30 Clever Money Saving Hacks That People Tend To Overlook, As Shared By Folks Online

With the cost of living rising, people are looking for simple ways to save money. According to a survey by Forbes Advisor, 46% of Americans expect to save more in 2024 than they did in 2023. Gen Z is primarily saving for a car, Millennials and Gen X for an emergency fund, and Baby Boomers say they're focused on retirement savings.

If you're looking into how to start saving more, Pandas, we've got some tips for you right here. We've compiled people's advice from two threads online, where they shared simple but efficient ways to be more frugal. Who knows, maybe you'll learn something new? And if you know any clever ways to save money, share them with us in the comments. Sharing is caring!

This post may include affiliate links.

30 Clever Money Saving Hacks That People Tend To Overlook, As Shared By Folks Online This will get lost but hopefully it will help the one person who reads to the bottom:

Carry with you the knowledge that your parents and grandparents didn't magically start out with a house full of bathrooms, stainless appliances, multiple TV's and other electronics. Granite.

Its OK to not have everything, to accumulate your stuff over time.
Don't get suckered in by the lifestyle TV shows or articles online or from your peer group.

Its OK and financially responsible to defer gratification...it will come.

Anabeer , Pixabay / pexels Report

Final score:

110points

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30 Clever Money Saving Hacks That People Tend To Overlook, As Shared By Folks Online On every payday, I move half of what I had leftover from last pay period over into my savings account. (Paying yourself). Sometimes it's not a lot but it has added up quickly. I also add 5$ to each of my kids savings accounts every payday. They each have over $1,000 and my personal savings has just reached 5 figures. As a single mom, who has always lived paycheck to paycheck, I have surprised myself.

cupcakejenn , Karolina Kaboompics / pexels Report

Final score:

76points

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30 Clever Money Saving Hacks That People Tend To Overlook, As Shared By Folks Online Whenever you feel the urge to buy a non necessity, give yourself a couple of days before you buy it. Often times, the impulse will have passed and you'll be glad to still have the money.

OpinelNo8 , Diana / pexels Report

Final score:

72points

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30 Clever Money Saving Hacks That People Tend To Overlook, As Shared By Folks Online Rice. That son of a b***h goes with everything.

Even rice.

this_is_original1 , Alesia Kozik / pexels Report

Final score:

67points

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30 Clever Money Saving Hacks That People Tend To Overlook, As Shared By Folks Online - If you are a student - Learn to cook.

- If you are working - Bring lunch to work every day. You'll save a lot of money.

- When you go shopping, especially grocery shopping: make a list and stick to it. And never grocery shop on an empty stomach. Or after a busy day or week. You'll be more inclined to buy bad food and make poorer purchasing decisions

People waste a ton of money ordering food and prepared stuff. Just look up some tutorials and save some real money.

Sumit316 , cottonbro studio / pexels Report

Final score:

59points

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30 Clever Money Saving Hacks That People Tend To Overlook, As Shared By Folks Online A trick that always works for me is to think about how many hours wages I am spending on something. As someone who previously had a huge spending problem, this has helped me realise that I've worked hard for my money, and I'd rather be working my a*s off for a stress free life financially than living pay day to pay day buying meaningless s**t.

diddlesdiddles , Tima Miroshnichenko / pexels Report

Final score:

56points

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30 Clever Money Saving Hacks That People Tend To Overlook, As Shared By Folks Online Make as much food as you can. Buying lunch every day at work adds up.

Statscollector , Boca Dorada / flickr Report

Final score:

47points

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30 Clever Money Saving Hacks That People Tend To Overlook, As Shared By Folks Online Counterintuitive but buy the best you can afford and take good care of your stuff. Since you know you have the best you can afford you don't have the constant itch to replace and upgrade.

For example, buy quality clothes, get them tailored so that they fit (no stretching to wear them out) and then clean them correctly. Rather then constantly buying/replacing cheap stuff keep good stuff long-term. Same thing with cars, appliances, etc.

Good quality has higher upfront costs but can have long term savings.

CaffeineChristine , Erik Mclean / pexels Report

Final score:

44points

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30 Clever Money Saving Hacks That People Tend To Overlook, As Shared By Folks Online I pay with credit card for everything I buy. I get points from my credit card. I pay off my credit card in full each month and there are no fees for the card. Essentially MasterCard pays me several hundred dollars a year for using their card

If you are actually good with money and credit

gonecrazy_backsoon , Cup of Couple / pexels Report

Final score:

42points

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#10

30 Clever Money Saving Hacks That People Tend To Overlook, As Shared By Folks Online Pay your credit card off completely every month. Don't let it accumulate interest. Don't purchase things you don't have the cash for. Too many people get over their heads in credit card debt and its hard to dig yourself out at 18% interest.

Swarleysmomma , Cup of Couple / pexels Report

Final score:

38points

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#11

30 Clever Money Saving Hacks That People Tend To Overlook, As Shared By Folks Online Quit drinking alcohol and cigarettes. Theyre both money suckers that make you unhealthy.

MACKSBEE , Craig Dennis / flickr Report

Final score:

36points

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#12

30 Clever Money Saving Hacks That People Tend To Overlook, As Shared By Folks Online Make a game of going as many days as you can without spending a penny. Excluding absolute necessities like gas/groceries/bills. Works like a charm for me.

WunderDude , Karolina Kaboompics / pexels Report

Final score:

35points

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#13

30 Clever Money Saving Hacks That People Tend To Overlook, As Shared By Folks Online You don't have to pay for the basic necessities if you go to prison for Tax Evasion

anon , Donald Tong / pexels Report

Final score:

34points

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#14

30 Clever Money Saving Hacks That People Tend To Overlook, As Shared By Folks Online Buy greeting cards at the Dollar Store.

I get greeting cards for 99 cents that are as good - or better - than ones selling for $4.99+ elsewhere.

anon , Open Grid Scheduler / flickr Report

Final score:

34points

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#15

30 Clever Money Saving Hacks That People Tend To Overlook, As Shared By Folks Online Buy store brands

buy in quantity when stuff on sale. i like a particular toothpaste but it is expensive, except every few months it goes on sale for like 1/3 off. when that happens i buy 6 or 8 tubes, then i've got a supply until it goes on sale again.

i do that with a lot of stuff, even cheap stuff. like soda. 2 liter bottles are usually between $1.00 and $1.50 each. i just bought a dozen bottles of my favorites for $0.88 each. yeah, my average savings is maybe $0.25 each but it adds up. I do the same with cereals, sometimes the $4.00/box is on sale for $1.75 so i buy six of them.

nucumber , Miriam Alonso / pexels Report

Final score:

33points

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#16

30 Clever Money Saving Hacks That People Tend To Overlook, As Shared By Folks Online Look at your bank statement. Actually look at where your money goes.

tallish_possum , Liza Summer / pexels Report

Final score:

31points

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#17

30 Clever Money Saving Hacks That People Tend To Overlook, As Shared By Folks Online Don't waste money buying water in jugs. Instead, buy powdered water. Comes in boxes. Cheaper. Just add water.

AsianHawke , Pixabay / pexels Report

Final score:

30points

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troufaki13 3 months ago

You can also boil some water and put it in the freezer. This way you can have boiled water any time you need it! 😅

42points

Garth 3 months ago

And if you are a priest you can make instant Holy Water....you just boil the Hell out of it.

9points

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Sapna Sarfare 3 months ago

What is powdered water?

6points

Niels Boehm 3 months ago (edited)

Powdery snow or blended ice cubes

0points

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Alexia 3 months ago

Filtering mug. A filter may last up to 5-6 months. Much cheaper and less discomfort. Unfortunately, I only discovered this during the pandemic

4points

g90814 3 months ago

Also you aren't wasting all that plastic on bottles you don't re-use, and likely don't recycle. I've had a Brita pitcher for years (I do buy off brand filters) and can't imagine how much money it's saved.

2points

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Riani Kivela 3 months ago

I saw this crazy recipe that lets you make ice cubes at home, but it was so complicated, with specialized tools called "ice trays" and "freezer." Who could figure that out? But I sure do like ice.

3points

I_imagine_even_worse_w***s 3 months ago

Powdered water that you add water to?

2points

Farah the Turtle 3 months ago

its a joke

6points

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Steve Kenney 3 months ago

Or turn on your tap, water comes out there.

1point

PrettyJoyBird 3 months ago

For the "privleged" & not drinkable some communities

0points

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Wendy Hamilton 3 months ago

I love boxed water! I shower with it too.

1point

Pork Chop 3 months ago

Which part is powdered, the H or the 2 O's?

1point

Brandon Parisien 3 months ago

Joke aside: tap water. It's basically free.

0points

PattyK 3 months ago (edited)

Powdered water? It doesn’t snow in Southern California …

0points

matt adore 3 months ago

You have to order it online. Ships from Alaska (which is also where frozen vegetables are farmed).

1point

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Beth Wheeler 3 months ago

Lol

0points

Brian Droste 3 months ago

I use my own jugs and and go to a water island. Most major groceries stores have these. Cost only 50 cents a gallon.

0points

Geoffrey Scott 3 months ago

Cue the Steven Wright gag..."bought powdered water (head in hands) I don' know what to add"

0points

Der Kommissar 3 months ago

I never buy water in jugs. Usually its in bottles.

0points

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#18

30 Clever Money Saving Hacks That People Tend To Overlook, As Shared By Folks Online Cook. For f***s sakes cook. Take out, drive thru and delivery adds up.

Every month or so I make a batch of 15-18 meat balls ($12 of lean ground beef) and sauce and freeze them in old yogurt tubs. A tub can hold 2 portions which I thaw in a small pot over low heat. Boil up some spaghettini once the sauce is almost thawed (about 45 minutes), load up some glassware and you've got lunch figured out for tomorrow and the next day. Delicious, cheap, filling and microwavable.

Pro tip: good spaghetti sauce doesn't come from a glass jar.

anon , Mikhail Nilov / pexels Report

Final score:

29points

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#19

30 Clever Money Saving Hacks That People Tend To Overlook, As Shared By Folks Online Ask yourself if you need it or only want it.

If you want it, but don't need it. Give yourself 24 hours to decide whether it's worth purchasing.

TrickyWenis , Ron Lach / pexels Report

Final score:

28points

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#20

30 Clever Money Saving Hacks That People Tend To Overlook, As Shared By Folks Online Drink at home, alone. No buying drinks, no tipping, and nobody will judge you for drinking the cheapest stuff you can.

SlightlyStable , Pixabay / pexels Report

Final score:

28points

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#21

30 Clever Money Saving Hacks That People Tend To Overlook, As Shared By Folks Online When you're about to buy something, imagine a person holding the product in hand and it's worth cash in other hand. If you're picking cash, don't buy it.

ckreddituf , Karolina Kaboompics / pexels Report

Final score:

28points

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#22

30 Clever Money Saving Hacks That People Tend To Overlook, As Shared By Folks Online I was quite bad for really wanting things and buying them as soon as I got paid, of course as the end of the month came near I had barely any money left and struggled. To fix this, instead of buying things at the start of the month I decided to buy things at the end of the month if I still had enough of that months wages left over to do so. If I didn't then I did the same again and wait till the end of the next month, and of course last months leftovers plus the new months wage by the end of the 2nd month I had enough, and sometimes saved money as the item was now cheaper.

Basically patience and timing means I can still have the things I want and not be struggling near the end of the month, I'm in a much better place financially now.

DarkangelUK , Thirdman / pexels Report

Final score:

27points

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#23

30 Clever Money Saving Hacks That People Tend To Overlook, As Shared By Folks Online If you have kids, buy what you can used. Toys, clothing, furniture etc. They go through clothes so fast, so paying full price is stupid, you can often find brand new with tags stuff at the goodwill, garage sales or local buy and sell pages.

Thrifting your own clothing isn't a bad idea either.

funsizedsamurai , cottonbro studio / pexels Report

Final score:

27points

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#24

30 Clever Money Saving Hacks That People Tend To Overlook, As Shared By Folks Online I made an Excel spreadsheet to budget with. Has all my bills, what I make each month, and what to put aside to save any specific amount. So far this year alone, I've managed to save $4,000.

anaslex247365 , Wavebreakmedia / envatoelements Report

Final score:

23points

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#25

30 Clever Money Saving Hacks That People Tend To Overlook, As Shared By Folks Online Don't buy anything bigger than $20 unless you've given yourself at least a day to think it over (obviously excluding gasoline, groceries, and other necessities). A lot of people buy stupid s**t in the moment and regret it not long after.

ShlomoKenyatta , Kampus Production / pexels Report

Final score:

23points

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#26

30 Clever Money Saving Hacks That People Tend To Overlook, As Shared By Folks Online I once bought a 500 pack of teabags. That was 3 years ago. I ran out this week.

HearingSword , Michael Pardo / flickr Report

Final score:

21points

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#27

30 Clever Money Saving Hacks That People Tend To Overlook, As Shared By Folks Online Potatoes. Keep plenty of them in stock - they can sit for a long time in the pantry or fridge, they're versatile, easy to cook, and filling.

Aggyness , Pixabay / pexels Report

Final score:

20points

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#28

30 Clever Money Saving Hacks That People Tend To Overlook, As Shared By Folks Online Get water with your meal when you eat out. $1-$4 savings immediately.

SpockHasLeft , Ron Lach / pexels Report

Final score:

19points

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#29

30 Clever Money Saving Hacks That People Tend To Overlook, As Shared By Folks Online Don't spend money.

Ha, but really don't waste money on "sales" for things you don't need, do meal prepping, make a budget for yourself, carry cash as it's harder to spend money when you can actually see it, sign up for email newsletters and use coupons whenever possible, and cut out anything unnecessary or that doesn't serve a really positive purpose in your life.

Leegala , Ivan Samkov / pexels Report

Final score:

19points

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#30

30 Clever Money Saving Hacks That People Tend To Overlook, As Shared By Folks Online I always get my change at put it in my piggy bank - yes it's a pug, a chalkboard pig so it's tons of fun to draw on. I very rarely use cash as I like my reward points but it still comes out to $100+ every year.

Don't feel bad for getting your change. So many people walk out without it thinking it's what you're supposed to do. . .but now your $2.56 coffee every morning costs $3, that's 20% more!

egnards , maitree rimthong / pexels Report

Final score:

12points

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Note: this post originally had 50 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.

Hi there, fellow pandas! As a person (over)educated both in social sciences and literature, I'm most interested in how we connect and behave online (and sometimes in real life too.) The human experience is weird, so I try my best to put its peculiarities in writing. As a person who grew up chronically online, I now try to marry two sides of myself: the one who knows too much about MySpace, and the one who can't settle and needs to see every corner of the world.

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I'm a visual editor here at Bored Panda and I enjoy a good laugh. My work ranges from serious topics related to toxic work environments and relationship difficulties to humorous articles about online shopping fails and introvert memes. When I'm not at my work desk, checking if every single pixel is in the right place, I usually spend my free time playing board games, taking pictures, and watching documentaries

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What do you think ?

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Mimi M 3 months ago

That's disgusting that the main headline is about staight-up stealing.

13points

Rose the Cook 3 months ago

My thoughts exactly, just how much do you save by stealing a roll of toilet paper? These are the people who would be the first to complain if there was no toilet paper in the office loo.

5points

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Kangaroo 3 months ago

Once when I was younger and extremely broke, I took toilet paper from work. Not a whole roll - I’d just grab a handful at the end of the day and stuff it in my backpack, just enough for me to use that evening and the next morning. Only did it for a week or so to get me to my next paycheque, otherwise I would have been screwed.

1point

Bouche and Audi and Shyla, Oh My! 3 months ago

I agree.

1point

Krod Mandoon 3 months ago

Who wouldn't want to use prison grade toilet paper at home?

0points

Captive 3 months ago

And sell it as clever

0points

Bob 3 months ago (edited)

How about we learn collectivelly to get fair wages before learning to romanticise poverty ?

11points

Ken Beattie 3 months ago

While that's a fair point. Poverty isn't the only reason people need to save. Historically a persons' first job (or two) is always low paying, for obvious reasons - lack of experience, training etc. Kids need to learn how to save as they move into the working world (no longer having parents paying for everything). This is a good article for the younger generation. I know when I got my first job I spent waaay too much and saved waaay too little (basically nothing). So tips like this would have been useful at the time.

2points

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Blah Blah Blah 3 months ago

Am I the only one who's so f'n sick of this whole save money c**p when the avg. wage/salary is not enough to cover basic bills let alone allow for extra

9points

steaky 3 months ago

I love to plan dinners and keep it cheap. The trick is making something most people don't bother making it or making it from scratch and just make it look good. Last time was 5 people and we had a tomato soup with focaccia and a salad. It doesn't sound like much. However I made the broth with all kind of veggies scraps from the last month. Tomatoes were on sale. Green onions and salad from my garden. Made chives-flowers butter. The chives-flower were also from my garden. For focaccia look up focaccia art. And i dresses the salad with some Home flavoured vinegar and other toppings. It was about 2.oo euro p.p. It looked amazing and tasted good. Sure it wasn't very fancy. It tasted just so good.

4points

Auntriarch 3 months ago

Sounds brilliant! And it was fancy, call it artisan!

1point

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Mimi M 3 months ago

Invite me!

0points

Bored Panda 3 months ago

Your approach to meal planning sounds amazing and resourceful! Do you have any particular favorites or tips for beginners looking to start doing this?

0points

Ace 3 months ago

TLDR; 1. Don't buy things you dont need. 2. Cook and eat cheap food. 3. Save money if you can. 4. Steal stuff.

3points

Steve Kenney 3 months ago

As someone who works in retail, that steal things one seems to be the most used money saving tip.

1point

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Steve Hall 3 months ago

I have found that as you get older, you care less about buying things and start caring only about what you can't do without.

2points

Thom Serveaux 3 months ago

Ugh. I hate condescending "advice" like this. A couple of these were good advice, but they will never help someone truly disadvantaged out of poverty.

1point

censorshipsucks 3 months ago (edited)

This is mostly nonsense and obvious stuff like "eat at home" , "buy less booze" , "don't buy frivolous things". Best way to save money is not take on undue expenses, e.g. signing contracts for unnecessary services/costs, like home ownership, telco contracts, tv contracts, etc. In my view decent food is more important than a house. Plus I move home a lot for various reasons so owning a home is a waste of time. You can make more profit on turnover buying stocks/shares. I've made 10% in a month previously, whereas best I made on a home was 100% after 4 years (ie 25% per annum or 2% a month, which is pathetic because I've gotten 6% from savings accounts). That was when our house prices doubled suddenly in 2002-3. SA here.

1point

Graham Berry 1 month ago

Yup, always start with a list of all your expenses. A few things I would have included would have been (if you can) switch your cell phone from post paid to prepaid, move your money out of your bank and into credit union, cancel any auto pay through a for profit institution especially if it is a subscription service. This will almost always be cheaper prices, no junk/surprise fees and no surprises in price hikes just suddenly being deducted automatically from your bank account.

0points

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Mimi M 3 months ago

That's disgusting that the main headline is about staight-up stealing.

13points

Rose the Cook 3 months ago

My thoughts exactly, just how much do you save by stealing a roll of toilet paper? These are the people who would be the first to complain if there was no toilet paper in the office loo.

5points

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Kangaroo 3 months ago

1point

Bouche and Audi and Shyla, Oh My! 3 months ago

I agree.

1point

Krod Mandoon 3 months ago

Who wouldn't want to use prison grade toilet paper at home?

0points

Captive 3 months ago

And sell it as clever

0points

Bob 3 months ago (edited)

How about we learn collectivelly to get fair wages before learning to romanticise poverty ?

11points

Ken Beattie 3 months ago

2points

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Blah Blah Blah 3 months ago

Am I the only one who's so f'n sick of this whole save money c**p when the avg. wage/salary is not enough to cover basic bills let alone allow for extra

9points

steaky 3 months ago

4points

Auntriarch 3 months ago

Sounds brilliant! And it was fancy, call it artisan!

1point

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Mimi M 3 months ago

Invite me!

0points

Bored Panda 3 months ago

Your approach to meal planning sounds amazing and resourceful! Do you have any particular favorites or tips for beginners looking to start doing this?

0points

Ace 3 months ago

TLDR; 1. Don't buy things you dont need. 2. Cook and eat cheap food. 3. Save money if you can. 4. Steal stuff.

3points

Steve Kenney 3 months ago

As someone who works in retail, that steal things one seems to be the most used money saving tip.

1point

Load More Replies...

Steve Hall 3 months ago

I have found that as you get older, you care less about buying things and start caring only about what you can't do without.

2points

Thom Serveaux 3 months ago

Ugh. I hate condescending "advice" like this. A couple of these were good advice, but they will never help someone truly disadvantaged out of poverty.

1point

censorshipsucks 3 months ago (edited)

1point

Graham Berry 1 month ago

0points

30 Clever Money Saving Hacks That People Tend To Overlook, As Shared By Folks Online

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