I want to put more money into savings every month, so I needed to trim my expenses. I already don't spend a lot, but I still found a few ways to live more frugally without feeling like I'm sacrificing. Here are the 5 frugal life hacks I've adopted recently to save some money. As a bonus, these hacks are also eco-minimalist. 😁 I'll explain why for each item.
- Changing phone plans without upgrading phones
- Ditching expensive cleaning items
- Changing where I live
- Meal prepping
- Quitting workouts
You can pin this for later.
1. Changing phone plans without upgrading phones
For a long time, I paid for a Verizon plan at $70 per month (plus tax and fees) for 2 GB of data, the smallest amount of data I could get. I wouldn't even use 2 GB each month, because I was usually connected to WiFi. I was out of contract, my phone paid off long ago. Yet even in a sizeable metro area with the "largest" network, I would still hit dead spots. Verizon hinted that my phone was old and an upgrade would help (it's a 4G phone), and with 5G available, wouldn't I want a 5G-capable phone anyway?
But I'd just paid $99 for a phone repair a year ago, and I couldn't justify buying a new phone (even on a payment plan at $0 interest per month) when I'm trying to cut back on expenses. Besides, I really like my phone and didn't want a new one.
The big wireless phone companies are some of the worst offenders when it comes to child labor, dirty mining practices, and polluting manufacturing. Not to mention how they encourage upgrades far sooner than necessary by purposely slowing down their technology and shaming customers into getting something newer and fancier with sneaky marketing tactics. Meanwhile, according to the EPA's 2018 data, in the U.S. generated 2.7 million tons in new consumer electronics, but only 1.04 million tons were collected for recycling. That's a 38.5% recovery rate, with the rest of the old electronics presumably going to landfills. As those products degrade (which takes thousands of years!!), they pollute the soil, water, air, and ocean.
Not to mention that non-renewable resources, such as precious metals and petroleum products, get buried forever under tons of trash when they could be re-used, allowing us to stretch out their life cycle. Not only is e-waste recycling better for the environment, but it's also better for the consumer's wallet. The more we can re-use limited resources, the more cost-effective products will be.
Given all of these issues, I searched for a cheaper phone plan that would let me keep my phone. I found Mint Mobile, a pre-paid company that uses the T-Mobile network (yes, the one Ryan Reynolds owns). I now pay $15 per month (for 1 year in advance), and I get 4 GB of data and better network coverage for my area. First I tried them out for 3 months, which was $45. I decided I liked the network enough to go ahead and pay for a year.
I still don't use up all my data, but 4 GB is the smallest plan. Since I'm saving about $65 per month, I don't really mind.
2. Ditching expensive cleaning items
I'm unhappy to say that for a long time, I thought my floor-cleaning choices were: a mop and a pail, a rag and my foot/hands, one of those old sponge mops, or a Swiffer. I went with a Swiffer because it seemed like the most sanitary option. But damn, was it expensive.
Then someone mentioned to me that there are these mops that look like Swiffers, but they have washable pads instead of the ones you throw away. The brand I found was Libman, but there are probably others as well. It still has the little bottle that sprays onto the floor as well, but you don't have to buy an expensive, chemical-laden solution to put into it. I have vinyl floors, which you can put just about any type of cleaner on. So I just use diluted vinegar.
The mop even comes with 2 pads, so if one gets too dirty in the middle of cleaning, you can switch it out for the other one.
Yes, it's still a plastic mop with a metal stick. But just like with a Swiffer, you can have it forever because they're relatively sturdy. I don't imagine the pads will fall apart that easily, either. I've heard of people attaching rags to their Swiffers, but I tried it and it didn't work too well, so I gave my Swiffer away. I like the pads because there's one that's abrasive for a good scrubbing and the other one is softer, thicker, and more absorbent.
I don't think I need to explain why those throw-away Swiffer pads are bad for the environment. But in case you need convincing, the Washington Post reported back in 2005 that 83,000 tons of disposable wipes ended up in landfills in North America the previous year. 30% of those were from home cleaning. These cloths are made primarily of plastic products and harsh synthetic chemicals, which like electronics, are polluting to create and polluting after they're thrown out. Lastly, Swiffer is owned by Proctor & Gamble, a huge corporation that talks a good greenwashing talk but is not doing nearly enough to turn around all the damage they've done.
I spent about $20 on the mop, but I'm saving at least $10 per month by not having to buy disposable Swiffer pads. A huge bottle of white vinegar is less than $3 and will probably last me at least a year.
I've also decided to cut up an old towel to use as cleaning rags. I haven't bought any paper towels in at least a month--that's about $8 in savings. I thrifted some cloth napkins for $2, which is less than the cost of 6 months' worth of paper napkins. According to Statista, Americans use an average of 8 rolls of paper towels per month. The EPA said total paper and cardboard waste in 2018 was 67.39 million tons. In reference, it takes 17 trees and more than 20,000 gallons of water to make 1 ton of paper towels.
I was already using cloth dish rags for washing dishes, so no change there. But I did stop buying Mrs. Meyer's Toilet Bowl Cleaner (about $6 per bottle) and Surface Scrub (about $5 per container). I discovered baking soda and diluted vinegar work just as well. I can get baking soda in bulk locally at about $.50/lb, but even if that wasn't an option, it's still way cheaper than a commercially-made cleaner. I've been doing this for a while now, and I'm completely satisfied with how it works.
By the way, I thought I was doing well with Mrs. Meyer's products. But a lot of eco experts say that their products are greenwashed and could be a lot better. Additionally, the Environmental Working Group gives 80 out of 111 of their products a "D" grade. I don't want to support a brand that's putting out such toxic products.
3. Changing where I live
This was an interesting decision for me, and I know it isn't necessarily an option for everyone. As I've discussed before, I was living in an apartment alone after moving out from living with a roommate. Naturally, my rent went up, as did utilities, even though I moved to a cheaper area.
As my lease was coming to an end, my landlord informed me there would be a rent increase. From what I've heard, this has been happening to a lot of people lately. My rent was already about 50% of my net income, so naturally, I wasn't interested in paying more than that.
It really would be easier for both of us if I were to move in with my partner, who owns their home. So I did. I'm paying a flat amount to my partner to help with bills, which is about $300/month less than I was paying for rent and utilities at my old place, and cuts their lodging expenses in half.
This is also a more sustainable way to live because 2 people in the same house use fewer resources than 2 people in separate homes (it doesn't use twice the amount of energy to heat or cool a house with 2 people in it instead of 1). Also, we're both mostly homebodies, so we'll be spending less fuel driving to see each other and will probably never go out. 😆
4. Meal prepping
I used to meal prep more when I worked in an office because I had access to a microwave at work. But I didn't have one at my apartment, and some things don't reheat well in an oven or on a stovetop. It started getting exhausting cooking every meal from scratch, which is part of why I started getting so much takeout.
But my partner has a micro, so I'm back to cooking larger quantities at once and eating more leftovers. I'm actually planning on doing a takeout boycott for an indefinite period of time for health reasons as well as money. My takeout usage varied, but I'd say I went from about $150-$200/month for food down to $75-100/month when I cut out restaurant food.
I do meal prep a little differently than I've seen other people do it, where they prep 2-5 different things at the same time, with separate meals for breakfast/lunch/dinner. I will meal prep one type of food (for example, pasta) and then eat it 2-3 times per day until it's gone. I don't mind the repetition and it's more cost-effective.
Meal prep is eco-minimalist because takeout results in a bunch of trash that you can't necessarily control. You can tell them "no utensils or napkins" but they will probably still give you some, and it's not like they won't get thrown away if you try to give them back. Plus, good luck during COVID with asking a restaurant to put your meal into a container you bring to them. Despite the evidence that surfaces carry a low risk of transferring infection, businesses are still understandably cautious. So you're going to end up with disposable containers.
Also, doing the bulk of cooking at once saves energy compared to creating a single serving at each meal. Even when you have to reheat, appliances run for less time than if you had to fully cook it.
Lastly, I don't believe in preheating. I put food into the oven at the same time I turn it on, and I drop the pasta into the water when I turn on the burner. My food comes out cooked just the same as when I previously preheated it, with only a few extra minutes of cooking. With minimal exceptions (baked goods, which I rarely make), I think the need for preheating is a myth!
5. Quitting workouts
I haven't been to the gym since before lockdown. They closed due to mandates, and then when they re-opened, I didn't feel safe going back, but they still wanted to charge me the monthly fee. They even charged me the annual renewal fee while they were shut down!
I understand it must be hard on their business to have to be closed through no fault of their own. But when you mistreat your customers, they leave you, and then their business will be even worse.
When I moved, there wasn't a branch of my gym within 30 minutes of my house, so it really didn't make sense to keep the membership. I'm saving $10/month plus gas.
Even before I moved, it still took 22 minutes to get to the closest gym. So exercising at home is much better for the environment! I'll admit sometimes it's a bummer to not have the expensive machines available to use. But I'm still working on my minimalist exercise routine, and when I'm happy with it, I'll share it with you.
If you add up all the changes from my frugal minimalist life hacks, I'm saving about $500 per month. This is a HUGE chunk of my income that I can now put toward savings/retirement.
I also made a point of showing how each life hack was better for the environment because I think there are still a lot of people who believe that being more eco-friendly means spending more money. I'm in a lower income bracket, so the sustainable choices I make are going to reflect my personal budget, which means I have to focus on saving money instead of spending more!
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