How to Live Frugally On One Income in 2024

Do you constantly blow your money at restaurants? If so, start thinking about how you can cut back on this expense.

According to the Bureau of Statistics , the average American household spends an average of $3,365 on dining out per year. You could pocket some of that money by cooking more at home!

Some of the strategies we use to avoid eating out include:

Meal planning. Plan your meals for the entire week, create a shopping list, and stick to it! Not only does this help you avoid eating out, but it can also help you avoid buying extra food you might waste. Meal planning is also a great strategy to help you follow a healthy diet, which benefits your body as well as your budget.

Putting an evening meal in the instant pot. Dump the ingredients in the instant pot or slow cooker in the morning and come home to a sumptuous meal later!

Meal prepping. Spend a few hours on the weekend prepping your lunches for the week. Having food ready in the fridge will help reduce the urge to eat out!

3. Cut cable and save $50-100 per month!

We cut the cord over five years ago because we really could not justify this expense.

Instead of paying $50-$100 per month on cable TV, we decided to spend this money somewhere else by using streaming services like Hulu. We have been saving at least $800 per year!

If you want to learn how to live frugally on one income, you need to know that there are better and cheaper alternatives to cable.

Netflix is a streaming app you can use to watch lots of movies and shows for only $8 per month for a basic package.

There’s also Hulu which costs $5.99 monthly (Basic Plan) with the option to pay an additional $4 to watch commercial-free. And then there’s Amazon Prime which not only gives you access to thousands of movies and TV series for only $119 a year, you also get free cloud storage with your account.

If you’re convinced it is time for you to also cut the cord, follow these steps:

1. Get a streaming device such as Amazon Fire TV Stick, Roku or Apple TV. Except for the Apple TV ($150), most streaming devices only cost around $50.
2. Select a streaming service such as Amazon, Hulu, Netflix and HBO. We switch between these services depending on which offers the movies or shows we want to watch.

You can skip using a streaming device, too, and just watch movies and shows on your computer! But I recommend getting one since it is more convenient and allows you to stream shows on your TV.

4. Create a meal plan around cheaper ingredients

Creating a meal plan around cheaper ingredients can help you lower your food cost. For example, if avocados are expensive, find cheaper alternatives so you can pocket the extra dollars.

What I usually do is check out the store circulars to have an idea of what I can buy for the week that is cheaper. Then, I create a meal plan around the cheaper ingredients!

If you are new to meal planning or are too busy to create your weekly meal plan, there’s a cheap service called the $5 Meal Plan that can help you get started.

For only $5 a month, Erin from the $5 Meal Plan will email your weekly BUDGET meal plan with each delicious meal costing only $2 per person or $5 per family, thus helping you save money and time.

5. Find Cheaper Entertainment

According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, the average American household spends $2,827 per year on entertainment.

Entertainment is a variable spending category that could take a hit if you want to learn how to live frugally on one income. It doesn’t have to if you know where to look for cheap entertainment.

Instead of spending top money on concerts, cinemas, and fine dining, you can still have the best of life without breaking the bank.  Try free activities such as going to the beach or park, or playing sports at your town’s sports facilities which are often free to use.

6. Do It Yourself

This is probably my favorite tip on how to live frugally on one income: learn a few simple DIY skills!

Learning basic car maintenance such as changing the oil, for example, can save you up to $120 per year.

We saved a lot of money by becoming our own carpenter, plumber, and gardener. You can save money by DIYing things such as:

• Pet grooming – $20-50
• Haircut – $10-$30 per salon visit
• Grass trimming- Save $50 per month
• Home maintenance such as cleaning the gutter
• Childcare – Thousands a year!
• Filing your taxes – $150 per year or more!
• Car washing – $100 per year
• Gifts

Before you hire help, YouTube the task first or do some quick research online. You’ll be surprised to find lots of how-to videos and articles online that will walk you through DIYing or fixing things.

You will not only save money but also learn skills!

7. Use your spare time to make money

If you cut every expense from your budget but still can’t pay your bills, consider using your spare time to make extra cash from home.

The good thing is that nowadays there are lots of extra income ideas that you can do from home or online. Many online side hustle ideas are flexible and can be done on your own time!

8. Sell your car or use only one car

Do you really need more than one car? Maybe you do. But now that one of the family’s breadwinners stays home, it might make sense to sell one car, especially if you still have a car payment.

Not convinced? These numbers below might change your mind:

According to a recent report from AAA, it costs $9,282 per year ($773.50 per month) to own or run a new car.

It might sound incredulous, but it does make sense when you think of the depreciation cost.

According to the study, cars lose an average of $3,759 per year in depreciation costs, which accounts for the largest ownership cost.

Then, there are also other expenses to account for such as:

• Insurance: $1,222 per year
• Tires:  $150 per year
• Maintenance: $792 per year
• License/ Registration/Taxes: $687

9. Invest in yourself

I always believe that one of the best investments you can make is to invest in yourself. By this, I mean investing to upgrade your skills to make money from home. If you can’t work outside the home anymore but you have an extra hour or two every day to make money, you could invest in education to learn new skills that make money at home.

I invested in a few resources to learn how to make money, and fortunately those investments paid off after a while.  You don’t have to spend thousands of dollars to be able to invest in yourself. In fact, you can find free resources online and on YouTube. For affordable courses, Skillshare is my favorite place to go online.

10. Remove unnecessary expenses

If you want your new smaller budget to work, the first place you should be looking at is your own expenses. List your expenses and determine whether they are necessities or just “wants.”

Obviously, necessities are expenses you can’t live without such as water, energy, and transportation, and “wants” are expenses you can live without such as new clothes and vacations.

When we lived on one small income, I rarely went shopping for “wants”, and if I bought anything, it was something that I truly needed. I learned how to live with less and enjoyed living simply, even finding happiness in giving away stuff we didn’t use, such as extra clothes, kitchenware, and personal items. I was surprised to realize that I was spending money on unnecessary stuff or for my “wants.”

That said, look closely at your expenses and I bet you will find more and more unnecessary expenses as you adjust your budget and simplify your lifestyle.

11. Avoid going out with the Joneses

We probably all have “expensive” friends. Unfortunately, no matter how much you love them, going out and spending mindless with them may not align with your goals if you’re trying to live frugally.

Remember that going from two incomes to one involves a lifestyle change, and it’s difficult to live frugally if you are always with extravagant people.

Other Useful Tips on How to Live Frugally on One Income 

If you really want to learn how to live tolive more frugally on one income, you also have to recognize the importance of having a “no saving is too small” attitude.

Remember that no matter how small the savings, they can easily add up to an overall positive impact on your finances.

I have outlined below a few money hacks and frugal living tips you can use to scale back on a few expenses and save money every day!

 

12. Use Swagbucks to get your Starbucks coffee fix at $0

Learning how to live frugally on one income might give you the impression that you can only enjoy your coffee at home. After all, those $5 lattes and cappuccinos do add up.

But if you can’t resist the pull of coffee, but want to get it for free, then learn how to get free Starbucks gift cards! There are plenty of ways to earn free Starbucks gift cards and one of my favorites is using apps like Swagbucks.

To earn free Starbucks gift cards through Swagbucks, you just need to complete small and short tasks, such as:

• Watching a short commercial
• Surfing the web through their proprietary browser or extension
• Going shopping with your account linked to their app
• Answering surveys to help brands improve their products

Do these mindless, often effortless tasks and you canbe earning gift cards that’ll get you branded coffee for zero dollars.

 

13. Save up to 15 percent on regular purchases through Amazon Subscribe and Save

We all know the old trick: make a list and stick to it. I think this is essential and I swear by it. But did you know that you could also save more money if you opt to have your purchases delivered to your doorstep through Amazon Subscribe and Save?

This is a program that allows you to purchase everyday products from Amazon, like coffee, cleaning products, kitchen towels, etc., at a pre-determined recurring interval such as weekly, monthly, or every three months.

Amazon lets you save up to 15 percent on these purchases and even provides  the convenience of having the products delivered to your home. And since you won’t be making multiple purchases at the store anymore, you also save money on gas!

14. Save at least $50 per month by not buying bottled water (save the environment, too!)

It costs at least $50 per person per month to drink water from a bottle and more for large families.  You can save a lot of money by investing in a good water filtering system at home and a reusable water bottle.

Drinking more water is also good for your health!

15. Buy fresh in-season produce

Buy in-season produce to freeze, pickle, or can,for future meals.

16. 15. Save up To 40 percent on your online purchases (Receive $10 FREE today)

When you shop online and do it through cashback online portals like Rakuten (formerly known as Ebates), you could earn up to 40percent cash back from your purchases.

Since you would be purchasing anyway, why not go through this simple and quick process and earn some rebates? It’s also great to keep Rakuten running in the background as a browser extension so you get alerted to great deals each time you go online shopping.

Rakuten has paid me over $160 for my Amazon purchases! You can read my  Rakuten Review here.

Claim my $10 Bonus 

17. Rack up FREE Gift cards from your regular purchases

If you want to keep earning points and rewards from your spending without having to exert much effort, then it’s best to keep the Drop app up and running. It’s essentially an app that links to your credit or debit card.

Once you get the app linked to your account, Drop will compile your points and allow you to redeem them as gift cards when you’ve reached a certain threshold. This app doesn’t cost you anything, yet it lets you earn points that translate to more money and more savings.

18. Save up to 85 percent by going generic

Generic pasta, cereals, cleaning products, cheese, condiments, and other products are significantly less expensive than branded ones. You may be surprised you can’t tell the difference between store-brand and name-brand items!

Try generic medicines, too. According to the FDA, which tightly regulates generic drugs to ensure they meet the same quality standards as name-brand medications, the price of generic drugs is 80-85 percent less than name-brand medicines.

20. Indulge in cheaper vacations

Is vacation taking the backseat now that you want your family to learn how to live frugally on one income? You can always make a compromise.

Go on holidays, but make sure you don’t go overboard with the spending. In fact, you can still enjoy your vacations and have fun. Save a couple of dollars by opting for non-hotel accommodations such as rental properties listed on Airbnb and booking.com. You might also consider going local and pocket the airfare fee.

21. Spend $0 for internet

I’ve learned a lot of cool tips on how to get free Internet legally. If you are in the US, try these zero-cost options to get an internet connection and save at least $50 per month!

22. Cut gym membership; exercise without paying a dime

According to data from Statistica, 67percent of people (US) with gym memberships never use them and that, on average, the rest of the gym membership owners go to the gym only twice per week. Are you one of these people? Unless you really use your membership, I recommend replacing your membership with free fitness activities.

Monthly spending for gym memberships ranges from $30 to  $100+ per month, depending on where you go. Eliminating this expense could help you save $500 per year easily.

23. Buy discount gift cards

Using discount gift cards when eating out is a great money saver! For example, if you frequent Applebees, buy a $25 restaurant gift card online through  sites like Swagbucks to save 20% or more!

24. Practice preventive care

Statistics show that in 2006 alone, healthcare expenditures were over $7000 per person. Moreover, according to Consumer Healthcare Product Association, on average, U.S. households spend about $338 per year on OTC products.

We can avoid many of these expenses by practicing preventive care. Schedule regular checkups and practice healthy habits to avoid medical expenses. Preventive care also extends to your vehicles to avoid unneeded expenses.

25. Save your spare change automatically with Acorns

Acorns is an investment app that helps you save and invest your spare change without thinking about it. Think of saving your spare change in a piggy bank–Acorns is the digital version of the piggy bank.

If you spent $3.80 for a coffee using the credit/debit card you linked to Acorns, Acorns will see the transaction and transfer the spare change of $0.20 to your Acorns account.  When your account hits $5, Acorns will withdraw the money and invest it.