The internet is full of frugal living tips, and it’s tough to know which to follow. Trusted money expert Rachel Cruze cut through the noise in her recent YouTube video, where she reacted to the opinions of popular money influencers.
Some of their takes she loves. Others, not so much. Here are her top takeaways.
Yes No. 1: Stretch What You Have
The Frugal Millionaire Mom and her husband have a combined net worth of over $2 million. She’s built her TikTok channel, @heyfrienditsem, by sharing the frugal living tips that have helped her grow her wealth.
One of her top tips, which she shares in the video Cruze reacts to, is to make your purchases last as long as possible. She reuses gift bags, fixes broken items and uses everything in a package before buying a replacement.
Cruze supported the idea of sensible reuse, even if she doesn’t go as far as some.
“I will save and reuse birthday bags, but tissue?” she laughed. “I don’t, no.”
She’s not opposed to saving disposables like tissue paper, but she believes in making your own decisions about what to save.
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Yes No. 2: Shop From a Grocery List
Another TikToker, @brookie_budgets, is someone Cruze described as “a very successful minimalist.” In her video, “Favorite Frugal Things,” she shows a nearly empty fridge as she explains her strategy of eating the food she has before shopping for more. Then, she uses a grocery list to avoid wasting food and money.
Cruze is an enthusiastic supporter of grocery lists. “It’s so easy to go over budget with groceries,” she said, and that’s especially true today. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that food prices increased by 23.6% from 2020 to 2024, with a 1.2% increase from 2023 to 2024. Shopping from a list is one way Cruze advocates keeping your grocery spending down so you can save money for things that bring you joy.
Yes No. 3: Own Your Car Outright
Kat Hughes, or @kathughess to her TikTok followers, is a frugal mom of three young boys. One tip in her Frugal Living Series is to drive an older car that’s fully yours rather than wasting money on a large car payment.
Cruze agreed wholeheartedly with this sentiment, as her followers might have guessed. Cruze frequently warns people about the dangers of debt, urging them to pay off their debt as quickly as possible. She’s particularly adamant about avoiding high car payments, which are becoming more common.
According to analysts from car-buying resource Edmunds, 1 in 5 recent new-car shoppers committed to monthly payments of $1,000 or more. That’s an increase of two percentage points from the first to the second quarter of the year.
Eliminating that payment is a strong way to cut your monthly expenses. Consider using the money you’d spend on a car payment to save for a used vehicle, which usually leads to a much lower monthly cost.
No: Buy in Minimal Quantities
One of @brookie_budgets’ “favorite frugal things” is spending as little as possible on clothes and jewelry. She owns only two pairs of jeans, choosing not to keep up with fast-fashion trends. Her jewelry box contains a handful of items, most of which she received as gifts.
This is one piece of advice that Cruze won’t follow. As someone who enjoys spending money on clothes and jewelry, she wouldn’t find joy in this kind of minimalism.
She doesn’t object to it for those who don’t mind the sacrifice, but she believes strongly in letting your budget bring you joy.
This kind of thoughtful spending is a core piece of Cruze’s financial philosophy. If you take control and choose what you pay for, your money can work for you — not the other way around.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 3 Frugal Habits Rachel Cruze Agrees With — And 1 She Doesn’t
