30 Surprisingly Easy Frugal Changes That Helped People Reach Their Financial Goals

Saving money often sounds easier than it is, even if you have disposable income once the bills are paid. That’s because nowadays, there are so many things that scream ‘buy me’ and the process of buying itself has never been easier – just a few clicks and your cart is paid off.

But what if we postpone paying for the cart and review the things we have in it after a while? Maybe even delete an item or two that we don’t actually need? Reviewing and scaling down the shopping cart was one of the tips netizens of Reddit’s ‘Frugal’ community shared after one of them asked about the easiest frugal changes people have made that helped them save money.

Today, we’d like to shed some light on their tips and tricks that might inspire you to make some frugal changes in life, too. So scroll down to find them on the list below—where you will also find Bored Panda’s interview with the netizen who started the thread, u/Peliquin—and go dust off that piggy bank.

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30 Surprisingly Easy Frugal Changes That Helped People Reach Their Financial Goals Put things in the Amazon cart but don't buy right away. Come back a few days later and realize I don't NEED that, remove. Repeat.

writergeek , Sagar Soneji / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

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48points

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30 Surprisingly Easy Frugal Changes That Helped People Reach Their Financial Goals I often met up with friends at restaurants, just by default, and that got really expensive, even when they weren't that special. I started volunteering ideas of just meeting for dessert (instead of a drink and meal), going for a hike, or just meeting at a park to sit and chat. The whole point was to just be together, so no one really paid attention to the switch and they were actually a little glad to not have to plan the outings themselves. My budget is happy about it!

naturalbornoptimist , Monstera Production / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

43points

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30 Surprisingly Easy Frugal Changes That Helped People Reach Their Financial Goals Got rid of sodas. With the prices increasing, and sodas leading to health issues down the road I definitely will save more than just money in the long run.

Sensitive_Section_98 , alleksana / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

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41points

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Changing your lifestyle or old habits is not that easy, so going from barely setting any money aside to putting half of your paycheck into savings probably wouldn’t be, either. But the frugal changes redditors discussed in the thread were far from extreme; maybe even something many of us would manage doing. And even baby steps still count as moving in the direction of a more frugal lifestyle and a smaller hole in the wallet.

30 Surprisingly Easy Frugal Changes That Helped People Reach Their Financial Goals Finally got a library card and connected to my Kindle via Libby. I haven't bought a single book, ebook or physical, all year.

suzygreeenberg , freestocks.org / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

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40points

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30 Surprisingly Easy Frugal Changes That Helped People Reach Their Financial Goals Not a change this year, but one that all my friends have been shocked by as I've slowly converted them over time! Your local library is your best resource for a lot of things, but especially accessing books, audiobooks, magazines, manga, graphic novels, music, television shows, movies, and so on and so forth. Language learning apps? Many libraries (like mine!) have free subscriptions for their users. Doing genealogy? Tons of free resources, including, often, Ancestry.com. My library has several apps like Libby, Kanopy, and Hoopla. Free online classes, free sessions with lawyers and job search professionals, free internet, hotspots, board games, yard games, video games, puzzles.....

Also, many libraries have seed libraries and 'library of things' --> anything from science-y or artsy kits to car/house/etc repair.

efflorae , Element5 Digital / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

37points

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In an interview with Bored Panda, the redditor who started the thread, ‘Peliquin’, also emphasized the significance of seemingly minor change. “I often see frugal tips being out of reach for people who are just beginning a frugal journey,” they noted. “People don't go from drinking 3-4 sodas a day to drinking only tap water easily. Downshifting to fewer sodas, or an at home soda maker isn't necessarily pure frugality, but it's an easy step.”

30 Surprisingly Easy Frugal Changes That Helped People Reach Their Financial Goals Starting to cook my own meals more and not eating in restaurants.

Every time you cook a meal, you make it better. I’m at the point now where food served in restaurants isn’t good enough for me.

Go YouTube!

thomport , Taryn Elliott / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

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36points

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30 Surprisingly Easy Frugal Changes That Helped People Reach Their Financial Goals I created a gift bin. Whenever I see a great deal online or in a thrift store, bin store etc. I buy things and store them in my gift bin.
I always have nice gifts handy for kids, family members. I’m ready for Christmas
For example, we are going to a birthday next week and I have 2 brand new boxes of nice legos that I got for very cheap back in January. The kid will be happy with gifts and we only have to worry about wrapping it.

morninglight789 , Helena Lopes / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

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33points

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30 Surprisingly Easy Frugal Changes That Helped People Reach Their Financial Goals Stopped using DoorDash etc and started using frozen chicken strips and tater tots when I need a quick fix.

Capable_Mud_2127 , Karyna Panchenko / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

31points

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Peliquin shared that they joined the ‘Frugal’ community because they had seen a good frugal gardening tip there and thought that it might be a good place to learn a few tricks. “I can't really think of something I've picked up, but I do think that being in this subreddit has made me think in more dimensions about how to use common items in more ways,” they said.

30 Surprisingly Easy Frugal Changes That Helped People Reach Their Financial Goals Writing down every expense in an actual budgeting notebook. I've tried budgeting apps on/off for years and never stuck with them. Having an actual notebook where I physically write all of my expenditures has made me way more frugal in every aspect of my life. Something about writing it & seeing it made me want to stop spending it!

SaltiePopkorn , olia danilevich / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

31points

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#10

30 Surprisingly Easy Frugal Changes That Helped People Reach Their Financial Goals Quitting a 2 pack a day smoking habit. $500/mo.!!

Frankengamer , Barik5ive / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

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31points

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#11

30 Surprisingly Easy Frugal Changes That Helped People Reach Their Financial Goals Started shopping at the discount grocery store. Ours has lots of things that are nearing or just past sell by dates, and I was nervous things might not be good. Haven't had a single issue and we're literally saving hundreds per month on groceries.

caffeinatedintrovert , Collis / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

30points

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The redditor admitted that as useful as some tips shared on r/Frugal are, not all of the netizens’ answers to their thread were equally helpful. “I thought that a lot of people just shared their top favorite frugal tip whether or not it was easy to implement. I really had to hunt to find stuff that was more what I was looking for,” they told Bored Panda.

“I think people can [benefit from threads as this one], but I think what people need is more like some sort of six-month frugality boot camp. I wrote a post about that a few years ago, and I wish I could get more people to have read it. It's what I personally did when I was finally making enough money to make real choices, and it has kept me pretty well ahead of all spending.”

#12

30 Surprisingly Easy Frugal Changes That Helped People Reach Their Financial Goals Cancelled cable, no one was watching ‘regular’ TV, kept prime and Hulu. No one in the house has noticed.

According-Paint6981 , JESHOOTS.com / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

27points

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#13

30 Surprisingly Easy Frugal Changes That Helped People Reach Their Financial Goals One morning when I had some downtime, I went through my email and unsubscribed from basically any email list I was a part of. Wayfair, H&M, Home Depot etc etc. All of it. Not only has this completely cleared up my inbox, I no longer get tempted by sale days, coupon codes etc. It has helped curb impulse spending immensely!

javajunkie10 , Solen Feyissa / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

26points

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#14

30 Surprisingly Easy Frugal Changes That Helped People Reach Their Financial Goals Drinking. I like a glass of wine or two with dinner or after. Doing it every night is expensive and unhealthy. I have started to replace it with drinking hot tea at night. I’ve never been a tea drinker but it’s fun to explore different options and it’s starting to grow on me a bit.

dsook2 , Ahmed Aqtai / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

25points

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#15

30 Surprisingly Easy Frugal Changes That Helped People Reach Their Financial Goals I learned to make my fancy coffee at home. I used a cheap espresso machine we had to make sure i would stay in the habit and after a couple weeks i bought a used nicer model and have made my fancy coffee at home since. I dont have to sacrifice taste for frugality. The $250 i spent on the nice espresso machine has easily been "earned" back not going to coffee shops.

flipflop924 , Sena / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

23points

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#16

30 Surprisingly Easy Frugal Changes That Helped People Reach Their Financial Goals Turned 40 and decided to quit dying my hair. I’m over a year in and have not only saved money, but my hair is the healthiest it’s ever been! I also like my natural gray sparkle!

Interesting-Put-4077 , cottonbro studio / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

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22points

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#17

30 Surprisingly Easy Frugal Changes That Helped People Reach Their Financial Goals I have started to go through all drawers, cabinets wardrobes etc having a clear out. Not only have I discovered things I'd forgotten and organised things in such a way that I know how much of everything that I have, but it's illustrated to me where I was making impulse purchases that I regreted. That's helped me stop repeating those same mistakes. For example, I am done with eyeshadow, I've never really "got" how to do it, I end up looking awful and I've chucked the lot out, it wasn't a matter of finding the "right palette", it's just not for me!

ilovewineandcats , Artem Podrez Artem Podrez / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

21points

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#18

30 Surprisingly Easy Frugal Changes That Helped People Reach Their Financial Goals I moved somewhere with an Aldi nearby and my grocery budget is about half of what it used to be.

flagemoji- , Altamart / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

20points

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#19

30 Surprisingly Easy Frugal Changes That Helped People Reach Their Financial Goals Not this year but during the pandemic... we only ordered from restaurants that let us come and pick up the order. No food delivery services whatsoever. Once we slowed down our eating out from "once a week" to "once a month or two", we started spending way less on takeout.

also giving up alcohol when my husband needed major surgery. The doctors recommended to not drink 2 weeks before and 2 weeks after... and we just never made it back into a liquor store. Going on 8 months of total sobriety now!

SurviveYourAdults , cottonbro studio / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

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20points

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#20

30 Surprisingly Easy Frugal Changes That Helped People Reach Their Financial Goals Meal Prep!

I prep 5 oatmeal breakfasts, 5 chicken pasta and sauce meals and 5 chicken, rice and black bean meals.

This saves me so much money and time!

I mix in fruit cups for breakfast and lunch. I usually go with pineapple or mandarin oranges. I eat way healthier and I’m saving money.

Ibn_Khomeini , Ella Olsson / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

19points

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#21

30 Surprisingly Easy Frugal Changes That Helped People Reach Their Financial Goals Doubled my 401k contributions. Less extra money burning a hole in my pocket.

fishsticklovematters , olia danilevich / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

19points

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#22

30 Surprisingly Easy Frugal Changes That Helped People Reach Their Financial Goals Espresso machine. I was buying a 7 dollar Starbucks drink daily. Now it costs about 25 cents for the same thing.

BlackLotus8888 , Melike Benli / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

19points

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#23

30 Surprisingly Easy Frugal Changes That Helped People Reach Their Financial Goals Buying bone-in chicken thighs for $0.99/ lb instead of boneless/skinless for over $3/lb. Also bought a cheap boning knife ($10) and YouTube'd how to remove the bone. It's surprisingly easy. Then you keep the bones for stock. Takes me about 15 mins to process about 10 pounds of meat.

battahboombattahbing , FOX ^.ᆽ.^= ∫ / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

17points

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#24

30 Surprisingly Easy Frugal Changes That Helped People Reach Their Financial Goals Switching auto and home insurance. Our auto went down by two-thirds and our home by half. I don’t even want to think of the money we overpaid over the years.

Librashell , Gustavo Fring / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

17points

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#25

30 Surprisingly Easy Frugal Changes That Helped People Reach Their Financial Goals I started cutting my own hair. As a guy, paying $50-60 a month for something that only looks good for probably 2 weeks is not ideal. I'll only pay that if I have a special event like a wedding or if I'm going on a memorable trip (once or twice a year). Otherwise, I'll just cut it at home and spend $0.

JA-868 , Nataliya Vaitkevich / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

17points

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#26

30 Surprisingly Easy Frugal Changes That Helped People Reach Their Financial Goals The only real change that we made was not ordering take out so much. We were ordering 3-4 times a week and going out about once a week. Now we are ordering out once ever other week and not dining out. It’s saving my family of 4 about $1000 a month. Honestly, I miss being able to have all the dining options, but due to certain circumstances we can no longer afford such luxuries.

Hot_Engine_2520 , Antoni Shkraba / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

17points

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#27

30 Surprisingly Easy Frugal Changes That Helped People Reach Their Financial Goals Went on a "no-buy." Sounds nuts but gamifying making do with my existing wardrobe, decor, cooking utensils, gardening tool etc has made it so easy. And it simplifies the process of figuring out whether a purchase is worth the money because it DOESNT MATTER- I'm not allowed to buy it anyway.
I did a no buy month and wondered if I would make it through but wound up breezing through it and found it so helpful and easy I am committing to a year.

peanutbutterprncess , Darina Belonogova / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

17points

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John Harrison 1 month ago

I love this, and would have loved it even more if they would have explained what a "no buy" is.

3points

SeaJaySea 1 month ago

I assume not buying anything aside from absolute essentials? Food, bills etc

2points

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S 1 month ago

I don't have enough clothes to warrant it - but I've heard of people putting half their wardrobe in those vacuum sealed bags, and switching everything out every 6-8 months. Then you feel like you've got a load of new stuff.

1point

Comment Deleted 1 month ago

This is a movement and gaining traction. I am so guilty of using online shopping for entertainment. Half of the clothes I just had to get at that great deal till have tags a year later. Someone told me to use my money for experiences not stuff. Even if that experience is a trip to the zoo or a museum.

1point

BookFanatic 1 month ago

I like seeing how many days I can go without buying something frivolous. After a while it becomes a game and I don't want to lose my "streak."

0points

Hmmm hmmmm 1 month ago (edited)

Can someone explain to me the rules of this , can you buy food ? Experiences ?

0points

Rachel Pelz 1 month ago

Of course you can buy food and things like toothpaste. Just nothing you don't really actually need. As I understand it, if you own one rainjacket and that tears, you "are allowed" to replace it. But don't buy a second one just because it is cute/on sale/whatever.

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Alvia Vseobecna 1 month ago

so cool

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#28

30 Surprisingly Easy Frugal Changes That Helped People Reach Their Financial Goals Online thrifting for toddler clothes. They are outrageously expensive and the tots grow out of them in a year or less.

ZodiacalFury , Vlada Karpovich / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

16points

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#29

30 Surprisingly Easy Frugal Changes That Helped People Reach Their Financial Goals Setting a budget. I grew up poor and no one taught me about money. I’ve just been winging it my whole life. This year my husband and I sat down to have a come to Jesus and figure out *where was all our money going?*

We just sort of divided our money up into different accounts because we can’t be trusted. The main account is only for bills and gas and groceries, but I only spend a set amount a month on groceries. Then each of us has a fun account that we add money to each pay period. That’s the only money we have to blow. Then there is a family fun money. If we want to buy pizza or go to the movie it comes from there.

It completely changed my relationship ship to money, and I thought I was frugal. I was a single mom who raised two kids on one income before o got married. I was not good with money. I was good with stretching the last few dollars after I wasted all my money.

DontMessWithMyEgg , Pixabay / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

16points

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#30

30 Surprisingly Easy Frugal Changes That Helped People Reach Their Financial Goals NOT renewing Prime.

Greedy_Practice_5327 , Karolina Kaboompics / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

15points

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Note: this post originally had 65 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.

What do you think ?

Annik Perrot 1 month ago

I'm old, from a waste-not-want-not era, so I know how to turn leftovers into something tasty. A useful skill to avoid food waste. I also mostly cook from scratch, but always have some staples in the cupboard (beans, lentils, diced tomatoes, corn, tuna) that can be turned into à meal in a pinch.

4points

G Bono 1 month ago

You need money to save money. Twice a year, the coffee I like goes on sale for $6.99 instead of the regular price of $10.99. I would buy 2 cases (24 cans), which lasted me until the next sale. The 2 lights rule. I live alone and there's no reason to have 2 lights on in the house, but it sometimes happens. There's no excuse for 3 lights on, ever. My electric usage averages $20 a month (before tax and transportation). To save money, I make meals for under (used to be $1 but with inflation) $3. That means eating a lot of leftovers (pasta, soup, stew) and on buying on sale surprises. I only cook for me, so its easier in some ways, but not in others (BJ's and Costco are not cost effective). Challenge yourself to lower utility and grocery bills by trying to decrease your bill 10 or 15% a month - they're the only bills that aren't fixed.

R Dennis 1 month ago

One of mine has an upfront cost: Bought a freezer. I now buy meat on sale and in bulk. I worked in the food industry before medically retiring and am a bit picky about my meats. So I will go without until that ground beef, steak, roast, bacon, shellfish, or fish is on sale... then I buy three. During the holidays when ham and turkey are on sale for ⅓ of the price, I buy three. I now have a full freezer that I work down and replenish during sales.

Tristan J 1 month ago

Considering the number of BP articles criticising the stereotype that young people are spending too much money on coffee and avocado toast, an awful lot of these tips are about spending less on coffee

Dorian Gabriel 1 week ago

Sam's Club. And I'm moving into an apartment with an actual functional kitchen. It's twice the price but I'll be able to properly cook. Worth it.

A Jones 1 month ago

I've adjusted one of my bills and cancelled what I'm not really using. That was cable, I don't really watch much TV and enjoy listing to podcasts instead. I basically cut the bill in half and save much needed money.

Sandy Jones 1 month ago

My biggies are: No spontaneous purchases, everything goes in the cart for 3 days Make my lunches & diners Grow my own weed

30 Surprisingly Easy Frugal Changes That Helped People Reach Their Financial Goals

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