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“I’ve Saved Approximately $35k”: 30 People Share The Habits That Helped Them Save A Few Bucks
A 2023 report from Northwestern Mutual found that Americans are taking three major steps to address economic uncertainty: nearly 64% of respondents are cutting costs, 50% are building savings, and 41% are delaying large expenses. Since there's only so much that households can do, many often utilize multiple of these strategies simultaneously.
Exploring the topic further, a person who goes online by the nickname Severe-Unit911 made a post on the subreddit r/Frugal, asking its members to share the habit they've adopted that has significantly impacted their financial well-being. And their call was answered! Hundreds of people have shared their tips, so we decided to save you time and collected the most comprehensive ones.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
This sounds counter-intuitive but giving myself permission to spend the extra money on semi-prepared fresh foods has actually saved me money. Examples include buying bagged coleslaw mix instead of having to grate cabbage and carrots, fresh pineapple chunks, marinated ready-to-cook chicken, etc. I am less inclined to stop and get food on the way home from work if I know I can just throw some tasty chicken in the airfryer and stir some dressing into the slaw mix. I actually eat more fruit and veg this way because most of the work is done.
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#2
Using the library. It is free and is one of the last sanctuaries we can go to without an expectation to pay for a service or our time there. It's been a boon both financially and mentally.
Sapna Sarfare 5 months ago
Dont have a local library (at least the good one) and the online libraries are not in my budget... but i buy second hand books these days mostly and also get book via freecycle groups. Also i review books and so get some latest books these days
#3
Buy the high-quality version of the thing (even if it’s more expensive) and take good care of it.
I’ve wasted so much money buying and replacing cheap c**p.
Guy-Incognito 5 months ago
Be very, very selective. These days a higher price tag doesn't mean better quality like it did a decade or more ago. My lacoste knock off's from Thailand where significantly better quality than the genuine ones.
#4
For online shopping, leave it in the cart. If you come back to it multiple times and think “yes I need/want that,” get it. Most of the time it’s not necessary and I’ll remove it or orphan the cart.
Eroe Infinito 5 months ago
9/10 times they'll also send you a discount code or price drop. I added 3 retro games to my Ebay cart a couple weeks ago and got individual offers from each seller taking $$$ off the overall price. One seller even dropped one of the games down 80$.
#5
Never, ever, ever carry a balance from month to month on a credit card.
Robert T 5 months ago
I've managed to never pay a penny of interest on my CC. I use it regularly as it means I don't have to pay for work expenses until I've already claimed the money back and I also get points/cashback for using it. Once you start carrying a balance it becomes very difficult to clear. Some cards offer a 0% rate on balance transfers, which can help to reduce the interest payments so that you can slowly pay it off.
#6
Buy a Toyota, pay it off quickly, keep up with maintenance, drive till the wheels fall off.
A. HAM 5 months ago
This. In 2010, I bought a new Nissan Rogue. I put as much as I could on my credit card, and paid the rest in cash. (The credit card was for the cash back, and I paid it off the same month, so no interest or fees.) Now its 2024, the Rogue has over 130,000 miles on it, and has required only scheduled maintenance.
#7
What I eat for the week depends on what is on sale at the grocery stores that week. Sure I might buy some things at regular price but a majority of my big ticket food like meat and produce are purchased on sale. I have tried so many different recipes and different kinds of produce that I would not have ever thought to try before simply because of this habit.
#8
Bringing my own lunch. I've saved approximately $35k over my 12 yr career by not going out to eat daily while at work.
#9
Cutting out soda from my diet. I love Sprite more than most people love their favorite food, which is why I can't have it around. Saves money on groceries, going out to eat, less dentist visits, and is probably the easiest way to prevent gaining weight.
Eroe Infinito 5 months ago
Stupid soda pop. I was cavity free for almost two years. I started drinking it again recently and already have 2 almost cavities. GRR. The sugar content is so detrimental to my teeth but so satisfying for my taste buds.....
#10
Frozen food. My husband and I both have very long days. We were stuck on the idea of making our own food for a long time but it never worked cause we had to make it from scratch. Once we changed to frozen food we started eating at home more. It’s not the cheapest option but it saves US money. So we’re happy about it :).
#11
Reduce, reuse, repair, recycle.
#12
I don’t allow myself to buy anything unless I am willing to let something go. Goes along with my anti-clutter and anti-consumerism.
#13
Being semi vegetarian. My parents were big meat eaters so eating for me was expensive, but I found if I bought more veggies and just bought smaller portions of better quality meat, I could not only eat better but also lose weight!
Lil Miss Hobbit 5 months ago
This. Better meat and more veggies is the way to go. I get my meat grass-fed from people who actually treat their animals with respect and it's more expensive but you can literally taste a difference.
#14
Clearing out my pantry every half/quarter year.
I love buying in bulk or when something is on clearance. I have the bad habit of forgetting what I own.
So I have fixed "clearance months" where I'm only allowed to buy fresh produce from the farmers market. Everything else needs to come from the pantry.
It's a great way to clear the freezers from vegetables and pre-cooked meals and actually using up all my dried beans, lentils and rice.
I have a special diary and track what I liked to eat or wich products where the most versatile (rolled oats= home made oatmilk, cookies and overnight oats for example).
#15
I didn’t have a kid. Or worse, kids.
I bring my own lunch to work. I used to eat at one of the building cafes three or four times a week. Now I bring my own food. That’s probably saved me $1800 in two years.
Which is A Lot when you’re low income.
One is accidental - I moved somewhere there was no fast food within 20 minutes of my house, and none on my route home from work. Cut down on my impulse spending at fast food places a lot.
#16
Learning things.
Most people pay for things because they are not willing to learn how to do them themselves.
Specialy now that we have the internet, a compendium of all human knowledge accessible to our fingertip, learning as never been easier.
It can be any topic. Cooking, butchering, woodworking, 3d design and printing, programming, electronic board soldering, gardening. Learning is an investment in yourself that will always be a net benefit in the future. Even if it doesnt help you financialy, it make your more dependable and reliable which is an asset to your friend and family, but also to you. Even if you dont know enough to do something professionaly, in case of ermergency you can do enough to limit the damage. The difference between a pipe bursting that was capped within 15 minute and one that burst and you had to wait for a plumber to cap it is very substantial.
#17
Basic maintenance and repairs of your home, car, belongings.
Becoming a handyman takes only repetition of doing the basics around your home. You'll save a lot of money knowing how to do the quick and easy things rather than having to call someone.
Pieter LeGrande 5 months ago
Careful, this can become addictive and you end up with a shed full of tools, spend your days in Bunnings, and your evenings watching "how to" videos on YouTube.
#18
Empty room? Turn the lights off.
Ace 5 months ago
And get rid of all your old light bulbs to replace with LED ones. Even the 'low energy' ones from ten years back use several times more power than LEDs. Yes. it is cheaper in the long term if you throw away all the old ones even before they need it. A traditional 60W incandescent bulb will cost you something like 20 eurodollarpoundfrancs a year to run; a replacement LED will cost perhaps 5 to buy and save you c18 per year on your electric bill.
#19
I make sure I REALLY want something before I purchase it, especially if the purchase exceeds $100. I see something I like or want in a store (or even online), I have to leave it behind and think about it for a minimum of 24 hours, but usually a week, before I purchase it. It helps me from making impulse purchases, avoid targeted marketing / moments of weakness and it also helps me from consume consume consuming. Most of the time, I don't really want the thing I feel compelled to purchase in the moment.
#20
Pay in cash when I'm hanging with friends. Automatically limits my drinking and spending to what's in my pocket.
Eroe Infinito 5 months ago
As someone who went from never carrying cash to always carrying cash. This is very true and good for keeping you within your means and also teaching you to budget better. I have much better grasp of saving/ spending money.
#22
Buying good quality clothing and caring for it properly. Launder carefully. Check seams and such before you have to mend them.
Freya the Wanderer 5 months ago
I've saved a lot of money by sewing articles of clothing rather than tossing them out. Sewing a torn seam on a pair of pants is like getting a new pair of pants for practically free.
#23
Being very careful about what auto-renew or subscription services I have. Not to say I have no services, I’m just very careful to not put things on autopay. honestly a lot of folks have services they don’t use or only use a few of the features. i try to pay things in full so I can just not renew the next year if i decide im done with the service . I will also check my existing services and see if they offer what I want. Or I just do without. With everything becoming a subscription these days I try super hard to have as few as possible!
David 5 months ago
Related - Whether you autopay or pay manually - make it a PUSH not a PULL. As in make something you push out of your bank account rather than authorizing the company to pull it from your bank account. It is much easier to stop an automated payment you set up in your online banking than getting (some companies) to stop pulling it out. That said, I do have a couple of pulls with major companies. My T-mobile is auto pay pull for the discount and my mortgage is also autopay pull. But in general I avoid auto pull and the dreaded "auto renew". My Netflix is free with my Tmobile account so doesn't come into play.
#24
For me, deciding to go back to working from home has had the biggest impact on my finances. It cuts a lot of costs related to employment, such as:
* Clothing
* Transportation
* Food costs: Although I try to bring lunch, it's easier to incur some incidental takeout costs on the way home after a stressful day at work.
I quit my remote job a couple of years ago and went back to remote work after less than a year of trying the in-office environment again. I saved $10k less during the time I was going to the office.
I should also add that it's easier for me to do and get some overtime pay while working from home since I'm not too concerned about leaving for traffic or time spent in transit.
I am childless and live on my own, so I don't need to tend to anyone's needs other than my own, which gives me a lot of freedom and control with my spending.
#25
Using a budget app so that all my "meaningless" purchases that I have to enter a) make me feel like the a*****e I'm being towards myself and b) they literally add up.
#26
Taking the bus. I work on a university campus and parking passes are ~$200/semester. I also save on gas since I only drive on the weekends.
Legendbird 5 months ago
I'm lucky enough to live in a country where you don't even NEED a car. Saves so much on things like car insurance and mechanics, not to even mention the upfront cost of the car.
#27
Not sure if this fits. Every raise, half gets put into retirement.
#28
I've gotten in the habit of remembering prices. I can't say I have a super memory, but after buying the same thing at the same store 50 times, it seems to stick in my brain. This helps because if I'm at a different store, I can usually tell if their price is better than my regular grocery store.
Obviously I can't remember every price, jy I can on the items I buy frequently.
Robert T 5 months ago
We used to have a website that compared prices across the major UK supermarkets. You'd enter your shopping list and it would tot up how much your shopping would be in each supermarket. It was a very good way of finding out what was on offer that week without having to physically go and look. Sadly it fell by the wayside.
#29
Personally, I've found that meal planning and cooking at home has been a game-changer for saving money and eating healthier. It not only cuts down on food costs but also reduces the temptation to eat out, ultimately helping me stick to my budget more effectively.
#30
Small, but brush your teeth earlier. Helps curb appetite. Saves money and helps lose weight.
What do you think ?
kelsischloe1986 5 months ago
Reminder, you can't save money when you don't make enough in the 1st place.
Guy-Incognito 5 months ago
Some of these are very situation/area specific or require you to have enough money to start with. They are certainly not going to help anyone but those already privileged.
kelsischloe1986 5 months ago
Reminder, you can't save money when you don't make enough in the 1st place.
Guy-Incognito 5 months ago
Some of these are very situation/area specific or require you to have enough money to start with. They are certainly not going to help anyone but those already privileged.
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