We all love giving gifts especially during special occasions such as birthdays and holidays of our family members. In the past, when I was still employed, I just buy them whatever I could get my hands on at the mall due to the lack of time. However, as I get older, I realized that I should give them something that is usable and something that will help them save time and money as well. If you are thinking of giving gifts to your frugal friends and family, check my list of 50 all-occasion gift ideas for your frugal friends.
Photo by Kari Shea on Unsplash
I will organize this list based on its functionality so you can easily go through the list.
Gift Ideas for Our Frugal Friends Who Love Staying at Home
If your friend is a homebody or someone who prefers to stay at home most of the time, then check out these gift ideas for him/her. This is also perfect for those who work from homes such as online freelancers and solopreneurs.
Photo by Aysegul Yahsi on Unsplash
Dryer Balls: Dryer Balls are slowly becoming popular in a lot of countries especially to eco-conscious and frugal individuals. What it does is, speeds up the drying process of clothes thus helping your friends save a lot of time. Your frugal friends could also put some essentials oil on them (and leave them dry for a period of time before adding them to the dryer – pls check online tutorials on how to do it) so they can forego using fabric softeners too.
LED Bulbs: LED bulbs can help your friends save money on their electricity bills. It’s a simple yet effective way in minimizing their monthly electricity costs.
Smart Power Strip: Smart power strips can also help your friends save money on their electricity bills by monitoring how much power is consumed by the devices connected to it and turn them off using an app. Some smart power strips can be controlled by an app and some don’t have this functionality.
Rechargeable Battery Charger: This is another money-saving gift that you could give to your frugal friends so they wouldn’t need to buy new batteries every now and then.
Robot Vacuum Cleaner: If your friends have a pet that sheds a lot or if they are too busy with their work-from-home or other parental tasks then they will surely love this gift. It’s not that cheap though, but, it’s definitely useful, and this could help them save a lot of time cleaning their floors.
Electric Kettle: For your friends who love making and drinking teas and other hot beverages, this is an easy, and quick solution to heat a small amount of water.
Clippers: If you have male friends who are into cutting their own hair, then this is a nice gift for them. This is also ultra-portable, thus they can bring this anywhere they go.
Toothpaste Tube Squeezers: This is a great solution to avoid wastage with toothpaste, and any other products in plastic tubes.
Reusable Shopping Bag: Plastic bags and even paper grocery bags are not advisable anymore as they just add up to the ever-increasing pile of garbage that we are all producing on a daily basis. This is a super-nice gift to your friends who are not just frugal but also eco-friendly. This is also a very inexpensive gift thus, enabling you to give to more people.
Sewing Kit: This is another eco-friendly gift to your frugal friends so they can patch up any broken seams or any small holes in their clothes.
Coin Banks: Coin banks are not just great for teaching kids how to save money, it’s also an awesome money-saving tool even for adults.
Cash Envelope Organizer: If you want to help your friend stay on budget, then consider giving them this simple cash envelope organizer. This could help them organize their monthly budget.
Coupon or Receipt Organizer: We all have friends who love to collect and use coupons to save money on their day to day expenses. This gift could definitely help them organize their coupons in one place.
Budget Book: If you have friends who are into some serious budgeting, then this would be the best gift for them. It comes in a variety of colors and other options to suit your friend’s personality.
Finance Books: Personally, this has always been the kind of gift that I always wanted to receive – the gift of knowledge. If your friends are just starting their personal finance journey, then why not give them books to help them improve their knowledge about personal finance.
Here are some of the most popular personal finance books available in the market:
- The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham
- The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel
- I Will Teach You to be Rich by Ramit Sethi
- Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
- Your Money or Your Life by Vicki Robin
If they’re not that fond of reading physical books, maybe they prefer reading via Kindle or perhaps they prefer listening to audiobooks, then why not give them an Audible Membership.
Emergency Kits: Another practical gift to almost anyone is an emergency kit. There’s a variety of emergency kit on the market and here’s a list of some of the most popular ones:
Gift Ideas for Our Frugal Friends Who Love to Garden
Gardening is probably one of the most famous hobby anywhere in the world. It’s therapeutic and if you focus on planting edible plants like vegetables and fruit-bearing trees, then it can also help you save money on your grocery bills. If your friend is into gardening, then consider these gardening gift ideas for him/her.
Photo by Elaine Casap on Unsplash
Seeds: This is one of the perfect gifts for your friend who loves gardening.
However, before you buy any seeds online, do some research first to check if the seeds that you’re buying can grow in your friend’s location.
Different plant species thrive in different kinds of environments. Also, it would be better if you are aware of your friend’s preference. Does he/she prefer cultivating ornamental plants or does he/she prefer growing vegetables?
Canning Kit: A lot of people are learning the advantage of canning their garden/farm produce. This process helps prolong the shelf life of fruits and vegetables. This will definitely be an awesome gift to your friend who is into growing his/her own food.
Dehydrator: Just like the canning kit, if your friend is into growing his own food, then this will definitely a great gift. This could also help prolong the shelf life of his/her garden/farm produce.
Compost Bucket: If your friend is an urban gardener who works in a very limited space, then consider giving him/her a compost bucket. A compost bucket is a great tool to turn the kitchen strap into fertilizer.
Gardening Set: If your friend is a novice gardener and doesn’t have that many gardening tools yet, then consider giving him/her a gardening set. this will help kickstart his gardening hobby.
Gifts for Our Frugal Friends Who Love to Cook
We all know someone who loves to cook, and what would be better than giving them something that could help them hone their cooking skills more. Here are some kitchen gift ideas for our friends and family who love to cook.
Photo by Sander Dalhuisen on Unsplash
Insta Pot: If you’re not familiar with Insta Pots, these are pressure and multicookers that have been gaining so much popularity in recent years due to their versatility. It can be a slow cooker, yogurt maker, rice cooker, big sauté pot, steamer, and a lot more.
This is also perfect for your friends who have very limited kitchen space, such as those who live in apartments because these don’t eat up much space.
Air Fryer: If you’re giving someone who likes to fry with very minimal oil, then this would be a nice gift idea for them. Air Fryer works by circulating hot air around the food to produce a crunchy and crispy outer layer. Just like Insta Pot, this is also perfect for apartment dwellers since they don’t eat much space.
Toaster Oven: If your friend likes having breakfast at home then this would be a nice gift to give and it’s also inexpensive. They can toast bread, make mini pizzas, and more.
Microwave Popcorn Popper: This is an affordable and cost-saving gift idea for those who love popcorns (like I do)
Cookbooks: If your friend is a novice cook, then this will definitely help them learn recipes quickly.
Before you buy any cookbook though, it would be best if you will try to find out what your friend is more interested in.
Perhaps they’re more interested in cooking local dishes than international ones? Or maybe they’re keener on learning how to make desserts than in making dinners.
Find out what they like more and get the cookbook aligned to their interest.
Gifts for Our Frugal Friends Who are Always on the Go
We all have friends who thrive in living in the busy and hectic modern world. And the best gift that we could give them is something that could help them better organize their busy lifestyle. Here are some gift ideas for our frugal friends who are always on the go.
Photo by Tyler Franta on Unsplash
Planner: Whether your friend is an entrepreneur or a career person, a planner will definitely help them organize their schedules, meetings, and other deliverables at work.
Journal: Writing is therapeutic for a lot of people. Our careers and our business can be stressful at times, and what better gift could you give to your friend who finds solace in writing than a journal. There are different varieties of journals to choose from that will surely fit your friend’s personality.
Noise-canceling Headphones: Noise-cancelling headphones are a must-have especially for those who are living a busy lifestyle. These headphones can give them some peace and quiet even if in the midst of a chaotic environment such as buses, trains, airports, workplaces, etc. This is also a nice gift to give to your friends who are frequently traveling for their work or business.
Reusable Sandwich Bag: This is a perfect gift for working parents or for anyone who lives a busy lifestyle and doesn’t have much time to prepare full meals except for a sandwich. This is also an eco-friendly alternative to disposable sandwich bags.
Lunch Boxes: If you’re an Asian like me, then eating a sandwich just won’t do it even if I’m working on a tight schedule. “Rice is life” as they say and to make sure that I keep up with the day-to-day demands of my busy life, I need to eat a full meal (with rice). And people like me will benefit a lot from having a lunch box so I can bring a full meal at work.
Thermal Bottle: If your friend likes drinking hot/warm drinks such as tea and coffee, then this would be the best gift to give them. It’s also fairly inexpensive.
Reusable Water Bottle: Using reusable water bottles is one of the best trends that happened in our modern life. This will keep us healthy and hydrated and at the same time, minimizes our negative impact on the environment. Using plastic bottles is not advisable anymore especially with the worsening environmental situation around the world.
Power Bank: If your friend frequently uses his phone for his work or business, then chances are, he might run out of battery before the day ends. To make sure that he gets the power that he needs, why not give him a power bank?
Battery Case: Battery case is simply a phone case with a built-in battery.
Basically, it’s just like a power bank that can be attached to a phone. Not all mobile phone models have compatible battery cases though so be careful before you buy one.
Personally, I think it’s better to buy a power bank instead because your friend can still use it even if he changes his phone.
Gifts for Our Frugal Friends Who Love Adventures
For our frugal friends who love camping and hiking, gifts that will help them save money on their trips will definitely be appreciated. Here are some gift ideas for your friends who live an active lifestyle.
Photo by Robert Bye on Unsplash
Portable Water Filter: Having access to potable drinking water is crucial especially when camping and hiking and sometimes bringing gallons of bottled water is not practical. Giving your friend a portable water filter will ensure that he stays safe and healthy during a camping or hiking trip.
Crank LED Flashlight: This is the perfect gift for your frugal friends who love camping. Crank LED flashlights do not need batteries to operate thus helping your friends save money on their camping trips.
Portable Solar Charger: For your friends who love hiking and camping for multiple days, consider giving them portable solar chargers. This is to ensure that they can always charge their mobile phones so they can keep in contact with their families especially if an emergency arises.
Quick Dry Towels: Towels take a long time to dry and this is a great gift not only to your friends who love the outdoors but even for your homebody friends.
Related Post: 10 Tips on How to Save Money on Gifts
Special Gifts for Everyone
Amazon eGift Cards: If you’d rather let them buy their own preferred gifts, why not give them gift cards of the products that they often use or an Amazon eGift Card? There are various amounts and also a lot of designs to choose from. You can even put a photo or a video on the eGift card.
Baked Goodies and Home-Cooked Meals: Everyone loves getting baked goodies and home-cooked meals especially if it’s made especially for us by our loved ones. If you like baking and cooking, why not give your frugal friends some food that you cooked yourself.
Thrift Store Finds: Last Christmas, I gave my family and friends some of my merchandise including some painting, bags, and clothes.
Thrift stores are great places to find unique gifts. If your friend is into beautiful art pieces like painting, ceramics, etc and you don’t have that much budget, then check out the thrift stores near to you.
Thrift stores are also the best place to find cheap authentic designer goods if you know how to self-authenticate. If you don’t know how to self-authenticate, I suggest that you don’t buy designer goods from thrift stores to avoid the possibility of buying a counterfeit.
Related Posts:
Final Thoughts
If there’s one thing that I have learned over the years of giving gifts to friends and family, it is to give gifts that are aligned to their personality and way of life. This is to ensure that the gifts will be used and will not just collect dust in their closets or storage rooms.
By the way, the product links are my affiliate links with Amazon. If you buy using those links, I will earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
And also, if you’re in the Philippines, you could also check Shopee and Lazada for similar products. Shipping from Amazon US to the Philippines might cost you more and you might be able to save some money by buying via our local e-commerce stores.
50 All-Occasion Gift Ideas for Your Frugal Friends Click To Tweet
Leave a Reply