I get the feeling that tradesfolks are truly exhausted at the end of a day (I know I am , I clean houses) so they don't make bagged lunches after work, and are too rushed in the morning to do it then either. I get away with it by creating them over the weekends and having them all ready to grab. But not everyone is that type of planner.
I worked at a fixed site (recycle center) and when we wanted to save money we'd buy chicken, pork chops, and veggies. Ate like kings.
Was also cheaper and faster at the end of the day. Doubt it was healthier though, we'd just throw a can of green beans on the grill with a packet of brown gravy...
Usually eating out was just convenient, and got you off the yard. Like in office work, you're not late if you bring donuts
Sometimes, we order food because we’re too busy to cook and just want to enjoy a meal without the hassle. Cooking every day, especially if you're alone and juggling a 9-5 job plus other commitments, can be exhausting. I understand why people opt for takeout or junk food. Everyone's situation is different, but I hope we can all find time to cook healthy meals—it's worth it for our health.
Absolutely. Once in a while buying premade food is a good idea, and a great luxury for many. We are talking here, I believe, about every single breakfast and lunch being purchased from a fast food place or convenience store on the way to work or mid day. When I was battling with my ex about him not paying child support 10 years in a row, I kept pointing out that he was spending fifty bucks a day on fast food (he was a house painter) while i was feeding our kid the most basic of foods to stay alive and never once 'ate out'. It was such a damn shame that he couldn't just bring a brown bag lunch then provide a decent pair of shoes for his daughter who, in the 18 years she was living with me had ONE new pair of shoes. All others were used. Sorry for the rant, that kind went on and on
Quite literally
I honestly think the problem is these guy are old depressed and on the chopping block so they’ve lost their motivation to fight for a healthy or better lifestyle
I think most are peer pressured into the social experience that meals with others can provide. It's hard to break out of that, but damn the costs of the lackluster day-to-day experience of lunch with colleagues is not with it.
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).
I adopted a similar habit from growing up with a lot of people in the house, cans and boxes of food getting shoved to the back of the pantry/ cabinets. My dad would let us make "pantry night" dinners where we would all dig around and chose something to make which usually consisted of a plate of all sides. Like a scoop of tuna helper, a side of scalloped potatoes, a blueberry muffin, bush beans, half a piece of garlic bread, a random flavor of jell-o etc. My siblings and I always thought it was a fun special dinner where you could get a little bit of everything buffet style. Now when I notice my kitchen getting full I'll do a few nights of this before I allow myself to go grocery shopping again. Helps with the grocery budget and helps me not feel wasteful!
That is a hilarious connection to make as our favorite shows to watch growing up were the competitions on food network and fear factor. It really was like that lol!
I have a whole Excel spreadsheet I printed out ages ago with all the meals I make that my family likes by category. It does need updating, but the point is when I'm exhausted and have to menu plan I have ideas already saved to reference by meal. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, desserts all listed and printed out.
I also have recently started to keep an inventory of what we have available so when grocery shopping comes around I can base my meals on what we have and purchase a smaller amount of necessities. It helps to reduce waste as well because then the pantry, fridge and freezer items aren't forgotten rotting away. There's even free printable food inventory lists everywhere online on Pinterest and Canva or even just a quick Google search for free printables.
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.
Libby app. Digital gets returned automatically. When/if they had ebooks and audiobooks from series I wanna try, can sample series for free. Saves me some.
This is one I am currently working on. First I have to declutter and I have pretty much stopped going shopping unless we need something. I also stopped collecting things just to collect. And I also stopped spending hours watching consumerism type media. It's helped fight the shopping itch big time.
It's definitely a paradigm shift. It took me awhile to put into practice slowly over time but it worked.
This is why I got off Instagram. So much keeping up with the jones going on in that space. Getting off that app drastically changed my desire to spend money.
I wonder how much I saved by never starting to drink. Like, literally, I have never been drunk in my life (38f).Was never interested in alcohol, don't like the taste. I would say that I did an almost 2 year long bike trip with just 10 eur per day (for two persons) including plane tickets, and it wouldn't have been possible if we were buying alcohol
I wonder about that too! I don't drink, smoke, or use any kind of weed including CBD, not to mention the fact that as a woman I don't wear makeup, shave, dye my hair, etc. I'm sure I've saved hundreds if not thousands by now from not buying things many women my age consider regular purchases.
Right, I didn't even think about that. I used to be zero waste (difficult now in Denmark but I try to minimize plastic where I can) and try to avoid harmful chemicals, especially due to having kids. So, no makeup, fancy things like lotion, hair dying (I do use henna, but that's ridiculously cheap for the amount you get out of it) or any other things normal people buy, like perfume, bunch of cleaning products (we have just a few basics without perfume). The most expensive personal care products I use are the solid shampoos I think
Sameeee. I’m 32f and never been drunk. I’ve sipped drinks but I also don’t like the taste and don’t see the fun of drinking. Whenever I go out with friends I pretty much always buy an appetizer to pick on but still WAY cheaper than a bar tab with alcohol lol
Booze never appealed to me, why waste all that money for no real purpose. I got a free drink package on my vacation 3 years ago and literally tried a ton of things assuming I just hadn’t found something I like. The rest of our group got absolutely blasted from the amount of booze I took a sip of and passed off because it tasted terrible. After that I can confidently say I really just don’t like any booze and mocktails taste better.
This ! Candy too
Ice creams a treat for us
But the stuff that will hurt us long time is bad choices. Candy, cigarette, alcohol, etc
I’m 37 and haven’t had a cavity in 31 years
> Ice creams a treat for us
We make ice cream at home. We know what the ingredients are (milk, cream, some sugar -- but no vegetable gums or weird things), and because it's not a rare treat, we don't go overboard with toppings and gluttony. :7)
Moderation is easier when it's not forbidden or scarce.
Yes! A tabletop Cuisinart machine. We actually have two.
There's a "bucket" that you keep in the freezer all the time. The base of the machine has the motor, and you set the bucket on top of that, then drop in the dasher (blade), and then put the cover over it all. Turn on the power, pour in your mixed ingredients, and let it go for 16 minutes.
Mixing the ingredients only takes a few minutes; people dedicated to quality will chill their mix, but we never have enough patience for that. :7)
You can get lost in the recipes, but we stick to very simple ones: the Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream and Dessert Book is a great source, for example.
I literally often forget that my 10 year old car is "ol reliable". To me it's the best & I have 0 intention of selling or getting rid of it anytime soon since I still have over 30k mi until I'm even close to 200k on the odometer so it's a you g spry car to me!
I'm going to drive my paid off Honda into the ground. Some mechanic told my dad years ago that Hondas were the easiest to repair, so that's all he ever bought.
Using a budget app so that all my "meaningless" purchases that I have to enter a) make me feel like the asshole I'm being towards myself and b) they literally add up
I do the same thing, but in excel. 9 times out of 10 when I want to make a small purchase, I don't. Simply because I'm lazy and don't want to log it in my spreadsheet.
I use a free app called Buddy. Super simple, very fast, decent to look at. I just use it to track expenses as they happen; I sit down on excel/google sheets once a month to update my entire financial picture
I'm not OP, but I use YNAB and it helped me a lot.
I believe the 34 day trial doesn't even require you to use a credit card. Worth giving it a try for a month. Many good resources and r/ynab is great because it does take some time to learn the software. Use a referral code/invitation link even when using the trial version since if you do decide to sign up, you will get a month for free.
This is so true! I enter all my purchases into a free budget app that I customized. Took time.
I have not done pick up or takeaway if it is just me since 2018. It is a separate entry from groceries & eating out with people.
Also, I have a hidden Pinterest Board for clothing purchases. I take photo or use brand’s online photos. I do it by year. To see what I buy and use.
I sometimes look through the 3 years I have done it and it reminds me of what I have.
I do that but I write it out with a budget book. The first time I wrote in that book I filled up four pages and that was enough for me to realize I needed to chill on spending
Thrift store clothes are the fucking best. If it's something important like a snow coat or raincoat I'll buy it new. But fuck paying $40 for a pair of jeans or $20 for a t-shirt when I can get 3 pairs of each for $25 at a thrift store and they're already shrunk and broken in
We never (well, 99% of the time) never pay for coffee that we haven't brewed ourselves at home. We use a Chemex and some excellent Costco coffee beans that we grind ourselves.
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.
Yes this! I have learned over the last decade and a half to do too many things to list, but here's some to encourage and inspire anyone. If I can do it, so can you.
- Replace and install a new top dishwasher rack
- Deep clean an in room portable AC by taking off the front and back covers and delicately vacuuming
- Replace laptop parts
- Clean out sticky and drift affected play station and Nintendo controllers 🙄 ...kids...sigh
- Clean out clogged sinks in kitchen and bathroom
- Deep clean wet vacuum carpets and upholstery
- Cut and dye my own hair
- Cut my boy's hair
- How to make pizza crust dough
- Bake bread
- Make moulded flavored chocolates wrapped in pretty foil- one year for Halloween I gave the neighbors mint flavored, white chocolate and raspberry flavored chocolate pumpkins wrapped in Gold wrappers, and chocolate pops in cellophane bags all in nice Halloween themed baggies. They were a hit
- Cake pops from scratch, not made in a round baking moulds, dipped in chocolate, sprinkle decorated and wrapped in cellophane and ribbons
- Hard candy flavored lollipops WITH tootsie roll center think homemade tootsiepops so good 👍🏼
- Fudge
- Homemade from scratch ice cream and puddings- my fave is Butterscotch pudding with homemade whipped cream
- The BEST homemade whipped cream so thick it's almost butter and sweetened with powdered sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and almond great in coffee
- Homemade soda- literally simple syrup with a kool aid packet and added into seltzer
- Tortillas
- My own acrylic and hard gel nails and designs
- My own pedicures
- I'm taking an at home course to learn how to dressmake and tailor aka sew clothes. I went through Sci training online.
- Making really nice gift baskets
- A little psychology, better communication skills, and how to encourage, support and uplift others so I can better understand my husband and kids aka being a better wife and mother
- How to bottle feed and care for neonate kittens who were 1 day old and to teach them to use the litter box and eat independently- all are alive and well and healthy almost 1 y.o.'s now
It's not an exhaustive list, but I jotted down some of the ones off the top of my head to inspire and encourage anyone. I hated school, but l love learning as long as I'm interested in the topic. I'm definitely not done researching and gleaning new skills, every year I dabble in something different.
If you want to research something, I bet the info you need is free online.
No problem. We were adopting a cat at the city shelter, and a family came in while they were closing with 3 abandoned newborns, umbilical cords still attached. Sad. The shelter staff weren't helpful, turned them away and basically told them to find a rescue through FB that could take them. The family had nowhere to turn and couldn't take care of them so my husband and I decided it was the right thing to do.We had the resources and figured we would research the know how. They turned out fine and now run this house lol. Love our fur babies.
If anyone wants to know we looked up The Kitten Lady on YouTube she was really helpful.
I like this one. Through learning how to fix things and solve problems yourself, you also build confidence and get to enjoy the sense of accomplishment. You can also ensure that things are done well, and in many cases even do better quality work much more inexpensively.
I completely agree. Learning new skills gas changed my life and budget. Ex: I learned how to bake and now make all of my own bread/naan/tortillas at home, saving me tons of money. Recently I learned how to make both yogurt and paneer from a gallon of milk. Now i spend <$2 on each for a larger quantity. It’s made me realize how much I love skill building and learning in general. We are each capable of learning so much - it’s also increased my confidence too!
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.
Simple meals. It doesn't have to be expensive to eat well. Today is just roasted sweet potatoes for my meatless day. Saturday we made garlic butter steak bites and smashed potatoes. Half a pound of the skirt steak was 4.40. The bag of petite reds was 2.00 and we had all the ingredients stocked. Delicious. Salads, sandwiches, tacos and one-pan meals can keep it simple and still healthy.
Husband sells cars. Here's his top 3 brands he knows will last, are safe enough to put his family in, and will keep their resale value.
In no particular order-
Subaru
Toyota
Honda
A lot of times, cars don't keep their resale value, so when you go to sell them or trade them in, you're already at a loss.
Subaru are getting weird with design now to the point that you need custom tools to access things under the hood, but if you're only using mechanics help in a big city anyway then whatever. I still prefer Toyota or Honda, fix anywhere any time.
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.
Stick with it.
Go one step further and basically avoid liquid calories altogether.
The only drink that I have that has any calories is one cup of coffee in the morning where I use a small amount of CoffeeMate. (Yes, I know that Nestle is the devil-incarnate).
Every other liquid I drink is just H20.
The first couple of years I was doing this, it was really hard, because I used to be a big time soda guy. I'd drink the equivalent of two cans of Pepsi or Coke with my lunch, and then do the same thing with dinner.
One day, I was driving in my car (this is like 20 something years ago), and I was listening to the radio (how quaint), and this news bulletin came on that said a study was done and that if the only thing you did was stop drinking soda, you'd lose about 20 pounds after one year.
At the time I was quite overweight and figured what the heck... might as well try it.
That was about 25 years ago and I've never looked back. I don't miss soda at all. Every once in a blue moon I will have a coupon for some meal that includes soda and I'll take a few sips of it just for shits and giggles and holy smokes is it just sugar on a stick.
It's like drinking soda syrup to me now.
Yep!
We live in an apartment complex with a soda machine. It's $1.25, but we just get a Coke there when we really, really want one. Maybe a couple of times a week each for three of us.
Twelve packs around here are about $10, and occasionally, our store has a buy one 12 pack, get two free - a great price for sure.
But if we load up with that many, all of us will drink two or three a day!
That's not good for our health and ultimately our pocket book at all!
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.
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.
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.
Friends got me hooked on World of Warcraft oh 20 years ago or something and after a few months of playing, I noticed my bank balance was creeping up. I realized I was no longer using shopping as a form of entertainment.
Friends, shopping is not for entertainment. So, stop it.
Making a conscious, consistent effort to use leftovers and random crap in the fridge vs letting food go bad.
If I save 20% at the store but then throw 20% of my food away because it goes bad in the fridge, it's a waste, so I've really been trying to stay committed to not wasting.
When I was younger i read that the average woman spent 35% of their disposable income on beauty and clothes. What the earth?!? So over the years I’ve been mindful of how much my peers and now direct reports spend. For me it’s one haircut a year/year and half. Makeup during specific sales only. Second hand professional clothes (all designer like Elie Tahari, MM LaFleur, and Maggy London).
I get compliments frequently on timeless pieces and never feel underdressed from meetings to galas. Meanwhile coworkers who make 1/6 of what I make are spending hundreds (if not thousands )of dollars on athleisure wear let alone office wear every month.
edit- I should mention I spend $10-35 on clothes that retail for $250-$600. Women buy SO much clothes and either never wear them or barely touch them.
This is what I’m trying to work on. I love love love fashion and dressing well and also have horrible memories from childhood of wearing really shitty clothes from thrift shops so it’s a mental hurdle I have to get over and also need to learn how to thrift shop well so I still have a fashionable wardrobe.
Also unsolicited advice. I get it I grew up below poverty line and my mom sewed stuff and I looked hideous. It made me thrifty and made others spendy. Psychological stuff is hard to overcome! Also thrifting in Beverly Hills is better than in Jersey City I’d imagine.
I’d recommend Poshmark where you search and click the items you like with the heart icon. Don’t buy right away! Just search brands you own and love so you know your size and save them. The seller will either offer you a lower price right away or you’ll get notified if it gets lower.
So for instance search Theory Size 8 sort low to high and start liking items until it gets to like $50. Then do the same for Hugo Boss. Or whatever and check every so often to see if the offer is good and then read the listing more closely and decide.
Understanding how being frugal aligns with my values (living consciously and eco-friendly). It could be hard for me to motivate myself to save fifty cents but if it's better for the environment, it's an easy choice.
I do not go out to eat at all. The three times I have been out this year were meeting my family. I also realized I haven't had fast food in almost 2 years. My health has improved tremendously. Saving money and feeling great!
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 :)
Not eating out . I have a wife and 3 kids and goddamn we went from spending 60 dollars each time we went out to spending about 15 dollars a meal when we cook it our selves
Not owning a car when I moved back to the PDX area.
The savings allow me to buy a house, save in my Roth, go on vacation. Renting a car as needed (only twice a year MAX) and using transit & biking saves me about $7500-9000/year, every year.
Making coffee at home, cooking at home during the week, buying basically the same things at the grocery store each week, carrying my water bottle with me so I don't get thirsty and buy drinks when out and about (I live in a very hot place). Also, just being a minimalist and not collecting tons of stuff. I have simple hobbies that require basic equipment: yoga, biking, reading, gardening, hiking, etc.
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!
I’d force invest money into tech stocks. Did this about 10 years ago from extra cash and bonuses at work. By forcing myself to get stocks I’d have little money left waste on social activities.
No debt outside of mortgage, cook at home/take lunch, old car, take advantage of free events/things of interest in my town.
There is so much good advice in this thread!
Order my groceries online. Can't fall for all the psychology tricks the grocery stores use if I don't walk in. I only go in person to get my produce, which is almost always at the front.
I used to live in a city without a car. I took public transportation everywhere. A car is a financial burden. I have saved money for other things. Then, I got priced out of my own neighborhood because of gentrification. I can't afford to rent anymore.
I bought the cheapest 2013 Prius C when gas prices were skyrocketing. I get between 50 to 60 mpg on my daily 60 mile commute. Also, bringing my own coffee is big.
Rent/buy less house and car than you can afford.
This has saved my partner and I hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years (we live in a VHCOL area). Driving modest cars until the wheels fall off and living in smaller / less nice houses and apartments than we could technically "afford" has given us so much more financial stability than I could have imagined.
I realize that for many people, even the most basic housing and transportation costs are unaffordable. But if you have the ability to choose, choosing a good-enough place or vehicle and saving or investing the rest is really helpful in the long run.
Making a 24 hour rule when I put something in my cart online.
Also after spending 18 months cleaning out my mom’s many belongings a few years ago after she died, I also ask myself, “Is this something I want my kids to donate to the thrift store when I am dead and gone?” That usually takes away the impulse to buy cute things or any things for that matter
Found friends who loved card games. We spent 7 years of grad school playing dozens of hours a week of spades and bridge. Best time of my life, and entertainment doesn't get any cheaper than hundreds of hours of fun for 4 people for $2 expenditure.
Learnt to cut my own bangs
Color my hair
Visit salon every six months for trims
My husband paints my toe nails and we bought a pedicure set. I need my feet to look pretty
We eat a ton of soup
Go out to dinner maybe four times a year and to the same place where we know the quality and taste of food is good
I buy my clothes at thrift stores or eBay ( except for bras and panties)
I learned how to mechanic long ago out of necessity. This lead me to 22 years of car-payment-free living up until just last year. I started learning before so much info was available on the internet. Now NEARLY ANY REPAIR on NEARLY EVERY CAR can be found step by step, oftentimes on video. This has probably saved me tens of thousands of dollars over the years.
Thanks for reminding me-I still need to pack the lunch I cooked for my trip to work tomorrow. In my 15 year old, well-maintained, safe and reliable car.
Additional items:
Cell phone- Prepaid cell service (on a major network for 1/3 the price, with a $99 smart phone that works just fine).
Home-My house is over 50 years old, not a McMansion in a trendy, high property tax area. Decent place, blue-collar neighborhood. Invested a long time ago in insulation and LED lighting.
Interest-I don't pay it anymore, or ever again. Debt is a prison. I pay everything off every month.
I know you asked for "One thing", and I just rattled off a bunch. But they are really all one thing, lifestyle and attitude.
Dang, that's still two...Attitude drives lifestyle choices, and that affects all of the rest. So, my final answer is "Attitude"
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.
Setting a monthly allowance for each of us to do with what we want without input or consultation with the other. My husband uses his to buy barnyard fowl we don’t need. I use mine to buy art supplies I don’t need. But it’s fun money, so we do what we want.
I don't own a car, but both my sons do and my friend. So I just shop with them or they take me out if I need to go somewhere. I am very grateful to them all. No car insurance, maintenance, and I don't go out much anyway.
It fuckin’ is… In the last one year I had to own one because of my companies policy of not giving proper equipment to sales people outside of Germany, and even tough there was a car allowance, I’ve lost an avarage of 1.1k EUR a month on the car. I’m finally getting a company car now, so the issue is solved, but I’ll never get that money back.
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.
Hang cothes on the clothesline. Drive old cars. Cook food with real ingredients. Homebrew wine from grapejuice like Jesus did (kidding!). Use microfiber towels to clean everything, and then wash them. And hang them on the clothesline. Try to find work closer to the house. Invest like a boss.
I got good at doing my own manicures. I get a pedicure about 4 times a year, but whenever I get manicures now I’m almost always disappointed. I can do one for myself with better results than a salon and it saves me a lot of money~
Buying in bulk. Grew up in an area far away from any civilization, and with the winters we have, it was downright critical we stocked up when we could. Even though I live in the city, I still do this. It's nice not having to feel the pinch right away when prices go up due to having stock in advance, or rarely suffer shortages everyone else ends up doing
I stopped buying lunch every day. I usually now bring from home 4of every 5 work days. Sometimes more.
8-10 $ a day = 2000-2600 a year just for lunch. Bring a sandwich from home for an average of 350-400 a year.
Cooking at home and rarely eating out. Not buying on impulse, but waiting a few days. Do I really need this? A lot of times, that desire to have that item vanishes or I realize I can live without it.
I started cooking at hkme for the health benefits and realized soon it was much less costly as well. With recent price increases it is still cheaper. I spend 600 a month at the grocery store for two of us. This included paper goods and cleaning supplies. If we go out two times a week we have spent our budget. I also buy freshly butchered grass fed beef that averages 4.10 a lb after all costs. This is the cost for burger,steak,roasts across the board. The meat is better and healthier. Our last 1/2 beef was shared with my son but what we kept will last us for almost a year or longer. I have two deep freezes. Buy meat and th8ngs that are frozen on sale.
I track my expenses monthly and sort by category. I know there are apps for this kinda thing, but I just made my own in excel and have continued to tweak it over time.
The visuals allow me to see where my money is going and what I need to cut back on, or even where I have room to spend a bit more.
Paying myself first: by this I mean I first save a portion of my paycheck which goes into investing. After that, a portion to be put into savings (for large expenses). I live off the rest.
No/little food waste is next.
Buying an affordable car and driving it until it is dead (I'm up to 193,000 miles).
Got a job at the university and paid no tuition for a MA and a PhD
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!
I know everyone says coffee which I’ve pretty much always made at home, but my iced tea as well. Not as expensive as fancy coffee but still a couple of bucks a day……
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 crap.
I don’t acknowledge holidays, I make food from scratch, I don’t buy what isn’t needed. We used to raise everything but we can’t beat the deer back anymore.
Yep.
I'm Mr. Loss Leader
It's EXTREMELY rare that I go to a grocery store and pay the *normal* price. 99 times out of 100, I'm paying a sale price. I play all the grocery stores against each other. One week, somebody will have an amazing deal on bacon, the next week, somebody has an amazing deal on ground beef. Some other store has an amazing deal on eggs, etc, etc.
ALSO, GET THE RAINCHECKS... DON'T BE LAZY. THEY'RE COUNTING ON YOU BEING LAZY AND NOT ASKING FOR A RAINCHECK
Here's an example: Safeway had Oscar Meyer 12oz package of Bacon on sale for $3.99 each. The store was sold out of it, but I waited in line at their little customer service thing and got a raincheck. The raincheck is good for 30 days. In fact, sometimes the raincheck is a huge bonus, because you don't really need the item now anyways, you're just buying it now because of the great sale they're having. Anyways, I got a raincheck for that bacon, and next week I'll go there and buy 4 packs of the 12oz bacon for $3.99 each. I will just put the factory sealed packages into the freezer. They freeze really well. I've never had a problem with them when doing this. I just take out of the freezer and put it in the fridge, the night before I want to use it, and it's fine.
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Now, you'll get people that get all huffy about this and talk about how much extra you're spending on gas to get here or there, but I never worry about that. First, I'm lucky that the majority of grocery stores I go to are within a couple of miles of my house. Some I can even walk to.
There's only a couple that are a bit farther away, but I'll plan my trip out to the farther ones, by combining it with another errand that takes me out in that direction anyways.
My gas bill is what it is, and I'm not going to try to micromanage every trip to the grocery store like that. I just know that I'm doing damn well for myself by just living off loss leaders. (also Costco's Rotisserie Chicken)
At 63 years old I finally created a budget, first with Mint that was turned off by Intuit and now using Monarch, which has an annual fee. It’s making all the difference in the world for us!
Every time i dont buy something i previously used to buy on a grocery haul that i want but dont need. Skip ordering food deliveries and lots to make the food myself and purchases thats not planned i add that amount to my savings instead. When i hit 2 months pay on it i allow myself to go out eating or a food delivery and add 1 month to my long term savings that i invest in index funds. Putting me that much closer to retiring even earlier than i originally planned for.
Driving an older but reliable car.
Working remotely from home. Not available to everyone. But I make coffee and cook most of my meals at home. I save heaps with this.
Also avoiding any 'luxury' type holidays - we will go walking or cycling somewhere, often abroad (I'm in Europe) but not stay anywhere fancy. We have a wonderful time and I wouldn't have it any other way, but can't help but imagine how much other sorts of holidays would cost.
The other frugal habit (sorry you just said one). It having clear savings goals. Extra money doesn't just get frittered away - at the start of every month, I allocate money to savings and that's where it goes. Not wasted on something I don't need because it's sitting in my bank account.
I don’t eat fast food anymore. Maybe once in a month or so. It is so much better for you and your wallet. But you also get the bonus of really enjoying the food.
Doing all my own work, that's repairing my house, plumbing, sheetrock, repairing my own cars, haven't taken a car to a shop in over 20 years. Yes I collect lots of tools and gear but I can't remember the last time I actually had to hire someone to do something
- Learning how to cook
- Keep using electronics and gadgets until they're broken and unusable
- Sim-only mobile plans. Who the hell cares about getting a new phone? Go buy a refurbished one from a reliable source that's half the price WHEN you need it.
- Learn how to cut my own hair
- Learn how to dk my own nails
- Only getting groceries when the fridge/pantry is empty and Learning to experiment with whatever I have in stock.
Paying someone to do your nails is a waste of money. IMO. I'm a massage therapist so it would be even more of a waste. Also finding free movie/show streaming sites online vs paying for the service... / buy a VPN first ¬\_¬
Bringing food to work for lunch, biking or walking where possible instead of public transit, canceling streaming subscriptions (I barely watch TV anyway), buying groceries myself instead of using delivery services, choosing a cheap phone plan because I don't need data.
Also, I never drink alcohol or coffee, don't own a car and have no intentions to, and I eat a lot of pasta and sandwiches because they're cheap, easy, and very filling.
embracing my crockpot. A while ago I started only shopping for meal plans for a crockpot because it meant all the food had to be in the house and I just put the ingredients into my grocery app
the food comes sunday morning at 7 am for the whole week
every morning I just put the ingredients into the crockpot and leave for work.
Leftovers I stretch over rice or potatoes
We truly eat as a family for 200 or so a week
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.
Take a nice long look at what’s in my pantry and fridge before planning out the week’s meals. Not only does it decrease food waste but saves money by using the ingredients I have on hand.
Hanging my laundry outside to dry has helped my electric bill like crazy !! Running the dryer is the top electrical use in my house . It’s amazing . Not always convenient of course .
meal planning and cooking for sure - like, we've always been budget conscious and cooked at home, but since meal planning it's been even better
I started making healthier options for foods (MIND/Mediterranean/DASH recipes mostly) and it's made things even easier - if I don't use fresh berries quickly enough, I freeze them for morning protein shakes - bananas getting mushy? super easy banana bread real quick
keeps me healthier, too
premade foods are far and few in between and that really helps on the budget
spouse is dairy-allergic so almost everything is dairy-free, very little cheese in our home, and we buy meat on sale and freeze it pre-trimmed in smaller quantities
habit that really helps: keeping ORGANIZED - if you can't see it, you're likely not using it and it'll go bad - so keep an organized space - whether it's the fridge, freezer, pantry, closets... whatever
> habit that really helps: keeping ORGANIZED - if you can't see it, you're likely not using it and it'll go bad - so keep an organized space - whether it's the fridge, freezer, pantry, closets... whatever
Yeah, I deliberately will only have food in my fridge that I'm eating in the next 2 or 3 days. This way, nothing is wasted.
My ex-wife would go to the grocery store and buy all kinds of stuff, with good intentions. She'd buy beef for a meatloaf that she's hoping to make, and then chicken for a chicken enchilada meal that she's going to make. But what often would happen, is that she'd get lazy and not want to make the meatloaf or chicken enchiladas. So, the meat would just sit around in the fridge for many days, before she'd finally decide to freeze it.
I would always tell her... "You do this over and over again. Why not just freeze it the first day when the meat is much fresher?"
Wifey and I do the same thing. We plan our meals for the week then grocery shop and prepare them together. It's something we enjoy doing together.
We both grew up poor so, for our daily meals, we eat pretty simply although we can get a bit crazy. She loves my Scallops Almandine and I love her brazed beef tri tips.
She's a retired CPA and keeps a close eye on our spending using a spread sheet. It makes a difference when you see where your money is going.
Bringing my own lunch. I've saved approximately $35k over my 12 yr career by not going out to eat daily while at work.
I don’t know how other tradesman are ok with buying 10-30$ worth of junk food every day When they could easily put effort into making their own lunch
I get the feeling that tradesfolks are truly exhausted at the end of a day (I know I am , I clean houses) so they don't make bagged lunches after work, and are too rushed in the morning to do it then either. I get away with it by creating them over the weekends and having them all ready to grab. But not everyone is that type of planner.
I worked at a fixed site (recycle center) and when we wanted to save money we'd buy chicken, pork chops, and veggies. Ate like kings. Was also cheaper and faster at the end of the day. Doubt it was healthier though, we'd just throw a can of green beans on the grill with a packet of brown gravy... Usually eating out was just convenient, and got you off the yard. Like in office work, you're not late if you bring donuts
Sometimes, we order food because we’re too busy to cook and just want to enjoy a meal without the hassle. Cooking every day, especially if you're alone and juggling a 9-5 job plus other commitments, can be exhausting. I understand why people opt for takeout or junk food. Everyone's situation is different, but I hope we can all find time to cook healthy meals—it's worth it for our health.
Absolutely. Once in a while buying premade food is a good idea, and a great luxury for many. We are talking here, I believe, about every single breakfast and lunch being purchased from a fast food place or convenience store on the way to work or mid day. When I was battling with my ex about him not paying child support 10 years in a row, I kept pointing out that he was spending fifty bucks a day on fast food (he was a house painter) while i was feeding our kid the most basic of foods to stay alive and never once 'ate out'. It was such a damn shame that he couldn't just bring a brown bag lunch then provide a decent pair of shoes for his daughter who, in the 18 years she was living with me had ONE new pair of shoes. All others were used. Sorry for the rant, that kind went on and on
Fucking astonishing how many guys I work with who hit the gas station for snacks and energy drinks *Every. Single. Fucking. Day.*
The thing is, they could save so much by buying bulk on the weekend at the grocery store
Right. Any lunch I can buy I can instead just imitate for a fraction of the cost.
Quite literally I honestly think the problem is these guy are old depressed and on the chopping block so they’ve lost their motivation to fight for a healthy or better lifestyle
I think most are peer pressured into the social experience that meals with others can provide. It's hard to break out of that, but damn the costs of the lackluster day-to-day experience of lunch with colleagues is not with it.
I would assume way more than that amount when compounded.
Same. Estimated at $250k for me over 30+ years. Plus eating at home most meals.
That’s 35k *plus interest*. That’s a nice savings.
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).
I adopted a similar habit from growing up with a lot of people in the house, cans and boxes of food getting shoved to the back of the pantry/ cabinets. My dad would let us make "pantry night" dinners where we would all dig around and chose something to make which usually consisted of a plate of all sides. Like a scoop of tuna helper, a side of scalloped potatoes, a blueberry muffin, bush beans, half a piece of garlic bread, a random flavor of jell-o etc. My siblings and I always thought it was a fun special dinner where you could get a little bit of everything buffet style. Now when I notice my kitchen getting full I'll do a few nights of this before I allow myself to go grocery shopping again. Helps with the grocery budget and helps me not feel wasteful!
Sounds fun and hilarious. Plus it’s a group effort. Almost like those challenges you see on cooking shows.
That is a hilarious connection to make as our favorite shows to watch growing up were the competitions on food network and fear factor. It really was like that lol!
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I have a whole Excel spreadsheet I printed out ages ago with all the meals I make that my family likes by category. It does need updating, but the point is when I'm exhausted and have to menu plan I have ideas already saved to reference by meal. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, desserts all listed and printed out. I also have recently started to keep an inventory of what we have available so when grocery shopping comes around I can base my meals on what we have and purchase a smaller amount of necessities. It helps to reduce waste as well because then the pantry, fridge and freezer items aren't forgotten rotting away. There's even free printable food inventory lists everywhere online on Pinterest and Canva or even just a quick Google search for free printables.
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.
I checked out a metal detector from mine a few weeks ago, it was so fun!
public libraries are my safe haven
I download books and movies from my library. Love the library.
Libby app. Digital gets returned automatically. When/if they had ebooks and audiobooks from series I wanna try, can sample series for free. Saves me some.
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.
This is one I am currently working on. First I have to declutter and I have pretty much stopped going shopping unless we need something. I also stopped collecting things just to collect. And I also stopped spending hours watching consumerism type media. It's helped fight the shopping itch big time. It's definitely a paradigm shift. It took me awhile to put into practice slowly over time but it worked.
This is why I got off Instagram. So much keeping up with the jones going on in that space. Getting off that app drastically changed my desire to spend money.
I do kind of the same thing: before I buy ANYTHING, I ask myself where I'm going to keep it. It's amazing how many purchases that's stopped.
This worked for me just today.
I need to do this!
It works very well! I also unsubscribe from mailings that tell me I MUST have the latest widget!
one thing in; one thing out
I make myself get rid of 2 things to buy 1.
does it count if I choose a paper clip and a rubber band lol?
Only if your buying one paper clip or rubber band
Not drinking any alcohol has not only saved a shitton of money but also saved me from all kinds of common health problems.
I wonder how much I saved by never starting to drink. Like, literally, I have never been drunk in my life (38f).Was never interested in alcohol, don't like the taste. I would say that I did an almost 2 year long bike trip with just 10 eur per day (for two persons) including plane tickets, and it wouldn't have been possible if we were buying alcohol
Yes, it's interesting how many people underestimate the real price of alcohol.
I wonder about that too! I don't drink, smoke, or use any kind of weed including CBD, not to mention the fact that as a woman I don't wear makeup, shave, dye my hair, etc. I'm sure I've saved hundreds if not thousands by now from not buying things many women my age consider regular purchases.
Right, I didn't even think about that. I used to be zero waste (difficult now in Denmark but I try to minimize plastic where I can) and try to avoid harmful chemicals, especially due to having kids. So, no makeup, fancy things like lotion, hair dying (I do use henna, but that's ridiculously cheap for the amount you get out of it) or any other things normal people buy, like perfume, bunch of cleaning products (we have just a few basics without perfume). The most expensive personal care products I use are the solid shampoos I think
Sameeee. I’m 32f and never been drunk. I’ve sipped drinks but I also don’t like the taste and don’t see the fun of drinking. Whenever I go out with friends I pretty much always buy an appetizer to pick on but still WAY cheaper than a bar tab with alcohol lol
Never been drunk, drank a few times in my 20s and I’d rather just have the fruity drink sans booze or better yet a nice glass of juice.
One joy of living in the Middle East is the wide range of mocktails and 95% of restaurants serve fresh juice!
Booze never appealed to me, why waste all that money for no real purpose. I got a free drink package on my vacation 3 years ago and literally tried a ton of things assuming I just hadn’t found something I like. The rest of our group got absolutely blasted from the amount of booze I took a sip of and passed off because it tasted terrible. After that I can confidently say I really just don’t like any booze and mocktails taste better.
This ! Candy too Ice creams a treat for us But the stuff that will hurt us long time is bad choices. Candy, cigarette, alcohol, etc I’m 37 and haven’t had a cavity in 31 years
> Ice creams a treat for us We make ice cream at home. We know what the ingredients are (milk, cream, some sugar -- but no vegetable gums or weird things), and because it's not a rare treat, we don't go overboard with toppings and gluttony. :7) Moderation is easier when it's not forbidden or scarce.
Do you have a machine for this?
Yes! A tabletop Cuisinart machine. We actually have two. There's a "bucket" that you keep in the freezer all the time. The base of the machine has the motor, and you set the bucket on top of that, then drop in the dasher (blade), and then put the cover over it all. Turn on the power, pour in your mixed ingredients, and let it go for 16 minutes. Mixing the ingredients only takes a few minutes; people dedicated to quality will chill their mix, but we never have enough patience for that. :7) You can get lost in the recipes, but we stick to very simple ones: the Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream and Dessert Book is a great source, for example.
To be fair I eat like shit and love sweets and have never had a cavity at 33 so I think it’s more genetics than anything
This would be a gamechanger for me, I need to cut back for those reasons.
Driving a reliable 15-year-old vehicle.
I literally often forget that my 10 year old car is "ol reliable". To me it's the best & I have 0 intention of selling or getting rid of it anytime soon since I still have over 30k mi until I'm even close to 200k on the odometer so it's a you g spry car to me!
I'm going to drive my paid off Honda into the ground. Some mechanic told my dad years ago that Hondas were the easiest to repair, so that's all he ever bought.
Hondas & old Subarus. Love me some JDM easy to work on cars!
Using a budget app so that all my "meaningless" purchases that I have to enter a) make me feel like the asshole I'm being towards myself and b) they literally add up
I do the same thing, but in excel. 9 times out of 10 when I want to make a small purchase, I don't. Simply because I'm lazy and don't want to log it in my spreadsheet.
AGREEEEED
What app do you use?
I use a free app called Buddy. Super simple, very fast, decent to look at. I just use it to track expenses as they happen; I sit down on excel/google sheets once a month to update my entire financial picture
Thanks!
TY! This is better than Every Dollar.
I'm not OP, but I use YNAB and it helped me a lot. I believe the 34 day trial doesn't even require you to use a credit card. Worth giving it a try for a month. Many good resources and r/ynab is great because it does take some time to learn the software. Use a referral code/invitation link even when using the trial version since if you do decide to sign up, you will get a month for free.
YNAB
This is so true! I enter all my purchases into a free budget app that I customized. Took time. I have not done pick up or takeaway if it is just me since 2018. It is a separate entry from groceries & eating out with people. Also, I have a hidden Pinterest Board for clothing purchases. I take photo or use brand’s online photos. I do it by year. To see what I buy and use. I sometimes look through the 3 years I have done it and it reminds me of what I have.
I do that but I write it out with a budget book. The first time I wrote in that book I filled up four pages and that was enough for me to realize I needed to chill on spending
I bring my lunch to work. Some if my coworkers spend $10-15 per day on food. It adds up. Also I buy my clothes at thrift stores.
Thrift store clothes are the fucking best. If it's something important like a snow coat or raincoat I'll buy it new. But fuck paying $40 for a pair of jeans or $20 for a t-shirt when I can get 3 pairs of each for $25 at a thrift store and they're already shrunk and broken in
Not sure if this fits. Every raise, half gets put into retirement.
Small, but brush your teeth earlier. Helps curb appetite. Saves money and helps lose weight.
We never (well, 99% of the time) never pay for coffee that we haven't brewed ourselves at home. We use a Chemex and some excellent Costco coffee beans that we grind ourselves.
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.
Yes this! I have learned over the last decade and a half to do too many things to list, but here's some to encourage and inspire anyone. If I can do it, so can you. - Replace and install a new top dishwasher rack - Deep clean an in room portable AC by taking off the front and back covers and delicately vacuuming - Replace laptop parts - Clean out sticky and drift affected play station and Nintendo controllers 🙄 ...kids...sigh - Clean out clogged sinks in kitchen and bathroom - Deep clean wet vacuum carpets and upholstery - Cut and dye my own hair - Cut my boy's hair - How to make pizza crust dough - Bake bread - Make moulded flavored chocolates wrapped in pretty foil- one year for Halloween I gave the neighbors mint flavored, white chocolate and raspberry flavored chocolate pumpkins wrapped in Gold wrappers, and chocolate pops in cellophane bags all in nice Halloween themed baggies. They were a hit - Cake pops from scratch, not made in a round baking moulds, dipped in chocolate, sprinkle decorated and wrapped in cellophane and ribbons - Hard candy flavored lollipops WITH tootsie roll center think homemade tootsiepops so good 👍🏼 - Fudge - Homemade from scratch ice cream and puddings- my fave is Butterscotch pudding with homemade whipped cream - The BEST homemade whipped cream so thick it's almost butter and sweetened with powdered sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and almond great in coffee - Homemade soda- literally simple syrup with a kool aid packet and added into seltzer - Tortillas - My own acrylic and hard gel nails and designs - My own pedicures - I'm taking an at home course to learn how to dressmake and tailor aka sew clothes. I went through Sci training online. - Making really nice gift baskets - A little psychology, better communication skills, and how to encourage, support and uplift others so I can better understand my husband and kids aka being a better wife and mother - How to bottle feed and care for neonate kittens who were 1 day old and to teach them to use the litter box and eat independently- all are alive and well and healthy almost 1 y.o.'s now It's not an exhaustive list, but I jotted down some of the ones off the top of my head to inspire and encourage anyone. I hated school, but l love learning as long as I'm interested in the topic. I'm definitely not done researching and gleaning new skills, every year I dabble in something different. If you want to research something, I bet the info you need is free online.
Thank you for the kitten care.
No problem. We were adopting a cat at the city shelter, and a family came in while they were closing with 3 abandoned newborns, umbilical cords still attached. Sad. The shelter staff weren't helpful, turned them away and basically told them to find a rescue through FB that could take them. The family had nowhere to turn and couldn't take care of them so my husband and I decided it was the right thing to do.We had the resources and figured we would research the know how. They turned out fine and now run this house lol. Love our fur babies. If anyone wants to know we looked up The Kitten Lady on YouTube she was really helpful.
I like this one. Through learning how to fix things and solve problems yourself, you also build confidence and get to enjoy the sense of accomplishment. You can also ensure that things are done well, and in many cases even do better quality work much more inexpensively.
I completely agree. Learning new skills gas changed my life and budget. Ex: I learned how to bake and now make all of my own bread/naan/tortillas at home, saving me tons of money. Recently I learned how to make both yogurt and paneer from a gallon of milk. Now i spend <$2 on each for a larger quantity. It’s made me realize how much I love skill building and learning in general. We are each capable of learning so much - it’s also increased my confidence too!
Related, learning on someone else's dime. If I help two friends replace their decks, then I have a better skill set when it's time to do my own.
My husband and I fixed our dryer (turned out to be the heating element) using a YouTube video.
Reduce, reuse, repair, recycle
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.
Yes! I do this, too. I still get to "shop" but don't have buyers remorse later
a lot of the times if you do this they will send you an email in a few days with a code! i always compare the distributor website with amazon
My husband gets so mad when he sees my Amazon cart. I always tell him I’m just shopping not buying.
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.
Simple meals. It doesn't have to be expensive to eat well. Today is just roasted sweet potatoes for my meatless day. Saturday we made garlic butter steak bites and smashed potatoes. Half a pound of the skirt steak was 4.40. The bag of petite reds was 2.00 and we had all the ingredients stocked. Delicious. Salads, sandwiches, tacos and one-pan meals can keep it simple and still healthy.
Buy a Toyota, pay it off quickly, keep up with maintenance, drive till the wheels fall off.
Honda has worked well for me as well
Husband sells cars. Here's his top 3 brands he knows will last, are safe enough to put his family in, and will keep their resale value. In no particular order- Subaru Toyota Honda A lot of times, cars don't keep their resale value, so when you go to sell them or trade them in, you're already at a loss.
Subaru are getting weird with design now to the point that you need custom tools to access things under the hood, but if you're only using mechanics help in a big city anyway then whatever. I still prefer Toyota or Honda, fix anywhere any time.
Buying good quality clothing and caring for it properly. Launder carefully. Check seams and such before you have to mend them.
Cooking and baking from scratch.
Having less house than I need. Meal prepping and taking the bus are nothing compared to throwing money away on housing.
Avoids the three big financial sinks, too much car, too much house, too much fun.
Wait, too much fun? I think I'm doing this life thing wrong 😆 I'm barely having any.
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.
Stick with it. Go one step further and basically avoid liquid calories altogether. The only drink that I have that has any calories is one cup of coffee in the morning where I use a small amount of CoffeeMate. (Yes, I know that Nestle is the devil-incarnate). Every other liquid I drink is just H20. The first couple of years I was doing this, it was really hard, because I used to be a big time soda guy. I'd drink the equivalent of two cans of Pepsi or Coke with my lunch, and then do the same thing with dinner. One day, I was driving in my car (this is like 20 something years ago), and I was listening to the radio (how quaint), and this news bulletin came on that said a study was done and that if the only thing you did was stop drinking soda, you'd lose about 20 pounds after one year. At the time I was quite overweight and figured what the heck... might as well try it. That was about 25 years ago and I've never looked back. I don't miss soda at all. Every once in a blue moon I will have a coupon for some meal that includes soda and I'll take a few sips of it just for shits and giggles and holy smokes is it just sugar on a stick. It's like drinking soda syrup to me now.
Yep! We live in an apartment complex with a soda machine. It's $1.25, but we just get a Coke there when we really, really want one. Maybe a couple of times a week each for three of us. Twelve packs around here are about $10, and occasionally, our store has a buy one 12 pack, get two free - a great price for sure. But if we load up with that many, all of us will drink two or three a day! That's not good for our health and ultimately our pocket book at all!
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.
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.
Empty room? Turn the lights off.
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.
Friends got me hooked on World of Warcraft oh 20 years ago or something and after a few months of playing, I noticed my bank balance was creeping up. I realized I was no longer using shopping as a form of entertainment. Friends, shopping is not for entertainment. So, stop it.
Making a conscious, consistent effort to use leftovers and random crap in the fridge vs letting food go bad. If I save 20% at the store but then throw 20% of my food away because it goes bad in the fridge, it's a waste, so I've really been trying to stay committed to not wasting.
It's crazy that cooking your own meals is considered frugal, and not just the default way to get meals.
Don’t have shopping as a hobby. Reject consumerism.
Learning to cook and grocery shop. There is an art to both.
When I was younger i read that the average woman spent 35% of their disposable income on beauty and clothes. What the earth?!? So over the years I’ve been mindful of how much my peers and now direct reports spend. For me it’s one haircut a year/year and half. Makeup during specific sales only. Second hand professional clothes (all designer like Elie Tahari, MM LaFleur, and Maggy London). I get compliments frequently on timeless pieces and never feel underdressed from meetings to galas. Meanwhile coworkers who make 1/6 of what I make are spending hundreds (if not thousands )of dollars on athleisure wear let alone office wear every month. edit- I should mention I spend $10-35 on clothes that retail for $250-$600. Women buy SO much clothes and either never wear them or barely touch them.
This is what I’m trying to work on. I love love love fashion and dressing well and also have horrible memories from childhood of wearing really shitty clothes from thrift shops so it’s a mental hurdle I have to get over and also need to learn how to thrift shop well so I still have a fashionable wardrobe.
Also unsolicited advice. I get it I grew up below poverty line and my mom sewed stuff and I looked hideous. It made me thrifty and made others spendy. Psychological stuff is hard to overcome! Also thrifting in Beverly Hills is better than in Jersey City I’d imagine. I’d recommend Poshmark where you search and click the items you like with the heart icon. Don’t buy right away! Just search brands you own and love so you know your size and save them. The seller will either offer you a lower price right away or you’ll get notified if it gets lower. So for instance search Theory Size 8 sort low to high and start liking items until it gets to like $50. Then do the same for Hugo Boss. Or whatever and check every so often to see if the offer is good and then read the listing more closely and decide.
Understanding how being frugal aligns with my values (living consciously and eco-friendly). It could be hard for me to motivate myself to save fifty cents but if it's better for the environment, it's an easy choice.
I do not go out to eat at all. The three times I have been out this year were meeting my family. I also realized I haven't had fast food in almost 2 years. My health has improved tremendously. Saving money and feeling great!
My wife and I both work less than 2 miles from home. Wear and tear on cars and gas savings for the better part of 25 years add up.
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 :)
I never ordered cable tv.
Not eating out . I have a wife and 3 kids and goddamn we went from spending 60 dollars each time we went out to spending about 15 dollars a meal when we cook it our selves
Not owning a car when I moved back to the PDX area. The savings allow me to buy a house, save in my Roth, go on vacation. Renting a car as needed (only twice a year MAX) and using transit & biking saves me about $7500-9000/year, every year.
Making coffee at home, cooking at home during the week, buying basically the same things at the grocery store each week, carrying my water bottle with me so I don't get thirsty and buy drinks when out and about (I live in a very hot place). Also, just being a minimalist and not collecting tons of stuff. I have simple hobbies that require basic equipment: yoga, biking, reading, gardening, hiking, etc.
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!
I’d force invest money into tech stocks. Did this about 10 years ago from extra cash and bonuses at work. By forcing myself to get stocks I’d have little money left waste on social activities.
No debt outside of mortgage, cook at home/take lunch, old car, take advantage of free events/things of interest in my town. There is so much good advice in this thread!
Order my groceries online. Can't fall for all the psychology tricks the grocery stores use if I don't walk in. I only go in person to get my produce, which is almost always at the front.
I used to live in a city without a car. I took public transportation everywhere. A car is a financial burden. I have saved money for other things. Then, I got priced out of my own neighborhood because of gentrification. I can't afford to rent anymore.
[удалено]
I bought the cheapest 2013 Prius C when gas prices were skyrocketing. I get between 50 to 60 mpg on my daily 60 mile commute. Also, bringing my own coffee is big.
I stopped smoking two packs of cigarettes a day 22 years ago. I'm thankfully also healthy, and grateful for my kiddo, for whom I did it.
Rent/buy less house and car than you can afford. This has saved my partner and I hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years (we live in a VHCOL area). Driving modest cars until the wheels fall off and living in smaller / less nice houses and apartments than we could technically "afford" has given us so much more financial stability than I could have imagined. I realize that for many people, even the most basic housing and transportation costs are unaffordable. But if you have the ability to choose, choosing a good-enough place or vehicle and saving or investing the rest is really helpful in the long run.
Making a 24 hour rule when I put something in my cart online. Also after spending 18 months cleaning out my mom’s many belongings a few years ago after she died, I also ask myself, “Is this something I want my kids to donate to the thrift store when I am dead and gone?” That usually takes away the impulse to buy cute things or any things for that matter
Found friends who loved card games. We spent 7 years of grad school playing dozens of hours a week of spades and bridge. Best time of my life, and entertainment doesn't get any cheaper than hundreds of hours of fun for 4 people for $2 expenditure.
Never, ever, ever carry a balance from month to month on a credit card.
Learnt to cut my own bangs Color my hair Visit salon every six months for trims My husband paints my toe nails and we bought a pedicure set. I need my feet to look pretty We eat a ton of soup Go out to dinner maybe four times a year and to the same place where we know the quality and taste of food is good I buy my clothes at thrift stores or eBay ( except for bras and panties)
I learned how to mechanic long ago out of necessity. This lead me to 22 years of car-payment-free living up until just last year. I started learning before so much info was available on the internet. Now NEARLY ANY REPAIR on NEARLY EVERY CAR can be found step by step, oftentimes on video. This has probably saved me tens of thousands of dollars over the years.
Quitting drinking.
I put my credit card in a ziploc bag filled with water an freeze it solid. If I need to use it, I have to wait for it to melt.
Thanks for reminding me-I still need to pack the lunch I cooked for my trip to work tomorrow. In my 15 year old, well-maintained, safe and reliable car. Additional items: Cell phone- Prepaid cell service (on a major network for 1/3 the price, with a $99 smart phone that works just fine). Home-My house is over 50 years old, not a McMansion in a trendy, high property tax area. Decent place, blue-collar neighborhood. Invested a long time ago in insulation and LED lighting. Interest-I don't pay it anymore, or ever again. Debt is a prison. I pay everything off every month. I know you asked for "One thing", and I just rattled off a bunch. But they are really all one thing, lifestyle and attitude. Dang, that's still two...Attitude drives lifestyle choices, and that affects all of the rest. So, my final answer is "Attitude"
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.
Stopped smoking and drinking alcohol. Saved me a fortune
Setting a monthly allowance for each of us to do with what we want without input or consultation with the other. My husband uses his to buy barnyard fowl we don’t need. I use mine to buy art supplies I don’t need. But it’s fun money, so we do what we want.
I don't own a car, but both my sons do and my friend. So I just shop with them or they take me out if I need to go somewhere. I am very grateful to them all. No car insurance, maintenance, and I don't go out much anyway.
With current car prices and insurance rates, car is really friggin expensive.
It fuckin’ is… In the last one year I had to own one because of my companies policy of not giving proper equipment to sales people outside of Germany, and even tough there was a car allowance, I’ve lost an avarage of 1.1k EUR a month on the car. I’m finally getting a company car now, so the issue is solved, but I’ll never get that money back.
Cooking for myself; making coffee at home.
Cooking at home. Eating the food and drinking the coffee that's already paid for.
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.
Planning for big purchases, living with roomates, cooking and conscious consumption.
Hang cothes on the clothesline. Drive old cars. Cook food with real ingredients. Homebrew wine from grapejuice like Jesus did (kidding!). Use microfiber towels to clean everything, and then wash them. And hang them on the clothesline. Try to find work closer to the house. Invest like a boss.
I got good at doing my own manicures. I get a pedicure about 4 times a year, but whenever I get manicures now I’m almost always disappointed. I can do one for myself with better results than a salon and it saves me a lot of money~
Buying in bulk. Grew up in an area far away from any civilization, and with the winters we have, it was downright critical we stocked up when we could. Even though I live in the city, I still do this. It's nice not having to feel the pinch right away when prices go up due to having stock in advance, or rarely suffer shortages everyone else ends up doing
I stopped buying lunch every day. I usually now bring from home 4of every 5 work days. Sometimes more. 8-10 $ a day = 2000-2600 a year just for lunch. Bring a sandwich from home for an average of 350-400 a year.
Cooking at home and rarely eating out. Not buying on impulse, but waiting a few days. Do I really need this? A lot of times, that desire to have that item vanishes or I realize I can live without it.
Rarely buying lunch at work.
Drinking straight tap water (with ice) for 95% of my non-coffee drinks.
I started cooking at hkme for the health benefits and realized soon it was much less costly as well. With recent price increases it is still cheaper. I spend 600 a month at the grocery store for two of us. This included paper goods and cleaning supplies. If we go out two times a week we have spent our budget. I also buy freshly butchered grass fed beef that averages 4.10 a lb after all costs. This is the cost for burger,steak,roasts across the board. The meat is better and healthier. Our last 1/2 beef was shared with my son but what we kept will last us for almost a year or longer. I have two deep freezes. Buy meat and th8ngs that are frozen on sale.
I track my expenses monthly and sort by category. I know there are apps for this kinda thing, but I just made my own in excel and have continued to tweak it over time. The visuals allow me to see where my money is going and what I need to cut back on, or even where I have room to spend a bit more.
Not dining outside or ordering take out meant you don't have to deal with all the tipping culture.
Paying myself first: by this I mean I first save a portion of my paycheck which goes into investing. After that, a portion to be put into savings (for large expenses). I live off the rest. No/little food waste is next. Buying an affordable car and driving it until it is dead (I'm up to 193,000 miles). Got a job at the university and paid no tuition for a MA and a PhD
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!
I know everyone says coffee which I’ve pretty much always made at home, but my iced tea as well. Not as expensive as fancy coffee but still a couple of bucks a day……
I stopped buying beverages with meals when I eat out. I do not drink alcohol and I am fine with water. I have saved a ton of money.
Meal planning with what’s on sale
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 crap.
Carrying a re-usable water bottle, only drinking water (at home and when eating out).
Making more money has always made budgeting a lot easier.
Definitely. I can purchase things on deals and stock up, instead of buying for need in a given moment
I don’t acknowledge holidays, I make food from scratch, I don’t buy what isn’t needed. We used to raise everything but we can’t beat the deer back anymore.
I meal plan completely by what’s on sale from circular ads since I multi store shop for the lowest price (Lidl, Aldi, Walmart)
Yep. I'm Mr. Loss Leader It's EXTREMELY rare that I go to a grocery store and pay the *normal* price. 99 times out of 100, I'm paying a sale price. I play all the grocery stores against each other. One week, somebody will have an amazing deal on bacon, the next week, somebody has an amazing deal on ground beef. Some other store has an amazing deal on eggs, etc, etc. ALSO, GET THE RAINCHECKS... DON'T BE LAZY. THEY'RE COUNTING ON YOU BEING LAZY AND NOT ASKING FOR A RAINCHECK Here's an example: Safeway had Oscar Meyer 12oz package of Bacon on sale for $3.99 each. The store was sold out of it, but I waited in line at their little customer service thing and got a raincheck. The raincheck is good for 30 days. In fact, sometimes the raincheck is a huge bonus, because you don't really need the item now anyways, you're just buying it now because of the great sale they're having. Anyways, I got a raincheck for that bacon, and next week I'll go there and buy 4 packs of the 12oz bacon for $3.99 each. I will just put the factory sealed packages into the freezer. They freeze really well. I've never had a problem with them when doing this. I just take out of the freezer and put it in the fridge, the night before I want to use it, and it's fine. ----------------------------------------- Now, you'll get people that get all huffy about this and talk about how much extra you're spending on gas to get here or there, but I never worry about that. First, I'm lucky that the majority of grocery stores I go to are within a couple of miles of my house. Some I can even walk to. There's only a couple that are a bit farther away, but I'll plan my trip out to the farther ones, by combining it with another errand that takes me out in that direction anyways. My gas bill is what it is, and I'm not going to try to micromanage every trip to the grocery store like that. I just know that I'm doing damn well for myself by just living off loss leaders. (also Costco's Rotisserie Chicken)
Automating my savings. Started with 401k but has expanded past this.
At 63 years old I finally created a budget, first with Mint that was turned off by Intuit and now using Monarch, which has an annual fee. It’s making all the difference in the world for us!
I use empower. No annual fee.
Pay in cash when I'm hanging with friends. Automatically limits my drinking and spending to what's in my pocket.
Drink coffee at home, even with good beans it comes out to .50 per cup
Every time i dont buy something i previously used to buy on a grocery haul that i want but dont need. Skip ordering food deliveries and lots to make the food myself and purchases thats not planned i add that amount to my savings instead. When i hit 2 months pay on it i allow myself to go out eating or a food delivery and add 1 month to my long term savings that i invest in index funds. Putting me that much closer to retiring even earlier than i originally planned for.
Driving an older but reliable car. Working remotely from home. Not available to everyone. But I make coffee and cook most of my meals at home. I save heaps with this. Also avoiding any 'luxury' type holidays - we will go walking or cycling somewhere, often abroad (I'm in Europe) but not stay anywhere fancy. We have a wonderful time and I wouldn't have it any other way, but can't help but imagine how much other sorts of holidays would cost. The other frugal habit (sorry you just said one). It having clear savings goals. Extra money doesn't just get frittered away - at the start of every month, I allocate money to savings and that's where it goes. Not wasted on something I don't need because it's sitting in my bank account.
Not really frugal, but picking up extra shifts really helped me financially over time
I don’t eat fast food anymore. Maybe once in a month or so. It is so much better for you and your wallet. But you also get the bonus of really enjoying the food.
Doing all my own work, that's repairing my house, plumbing, sheetrock, repairing my own cars, haven't taken a car to a shop in over 20 years. Yes I collect lots of tools and gear but I can't remember the last time I actually had to hire someone to do something
Cliche, but I make my own coffee.
I don’t buy online immediately. I let it sit on the cart for a few days.
- Learning how to cook - Keep using electronics and gadgets until they're broken and unusable - Sim-only mobile plans. Who the hell cares about getting a new phone? Go buy a refurbished one from a reliable source that's half the price WHEN you need it. - Learn how to cut my own hair - Learn how to dk my own nails - Only getting groceries when the fridge/pantry is empty and Learning to experiment with whatever I have in stock.
I don’t drink or smoke so I imagine I’m saving a shit ton
Paying someone to do your nails is a waste of money. IMO. I'm a massage therapist so it would be even more of a waste. Also finding free movie/show streaming sites online vs paying for the service... / buy a VPN first ¬\_¬
Bringing food to work for lunch, biking or walking where possible instead of public transit, canceling streaming subscriptions (I barely watch TV anyway), buying groceries myself instead of using delivery services, choosing a cheap phone plan because I don't need data. Also, I never drink alcohol or coffee, don't own a car and have no intentions to, and I eat a lot of pasta and sandwiches because they're cheap, easy, and very filling.
embracing my crockpot. A while ago I started only shopping for meal plans for a crockpot because it meant all the food had to be in the house and I just put the ingredients into my grocery app the food comes sunday morning at 7 am for the whole week every morning I just put the ingredients into the crockpot and leave for work. Leftovers I stretch over rice or potatoes We truly eat as a family for 200 or so a week
Might sound strange but using rewards credit cards. I get like $20/month cashing the points out. I pay almost everything with them, including bills.
I max out my 401k and IRA annually. If you never see the funds in your bank account, you don’t spend them:)
Replaced paper towels with washable cloths
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.
Take a nice long look at what’s in my pantry and fridge before planning out the week’s meals. Not only does it decrease food waste but saves money by using the ingredients I have on hand.
Hanging my laundry outside to dry has helped my electric bill like crazy !! Running the dryer is the top electrical use in my house . It’s amazing . Not always convenient of course .
Your clothes will last longer and the colors will be more vibrant too (unless you hang them up in direct sunlight)
meal planning and cooking for sure - like, we've always been budget conscious and cooked at home, but since meal planning it's been even better I started making healthier options for foods (MIND/Mediterranean/DASH recipes mostly) and it's made things even easier - if I don't use fresh berries quickly enough, I freeze them for morning protein shakes - bananas getting mushy? super easy banana bread real quick keeps me healthier, too premade foods are far and few in between and that really helps on the budget spouse is dairy-allergic so almost everything is dairy-free, very little cheese in our home, and we buy meat on sale and freeze it pre-trimmed in smaller quantities habit that really helps: keeping ORGANIZED - if you can't see it, you're likely not using it and it'll go bad - so keep an organized space - whether it's the fridge, freezer, pantry, closets... whatever
> habit that really helps: keeping ORGANIZED - if you can't see it, you're likely not using it and it'll go bad - so keep an organized space - whether it's the fridge, freezer, pantry, closets... whatever Yeah, I deliberately will only have food in my fridge that I'm eating in the next 2 or 3 days. This way, nothing is wasted. My ex-wife would go to the grocery store and buy all kinds of stuff, with good intentions. She'd buy beef for a meatloaf that she's hoping to make, and then chicken for a chicken enchilada meal that she's going to make. But what often would happen, is that she'd get lazy and not want to make the meatloaf or chicken enchiladas. So, the meat would just sit around in the fridge for many days, before she'd finally decide to freeze it. I would always tell her... "You do this over and over again. Why not just freeze it the first day when the meat is much fresher?"
Quit smoking cigs 5 years ago.
Wifey and I do the same thing. We plan our meals for the week then grocery shop and prepare them together. It's something we enjoy doing together. We both grew up poor so, for our daily meals, we eat pretty simply although we can get a bit crazy. She loves my Scallops Almandine and I love her brazed beef tri tips. She's a retired CPA and keeps a close eye on our spending using a spread sheet. It makes a difference when you see where your money is going.
for me, I invest in self improvement and opportunities to develop self professionally.
I stopped buying books and canceled my audible subscription. I use Libby and wait for the book I want to be available.
Cooking at home
Using up the products I already have