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If you’re a visual learner who’s tired of inauthentic or stuffy personal finance guides, then you should consider expanding your search to YouTube. Much of the advice there is genuine, from real penny pinchers who actually live below their means. But given the overwhelming sea of content online, we compiled a list of r/Frugal’s favorite channels to give you a head start.
Most Popular Frugal Video: 10 Cheap, Healthy Pantry Foods That Last a Long Time
For the past four years, this sweet, unassuming husband and wife duo have been teaching viewers practical money-saving tips, with 10 to 25-minute videos covering topics like how to feed a family of four on $50 a week and how to thrift more effectively. Redditors’ only mild critique is that Larry and Hope push a tad too much sponsored content, like promoting a $2,000 e-bike.
Related: 50+ Ways to Slash Your Food Budget
Most Popular Frugal Video: 2 Ingredient Laundry Detergent - Zero Waste - Natural - Economical
This channel embraces cottagecore (aka farmcore), an internet aesthetic that idealizes cozy, rural life in England. Think cardigans, homemade bread, amanita mushrooms, goats, etc. It’s all very relaxing, but you may be wondering what “Anne of Green Gables” has to do with personal finance. Well, part of the whole cottagecore thing is about living simply and more harmoniously with the environment, both of which intersect with cutting spending.
Related: Thrifting 101: What Is a Thrift Store and How Is It Different From Other Shops?
Most Popular Frugal Video: How To Make Plant Based Milks » Almond, oat & rice
As you can guess from the name, this channel is less about frugal living and more about how to live a low-impact lifestyle. Still, there’s a lot of overlap between penny-pinching and sustainability, and the channel’s host, Immy, even touches directly on frugal living with videos like “Getting serious about my budget.” Know, however, that Immy’s videos are more vloggy than purely informational.
Related: I Tried Too Good To Go, a Food Waste App. Here's What Happened
Most Popular Frugal Video: How to Eat for $10 a Week | Dollar Tree Budget Meal Plan | Emergency Grocery Haul
Looking for authenticity? Check out Lisa Dawn’s budget-focused cooking videos. Unlike Sustainably Vegan or Fairyland Cottage, Lisa comes across as less of a polished internet brand and more like an everyday person trying to make ends meet. Although almost all of her content centers on cooking meals from the Dollar Tree, she also covers affordable gardening and cleaning hacks.
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Most Popular Frugal Video: 126 MEALS FOR $30! | Emergency Extreme Budget Grocery Haul 2020
While some of Frugal Fit Mom’s videos don’t exactly seem frugal or fit — in one video, she tries every cinnamon toast crunch product — most of her content focuses on budgeting, especially as it relates to food. Whether you want to learn how to throw together a family meal for just $5 or cut your grocery bill in half, Frugal Fit Mom is a prolific budget YouTuber who’ll likely appeal to families that are trying to stretch their dollars.
Most Popular Frugal Video: Fix a scratched disc for cheap! (Not using toothpaste! CD/DVD only)
With many of his new videos garnering just a few thousand views, Beat the Bush might fly under the radar amongst more popular content creators. And yet, his channel is a treasure trove of practical, bite-sized financial advice that will appeal to time-poor viewers who only have a few minutes to spare.
Most Popular Frugal Video: Two Years of Extreme Frugality - what we did and how it changed our lives
Jo’s channel is about “having a great life without spending a lot.” That translates to low-cost recipes, frugal home renovation techniques, and some more personal vlog content as well. For U.S. viewers, the only drawback to Jo’s short, informative videos is that she’s based in the U.K. That said, she insists that most of her content is relevant no matter where you live.
