I love the old phrase: Same house, same car, same spouse. That alone should save you thousands.
I think the biggest frugal tips while maintaining lifestyle is taking advantage of the skills or opportunities you have from your work.
My husband is a mechanic and he spent almost a year putting together a Prius for me built from scrap parts. He literally bought the body at a garage sale and there was a dog living in it. No motor, no battery. They were asking 500 dollars and he got it for 250. The hardest part was towing it. Then he waited and found a economical battery. With the help of junk yards he assembled what I called Frankenprius for around 1000 dollars. Two years later someone rear ended me and the insurance paid 5000 dollars. We spent about six months searching for a newer used Prius which I still drive today. When I get gas the attendant often asks, “three gallons? is that right?” I also pay less because I don’t need full insurance coverage and I certainly don’t have a car payment. The insurance company let us “buy back” the original frankenprius. He fixed it and still drives it today.
I work for a private school and my daughter gets free tuition, a 14,000 dollar per year value.
Other tips I would say is not just cook at home and make lunches but make a list and a schedule of meals so food does not go to waste. Food waste is a huge money suck.
As far as lifestyle I think it’s good to have one splurge in your life but not more than that. I like vacations and when people see my vacations they think I have money but they don’t see all the ways I’m frugal to pay for the vacations. You just can’t have it all, so pick what is most important to you.
Negotiate everything. My husband is from West Africa and when I first brought him here I told him, “No, you can’t go into Macy’s and say I’ll give you ten dollars for these sun glasses.” He didn’t listen to me and I was really surprised to learn that a lot of people gave him discounts just for asking.
There was a lot of discussion on internet and thankfully my husband’s negation skills rubbed off on me. I have never paid the non-promo price. You definitely need to be able to walk away but so far they have always sent me to retentions.
Finally, to feel like I’m being honest I have to throw in that there are a lot of things I really wish I could afford. I would like to shop at the fancy supermarkets, and I would like to have a housekeeper, but I just can’t justify the cost. I think the big take away is to live below your means so you don’t miss what you don’t have. My kids have never had cable tv, and they don’t beg for 200 channels.