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Someone Asks What Is “The Most Frugal Hack You’ve Discovered That Made The Most Difference” And 30 People Deliver
I don't know about you, but sometimes I feel like no matter how hard I try, it's still impossible to save money. I actively plan to spend less but something always comes up, and whether I'm aware of it or not, my account balance remains the same after yet another month.
Also, as economists, CEOs, Wall Street, and Main Street are sounding the recession alarm bell, I think it's a good time to look at some tips that might help save a few extra bucks. After all, they all add up. Luckily, there's an online discussion that offers exactly that.
Recently, Reddit user 88r0b1nh00d88 asked the members of the platform's 'Frugal' community to share everyday "hacks" that have helped them save the most cash, and they delivered! Here are some of the best replies.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Being environmentally conscious. You’d be surprised with how much overlap there is between frugal and sustainable living. It’s the mindset more than anything else that cuts down my expenses.
I buy second hand. Catch public transport. Gone vegetarian. Bring my own package free snacks. Learned to repair clothes. Compost to feed the garden that feeds me. I use reusable hygiene products (cups and safety razors). I use tea towels instead of paper towels. I use soap bars rather than liquid soaps that come in plastic containers (they last waaay longer). I buy quality clothes/electronics that last longer. I use my library rather than buying physical books. And most importantly, I’ve stopped buying plastic garbage I don’t need.
#2
Put stuff in a virtual cart. Leave it. Mull it over for a few days. The urge usually passes, and that's when I realize it wasn't a real need and something else — boredom, insidious advertising, etc.
#3
We keep two 5L bottles by the shower and fill them up before taking a shower so we aren't wasting the running water while waiting for the water to be hot enough to shower. We then use this water to mop the floor and water plants. It has actually reduced our water bill quite a bit and helps us save water.
Brendan Roberts 2 years ago
We do this with our kitchen tap too. We fill up a container while waiting for the water to heat up (for washing dishes/counters), and pour the water into our water butt.
#4
Having spares. Took me a long time to get my wife to do this. You have a toothpaste, or a tin of coffee or whatever. The next time it goes on sale, you buy it, even if it's next week. Then once you finish the first and open the second you watch for sales again.
#5
It's not a hack of any sorts, but learning how to cook really well has been my best money saver. I almost never want to go out, because I can generally cook better food at home.
Today's dinner (egg roll in a bowl made with marinaded chicken thighs) came out to less than $2 per portion and was within my veggie-heavy diet.
#6
I am dying my black clothes black, its great. The stuff looks like new, even though i had those short pants for 14 years
tomchambers 2 years ago
I bet Kelly Richards doesn't do any of these, You know, because she makes $92 per hour working from home!
#7
This is common sense to me, but I know a lot of people around here who don’t live this way: in the cold months I wear long sleeves/enough long sleeved clothing. I avoid turning the heat on unless I’m actually cold instead of cranking up the heat so I can wear a t-shirt and shorts
Tina Girard 2 years ago
and in the warm months, if you're wearing long sleeves and sweats, or you have to cover up with a blanket in the living room, the AC is set TOO COLD. (This one is for you, fruit of my loins!)
#8
Cutting my sponges in half. There’s nothing a whole sponge can do that a half one can’t. It’s easily the most simple frugal thing I’ve done that literally doubled my life of a product.
#9
I can't stress this enough. Porridge for breakfast. It's roughly €0.06 per person if you only added water and salt. With a little milk, fruit, and other toppings it can still be as little as €0.50 per person. Plus oats keep you full for a long time and are amazing for your health.
Here in Ireland a 1.5kg bag of rolled oats is €3. You don't need to spring for expensive brand names. Any rolled oats will do.
Mix 0.5 cups of dry oats with 1.5 cups of any preferred liquid per person. Leave this mixture in a saucepan on medium heat and walk away for 15 to 20 minutes. Go take a shower. Get dressed, etc. Cooking oats slow gives them their creaminess. When you come back, give it a couple of stirs and add more liquid if you like a creamier consistency. Add your desired topping. And that's it. Even plain salted porridge with a little bit of milk can be really delicious and very easy on the stomach. It's actually really great hangover food.
#10
Definitely growing our own veggies and herbs! I dry the herbs and use all winter!
#11
Buy good quality clothes, learned basic sewing and hemming to tailor them and look good. I air dry them and they look good for a long time.
Sometimes there are great sales on jeans that are too long for my size. I learned to sew a French hem to keep the original hem.
Mermaid Elle-Jaye 2 years ago (edited)
This one is awesome, being short I learnt early to tailor my clothes, people think I spend a lot on clothes also but I don’t. I also will intentionally buy broken clothing items I know I can remake or fix
#12
I buy all my furniture and clothes (except underwear) in thrift stores.
Nikki Sevven 2 years ago
Nearly all of the furniture in my home began life as a hand-me-down from a relative (who either passed away or was moving and wanted to downsize). All of it is quality wood furniture...no particle board c**p. It's a bit time-consuming to refinish, but totally worth it.
#13
For our family it was scaling down our food consumption to actual serving sizes and making that amount. I was cooking way too much food and we were all way overeating.
#14
This is more environmental than frugal, but I started using kitchen towels instead of paper towels for most tasks. A roll of paper towels used to last me two weeks. Now I buy a three pack once a year.
#15
Hang drying clothes helps them last longer
Irishwoman abroad 2 years ago
Unless you live in sunny Spain, where you need to make sure they're in the shade in summer! Otherwise, your clothes are completely faded by the end of the season. But drying them outdoors is definitely the way to go.
#16
Taking care of my body, exercising, going to the dentist proactively to avoid future costs.
#17
Selling my car and using a bicycle instead. Made me richer, fitter, and happier in one fell swoop!
ben woskje 2 years ago
For us - we went from 2 cars down to 1 car.... when combining work from home, riding my bike where possible and general less usage - it has had a similar-ish effect as far as saving money and being slightly fitter. no car would be great - but not realistic depending on where you live and the stage of your life.
#18
Budgeting with cash envelopes. Having a budget for everything has been the ultimate frugal hack. Do I want to spend my $60 food budget on a takeout dinner or go wild at an outlet store and get two weeks worth of food?
#19
Live in a small place. Buy (or rent) the smallest, cheapest place in the nicest neighborhood you can afford- especially if you have kids. Always drive your used car into the ground. You can get a gabillion repairs for the same amount most people spend on car payments. Understand that eating out comes from the entertainment budget, NOT the food budget.
#20
About 1x a year I go through all of our monthly expenditures and see if I can get a better deal on anything - like cell phones, internet, insurance, etc. Also if there are any monthly memberships of any sort I cancel whatever we don't use regularly. I usually end up saving at least a hundred dollars a month!
Also I joined the local "Buy Nothing" groups on Facebook and I have gotten so much free stuff - for example, my daughter wanted to try piano lessons but I doubted she would stick with it, so I put an ISO for a free keyboard - and someone gave us one! Also I've even received for free small things like painting supplies and an A/C filter. And I've given away a lot of things too.
#21
Woman here:
Menstrual cup a one time expense that may last for up to 10 years. I've had mine for 5 years and I really I had known about these since my early 20s.
Safety razor, I think I paid like $15 bucks for it and a 250 pack replacement razors. It's been 5 years and still haven't had to buy more.
Bonus is less stuff going to landfills.
Tigerpacingthecage 2 years ago
Menstrual cups are great. And if you can't use one (for various reasons) I really like period underwear as well - quite expensive to buy but doesn't feel like you're wearing a diaper (compared to pads) and more eco-friendly. Plus reusable obviously so no need to buy products every month.
#22
Some of these are kinda weird but here we go:
1) Get a bidet: it takes a little bit to get used to, but once you do, you'll never feel cleaner. That and your TP will go a lot longer.
2) Get a bunch of old rags and wash & reuse them instead of paper towels or anything to wash your hands. You can usually find these cheap if you look around and will save you a ton of money in the long run compared to paper towels.
3) Costco Membership: costco is extremely brand conscious and their products are really high quality and depending on what you buy, can last you a considerable amount of time. More so, the buying in bulk helps out, their gas is noticeably cheaper than anywhere else, and their customer service and the way they treat their employees is light years ahead of any other retailer i ever dealt with.
4) Switch to LED bulbs - they last longer, are cost effective now to other lightbulbs and use a fraction of the energy so you save more money too.
5) Make sure you keep your tire pressure right and to also change air filters yourself. These seem like easy things to gloss over but will save you a ton of money on getting better gas mileage and also just saving you maintenance costs as well. Also, the air filter replacements at most garages cost for some reason way more than they should. Go on YouTube and you'll find videos of how to do it, and you'll be more well-rounded. It's pretty dang easy.
6) Get sleep (and a good mattress if you can). I found i spend more money or dont function as good and spend more time on needless stuff/redoing things if im sleep deprived. Getting that good sleep is free and you're health and happiness.....health is wealth!
#23
Growing my own vegetables from seeds, in my own little patch of land. And then canning those.
#24
Any meds that are out of pocket, I asked the doc to prescribe the generic ones
#25
Joining local Buy Nothing and secondhand groups. I've basically outfitted most of my house and garden for free or very cheap thanks to them. Furniture, kids clothes, plants, etc. The quality is actually better than most newer bargain c**p and plus it's better for the environment. As a bonus, when I am done with something I just pass it on and it stays out of landfill. Win win really.
Vicki Thill 2 years ago
I caught my neighbor going through my garbage and putting stuff in her car. I went out to see if she was okay or needed something specific, and she said that I throw away too many good things. From that day on, I put anything that I no longer want or need outside in my front yard for free. My favorite is when someone knocks on the door to ask if the free sign is for real. It's a great way to meet, honest, friendly, excited people. I'll never forget the little girl who asked if she could take the short white wooden garden fencing, that I had put out. Later she showed me a picture of her bunny playing in a fenced in area of her lawn she created. Not everybody is collecting stuff for a garage sale, give it away for free if you can.
#26
Using curbside pickup through my local grocery store app. My account is connected, so I get points and can apply discounts from the ad. But the main takeaway is that I have removed all temptation to buy things I don’t need! It probably cut my grocery bill at least in half at this point.
#27
Eating vegan has saved me a ton of money. I don’t eat a lot of specialty 'vegan' products. The majority of my diet is beans, rice, vegetables, fruits, oats, peanut butter, etc.
#28
Sharing streaming services with friends/library card (so easy to get, please just do yourself a favor and check out your library's requirements).
Kevin Beard 2 years ago
This. The library. Free books, movies, music. Free access to consumer reports and wall street journal online. Ours has partner passes for botanical gardens, the zoo, museums and other local attractions. You just have to check them out.
#29
Honestly, one of the things that made a huge difference for me is weighing my food - mostly meats and seafoods. By eating proper portion sizes I'm saving a TON of money. Turns out one chicken breast is like 2-4 servings depending on size. A bag of frozen shrimp would get eaten in 2 or 3 meals but sticking to 100g portions I'm stretching that a lot further.
#30
- Taking advantage of residual heat when cooking saves me on gas and electricity.
- Learning how to make sauces (mostly for Asian dishes) and dressings from scratch.
- Not buying cleaning products for every part of the house. If you have bleach, dish soap, vinegar, and baking soda, you're pretty much set for any mess in the house.
- Making a list of the dishes you most frequently make
- Setting a time limit for certain appliances. For instance, I'll only turn on the TV after 7pm and I'll try to towel dry my hair to keep hair dryer use at a minimum.
What do you think ?
Joe Blowe 2 years ago
Some of these tips will depend quite heavily on where you live and I have never heard of pay-by-mile car insurance.
Leo Domitrix 2 years ago
Most of these I just thought, "Doesn't everyone already do this?" Then I realized, "No, probably not in the developed world". TLDR: Good tips in the top 20, and get a laundry rack if you can't dry outside due to weather.
Sapna Sarfare 2 years ago
Laundry rack is a good idea... we have one. Since we live in India, it is pretty good to dry clothes. the monsoon season is the only time we have an issue
Load More Replies...
ThumbsUpGuy 2 years ago
put up some shade to keep the sun off your AC compressor if it is on the south side of the house & gets summer sun during the day... do not block air flow over the fins... no reason to have the AC fight the heat from the sun on the compressor
Joe Blowe 2 years ago
Some of these tips will depend quite heavily on where you live and I have never heard of pay-by-mile car insurance.
Leo Domitrix 2 years ago
Most of these I just thought, "Doesn't everyone already do this?" Then I realized, "No, probably not in the developed world". TLDR: Good tips in the top 20, and get a laundry rack if you can't dry outside due to weather.
Sapna Sarfare 2 years ago
Laundry rack is a good idea... we have one. Since we live in India, it is pretty good to dry clothes. the monsoon season is the only time we have an issue
Load More Replies... ThumbsUpGuy 2 years ago
put up some shade to keep the sun off your AC compressor if it is on the south side of the house & gets summer sun during the day... do not block air flow over the fins... no reason to have the AC fight the heat from the sun on the compressor
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