I Live a Frugal Lifestyle: 8 Services I’d Never Pay For

As any frugalist will tell you, there are a lot of ways to save money. But you don’t need to detract from your overall quality of life to do it.

After all, living frugally isn’t about limiting yourself unnecessarily or cutting corners on things that you actually do need or benefit from. It’s about finding smarter ways to live a rich, fulfilled life with the added — and significant — benefit of lowering costs.

So, what are some ways to do this? GOBankingRates spoke with frugal experts Merissa Alink and Janita Grift about the everyday services they never pay for and why. Here’s what they said.

Janita Grift, a frugal living expert and owner of Frugal Fun Finance, said she’ll never pay for grocery delivery services.

“I never pay for grocery delivery services which can charge up to a 10% markup,” said Grift. “While this service was convenient and often necessary during the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s no longer crucial.”

Besides saving money on delivery fees, shopping for groceries in person gives Grift more control over what she ends up getting.

“For example, if an item is out of stock, a delivery driver will find an alternative product that is often more expensive,” she continued. “When I grocery shop, I can take my time and compare several different alternatives instead of going for the default replacement item.”

A standard subscription to Netflix costs almost $16 a month. And if you add on other subscriptions — like Hulu, Peacock, and Disney+ — you could easily spend $50, $100 or even more every month just on streaming services.

So, it’s no surprise that people who are more conscious about their spending often skip this expense.

“It’s hard to pay for movie streaming services when there are so many free options available,” said Merissa Alink, frugal living expert at Little House Living.

Alink recommended checking out Freevee, YouTube and Tubi for free movies.

Meal kit delivery services, like Factor and HelloFresh, are convenient but they’re also pricey.

According to My Subscription Addiction, a subscription to Factor costs about $60 a week, or $240 a month. While this might be more cost-effective than, say, dining out, it’s still more expensive than buying your own groceries.

That’s why frugal experts like Grift tend to avoid them.

“Meal kit services are healthier and cheaper than takeout but are still a lot more expensive than buying your own groceries and preparing your own meals. Instead of relying on meal kit services, I always buy my own ingredients and cook from scratch,” Grift said.

“Once a week, I treat myself to takeout,” she added. “I’ve saved over $75 per week simply by cooking my own meals and ordering takeout once instead of using a meal kit every day.”

For Alink, services that emphasize convenience — like housing cleaning — are ones she opts to do herself instead of pay for. And she advises others to do the same if they’re hoping to save money.

“Instead, use DIY cleaning methods to save money and maintain a healthy home environment,” she said. “If you are strapped for time, you can set a quick 5- or 10-minute tidy per day to keep things clean.”

Professional house cleaning services can cost anywhere from $100 to $300, depending on the size of your home and how long it takes.

Why go to a salon for a haircut when you can do it yourself at home?

“As someone with relatively low-maintenance hair, I never go to the hair salon,” said Grift. “Instead, I cut my own hair, saving me nearly $500 a year. Growing up, my mother always cut my hair and it saved my family thousands of dollars over 18+ years.”

A simple haircut can easily cost you $20 to $40, depending on where you go. To do it at home, all you’ll need is a simple kit, which can easily cost less than $100 and you only need to pay for it once.

Alink also doesn’t pay for lawn care services or landscaping, opting to do these tasks herself whenever possible.

She sets aside about an hour a week to do regular maintenance and mow her lawn during the warmer months as this tends to be enough time for her to get everything done.

Grift said she doesn’t pay for professional skincare or eyebrow treatment services, preferring to do these things herself.

“As a woman in my thirties, taking care of my skin has become increasingly important to me. I never get professional facials or other costly skincare treatments,” she said. “Instead, I invest in quality products such as Vitamin C and E masks, creams with hyaluronic acid and vitamin C serum and do a twice-daily routine at home.”

The same goes for eyebrow-related services.

“I never get my eyebrows professionally trimmed or filled in, saving me hundreds of dollars per year,” Grift added. “If you’re looking to save money, you can invest in your own tweezers, moisturizer and eyebrow pencils and do your own treatment at home.”

Gym memberships can be expensive. According to GoodRx, the average monthly cost of one is between $40 and $70. Some gyms cost much more than that, especially if they offer additional amenities or premium services.

And when you add on the initial signup fee most gyms cost, you could be looking at spending hundreds or thousands of dollars a year. The cost is a big reason why Alink doesn’t pay money for the gym.

“Our family stays fit and healthy by taking multiple hiking trails per week,” said Alink. “There are many free healthy exercise activities that one can take advantage of like walking, riding the local bike path, or even just playing a physically demanding game with the kids at the park.”