Come up with 8 ideas for living frugally on a reduced budget.
1. Eat out less - Not only does eating out cost more than cooking at home, but there is also the cost of gas to travel to and from the restaurant. You may also be paying a premium to have food delivered to your door. Avoid these extra costs by buying food at the grocery store and making hearty meals at home.
2. Use less electricity - Turn off lights when you're not in the room, open windows or use a fan instead of an electric air conditioner, and turn off the television and other electronics when they're not in use.
3. Use the tap, don't buy bottled - Avoid purchasing numerous bottles of water unless it cannot be avoided (in the airport, for instance). Instead, drink water from the tap with the option to use a filter. Also, buy a reusable water bottle and carry it with you when you need a drink on the go.
4. Spend less time in the shower - You can either take shorter showers or you can opt for a "military" shower by turning off the tap between soapings.
5. Change your mode of transportation - If you own a vehicle and the gas is costing you too much money, consider using public transportation (bus, rail, or subway). Alternatively, you can get a bike or use another form of self-propelled transport (skateboard, push scooter, etc).
6. Use prepaid phones - Consider switching to phone cards or prepaid phone plans for your cellular data, text, and calls to avoid making a monthly payment. Using prepaid phones allows you to only pay for the data and calls that you use.
7. Cut the cord - Stop paying for cable or satellite dishes that add a bunch of unused channels into your bill to justify the high price. You may be paying hundreds of dollars a month for cable or satellite, but you might also be watching only a handful of the 1000+ channels offered in your monthly package. Get rid of them.
8. Recycle - Recycle the items that you can recycle, especially the ones that pay you money to turn them into your recycling center (i.e. aluminum cans, plastic and glass bottles). You could be throwing away money by throwing these items out with your regular trash.