Are you the last person on the planet to cut the cord? Cable is so 1990s. And expensive! You do know that the local networks broadcast over the airwaves 30 or so channels now? You can watch about as much for free from broadcasts as you can with cable and at no cost. Then you have YouTube and Netflix and Hulu and Amazon Prime and many more. YouTube is mostly free. Netflix is still pretty cheap. If you have Amazon Prime you already have a streaming service at no additional cost. You can also check out the library tip above for even more free programming, including the expensive stuff on HBO, etc. Yes, your library has many of these programs, available at no cost to you. Check it out.
Cell phone service can be out-of-this-world expensive. I (my whole family) switched to Visible Wireless a few years back. You get unlimited data, messages and minutes. Visible Wireless is owned by Verizon. All this for $25 a month! Since I live in the boondocks I have few options for internet. I use my Visible phone as my internet as well. They even have 5G in areas where available. I am writing this post over my Visible Wireless data using the hotspot. Visible Wireless is the best deal for cell service I could find. Be aware the link in this tip is an affiliate link. Also know that I went to check to see if they had an affiliate program if I refer them. They did and I signed up just now because, well, I may as well get paid for my referral if I was going to make the referral anyway.
When a food item goes on sale it is time to stock up. . . . . . if you have the space. A freezer can cut 20% or more off your food bill. A meat special can be maximized. You can prepare larger quantities for later consumption. For the best meat quality and price, check your local butcher shop. Many sell the whole animal (already in the familiar cuts) for significantly less than buying piecemeal over time. A freezer is required is such a situation. A freezer is a must if you have your own garden or fruit trees. Nature produces more than you can consume before it spoils. A freezer pays for itself quickly.
You really need to use this trick in person to check its awesomeness. You can long-press any image/video/file from one app, open another app, and drop it there. Keep the content pinned using one hand and open another app using another finger and drop the content. It works seamlessly across Apple apps. For example, you can select a photo from the Photos app and use the drag and drop method to attach it to an iMessage conversation.
Canning is a lost art. It used to be that folks in the backwoods canned their food. I only know of one other person that cans their own food now. That is a shame since it is such a money saver. Mrs. Accountant cans and dehydrates like crazy. Fruits and vegetables fill our cellar. When a semi brings fresh Georgia peaches to Wisconsin, we stock up. A lot. We eat peaches until we have our fill and can the rest for later. The wholesale trucks are hard to find so keep your eyes and ears open. The prices are super low! A box of peaches can run a few dollar at most. And they are better than we can find in the grocery store. Consider canning as a hobby. One that pays you in more than one way. As long as you are at it, you should consider dehydrating food, as well. This is easier than canning. And your food will taste incredible.
A watched pot never boils, it is said. I’m not so sure about that. When I was a kid I kept my eye on a pot on the stove, and sure enough, it boiled. Electric bills are out of control. There are so many phantom energy drains in the average home that half or more of electricity consumption goes down the drain without any benefit to the homeowner. Read more about recording your electricity consumption here. This one simple step can lower your energy costs significantly.
The mantra is getting old. The frugal tip of doing everything yourself is a double-edged sword. Sure, you can save money doing it yourself. Sometimes. If you know what you are doing. When I owned rental property years ago I learned quickly I was not cut out for carpet laying. It was cheaper to hire it done. (Really, I was bad at it. One job was so bad all the carpet had to be ripped out and tossed.) Where you are able to handle the repair or maintenance, doing it yourself can save a lot of money. Changing the oil in the car, sharpening lawn mower blades, light appliance repair, changing a faucet and other tasks might be under your purview. If so, by all means, consider it a DIY job. However, knowing when to hire the professional is important. A DIY job when you don’t know what you are doing can lead to disaster. If you want to increase your skills, consider volunteering at Habitat for Humanity. A summer of free time spent learning several crafts of the trade is a powerful education that will pay off the rest of your life.
Need to zoom in for specific details using iPhone? You no longer need to open the Camera app and use digital zoom. iOS 15 now comes with a new Magnifier app. As the name suggests, you can use it to zoom in on elements, text, use a bunch of filters, flashlight, play with the brightness slider, and more.
Spotlight Search also gets a major boost with new features. Spotlight uses intelligence to search photos by location, people, scenes, or objects. Using Live Text, Spotlight can also find text and handwriting in photos. Spotlight now offers web image search and all-new rich results for actors, musicians, TV shows, and movies. The good news is, you can access all these goodies right from the iPhone lock screen. Use the same swipe-down gesture from the lock screen, and Spotlight Search is ready to serve you.
Sometimes the best way to accomplish a goal is to go all-in. This is where a spending fast comes in. A spending fast is exactly what is sounds like. There are 5 levels to the spending fast. Each level teaches new financial skills and supercharges your frugality muscle. You can read more about conducting a spending fast the right way here.