Today we are going to talk about frugal living tips for large families because we can learn from them and how they help financially.

Many people are surprised or make the assumptions about large families and wonder how they can support themselves financially.

Sad to say that in today’s world people make assumptions that everything has to be about money and material things.

The thought that living with less can happen puzzles many people. Wanting what others have and not being able to separate their needs from wants is a big issue with many people.

Now, these frugal living tips for large families you are going to read about how to be able to have a large family and continue to keep their finances in the right direction.

Even if you don’t have a large family, you will learn tips to help yours, seriously!

Let’s begin by understanding what a frugal lifestyle is, shall we?

We live a frugal lifestyle, we control our money and live below our means. We don’t spend every penny we earn; we save it.

We think of our future and not the now when it comes to our finances, and most importantly we value everything.

Living a frugal lifestyle is not caring about the Joneses. We don’t compare ourselves to others, and neither do we want to live to someone else standards.

I hope this quick summary gives you an idea of what it means to be frugal.

Now back to how to afford a large family with these frugal tips.

The truth is that we cover large families before in our blog as our family is considered a large family in this country.

In 2017 the average size of a family in the United States is 2.54 back in 1960 the average family size 3.3.

We are a family of 6, so I guess that makes us above average.

You can imagine how the size of a family affects finances, but the truth is that many of these large families manage their finances and some of them are even debt-free.

They are able to save and manage their money better the majority of us, and that's the truth.

If you haven’t mastered these frugal living tips for large families, then you are in luck because you are about to find out.

Let’s begin, shall we?

10 Money Saving Tips for Large Families

Budget and do it well

There is no frugal living without having a budget and for big families having a budget and budgeting well is essential.

Keeping track of their finances is important no matter the size of the family, but many large families succeed financially because they have a budget that works for them and their family.

And they are able to stick to the budget without excuses. They make their budget work.

Grocery budget ideas

Grocery expenses are the most prominent expenses in any family, but for a large family, it can be a huge expense. The Duggar cost to feed their family in 2012 was $36000 a year. That’s $3,000 a month to feed their large families.

This is when budgeting comes in handy, my friend. Budgeting for groceries is important and, in another post we wrote, we talked about 20 Grocery Budget Hacks for Big Families which covers how they do it.

Check out  $5 Meal Plan to help you reduce your grocery cost.

Tips you need to do to keep your grocery bill down:

• Menu plan
• Shopping list
• Keep your meals simple
• Shop the sales
• Buy generic
• Homemade meals for the win
• Drink water
• Make more soup
• Use coupons – Get them here and here

You can also use mobile apps like:

• Ibotta
• SavingStar
• Checkout 51
• Shopkick

Save money on Clothes

Keeping a large family clothed is another enormous expense but don’t worry we have you covered.

Buy used clothes when possible and wear hand-me-downs are a great way to save money on clothes.

Another frugal living tip is to learn to sew and fix your clothes and take care of them to make them last longer.

Buy clothes when it is out of season and on clearance to help keep the cost down.

Related posts:

• The Best Frugal Meal Ideas for Families (& Why You Need Them)(Opens in a new browser tab)
• 9 Things to Do This Summer That Won't Bust the Budget(Opens in a new browser tab)
• Simple Living Tips For You and Your Home(Opens in a new browser tab)

Save money on bills

Large families have tricks to save money on their bills. They got bills just like any other family so how do you reduce the cost of their bills.

To save on bills, you never pay them late. Yes, pay your bills on time because if not you are going to pay more.

The truth is that paying your bills on time eliminates you from paying late fees and interest.

If you don’t pay your bill and your services get cut off, once you pay the bill an extra charge for restoring your service will be adding.

Add that service to late fees, and you will be paying more money on your bills.

To reduce the electric bill, you need to:

• Turn off the lights
• Use cold water when doing laundry
• Switch to a smart meter
• Learn about off-peak hours

Save money on water is another way large families save money and you can to when you follow these 14 tips:

1. Only run the dishwasher when full.
2. Run full loads of laundry instead of small, half loads.
3. Put your drinking water in the fridge, so you don’t waste water running the tap to get cold.
4. Skip using the garbage disposal.
5. Take shorter showers.
6. Shower instead of taking a bath. This actually uses less
7. Check for and prevent toilet leaks.
8. Turn off the faucet while brushing your teeth (or shaving).
9. Use a faucet aerator.
10. Wear clothes (especially jeans) more than once before washing unless they get really dirty or stained.
11. Insulate your pipes.
12. Use high-efficiency washers and low flow toilets.
13. Collect rainwater for watering plants.
14. Sweep sidewalks instead of spraying.

Another way to keep your house bills down is to keep the cost of TV services down.

Cut the cable because is not a need unless you can afford them. The truth is that antennas such as Mohu which we love.

All you need is to head over to Mohu site and find the right antenna for you. We truly love it, and when Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico, we sent them Mohu antennas and my family loved it.

Home maintenance

Keeping up with home maintenance is another frugal living tips, large families, do save money.

You see keeping up with general outdoor things such as mowing, weeding, trimming and clearing dead plants it's important.

Trimming back bushes and trees to prevent them from touching the house and giving insects a pathway and damaging roof among other things.

Keeping the gutter clear and repairing damaged shingles, siding prevents water damage and critters from creating more damage that will cost money.

Another way to maintain your home is to keep up with HAVC and its maintenance. Again, another way to save money from future damages.

Grow a garden

Starting a garden is another frugal living tip for large families if that is possible for just about any size one. Save money on herbs by growing them year-round indoor if possible.

Now I’m a fan of gardening, and I was able to make my baby his food with food grown from our garden.

It was super affordable and organic since I was the one that grew it and didn't use any harmful pesticide. A garden no matter how small you start will have great benefits not just in your finances but yourself.

Switch phone services

One thing that I can’t get over is the price of mobile services and how people are so loyal to them.

Let me say this you can find affordable mobile services besides big-name mobile companies.

Let me give you an example, for the past two years I have been a customer of Republic Wireless.

When I started my mobile phone bill was as low as $13 bucks including taxes! Now I do have a smartphone, and I was fine.

You see, I learned to adapt and was able to switch to a company that is super affordable without stressing if I was getting the best quality service.

I was!

Before you start finding excuses as to why you can’t switch to another company, yes, I get the contract, but you can pay the fee and switch to another mobile company and still save money.

Wifi services that are free are all over, and my phone takes advantage of that. The next time you are thinking about saving money on your phone services, shop around, and you will be surprised what you will find.

Free entertainment

Keeping a large family entertain is important, and of course, it is done frugal style. Renting free movies from the library to taking advantage of free entertainment provided by communities is a way to save money.

Entertaining for a big family doesn’t have to cost tons of money and to take advantage of free things and deals is also another way to keep the cost done.

During the summer taking advantage of the weather to have movies outdoor instead of going to the theater to see the latest blockbuster.

To have fun with the kids, we bought a Portable Spandex Projector Screen and a movie projector and watched movies outdoors.

Everyone loves it! Adding the cost of these two items doesn’t come close to what we would spend if we went to the movie theater every weekend.

Save money on travel

Road trips are made with frugal in mind. In this post How to Enjoy a Road Trip on a Budget I wrote about our road trip and what we did to help save money in the process.

Get it free

Free is always good and why not take advantage of it. As stated above taking advantage of free entertainment is one way to keep cost down for large families.

You can also score free furniture and clothes via social media in yard sale groups. All you have to do is look around and be available to pick it up.

Hands me down are a good way too and nothing to be ashamed of. Get it free, get a good use of it and enjoy it!

Related posts:

• 5 Things To Avoid During A Recession
• 10 Ways To Save and Manage Money On a Low Income
• Unexpected Houseguests: How to Make the Best of it this Holiday

Take care of yourself and your family

Taking care of yourself and your family is important! You need to make sure you are healthy, and by doing this, it will keep the cost medical bills down.

Make sure you brush your teeth and floss to keep dental cost down as well. Self-care prevents costly health bills.

Conclusion

As you can see these 10 frugal tips for large families proves how you can keep your budget under control and support yourself.

If you don’t have a large family and you have not implemented any of these tips you need and you need to do it today.

These frugal living tips take time and planning but most important commitments.

Regardless whether you have 2 or 6 kids sticking to a budget and finding ways to save money is key.

Your turn: When it comes to frugal living tips for large families what are your thoughts? Share it with us.