According to author and financial expert Sam, people easily overspend on food and entertainment the most. Many of them aren't aware of how much they're actually spending.

"I was talking to one woman who thought she should only be spending $4,000 a month on food and entertainment. Yet, she always gets a credit card bill for $10,000 a month instead. She had no idea where all the money was going. When she finally did a detailed analysis, she realized she consistently overspent on food, drinks, and all sorts of automatic streaming subscriptions such as Netflix, Disney+, and more," he gave a specific example about the importance of taking a close look at one's finances.

Sam personally believes that we don't live in a throwaway culture. "Overall, we are becoming more conscientious of how we spend our money and recycle products. From buying secondhand cars, to getting hand-me-down children’s clothes, to buying used luxury items on the Internet, we are making our money go farther. But I do believe there will be more revenge spending going on this year and next year as we move on from the pandemic."

According to the expert, the biggest benefit of living frugally is saving yourself time, which is your greatest resource (alongside energy). "The less you need, the less you have to work. And the less you have to work, the more time you save to do whatever you want," he said.

"As a frugal person, there is also a mental decluttering. The fewer things you have, the more free feel. Attachment is one of the reasons for suffering. To be able to let go is a wonderful feeling and ability."

For the r/Frugal crowd, frugality is a mental approach that people take when they think about resource allocation. “It includes time, money, convenience, and many other factors.” It’s all about wasting less and gaining more.

What’s more, the subreddit stresses that everyone has a slightly different understanding of what frugality and frugal living entails. So it’s best to enjoy the content and discuss things peacefully. Fights over semantics, on the other hand, aren’t very welcome. In short, the community is open to everyone and frowns on gatekeeping.

Earlier, Jake Butler from the ‘Save the Student’ team that advises British students on how to make their money go further, told Bored Panda about one way to save money. He took a look at food costs and how to reduce them, with regard to saying ‘no’ to fast-food and takeaways while learning to cook at home.

Jake pointed out that you can save quite a lot of money if you choose to eat out less. However, this doesn’t mean having to wave ‘goodbye’ to your favorite meals. You can learn to cook them at home, whether with the help of a recipe book, advice on the internet, or video tutorials. The added bonus is that when you cook for yourself, you’re in total control of what goes into the meal. Nutritional control, here we come.

“The good news is that you can easily recreate your favorites at home for a fraction of the price. It's much healthier this way too. Google is definitely your friend here as you can find fakeaway recipes from a number of sites,” he told Bored Panda.

“During the lockdown, McDonald’s even released instructions on how to make their famous breakfast egg McMuffin at home,” Jake said that some companies were very friendly in how they treated their customers, empowering them to cook at home.

“The good news is that the ingredients for most of these recipes aren't too pricey and you can still hunt for bargains to make the dish cheaper. Buying in bulk is always a winner too when it comes to saving money so it's a great idea to get together with friends and maybe take it in turns to make your favorite fakeaways,” he said.

The secret to good-tasting food, Jake told us, lies in the seasoning. “Salt and pepper won't break the bank, but they can make or break a meal. Don't forget that sugar can take a dish to the next level too.