{"id":139184,"date":"2025-11-17T08:23:17","date_gmt":"2025-11-17T08:23:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/139184\/"},"modified":"2025-11-17T08:23:17","modified_gmt":"2025-11-17T08:23:17","slug":"frugal-living-expert-kate-kadens-6-practical-tips-for-living-below-your-means","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/139184\/","title":{"rendered":"Frugal Living Expert Kate Kaden\u2019s 6 Practical Tips for Living Below Your Means"},"content":{"rendered":"

Stretching your budget<\/a> might be easier than you think. Making a few small lifestyle adjustments can add up faster than you might realize. Kate Kaden, an influencer who shares tips on frugal living, budgeting and saving money on her YouTube channel has plenty of advice to offer. In her video \u201cSix Practical Tips to Live Below Your Means<\/a>,\u201d she shared several easy tips to help you save money.<\/p>\n

Read Next: Here\u2019s How To Fix Your Budgeting Problems, According to Kumiko Love<\/a><\/p>\n

Find Out: 6 Things You Must Do When Your Savings Reach $50,000<\/a><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re looking for ways to spend less that probably won\u2019t hugely impact your lifestyle, Kaden has you covered. Keep reading to find out six ways to cut costs in your everyday life<\/a><\/p>\n

1. Drink Mostly Water<\/p>\n

If your refrigerator is filled with beverages like soda, juice and energy drinks, it\u2019s time to refine your shopping list. Unless she\u2019s having guests over, Kaden only keeps water, milk and coffee in her home.<\/p>\n

She noted the many health benefits of drinking primarily water, as well as the financial gains. Even if you buy bottled water, she said doing so in bulk can still be inexpensive. Plus, Kaden lives in Maine, which she said offers money to recycle bottles, which she does to earn extra cash.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, she said buying fewer beverages will improve your health and your budget, making this strategy an all-around win.<\/p>\n

2. Conserve Water Where It Makes Sense<\/p>\n

Using excess water isn\u2019t just wasteful \u2014 it\u2019s expensive. Kaden takes several steps to keep her water bill<\/a> low. For example, she turns off the water when brushing her teeth and promptly gets in the shower as soon as the water reaches her ideal temperature.<\/p>\n

She said she\u2019s even heard of people taking timed showers to conserve water, but this isn\u2019t a frugal practice she wishes to adopt.<\/p>\n

Discover More: Here\u2019s Why Gen-Z Is Embracing Frugal Living According to Brian Jung<\/a><\/p>\n

3. Conserve Light and Power<\/p>\n

Electric bills<\/a> can easily consume a good portion of a paycheck, but Kaden says her monthly bill is always under $100. Her one exception was during a summer month when she had her air conditioning on more than usual, due to a heatwave.<\/p>\n

She said she doesn\u2019t do anything inventive to keep her electric bill low. Basically, she\u2019s just taking common sense measures like turning off the lights when she leaves the room and unplugging certain electronics \u2014 like chargers \u2014 when not in use. Phantom power is the reason she cited for doing this, saying devices plugged into outlets in your home can still run your electric bill up \u2014 even when not in use.<\/p>\n

4. Carry Food and Water<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re leaving the house for more than an hour, Kaden said it\u2019s important bring snacks and water with you. She said you may be tempted to go through a drive-thru or stop at a convenience store if you become hungry on your outing, which can add up fast.<\/p>\n

She said it\u2019s much cheaper to bring snacks you already have at home. This will allow you to avoid the upcharge on snacks packaged for convenience.<\/p>\n

5. Don\u2019t Pay With Credit for Items You Can\u2019t Afford<\/p>\n

It sounds simple, but many people spend now and worry about their credit card bill later<\/a>. Personally, Kaden said she never puts anything on a credit card that she can\u2019t actually afford.<\/p>\n

While she does use a credit card, she pays it off in full each month. She said not following this rule is stressful, so don\u2019t do it.<\/p>\n

6. Get Nosy<\/p>\n

When it comes to saving money, Kaden said you can learn a lot from others<\/a>. Therefore, she\u2019s not afraid to ask for advice if she sees someone making positive financial strides. For example, if you see someone doing a great job saving, ask them how they\u2019re doing it. <\/p>\n

\u201cEducation never gets old,\u201d she said. Learning how other people do things is fun, she said. You might discover tips you never would\u2019ve thought of yourself.<\/p>\n

More From GOBankingRates<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on
\n GOBankingRates.com<\/a>:
\n Frugal Living Expert Kate Kaden\u2019s 6 Practical Tips for Living Below Your Means<\/a><\/p>\n

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Stretching your budget might be easier than you think. Making a few small lifestyle adjustments can add up…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":139185,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[138,246,111,139,69,244,245],"class_list":{"0":"post-139184","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-personal-finance","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-finance","10":"tag-new-zealand","11":"tag-newzealand","12":"tag-nz","13":"tag-personal-finance","14":"tag-personalfinance"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139184","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=139184"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139184\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/139185"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=139184"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=139184"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=139184"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}