11 Gifts for a Frugal Woman that Save Time or Money
Gifts for a frugal woman that save money or time
It can be difficult to find a gift for the women in your life who are frugal.
You want to give them something that shows that you know and respect their frugal lifestyle.
What makes it more challenging is that a frugal person is often somewhat of a minimalist.
How do you find a gift for a woman who is somewhat of a minimalist?
I am a frugal woman. I love gifts that enable frugality. Gifts that are practical and efficient. Especially gifts that save time or money. These are often great quality items.
In this list, I’ll share gifts I’ve received and loved over the years. I’ll also include gifts that I’ve heard other frugal women appreciate.
Whether it’s your wife, girlfriend or friend, I hope you find something on this list that appeals or inspires ideas.
Many of these gifts can apply to both genders so if you have a frugal person in your life, there might be a fitting gift below.
Related: Gifts for Frugal Men that Save Money or Time (Most of these gifts can be used for both genders!)
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1. Gift Cards
It might not be the most exciting thing, but I truly appreciate gift cards to grocery stores, gas stations and restaurants.
They’re practical. A restaurant gift card is always a nice treat!
There are even online gift card marketplaces where you can buy discounted gift cards that other people are selling.
Gift Card Granny and Raise are two such marketplaces in the U.S.
In Canada, you can purchase discounted gift cards at the Rakuten.ca Gift Card store.
2. Food and Supplements
Consumables are as practical as you can get. If you know what the frugal person in your life loves to eat, this is a great gift option.
This could be an everyday food item that this person purchases regularly like almonds, pine nuts, dried cranberries or quinoa.
It could be an expensive wine, aged cheese, smoked salmon, caviar, pate, truffles or dark chocolate.
As a frugal person will often not buy an expensive food she loves because of its price, this is often the best kind of gift!
Maybe the frugal person appreciates homemade desserts and would love a batch of homemade cookies or cupcakes.
In the end, it really depends on the person’s taste.
The person could also use supplements regularly.
When I was pregnant, I started using the Carlson liquid fish oil supplement.
The reason is because it has high DHA to help with my baby’s brain development. It also has great reviews.
I imagine after I finish breastfeeding, I’ll still continue to take it because it’s helped me as well. This supplement supports cardiovascular, cognitive and joint health.
These types of supplements can be expensive. Not worrying about these expenses makes a big difference in a frugal person’s life.
3. Electric Kettle
You’ll often hear frugal people rave about their electric kettle.
Why? It’s more energy efficient than a microwave or electric stove top so you save money. It requires a short time to boil water so you save time.
This electric kettle has an automatic shut-off. Once it reaches its boiling point, the kettle will automatically shut off.
If the frugal person you know doesn’t have one, she’ll probably want one.
4. Emergency Items
Emergency items are often overlooked or not purchased. People don’t want to absorb the initial cost because they don’t see an immediate use.
This makes it a unique gift because many won’t have it. Frugal people will especially appreciate the usefulness of it.
Emergency items you could gift are a fire extinguisher, an earthquake emergency kit or a car emergency kit. You could also assemble items to make your own kit customized to the person.
5. Books
If the frugal person likes to read, it’s always a great idea to gift books that appeal to their hobbies and interests.
Other books that frugal people enjoy are “how to” books. Frugal people often learn how to do things themselves as opposed to hiring experts. Not only is it cheaper, but they learn new skills.
Of course, they also appreciate books that give useful tips on frugal living.
One such book is Your Money or Your Life. This is my all time favorite book about personal finance. It’s life changing. An absolute must-read for the frugal person in your life.
6. LED bulbs
It’s not the most fun, but it’s practical and efficient.
If the person is still using incandescent or CFL bulbs, she’ll appreciate LED bulbs.
It saves energy (saves money) and has a long lifespan (saves time). She won’t have to change light bulbs as frequently.
7. Toaster Oven
If you’ve only ever used a toaster with slots for bread and bagel slices, check out a toaster oven.
Not only can you use it to toast, but you can bake, broil and keep food warm.
It’s more time and energy efficient than a conventional oven.
I only use my toaster oven to melt cheese and tomatoes on my bread, but I’ve heard others bake a chicken, pizza, or even cheesecake!
8. Reusable Pads and similar solutions
I was initially thinking of not including this on the list because it’s a personal choice.
Ultimately, I included it because you might be the frugal person that wants to gift this to yourself like I did!
Or you might be close enough to feel comfortable to gift this. Either way, it’s just too practical of a gift to not include!
I love my reusable cloth pads! Not only do they save money, they’re environmentally friendly. They’re also more soft, comfortable and absorbent than disposables.
One caution: as the cloth pad wraps around the underwear and snaps to itself, it might slide around. If you wear tight underwear, it will prevent the cloth pad from moving.
I use period underwear because I’m a heavy bleeder and the fit is tight. I put the reusable cloth pad on the period underwear during the day.
At night, I also add period shorts AND a bed pad.
This might seem like overkill, but I hate cleaning stained sheets and blankets so it’s well worth it for me to have the extra layers.
On my first or second heavier flow nights, I sometimes reach the shorts layer, but the bed pad always saves the day!
If you use tampons or use it in combination with pads, you might want to also consider the Diva cup. It’s a reusable menstrual cup that collects rather than absorbs.
Manufactured in Canada, it’s made of 100% healthcare grade silicone. It offers up to 12 hours of leak free protection.
Model 1 is recommended for women under 30 or who have never delivered vaginally or by c-section. Model 2 is for women who are over 30 or who have delivered vaginally or by c-section.
I, however, am not a Diva cup user. I did try the Diva Cup and it got lost up there!
I couldn’t get it out. My husband had to come help me retrieve it. It was horrific and traumatic experience!
If you’re thinking of trying the Diva cup out, I recommend having a trusted partner or friend around for the first time just in case!
9. Experiences
Experiences are an excellent opportunity to spend time with the people you love. They’re also often educational and clutter-free. You get to try new things. Learn new skills. See new places.
Examples are a membership to the zoo, art gallery or national park.
Gift a class for cooking or photography. Tickets to a show or concert.
If the person is interested in sports, you can gift a day pass for snow shoeing or skiing. An hour at the bowling alley or ice skating rink. If she’s a sports fan, she’ll appreciate tickets to the local hockey, basketball or soccer team’s games.
Think about the frugal person’s hobbies and interests and select an experience that she’ll appreciate.
Below are gifts that I’ve already included in Gifts for a Frugal Man.
Most of the gifts in that article can be applied to both genders! I’ve included these 2 again because they’re just so perfect for the frugal person in your life!
10. Amazon Prime (more than just free 2 day shipping)
Amazon Prime has 2 great benefits: free 2 day shipping and free access to movies, TV shows, music and books.
Not only does he no longer have to worry about last minute items. He can cancel his other movie, music and book subscription services!
It also comes with 20% off diapers and baby food if you have more than 5 subscriptions.
If you want to give it a test run first, you can get the Amazon 30 day free trial here. You can cancel at anytime. No questions asked.
11. Instant Pot
The Instant Pot can be quite expensive. If you find it under $80, it’s a great deal! It will pay for itself!
It’s been a game changer in our household. Not only saving us so much time. But also money because we now no longer eat out as much. It’s just so easy to cook meals in the Instant Pot.
The pressure cooking meals are particularly healthy and delicious!
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Final Thoughts on Gifts for a Frugal Woman
As a frugal woman, I know these gifts will hit home for any frugal person!
If you’re looking for more gift ideas and other holiday savings tips, here’s a list of the best frugal Christmas ideas to save money during the holiday season!
Recap of the 9 Gifts for a Frugal Woman:
- Gift Cards
- Food and Supplements
- Electric kettle
- Emergency Items: fire extinguisher, an earthquake emergency kit or a car emergency kit
- Books
- LED bulbs
- Toaster oven
- Reusable cloth pads and Diva Cup: Model 1, Model 2
- Experiences
- Amazon Prime (more than just free 2 day shipping)
- Instant Pot
Related Saving Money Articles:
- Gifts for Frugal Men that Save Money or Time (Most of these gifts can be used for both genders!)
- 11 Best Ways to Save Money on Food Costs
- 18 Things you Should Stop Buying to Save Money
- At Home Date Night Ideas that are Romantic
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