of potential income and savings, so there’s no reason to complain about having to do it - because of all the benefits.
If you’re scrimping for necessity, keep in mind that eventually, things will change and you may choose to continue scrimping for the fun of it and because of all the money you get to keep.
To end, my favorite reason for scrimping to save money is the peace of mind it brings - the knowledge that I did everything I could to preserve the money I had so that a financial cushion was there when needed.
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