[USER]

I’m looking for practical and frugal ways to live on a monthly budget of $3,200 or less for a family. This includes all expenses—housing, food, transportation, utilities, healthcare, and other daily costs.

We’re trying to stretch every dollar and prioritize needs over wants without sacrificing our quality of life too much.

If you’ve lived on a similar budget or have tips from experience, I’d love to hear your advice.

What strategies worked best for you? Are there specific areas where you found the most savings? Any hacks for groceries, affordable housing, transportation alternatives, or ways to reduce utility bills?

Also, how do you manage entertainment, kids’ activities, or unexpected costs within a tight budget?

Please share your insights, ideas, or even mistakes to avoid. I’m open to learning from anyone—whether you’re living frugally by choice or necessity.

Thanks in advance!

[Ellen]

Following because in Florida the average mortgage with insurance is 3k

[Janet]

Don’t eat out, cook everything from scratch using fresh meat, buy bags of frozen vegetables -healthier than canned, visit a food bank if you need to, watch movies at home, pop your own popcorn.

[Renea]

Food pantries & lower bills to BARE necessities & make sure utilities are used ONLY as absolutely needed.

[Karen]

Stay home. It’s hard to be out and not spend money. A picnic in the back yard or a walk-to park can be a fun afternoon.

Take food you already had at home.

My favorite summer lunch is pasta salad. Cheap and easy!

[Jan]

For me, it’s still worth paying for a yearly membership to BJ’s. We have 2 cars and the gas savings alone pays for the membership. Last week gas was an average of 2.89/gal.

I filled my car up for 2.44 at Bj’s. 11 gal x .45 was about $5 saved. This week has dropped at other stations but it’s still cheaper there.

It doesn’t take too long with two vehicles to save enough to cover that yearly membership.

We also shop the deals inside and save money there. Is everything a bargain?

Of course not but we know what is a good buy for us.

[Becky]

Simply don’t live above your means. Every child doesn’t need their own bedroom. You don’t need a huge house. Buy food in season, on sale and cook at home.

Shop thrift stores before buying new.

I’ve found so many amazing things at the thrift! Utilize free places like splash pads, libraries and parks.

Pack lunches and water in reusable bottles when you go out.

Don’t run the HVAC 24/7. Don’t have 2 car payments.

[Sarah]

Hi. I’m going to apologize ahead for the long comment. My family went through this 10years ago. It was a life changing experience. You have to keep an open mind in every aspects of this journey.

I live in Los Angeles, family of 3, own a house and 2 cars.

• do home cooked meals. Watch YT for freezer food prep. I follow Acre Homestead. I do a little bit of canning.

• get everyone in the family involved with saving money

• be open minded and cut unnecessary subscriptions like streaming; gym memberships etc. This was a challenge for my family in the beginning but it got easier later on. We noticed that we really didn’t miss them.

There are cheaper and sometimes free streaming carriers. Go through what your family really cannot live without and see if you can pay by a la cart.

Share streaming carrier with other family members outside your home to cut the cost.

For example, I share my YT TV with my neighbor and sister….we split the monthly cost.

• go to the library for books, movies and kid’s activities. Public library has more family activities during summertime. Also, you can also do a Google search for tiny libraries near you.

These are typically placed in front of police departments and residential homes. You don’t need a public library card to access the tiny library.

• look for free activities or events in your area. I used Google for local events, joined the city’s fb page to see what’s happening around the neighborhood.

•. Join the Moms fb groups for community support and tips.
• join the fb Buy Nothing group. They give away so many things from small items to big ticket items.

I get clothes, shoes, extra food for a party or catering, beauty items, school/office supplies, we even got gifted tickets to LA Dodgers game, a nice washer, a free handy man service to paint small room. I love my bn group.

• look for free clothing swap. I know that most of this type of events are sponsored by churches or non profit organizations.

• walk or ride a bike if possible vs car
• summer has a lot of free fun outdoor activities
• pack lunch to picnic, car rides, work etc.
• be mindful of how you use your electricity.

• make sure you keep up with maintenance with cars, hvac and other household appliances. This will save money in the long run.

• stop buying anything just because it’s on sale.

• grocery- only buy the amount that you need. For example, if you only need 3 potatoes- don’t buy a whole bag unless you will use the rest of the potatoes for other recipes in the same week.
• eat leftovers

• grow some of your commonly used veggies and fruits. Join a fb local gardener’s group. You can bring trade your extra harvest with other growers locally.

I have a small urban garden and I’ve been able to trade some of my harvest with the things that I don’t grow like avocados.

I live in Los Angeles and we have plenty of these type of groups. Few of our groups meeting once monthly for trading harvest, plants, cooked items like bread and others. I enjoy attending these trades.

• stop using credit card. Use cash as much as possible. Remember, your Cc balance accrue interest unless you pay off right away.

• do a quarterly overview of what changes you accomplished and your goal for the next quarter.

This helped us to be on track with our saving and our goals.

You can do it!

[Shannon]

We buy Toyotas so that our repairs are minimal and our cars last a very long time, eat out minimally, cook from home, workout at home, wash cars at home, take meals to work (don’t eat in the cafeteria) and make our own coffee at home.

I go to Sam’s/Costco and buy in bulk to save $.

[Keeran]

Meal planning. Don’t carry insurance you don’t need. Sell what you don’t use.

I do home sewing on the side.

[Aimee]

We live below our means. We don’t go shopping, we eat less food than we once did. We eat one meal a day around 2-3pm with a couple snacks through out the day when hungry. Beef jerky, hard boiled eggs, cheese, fruits, veggies.

Our fun consists of fishing, adventures in the woods, hiking, bon fires, riding bikes, paddle boarding, visiting free natural hotsprings to soak in.

The only cost is gas. We do a lot of trading. My husband is a diesel mechanic and we trade work for beef and other things so we never have to buy meat.

We have our own chickens and make our own bread. When I have a sweet tooth I make a mug cake in the microwave. There are some good recipes out there.

It takes only a couple minutes and it’s a healthier option. Im hooked on this strawberry shortcake one lately that’s 20grams of protein and so yummy.

[Michelle]

If you live in a large home, turn off the vents in the unused areas. I’ve lowered my house temp in the winter and increased it in the summer.

I’ve seen large savings.

[Lovely]

Go the fire station and fill up any size bottles and jugs you want and never have to purchase store bought water again. At the fire station it’s filtered water so it tastes amazing.

Drive through also does free water. Oh, and free condiments at drive through as well not all but some.

Food banks are wonderful when you need em. So, you don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars at these stores who charge ridiculous amounts of money.

Use sunlight by opening curtains instead of your light switch until the sun goes down.

Only wash clothes once a week for large loads and small loads wash in the sink

Want a good Sunday dinner meal for the family? Go to Baptist church on Sunday’s and the best cooking you’ll ever have on a Sunday for free!

Listen to music on YouTube and signup for subscriptions that have deals then when that’s over use a different email and so on and so forth.

Stock up on can goods and lots of rice and water when you’re hurting for money bc they help in times of need. And eat at home rather than eating out all the time.

[Annie]

Time travel back to 2005?
In all seriousness though, control your big expenses: smallest housing payment you can find, same for car, track every penny, and it may be an unpopular opinion, but apply for assistance if you have children.

Medical, food, etc. Make frugality and simplicity as fun as you can.
Then get working on upping your income.

It’s very very hard to live on that income with a family. Sending hugs your way.

[Shannon]

Cook at home
No special trips in the car those add up fast
Make your coffee at home

Cancel unnecessary subscription
Buy second hand

Ask you utility company if they offer plans for low income
Coupons

[Casa]

– Make your own liquid body wash (1 bar of soap can fill 32 ounce bottle)

– make your own laundry soap (one 5 gallon bucket lasts us a year. We’re a family of 4. I do a few loads everyday)

– Use pump dispensers for everything. Limits waste
– reusable paper towels

– stop buying / using disposable
Hope this helps.

[Anisa]

Meal planning, and make a list of wants versus needs. But second hand clothing and household items. Don’t eat out. But second hand cars.

Don’t have cable, but second hand game units for kids.

If it’s not in your budget, don’t buy it. Tell the family make it an open conversation so everyone knows and can help with the budget.

Make some goals for savings as a family too.

[Hosack]

Coupons where you can, meal plan, fetch app, rewards apps when eating out, limit outside food unless you have a deal. DIY beauty maintenance when possible, gas rewards for cents off a gallon,

Single mom of 3 on a 4k budget with no government assistance. Am able to pay necessities and still live life a little.

Good luck to you

[Hayley]

One thing my husband and I did that changed our finances was separate our bills from our personal spending with two different bank accounts.

We use our original bank for our bills, so nothing has to be changed and then we use a totally different bank for our spending.

It’s easy to look at your bank account on payday and think you have the money to treat yourself without taking any bills into account.

We were constantly saying “oh we have XYZ dollars we can afford to go out tonight!” And then a big bill would come or Murphy would hit and we’d be in the red.

I use Alexa to track what bills we have, how much they are & when they come out and my husband uses his spreadsheet so they’re always being tracked.

I know that’s not a frugal thing per se since my mom gave me the Alexa but even just putting the bills into your calendar could help a ton.

Having two different banks also helps me track if unrecognized purchases occur on our bills bank account since I don’t have such a long transaction sheet anymore.

I get notified every time a purchase is made from our personal spending account.

[Author]

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