How to Live Frugally in a New City?

“How to live frugally in a new city?” Have you ever thought of moving to a different city? Well, many of us may move to a different city for education purpose or job or any other purpose. And usually moving to new city results in spending more money.

When we suddenly move to different it takes some time to adjust to the new city. And usually, in big cities the inflation is high. One has to pay more pennies for veggies, house rent in big cities when compared to small cities. But with a little care, one can live frugally and save some pennies in a new city.

I’ve seen many of my friends who moved to different cities either for education or for a job. Some of them adapted frugality and some of them always say that they are not able to manage their money well. I’m someone who has left a job chasing my dream career without spending big bucks. In my current blog, I would like to share my experiences and knowledge regarding frugal living.

How to live frugally in a new city?

Usually, many people move to different cities during teenage or in 20s. During this time one has to take financial responsibility. You have to take care of house rent/hostel fees, spending on food, transportation and much more.

You may think all this is a burden for you. But in reality, it’s an opportunity for you to learn to handle your money. So at this time implement practical ways to live frugally in a new city. This is the best time to improve your knowledge about money matters and adapt frugality in your life.

Know the simplest ways to be thrifty in a new city

Being thrifty can’t be excel in one or two days. But if you adapt frugality in your daily activities, you will learn to save money. When we hear the word ‘new city’ the things which pop up in head are- new friends, fun, travelling, new type of food and much more. But a sensible person know to balance between spending and saving in a new city. So learn to be smart with your money.

In a new city, if you sway away in a new world and start to spend money then it’s not at all good for your financial growth. Here I’m not saying you to save more money and don’t have fun in a new city. But you have to learn frugality to balance your spending and saving.

9 Practical steps which will help you to be frugal in a new city

Moving to a new city is not like a one day picnic. One has to take care of so many things and pre-planning is necessary. First, analyse your purpose. Be clear about your decision that why are you moving to a different city then analyse your budget. All this pre-planning will help you to avoid wasting your money in a new city.

Let me elaborate on a few points which will be helpful to live frugally in a new city.

Finding good accommodation in a new city without spending more money

Finding good accommodation is the first important task when one moves to a new city. There are many options for you, such as PG- Paying Guest, room, house, hostel. So you must choose which is an affordable and good accommodation for you.

While choosing accommodation you should consider a few things to save money here. First, you must try to look for a good location. Try to choose a location which is near to your office. If you are a student then choose a location which is near to your school or college. This helps you to save money on transportation also.

How to save money on accommodation in a new city?

I say- try to avoid staying in a PG. Do you know why I’m advising this? Well, I’ve met so many people in my life who moved to a different city. Even many of my friends have moved to a new city and doing a job there. And everyone complains about the food facility in a PG.

You have to pay full charge of PG but in PG you won’t get good food. My relative moved to Banglore city after his graduation and now he is doing a job there. He stays in PG, but he never eats food there. Daily he spends money on food by eating outside food. This is actually a loss of money. No matter whether he eat food at his PG system or not he has to pay full fees there.

So I suggest, live in a rented house. Few of my friends are staying in a rented house in a different city. They divide the rent and even they cook meals and divide the cost of food among all. This saves a lot of money. This is actually a practical way to adapt frugality in a new city.

Know how to save money on food in a new city

Afer accommodation the next important thing is food. If you are moving for a job or for education to a new city then you must know to save money on food. You will be staying away from your family and this is the time where most of the people spend money on eating outside food.

During my college days, a few of my friends were staying in a rented room. They were interested in cooking and they were cooking daily food for themselves. This is the best ways to save money and even home-cooked meals are good for health. And when you have a big group of friends then you can buy groceries in a bulk quantity at a wholesale price. This will reduce the cost of food.

Use LPG or induction cooktop to save money

When I talk about home-cooked meals, now you may think about setting good kitchen tools. Here I want to say that you don’t need any expensive kitchen tools here. You need either LPG or induction cooktop. I’ve seen that some of my friends use small refilling LPG cylinder. Here also you have options like 2 KG, 5 KG etc. So you can choose which is worth for you. My friend uses 6 KGs refilling cylinder and its price is around 800 INR.

If you don’t want to use LPG refillers, you can use induction cooktop. You will easily get the best induction cooktops at a reasonable price. There are many good brands like Prestige which sells induction cooktops at a reasonable price. These cooktops run on electricity, and it won’t consume more power. So you can think about having an induction cooktop for daily cooking. This helps to save money on food. And this type of induction is good for you even if you are learning cooking newly.

Implement ideas to wash your clothes and save money

Well, if you stay at a PG they provide you washing machine to wash your clothes. But I don’t advise you to stay in a PG because as they don’t provide good food. So now if you stay in a rented house, you have to wash your clothes or you have other options like laundry. But for laundry, you have to spend money regularly.

And if you are a student or working person you don’t get more time to wash your clothes daily. But if you buy a new washing machine then it will be very costly for you. So recently I’ve heard about portable small washing machines. These are available at a reasonable price. So you can use these portable small washing machines in a new city to save money.

You can also think about secondhand washing machine to save money. You and your friends who want to stay with you in a rented room or house can equally contribute to this secondhand washing machine. This is a practical way to live frugally in a new city.

Plan your weekend wisely in a new city

I’ve seen many youngsters who live in big cities, always spend more money during weekends. If you move to any new city then it’s common that you get distracted by new things. You always try to fit in the group of new friends by adapting their lifestyle. In this peer pressure and distraction, you spend more money on unnecessary things like parties, pubs, hang-out etc.

So you must plan your weekend wisely. Choose good friends in a new city. Don’t spend more money on your weekends on entertainment. Instead of spending money on parties, pubs and movies, take a walk around a new city. Visit places like a park, beach and any other good places in a new city without spending more money.

Make new local friends to figure out how to live frugally in a new city

Always make new local friends in a new city. Get the help of your new friends to understand the culture and environment of a new city. You can also visit the supermarket with new local friends during weekends. There you can buy groceries and veggies for the whole week at a lower price.

The people who are living in that city for a long time period, usually have information about the city. So take help of those people. Increase your networking in a new city by connecting local people. All this will help you to live frugally in a new city.

Be aware of transportation facilities in a new city to save money on transportation

Recently I was travelling to a different city. There I found free buses. Yes, in some particular areas to help the public, such facilities are there. This type of facilities may not be available everywhere, but you can always collect information.

So, know which type of transportation facilities are cheap and best in a new city where you have moved. Awareness is the key to be frugal and save more money. In some cities, local trains can be good transport but in some cities, local buses can charge a reasonable price. And for students there can be more concession in bus pass. So whether you are a student or working person, learn to save money on transportation.

Get information about local markets to save money

In every city, we can find local markets where we can shop. In every region, we get some specific things at a lower price. For example, in Mumbai (India) you will get good clothes at a lower price. There you will find many wholesale shops to buy clothes. In the same way, in Himachal Pradesh, you will find apples at local markets at a very low price.

So, figure out which products are available more in the local markets of the new city. It may be any food items or clothes or anything else. All these simple techniques will help you to save money. So take help of your local friends and roam in local markets of a new city.

Stay with your relatives as a paying guest in a new city

Are you thinking about how to live frugally in a new city? Well, one of my friends was staying in my city during her education. She was staying with her relatives and paying some monthly amount. Actually this is a good idea to live frugally in a new city. But many of you may not feel comfortable to stay with your relatives. But if you have any close relatives, then you can think about it.

Here the good thing is that you will get a homely feeling in a new city. Even you will get good food. And you can pay some reasonable amount to your relatives. This will help you to save money.

Moving to a new city may look costly but if plan well then you can save more money. Every youngster who is planning to move to a  new city must think about how to live frugally in a new city. Frugal living is the key to save more and grow financially.