8 Money Saving Hacks for Natural Living + How to Reap the Benefits

If you’re under the impression that natural living means spending lots of money and replacing your possessions with natural ones, I’m here to tell you that natural living is not about that. 

It’s a way of living, a lifestyle choice that impacts your decisions from now on and what you choose to prioritise. 

Natural living doesn’t need to be expensive, or that you need to be spending lots of money to buy new natural, eco stuff. 

Looking at the word natural living – what comes to your mind? 

To me it’s walking barefoot on the grass, eating raw fruit/veg, reading books in the sunshine and long hikes. 

Whatever your definition of natural living stay true to it and go with your gut. This post is all about guidance and advice, take it however it fits with you and your own beliefs. 

I hope you find my tips useful! So let’s see then…

What Does It Mean to Live Naturally?

Living naturally, means living mindfully/consciously while caring for the planet. It’s simplifying you life through products you use, eating plant-based goodness from mother nature and connecting with the magickal world around us, just like our ancestors did. 

If we were to break it down, essentiality natural living comes down to 3 areas:

• The products/food we use: whether they are natural or harmful to the environment/your body. Whether they contain toxins/chemicals or are natural vs processed e.g. food.
• The spiritual connection: the connection of themind, body and soul as well as the connection with nature.
• The lifestyle choices/daily routines we lead: whether you are surrounded by technology, hassle of the 21st century living in a 9-5 job with no time to yourself

Those 3 aspects are essentially lifestyle choices, even if we sometimes don’t even realise we made that choice. If you found that the above 3 aspects feel artificial, processed, modern and far from the natural, harmonious living with nature, you’re in the right place. 

This website is all about guidance into a more natural lifestyle with gradual changes and simple steps, practical advice on how to incorporate them even if you work 9-5.

I go into how you can find time for nature in a 9-5 routine and how to change to a more natural lifestyle, even if you have a low budget. 

If you’d like to start but aren’t sure how or where, you can get our FREE Guide to Natural Living right here. 

Living naturally doesn’t mean investing lots of money into buying new things, just because you are transitioning to a different lifestyle. 

Some of us are scared or reluctant to change, because we assume that it’s going to cost us a lot of money. 

It’s a common misconception – that living naturally is expensive.

When in fact, living naturally and holistically, can save you money and reduce the amount you spend on things like food shopping, clothes, online shopping as a treat when you feel down etc. 

Natural living is also about appreciating and being grateful for what you already have. 

Switching to a more natural lifestyle can help you feel more fulfilled and happier – as a result, you might find you no longer reach to online shopping to treat yourself after a low day, saving money as a result.

Living naturally and holistically means leading a more fulfilling, simple and conscious lifestyle. It means being grateful and happy with what you have around you, so actually it can help you SAVE MONEY in the long run. 

To save money while also making natural choices that work for you, I’ve listed my favourite tips and hacks as below:

 

1.Eat Natural, Unprocessed Foods

You might think that by buying ready made meals, because they appear cheap, means that you’re saving money. That isn’t true. Let’s take jar of bolognese sauce for example, it costs about £1/1.50? That’s one meal. 

If you’re a family of 4, that’s 2 jars, then you’ve got meat/soy on top of that, pasta, and yep no veg unless you decide to put some onions/carrots/celery in for your spag bol. 

How much would that cost you? 

(roughly £4-5)

How many servings would that be? 

(2-4)

And most importantly, how healthy/natural is that meal? 

(not very healthy…)

By breaking it down and looking into it, comparing cooking from scratch with the ready made options, it honestly seems like a waste of money. By cooking a spag bol from scratch, you save a ton of money, you may even end up cooking too much which means you can use leftovers for lunch tomorrow and it’s much tastier and natural! 

Looking at price tags and comparing veg, natural foods with the tinned/ready-made foods isn’t a good comparison/approach. 

On the surface these ready-made meals might look cheap and it would feel like you’re saving money, but when you break it down like I did above, you’d actually save money by using natural ingredients, cooking from scratch and eat more naturally (which also means healthy). 

Resources:

Planet Organic – Organic Natural Foods

2. More DIY

Create your own cleaning products, laundry solutions and get crafty with the needle and thread. 

Instead of buying a new pair of jeans or shirt, is the one you have and already love, really worth throwing away? Sure it has a hole, or a few sweat patch stains, but these are easily fixed. 

For sweat patches, soak your shirt in warm water with bicarbonate soda overnight. Rub the sweat patched area with some more soda next day, and throw it into your eco/cold wash in your washing machine. 

If you have a hole in your clothes, rather than throwing them away and wasting more money, save money by fixing it, patch the hole. 

Resources: 

Natural Collection – Natural Household Products

Green People – Natural Household and Beauty

3. Less Technology, More Nature

Rather than spending the night in front of your TV, go outside for a long walk, wherever your feet take you. Get lost in your garden, lying down looking at the sky or do a bit of gardening, rather than pressing every button on your remote to find a programme that fills the void. 

Or a simpler solution if the garden or walk isn’t an option, read a book, play with your kids, enjoy a long bath, meditate. 

It’ll save you money on electricity while helping your mind reset. 

Resources: 

Join the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS)

4. Shop at Local Markets

Next time you go out shopping, see if there is a local market or a farm shop close-by. You can get some real good bargains and deals at markets, particularly towards closing time as sellers will be desperate to try and get rid of that last loaf of fresh bread and you may get it at a discounted price. 

There’s also always room for haggling at a market, so you can pay less for your fruit and veggies, while being sure that they’re organic and free from pesticides. 

5. Connect

Unplug and connect. Switch your phone off, your TV, log out of your social media accounts for a day, week, month, however long you possibly can. 

Spend more time admiring the moon, the stars, notice the trees and plants around you – are they changing colour depending on the season? 

Have a trip down to your local nature reserve, walk barefoot and feel the connection with the earth. Put your ear to a tree and listen, feel – what does it say? 

It may sound like hippy gibberish, but by living naturally and stepping away from the modern-day living, you will start to form a connection with our planet, with the universe and with it, gain clarity. 

There is nothing more healing (spiritually) than time out in nature. I always find that it gives me so much clarity, in nature we trust – it’s got all the answers…

Resources: 

Join the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS)

Free Guide to Living Spiritually

Free Guide to Living Naturally

6. Clear Out

Do you have a lot of stuff in your home? If it feels cluttered or like you keep mountains of stuff just for the sake of it, it can make your mind feel cluttered too. 

Having a lot of materialistic stuff is far from natural, and if you’re going back to basics to live more naturally, getting rid of the things you don’t need to create more space is the way forward. 

Have a good clear out, see what you can sell or donate. Naturally if you sell you’ll get some money back while also clearing the space in your home – win win! 

A clearer home feels like a more natural home, returning back to basics – if you’d like to learn more about minimalism, you can read more about minimalism here. 

Resources: 

Pre-Loved

Free Full Membership – Use my code THG2021 and follow this link

7. Making Conscious Natural Choices

When it comes to needing new things, like furniture or new shampoo, make a mindful choice and buy ones that are kind to the planet and/or your body. 

We eventually run out of stuff, so when the time comes to replace them, evaluate your choices and how you can make a natural one. Instead of buying a shampoo full of parabens, artificial fragrances and toxins, go for a natural option. 

Natural doesn’t always mean expensive. I buy a big bottle of conditioner and shampoo from Sukin and it lasts me months and months (that’s with both me and Ben using it) so try and buy bigger batches as they’ll last you longer and will be cheaper per 100ml. 

Resources:

Natural Collection – Natural Cleaning, Beauty and Household

Green People – Organic Beauty

The Body Shop – Natural Skincare

Soap Nuts (Etsy)

8. Waste Less

Reduce your waste, and increase the money in your wallet at the same time. 

Turn that tap off when brushing your teeth. Have a quick shower, instead of a bath or standing in your shower while thinking about the things you should have said or imagining life scenarios, what could’ve been etc… Saves you money on bills. 

Save food leftovers – leftover dinner always means lunch for next day in our house. Store it in Tupperware for next day or freeze it for when you need it. 

Saves you money on your food bill. 

Resources:

Eco tupperware