The difference between frugal living and being a cheapskate is something you can see when you look in the fridge.  When you look inside a cheapskate’s fridge you will find nothing but on the other hand, a frugal cook will have a lot of healthy foods stocked in the fridge. The literal meaning of frugality is to spend less money than you are earning, saving it, and utilizing it for useful purposes. I have compiled a list of frugal money saving tips to help out mums and dads on a quest for saving money.

1. Make sure you find some good coupons, as well as visiting UK free stuff sites for some fantastic frugal savings. You can save a lot of money by checking out the current offers before you start your shop. Also shop around for the best deals on household appliances, home wares and other items that can be more expensive purchases to make sure you get items that will really work for their money and should last you longer. I also suggest to read product reviews before you buy anything – you can do that on Trustorereview.
2. Save all the change and extra coins in a piggy bank that no matter what you can’t open (without using a diamond cutter.) When the piggy bank gets full and heavy then you should open it and save the money in your bank. I deposited £128 in our bank account the last time we broke our piggy bank.This is also something I get my little boy to do to save his holiday spending money.
3.  You should take a look at your weekly menu and cut some of the meat out, going vegetarian is not only good for your health but it also lets you save a lot of money.
4. Make your detergents at home, it’s easy to do and there are a lot of tutorial videos on YouTube.
5. You can visit Baby and Kids Market and eBay to sell all of your baby’s old clothes, toys and other equipment. I personally did this and made £112 which I then used to buy new clothes for Joe. This habit can not only help you save money but is also helpful for the environment as we get to recycle our old things. Most children’s clothing is not that worn – they grow so quickly after all, so good quality stuff is snapped up and you can make a decent profit.
6. Take your kids to the nearby park or playground instead of an indoor play centre which can cost a lot of money. Joe loves the park, we just take a picnic and a football, and can have hours of fun.
7. My visits to the supermarket are always planned. At the start of each month, make one visit to the grocery store and meat, vegetables, milk and bread in bulk – this is often a cheaper option.  Freeze the excessive stuff and use it through the month. It not only saves money on making the trips to the store but also stops you from buying clothes and other luxury items that you don’t really need on each visit.
8. Always keep an eye on your electricity consumption. Keep the extra lights switched off and make sure that all of your appliances are running on energy-saving mode.

Is there anything you do to be more frugal? Let us know…