As a mother to three beautiful children, it reminds me every day that I have a large size family. My family is not of average size; we are a family of four. Therefore, to survive, we must live a frugal lifestyle. Living a budget-friendly lifestyle doesn’t mean you are different from others and lack the enjoyment of life. It doesn’t mean you cannot take your family on a much-needed vacation. All it means is that you want the most value for every dollar you earn. Living a frugal life means you spend less money than an average consumer because you find ways to receive more for your money. I will explain how living frugal took my family of five on two vacations a year. We began our vacation by taking cruises instead of flights. The benefit of taking cruises is that it is economical for large families. Taking a seven-day cruise during off-peak season is the frugal way to vacation with a family.

Tip #1: Book your cruise during off-peak season to avoid the high-priced peak season cruise prices. The peak season occurs in May-August, during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Keeping this in mind, you will save about $1000 – $1500 with a family of three or more. Besides, you will be able to visit three to five different countries, have free room and board, and free 24hrs meals throughout the 5-9 days vacation. My children have traveled and explored the world because I lived frugally.

Tip #2: To save for off-peak vacations, you must live within your budget. Using coupons to shop instead of money is another way to pinch a penny. It is straightforward, and I will break it down to understand. You can purchase about ten Sunday papers at Dollar Tree for only $10.00. Then, you can follow PublixSavings 101 or any couponing group on Facebook, telling you what deals will be on sale and which coupons to use. Once you see what is going on sale, click the item and review which coupons are needed to purchase the item for less than 70%-100% off. Then, you go to work and look for the coupon in the paper and begin clipping. The more newspapers you buy, the more coupons you will have to purchase the items to build your nice stockpile.

Tip#3: Purchase necessary items using cash instead of using a credit card or taking out a loan. I mentioned this to explain driving a payment-free car will take you the same distance as a car with monthly payments. Imagine not having a car note to help you put away at least $200 a month (depending on your loan amount). Not only obligating to a car loan, but you must also remember to include gas, maintenance service every 2 – 3 months, and its upkeep in your monthly budget. Avoiding a car note eliminates a monthly car payment. Avoiding the car payment will help you increase your monthly saving and decrease your monthly expense, which becomes a win-win situation.

Tip#4: If you already have credit card usage and you are making monthly payments on them, send multiple payments a month. Pay your monthly fee at least five days before your payment date and apply an additional amount of whatever you can afford two weeks later, which will benefit you in decreasing your interest charge. Reducing the interest charge will help save you more money in the long run and increase your creditworthiness with creditors.

Tip #5: The most intelligent way to become a homeowner is to follow all the tips. Nowadays, banks and credit unions ask for a 3%, 5%, or 10% downpayment. With the rise in property prices, that can be very expensive, averaging between $15,000 – $45,000 depending on the home price. Being frugal with your monthly spending can help you meet your downpayment goal to become the homeowner you want to be. Open up a separate account and add it to your regular checking account. Use this particular account to DEPOSIT monetary funds only. All of your leftover funds should get deposited into this account. Don’t forget to add the FREE income tax money you get yearly. Yes, I said it right; your yearly income tax money received should be deposited in that separate account. I guarantee you will become a homeowner within 2 – 3 years. Dedication and hard work pay off beautifully when you can unlock the doors to what you can call your house.

Keep in mind to simplify and minimize your life to increase your savings. If you feel you learned something new from this information, leave a comment below.

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