The Best Frugal Household Hacks

Last spring, the blogging husband-and-wife team known as "Mr. and Mrs. Frugalwoods" realized that they wanted to live a different kind of life, unlike the typical consumer-driven lifestyle usually featured on television. They decided they wanted to retire in their early 30s and live in rural Vermont, where they could pursue their hobbies and interests (writing for her, woodworking and welding for him).

"We came to the realization that we'd essentially 'made it' as adults – we'd followed the normal, proscribed trajectory of going to college, earning good grades, getting internships and landing professional jobs," says Mrs. Frugalwoods (U.S. News agreed to use their pseudonyms to retain their anonymity, which they say they need to protect their jobs).

Mr. and Mrs. Frugalwoods

But, there was a dark side to that outward success. "We were unfulfilled by how we were required to spend the majority of our time each week. Almost all our creative energy and best ideas were funneled into doing work for our employers – not into endeavors that we find personally rewarding," she says. They didn't want to wake up 40 years later and feel like they'd wasted their lives on the office treadmill.

Last year, they made the radical choice to start saving around 70 percent of their income. They cut out most luxuries and decided to blog about the experience, sharing their journey with a growing number of readers on their website Frugalwoods.com. They plan to use their savings to purchase a rural homestead with around 40 acres of land in Vermont and live in the woods in 2017, when they are both 33.

"We love hiking and spending time together in nature. … We simultaneously agreed we'd live a simpler life in the woods," says Mrs. Frugalwoods, now 31. To save enough to turn that plan into a reality, the couple started eating every meal at home, stopped buying new clothes and handled household repairs and housework on their own.

"My favorite part of frugality is optimizing our expenses so we spend strategically. I love tracking quantitative data, designing experiments and then evaluating results," says Mr. Frugalwoods, who's also handy when it comes to DIY projects around the house.

While they are still on track to retire in less than two years (the couple is currently shopping around for the homestead of their dreams), they're also planning for a big change: They are expecting their first baby, a daughter, any day now. They plan to apply the same frugal mindset to parenting. "It's a whole new opportunity and path to figure out. You can frugalize anything in life," even bringing home babies, Mrs. Frugalwoods says. So far, she says, she has spent just $20 preparing her daughter's nursery, a feat she accomplished by making good use of hand-me-downs.

The mom-to-be adds that even while living in the high-cost city of Cambridge, Massachusetts, the couple found a way to live on just $13,000 last year. "We will bring that same mindfulness to child-rearing," she says. She and her husband haven't yet decided about child care, which is usually one of the biggest expenses for new parents, but as soon as they figure that part out, they will share the details on their blog.

She does know, however, that living frugally doesn't mean giving up all expenditures and pleasures. "Our goal is not to save every penny, but to create a life that we enjoy living. If [our daughter] wants to do ballet class three times a week, we'll work it out," she says.

For those looking to follow in the Frugalwoods' footsteps, they suggest first tracking your money. "It's so important to know where your money is going," Mrs. Frugalwoods says. That means tracking everything from food purchases to coffee, and then figuring out what you can give up. Free personal finance tools such as Personal Capital or Mint can help.

​When looking at what to cut, the couple suggests considering what you can do yourself. For instance,  they save hundreds of dollars a year cutting each other's hair, which they admit some people might find odd. "For us, it's a win-win. It takes much less time to cut hair at home than it does to trek to the salon. Plus, when your husband is your hairdresser, you develop a very special bond," she says. She adds that the couple's frugality has brought them closer in other ways, too. "We're more focused on one another and on the strength of our relationship than we are on external consumption."

The frugal duo also suggests some more traditional frugal hacks: Make all your own lunches during the week, and do so on Sunday so you don't get tired halfway through the week and give into the temptation to buy lunch​. Get rid of cable, switch to a low-cost cellphone provider and buy as many used products as possible. "Anytime you need something, check the used market first. Between Craigslist, thrift stores and garage sales, someone is almost always selling what you need for far less than the sticker price," Mrs. Frugalwoods says.

Those choices are what will allow the blogging couple to say goodbye to the stress of office and city life in 2017 and retire to their soon-to-be purchased Vermont homestead. Once they make the move, they will quit their day jobs (he works as a software engineer and she works in communications)​, but their income won't plummet to zero: The couple plans to rent out their Cambridge home for income, and they might continue to take freelance work online or run a Airbnb rental on their property. They plan to spend their days raising their family as well as woodworking, welding, gardening, practicing yoga, writing and giving back to their new community.

That's when all these years of frugal living will really pay off.

Source: The Best Frugal Household Hacks