There are a plethora of frugal living tips to help you get started along this lifestyle, including those in the previously written article How to live a more frugal lifestyle, but sometimes you need a few more ideas to enable you to get started along the path.
The five tips here are designed to provide the push necessary to get you started.
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Look at the discard racks and carts at food and other stores. Discounted fruits and vegetables are great for making homemade breads, muffins and pancakes, and will also taste good in smoothies.
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Move to a smaller place, or at least a less expensive one. Your aim here is to pay a lower rent or mortgage payment, save by heating a smaller place, and learn to use less electricity.
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Trade your vehicle in for something that will use less gas, but will also be cheaper to fix. Foreign cars can cost more to fix, for parts anyway. Do your research.
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If you own a home, turn the lawn into a food garden. You will notice a huge savings in your grocery bill. Even if you rent, you can still garden. Grow herbs on a windowsill and notice the savings on your grocery bill. Grow salad greens this way as well, and dwarf citrus trees in sunny windows.
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Shop yard sales and thrift shops for everything from clothing and accessories, to small appliances and furniture.
This list, and the article mentioned above, is enough to get you started on saving money. Put your savings away for a year if you really want a good picture of how much money is wasted in your family, then decide what to do with your savings as a family. Do this buy deciding on one purchase that will allow your family to save more money over time, and by doing something fun together.
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