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In the face of 40-year high inflation, you can’t help but watch your wallet get thinner. In fact, more than a third of American adults are tapping into their savings accounts to cover increased living expenses, withdrawing an average of $617 during the first six months of this year. As nearly everyone is feeling the effects of skyrocketing costs of everything from fuel to rent to groceries to entertainment, we could all use some helpful tips and tricks to stretch our dollars.
Being thrifty and finding ways to pay less for everyday goods is generally the way to go. But have you ever heard the saying "I’m not rich enough to buy cheap"? Turns out, some tactics that help reduce spending now can easily cost you more in the long run — whether in time, energy, or money.
So when one user reached out to 'Ask Reddit' inviting people to share "false frugalities" — low-cost things that turned out to be expensive — most people are unaware of, the thread immediately became a hit. We’ve gathered some of the most illuminating responses to share with you, so continue scrolling! Be sure to upvote the ones you agree with and then chime in with your own experiences in the comments.
Psst! After you’re done with this list, check out Bored Panda’s earlier piece with tips on how to live more frugally right here.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
There was a sub about how to budget food/living expenses. And the ideas that people had were ridiculous and required you to be financially well off enough to facilitate their idea of what saving money is. I don't think I received advice from anyone who knew what it was like to be poor, or actually truly need to responsibly budget their funds.
One guy wanted me to plant a garden to grow some carrots or other veg. I explained that I have a small apartment, and that carrots are a dollar for a big bag. He actually got uppity with me and became a total shithead when I explained that I live in a small apartment in the middle of the biggest city in canada. There is no benefit to turning half my apartment into a garden so I can grow five bucks worth of veggies in a few month's span. I can't just go outside and plant vegetables. It's also cold here 9 months out of the year.
I got berated out of the sub after pointing this kind of s**t out numerous times.
JayhawkJoey 2 years ago (edited)
I spent about $100 once on soil, plants, lumber for a raised bed, etc. to wind up with about $10 worth of a few veges. No green thumb here.
RELATED:
#2
Bottled water. It's marketed to appear that it's healthier and cleaner than tap water, plus the plastic bottles are not sustainable. Just buy yourself a thermos or reusable water bottle and stop buying overpriced plastic with over-glorified tap water included.
StrangeOne 2 years ago (edited)
It's healthier if you're in a region that has contaminated water, or parasites, like in Mexico, * for example, and other regions in countries around the world that are otherwise developed around the world.
#3
Cheap batteries. They don't last, they don't work well, and many of them are duds. When I was in high school, I always, always listened to my discman. One day the batteries died so I walked up to the gas station and chose between the Duracell batteries and the bronze-colored batteries. I bough the cheaper no-names and they died before the day was over. And I had to go through social studies without music.
I learned two things that day; WWI history, and not to buy cheap batteries.
#4
"Rent is throwing money down the drain"
Owning a home is not always smart. It can be, but not always. It's not just the house cost, but costs in taxes, interest, insurance, repairs and maintenance, etc.
Then there's opportunity costs. I know folks who can't move until they sell, and can't take better jobs cuz they can't move. A house can be a big anchor in some contexts.
Eric G 2 years ago
Yeah I might rent, but I know I'll never have to replace a roof for $20,000 or pay any maintenance. Notwithstanding, investors screwed way too many people out of affording a home. It truly is the American dream now because you have to be dreaming to think you can afford one.
#5
Cheap, single ply toilet paper. You end up having to use way more just to get the same effect of the good stuff.
Bobert Robertson 2 years ago
And you generally end up with a middle finger in your bum after it pokes through the cheap paper
#6
Aggressive lane changing while driving.
All that accellerating to get into the "better" lane just wastes fuel, and you save a negligible amount of time.
There was a small TV documentary here in Australia I remember watching that did tests on it. They sent two drivers across Sydney in rush hour traffic: one who would change lanes only when it was absolutely necessary (obstructions, turnoffs, etc), and one who was super aggressive changing all the time.
The aggressive driver got to the destination 2 minutes earlier, though with *80% more fuel consumption than the other driver*.
Dietcocoabean 2 years ago
Actually, I've always wondered about that, but had no way of testing it out!
#7
I once watched a show about extreme penny pinchers. One episode depicted a man who spent about 3 hours a day riding his bicycle or walking around looking for dropped change around pay phones, gum ball dispensers, etc. The whole time I couldn't help but think that even a minimum-wage job would yield him more capital for his time, especially once you factor in bicycle tubes and shoes.
In general, people of this nature fail to realize that the benefits of having money is its positive influence on your quality of life. When your quality of life suffers in order to save money, you've completely reversed your priorities to a mind-boggling level.
StrangeOne 2 years ago (edited)
This is a hobby for some elderly folks. Perhaps reliving an old past time joy of finding coins on the ground. I once found a $20 bill on the sidewalk. I was just walking, going about my day. I wasn't straining to meet quotas and multi-tasking. A minimum wage job, for the amount of work that you end up doing with little downtime, other than your required breaks, does not lead a great quality of life and the pay does not equal the time and efforts. IF I could make the same amount just walking and looking at the ground as I do at my current job I'd choose coin hunting. And the coins aren't taxed.
#8
All construction.............do you want it done cheap? or do you want it done right?
3 Owls In A Coat 2 years ago
When it’s done right, it’ll usually cost a lot less in the long term than when it’s done cheap.
#9
Not going to the doctor/dentist!
Wellness checkups are important. Your prognosis will always be better if something is caught early on.
#10
Surprised I haven't seen this yet; using third party hotel booking sites. The sites guarantee you a room and a price but not the type of room you requested. Calling the hotel directly will not only guarantee the room you want but often they beat the price of the websites. On my last trip a particular site favored by an Enterprise captain quoted $129 a night, when I called the hotel they gave me $79 a night.
cadena kuhn 2 years ago
I don't know where ur staying. I work at quality inn and we can't even match those sites nevermind beat them.
#11
Doing the dishes by hand vs. using a dishwasher. The dishwasher requires a lot less water, time and energy.
The Other Guest 2 years ago
Or in my case, doing the dishes by hand vs. not doing them at all (no dishwasher, and no space to install one).
#12
When it comes to tools, buy nice or cry twice.
#13
I saw a popular comment here a couple weeks ago talking about reusing those little handwarmer packet things by slicing them open and adding more magnesium flakes obtained by shaving down sparklers.
For f**k's sake, just buy some new handwarmers.
#14
I knew a fellow who owned one of the most expensive houses in town, but was too cheap to run his swimming pool filter except when he was actually swimming. With virtually no filtration, the water would get thick with debris and algae. He would then by stuff to kill the algae, but then he would have water full of dead algae. And the crud would stiff on the pool bottom, making it very hard to clean off. He spent way more on chemicals than he would have spent on electricity. The owner of this cement pond was a retired rocket scientist.
Gini Sarver 2 years ago
i have always been told that the smarter a person is, the less common sense… because they’re focused on their whatever
#16
i went to greggs, a well known bakery in the UK. I bought a sandwhich and a drink. as i went to pay, the guy offered me the meal deal. "a sandwhich a drink and crips (chips) for only £1.99. a sandwhich and a drink was £1.59. the sandwhich was £1 and the drink was 59p. by themselves, crisps (chips) were 20p but as part of the meal deal they were 40p. this means that the SPECIAL MEAL DEAL OFFER was more expensive than buying each item individually. CLEVER F*CK***
#17
Heating and air-conditioning. Being uncomfortable, irritable, and unproductive isn't worth the few hundred dollars you save by lowering the heat or not turning on the AC.
StrangeOne 2 years ago
Depends. You don't need an industrial central air conditioning system in a tiny bungalow, as my my ex's parents installed. They like to be freezing in the summer. Nor does it have to be sweltering in your home in the winter. And they don't need to be kept on all the time.
#18
In many cases, buying a name-brand product with a coupon is *still* more expensive than buying the store-brand.
Or, buying something just because it's on sale, but not necessarily because you need it.
#19
Mobile phone contracts with a free iPhone etc.
You think you're getting a good deal with a free phone but with 35 pounds a month contact for 2 years, they really screw you.
#20
Buying heavily used cars, sometimes. There are exceptions, but all of my friends who religiously buy the cheapest car they can find are always having trouble. Very expensive trouble, that sometimes adds up to close to the cost of a new car, or at least a better maintained used car.
Ed Brandon 2 years ago
Believe it or not, some people would like to buy a new car, but can't afford one. Crazy, I know.
#21
Travel and times: A lot of people take the cheapest flight they can find, but to me, saving 50 bucks on a $500 ticket isn't worth a 7am flight or a red eye.
#22
"Buying that rent-to-own laptop Consumer Reports checked out is equivalent to paying 311% interest, which is far worse than the 30% interest rate you see on crummy credit cards.
#23
Buying a big cheap house far from your common destinations.
You will pay with time, petrol, housework, sleep, your relationships, and/or career
Instead:
1.Buy or rent a small house with a 10-30 minute commute.
2. Let happiness ensue.
#24
Home brewing beer.
It's a wonderful hobby and I highly recommend it, but don't think you're going to save money.
StrangeOne 2 years ago
My ex like to make apple cider moonshine. He had to buy mason jars and a s**t ton of alcohol, apple juice and whatnot. Thought he was going to make all these underground sales from his friends. Pfft. He sold nothing and I got to keep most of the mason jars. Those come in handy for many things.
#25
Extended warranty
You think you are saving cash on the off chance the product you bought doesn't hold on and you need repairs, but I don't know anybody who has ever been happy about this choice
On the opposite end of the spectrum, car insurance for rental cars. My father and his colleagues used to travel the world and rent cars for several weeks at a time. It would only take one car accident in all those years of renting cars to justify the cost. Many of these rentals were for off-road use. The rookies thought to save cash passing on the insurance and would eventually shell out thousands on repair
#26
Cloth diapers. You still have to buy special (expensive) detergent, and run so many loads in the washing machine. I worked it out when we started cloth diapering 3+ years ago, and it cost the same as if we just did disposable diapers.
Plus all the TIME put into washing/drying/assembling.
I like cloth diapering, I do recommend it, but I hate when it gets lauded as a cheap alternative.
(Edit: Yes, really, you do have to use specially formulated detergent. You don't? That's cool. Your diapers are getting build up of both ammonia and detergent. Good luck with that smell and the leaks, and that is coming from experience.
Also, nowhere did I mention the upfront cost of the diapers themselves. When I talk about price, I'm talking about water and electricity bills.)
gas station cola 2 years ago (edited)
people don't do cloth diapers for the nonexistent convenience or the not-so-cheap price. they do it because it's more sustainable & better for the environment, & usually far more comfortable for the baby.
#27
Being cheap with anything you’re going to use a lot or over a long time. Better to spend $180 on a single frying pan that will last 10+ years than buy a $40 frying pan each and every year because they c**p out so easily no matter how careful you are with them. This metaphor, of course, fits the bill for almost any frying pan that is non-stick or costs less that $100 to begin with.
#28
Leasing a car instead of buying one. I'm not gonna get into the specifics but it's pretty much always more costly
Okkkkk 2 years ago
Only if you plan on keeping your car for longer that's two/three years. But if you plan on getting a new car every couple of years then paying only the depreciation seems like a better deal. But if you keep your car for 5-10 years... then buying is definitely cheaper. Longer than 10... might start looking at costly repairs.
#29
Justifying the purchase of anything solely because it's a "good deal." I hear this misconception all the time.
If you spend $100 on shoes, even if you bought it at 99% off, you're still out $100. You haven't saved a penny, and that'll be a real problem if you needed that $100 to pay your utility bills.
Edit: clarity and $10,000 shoes.
http://www.luxist.com/2010/02/26/louis-vuitton-offers-10-000-alligator-wingtips/
StrangeOne 2 years ago
It's all in the intended budget of what you were planning on spending. If you're expecting to buy $200 shoes and had allowed room in the budget or saved for them, and then the shoes are found to be $100 on sale, then, yes, you saved $100.
#30
Professional home repair services. Real companies have insurance, you can sue if things go wrong. Some handyman that someone knows is likely going to do something that violates a warranty, will be judgement proof, and won't get a permit.
Eric G 2 years ago
I do construction defect claims and this is partly true. A contractor's work product is not covered by insurance. That's if you hire a guy to install Windows and they are defective, insurance does not cover the replacement of defective windows. Not unless they are installed in such a way they cause damage to other parts of the home. I.e. Leaks and damages the interior drywall
#31
People with flex fuel vehicles buying E85 instead of gasoline. The reduced mileage you get out of E85 eats up any saving you get at the pump.
#32
I know people that skip going to the doctor until the last minute to save the office visit payments. It's a terrible idea since by the time they get there the simple cold turns into pneumonia and costs much more to heal.
gas station cola 2 years ago
bad example. going to the doctor for a cold is a waste of time & money. there's no cure for a cold, nothing the doctor can do other than say "you have a cold." so if someone has a cold, yeah they're gonna wait until it turns into something bad to get help; it would've been a needless expense & it's not like they could've known beforehand that this particular cold would be pneumonia...
#33
Not paying off your mortgage to save the tax breaks...
While it is nice to save taxes, the long term financial benefits are astronomical when you free up a mortgage payment.
Donkeywheel 2 years ago
Completely stupid assertion because it obviously depends a lot on the situation. If the interest rate is very high and the property value not increasing then yeah, pay it off early if you can. If you have a low rate, if the value is plummeting, if you use the extra money to invest in anything with better returns then no, don’t pay it off early and keep it for as long as you’re in the second situation. Never heard of leverage or gearing?
#34
Dining Plans at college. I literally could go out to eat for every meal for the price of them. And I often did. I saved a ton of money because I don't eat that much/snack more often .
#35
Supermarket specials.
Next time you go shopping, grab a calculator and work out the cost per 100 grams (or whatever equivalent weight) and you'll almost invariably find that the products with the big 'Sale!' signs are not the cheapest.
Of course it's impractical to do this with every item so you can of course estimate, or shop at a store that all ready has the cost per 100 grams of the price tag like I do.
Peter Parker 2 years ago
In Germany (or the entire EU?) the store needs to put the price per 100g on each item, so you can easily compare.
#36
Shaving with a straight razor. It's a larger down-payment to start into it (simple but nice razor, strop, and brush cost me about $100), but I recouped that in less than a year just by not buying more cartridges. In theory, a razor will last pretty much forever, for free.
Here's the problem, though. I nicked my blade and had to repair it, so I bought about $80 worth of reworking stuff (much less than I could have spent). Then I bought a fancy 1930's blade and restored it. Then I bought a better brush, and a better stop, and a better shave mug, etc.
I started because it appealed to my practical side. Then it quickly became a ritualistic money hole.
JayWantsACat 2 years ago
You could also split the difference and buy a double edge razor, where you just need to replace the blades, which are cheap.
#37
A $5 pair of sneakers is not a deal, no matter what your wallet says.
Maybe consider them if you only need shoes for another month...
gas station cola 2 years ago (edited)
$5 isn't gonna be great quality, but most $20-30 shoes are just as good as $100-200 shoes. so don't go to the other extreme either. depends what type of shoe & how much use you'll get out of them. i've been wearing a $30 pair of off-brand converse that i actually got for half price at $15. they've lasted five years & counting, & they're my go-to everyday shoes.
#38
Where I work, we do price adjustments on products that have gone on sale since the customer purchased them. Most of the time, the refund isn't worth the amount of time, energy, and gas the customer uses driving to the store.
Little Wonder 2 years ago
I can't even imagine making the effort to go get the adjustment. It's on sale now and I bought it last week? Oh well. My bad timing.
#39
Steam sales. You think all these games are a great deal, but you end up playing very few of them and proceed to buy new games you would buy anyways. Remember, you didn't save $7.50, you spent $2.50.
#40
Stopping at Costco for just one thing because its cheaper than the grocery store. Sure I save 3 dollars on the initial item that I went in to get, but the bill at the till always seems to average 400 bucks.
Bobert Robertson 2 years ago
Lol this is dumb. I get that it's easy to spend a fortune at Costco (I love costco) but I regularly go in for a couple things and spend less than $50
#41
Cheap legal services.
A good lawyer that takes 3hrs at $300 an hour will do a much better job far cheaper than a shitty lawyer that takes 5hrs at $200 to do the same job.
This is partly why good lawyers are so expensive - because they're cheaper.
#42
People overinflate the hell out of their tires to get better gas mileage, then have to spend much more to get new tires when they wear out far sooner.
Valden 2 years ago (edited)
Don't mess with air pressure in tires period. Those numbers are not just a suggestion. It may cost you more than just a new set of tires. Does not matter what your dad's nephew's uncle's hairdresser's dog's ex roommate said, keep your tires properly inflated. Also the air you put in tires is already 78% nitrogen, don't pay for the other 22%. Edit: Sorry for any confusion. I am referring to paying for 100% nitrogen in your tires.
#43
Rewards points. You are paying for them.
A. HAM 2 years ago
Not necessarily true. I’ve had a rewards points credit card for 10 years now, and they haven’t gotten a dime out of me. My card carries absolutely no fees, and no interest because I pay it off every month. I get the convenience of paying by card vs cash, and I receive between $200 - $400 back each year in Amazon gift cards. (I purchase from Amazon anyway, so it’s as good as money in my pocket). If you have the discipline to pay off your credit card every month, you can be the person credit card companies hate.
#44
Restaurant specials. It's rarely cheaper and it's typically food that is about to go bad and needs to be sold instead of thrown out.
StrangeOne 2 years ago
But then people complain when food is thrown out, and if it's still good enough to be consumed without much difference then it's all good.
#45
Hybrids. Sure, you save $200-$500 dollars a year on gas costs. But every 5-10 years you will have to replace the battery pack, which can go from anywhere from $2,500 to as much as $6,000, especially on some of the new electric cars with larger packs. Not to mention the initial bump in price you pay with most hybrids. You add a small cost for low rolling resistance tires every time you change them.
Furthermore, the so called point of a hybrid car is saving the environment. The materials used in hybrid cars, specifically the batteries and other components that require rare earth elements, not only require more energy, but put out more harmful types of chemicals than traditional processes. The story gets worse if you go with a plug in hybrid, as 60% of wall power comes from coal plants, a less cleaning fuel than gasoline.
What do you think ?
Froynlaven 2 years ago
Sounds like a wealthy person that has no idea what it's like to be poor. I disagreed with most of the examples they gave.
PattyK 2 years ago
Agree. I’d like to see the math behind some of these claims.
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Dacă nu pierdeam, câștigam 2 years ago
We also need to consider how saving money is much easier when you already have some. Yes, good-quality products are costly and save you more money in the long run. But if someone is poor, they can't afford to buy the more efficient product. And they have to buy the cheap, low quality one, changing it often and being forced to waste money. Financial wisdom is useless if you don't have the money to apply it
Paula Glasscoe 2 years ago
Have you read Terry Pratchett? Look up Vimes’ boots theory of economics
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Froynlaven 2 years ago
Sounds like a wealthy person that has no idea what it's like to be poor. I disagreed with most of the examples they gave.
PattyK 2 years ago
Agree. I’d like to see the math behind some of these claims.
Load More Replies... Dacă nu pierdeam, câștigam 2 years ago
We also need to consider how saving money is much easier when you already have some. Yes, good-quality products are costly and save you more money in the long run. But if someone is poor, they can't afford to buy the more efficient product. And they have to buy the cheap, low quality one, changing it often and being forced to waste money. Financial wisdom is useless if you don't have the money to apply it
Paula Glasscoe 2 years ago
Have you read Terry Pratchett? Look up Vimes’ boots theory of economics
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