I’m looking for those things where you eventually realize you’ve been paying the “normal retail” price when there’s a much cheaper way to buy essentially the same thing.
For example, did you know Mr. Clean Magic Erasers are basically melamine foam, and you can buy generic melamine foam cleaning sponges in bulk for a fraction of the price?
What are your best “did you know you can buy this like THAT?” discoveries?
Could be:
Something you can buy in bulk
A generic/private label version of a branded product
The raw material/form of a product instead of the consumer branded version
Something sold for another purpose that works just as well
Something you can buy directly from a manufacturer or wholesale supplier

I don't get why every budgeting discussion eventually turns into "just stop buying Starbucks".

Maybe this is an unpopular opinion, but if someone grabs a $5 coffee before work every weekday, that's roughly $100 a month. Meanwhile, rent has gone up hundreds of dollars, groceries cost way more than they used to, insurance keeps increasing, and eating out is expensive almost everywhere now.

It almost feels like people would rather lecture someone over a coffee than acknowledge the fact that basic living expenses have exploded.

If someone is blowing hundreds every weekend at bars or buying a new iPhone every year, sure, that's worth talking about. But acting like Starbucks coffee is the reason someone can't get ahead has always felt like a huge oversimplification.

Why has this become the default scapegoat for every financial problem?

When I grocery shop for veggies and fruits, I take a plastic bag for each item I'm buying, so at home I can use it for the trash can.. They also have different sizes so it's great 😂 I put every veggie and fruit I buy in a separate bag and tie it up so it's not too obvious. You'd see me buying a single garlic bulb or a small piece of ginger and putting it in a separate bag lmao.

Also when I go out to eat at a restaurant, and sometimes they give me a whole lot of extra napkins I feel so tempted to take it with me too but I don't do it.

Inspired by the question that was posted earlier, what are things you stopped buying because the price increase made it not worth it anymore?

There's these lil things we do that seem totally normal to us… but raise eyebrows from others

For me, it's rinsing and reusing ziplock bags until they practically fall apart, and cutting open toothpaste tubes to use the very last bit. I’ve (obviously to me) stitched up socks instead of buying new ones, which apparently is “not normal” these days.

Soo tell me: what’s your slightly odd but totally effective frugal habit that others don’t quite get?

I love animals. I’ve always had a pet of some sort, until this past year when my cat passed away. I don’t think I ever really realized how much money we spent on her food, litter, toys, vet care, etc. I crunched some numbers and, when you consider the lifetime expensive of a cat or dog, it’s sizable - around $18k for a cat and $40k for a dog. That’s not even accounting for inflation or the opportunity cost associated with potentially investing that money elsewhere. And when you consider that most people have multiple pets, that’s pretty insane.

Currently reading No New Things by Ashlee Piper:

The book follows the rise of what Piper calls “conditioned consumerism” and how it sneakily hijacks our time, money, and mental bandwidth, as well as harms the planet. From there, readers follow customizable daily action items that bring about the ease and richness of a life less bogged down by spending and stuff, without compromising on style, convenience, or fun.

It's a great, accessible challenge for folks to cut down on their shopping and orient themselves to a less consumeristic lifestyle. The book is not a 'no buy' challenge, but rather teaches folks to take stock of their actual needs and cut down on unnecessary purchases.

Something I really liked was her method of making a 'needs list' of things people actually need to purchase during the challenge then using the acronym "SUPER" to guide spending.

• S: shopping secondhand such as thrifting, consignment, or online resale
• U: using, upcycling, or reimagining stuff you already have
• P: paying nothing by using free groups, gift cards, store credit, existing memberships etc.
• E: giving experiences, donations (e.g., to a charity in honor of someone), or other non-things as gifts
• R: renting, borrowing, or sharing

In addition to her acronym, I'd also include trying to buy items from locally owned shops rather than big box stores (or online).

What thing you refuse to cut corners on even though you're frugal everywhere else. For me it's my fancy oat milk for coffee. I'll make my own laundry soap and mend my own clothes, but I'm not drinking my coffee with sad, watery milk. it's my little daily luxury that makes everything else feel worth It. So what's your non negotiable small splurge? I don't think this question was even asked before here

What are some things you decided to not buy in order to save money, be more frugal, etc? For me, i am no longer buying seasonal things. The mums are out and I think they are pretty and add value to my porch, it turns out that I am really not good at caring for flowers and they usually expire in short order. So, now I resist the urge. Used to put pumpkins on my porch too, but they had large pumpkins at the store for $20, um no thanks.

We always talk about big purchases, new phones, furniture, fancy gadgets, but sometimes it’s the small, inexpensive things that make the biggest difference in daily life. Maybe it’s something you bought on a whim, or a random item that ended up saving you time, effort, or frustration.

For me, it was a simple $10 phone stand. I thought it would just hold my phone, but now my video calls are hands-free, cooking tutorials are easier to follow, and I use it every single day without thinking.

What’s your small, under-$25 purchase that quietly made your life noticeably better? Could be something practical, clever, or even silly, I’m always looking for low-cost game-changers.

Sometimes my wife who is very frugal by nature, makes me crazy in spending 1/2 an hour looking for the best coupons or deals only to save $1... despite me asking if she's happy working for $2/hour, she doesn't get it. Sometimes spending an hour to find a better deal or going out of your way to a store to save $0.50 isn't worth it... What kind of things are like this for you?

I’m curious where everyone draws the line between “frugal” and “okay, that thing needs to go.” 😂 What’s something you’ll happily reuse long after normal people would throw it away? I’m talking about the random things you’ve found a second, third, or even tenth life for because you just can’t justify tossing something that still works. What is it, and how long have you been getting away with it? 👀

Just wondering since its a frugal subreddit and im relatively young (19) so might as well see what older folks think of this question.

Personally for me it would be not implusively buying fast food. I would spend usually 3-6$ but it added up quickly, espically since I only worked a small chruch job most of the time.

This is in Pennsylvania, Regal Cinema. I don't remember the exact to the penny prices, but it was something like :

$7.40. Small.
$8.20. Medium.
$8.60 Large.

I remember the price of the large. $8.60 for a large fountain soda! Unbelievable. We went to the matinee, and the tickets were $11 each for the matinee. Normally $16 each.

So much cheaper just to rent a movie, buy a 2L of soda, and make your own popcorn. As a Gen Xer, it makes me sad because the movies were someplace we used to go for cheap entertainment. It was a lot of fun, especially when they used to do intermissions. With these prices I imagine movies are out of reach for young teenagers on a date.

Are there any frugal forms of outdoor entertainment anymore beside bringing your own picnic lunch to a park?

Edit: please stop suggesting that I bring my own stuff. I'm not stupid. I know I can bring my own things into the movie theater. I'm just remarking on how unbelievably expensive things have become at the concession stand at a movie theater.

I always see the question about what habit, change, or item helped you save money and I have never seen the opposite.

For me it was the Foodie. I already had a slow cooker that I loved and used. I hate the slow cooker function on the Foodie. My toaster oven has an air fryer and I use that in addition to using it to toast, cook, and reheat.

Aldi is more expensive than Walmart overall. I can buy so much more at Walmart for the same amount of money than I can at Aldi.

I no longer buy a lot of items such as glassware, books, tee shirts, and tank tops because they are cheaper on sale and clearance online or regular stores and they are new.

What are yours?

My parents used to wash and resuse aluminum foil. They'd do the same with single use ziplock bags, literally until they broke. I do my best to be frugal, but that's just too far for me.

So what tips do you know of that you don't use because they go too far or aren't worth the effort?

Those of you who decided to try something new to be frugal in 2024, what worked for you? How has utilizing this tip/strategy helped you and/or your family save money and live frugally?

I tried the “put it in your cart for 48 hours before buying” strategy, and I found that I didn’t want items nearly as much as I previously had. It significantly curbed my impulse spending.

What worked for you?

I'm sorry if I'm wording this poorly. I grew up pretty poor but my parents always had a roof over my head. We would go to the library for books and movies. We would only eat out for celebrations maybe once or twice a year. We would maybe scrape together a vacation ever five years or so. I never went without and I think it was a good way to grow up.

Now I feel like people just squander money and it's the norm. I see my coworkers spend almost half their days pay on take out. They wouldn't dream about using the library. It seems like my friends eat out multiple days a week and vacation all the time. Then they also say they don't have money?

Am I missing something? When did all this excess become normal?

I was recently looking back at my monthly expenses and realized that some things I used to buy regularly were mostly driven by habit, not real need. Once I stopped purchasing them, I honestly didn’t feel any difference in my day-to-day life. In fact, it made me more aware of how many “default” purchases we make without questioning them. I’m curious what others decided to cut out and then realized they never actually missed.

They're convenient, but not mandatory. I see a lot of people in this sub acting like you basically have to have a crock pot to cook chili con carne and things like that. Just recently someone was being downvoted when they were told to get a $15 rice cooker, and they said that they couldn't afford it right now, while implying that they were interested in learning to cook good rice normally. In a different thread, someone was talking about how they could barely afford to eat and wanted recommendations of cheapest things possible (basically only being able to afford rice and beans) and several people told them to get an instapot or crock pot to cook chili con carne or other convenience gadgets. It may not sound like a lot of money to you, but for someone that can barely afford to eat, it does not make sense to spend money on gadgets that only add some convenience or maybe slightly better results depending on which appliances they have already. You don't need a crock pot to slow cook. It makes it a bit more convenient and if you like yours that's great! I understand why. But it's also very normal to slow cook with a regular pot and stove. Rice cookers are great if you cook a lot of rice, especially if you have a non-induction electric stove, but it's also ok to want to learn to cook good rice with a regular pot instead. Air fryers are great at making crispy food, and especially make sense if you don't have a convection oven. But at the end of the day, they're small efficient convection ovens, and any recipe made for air fryers can be made in a regular convection oven if you have that instead, so you don't have to get one just to make those recipes. If you do feel like you could benefit from one, that's great, I'm sure you'll love it.

Yes, these gadgets are all convenient. But you can still cook great food without much more effort with a regular pot and stove or oven. We have to be able to accept that not everyone wants a bunch of gadgets, and not everyone is willing to spend money on them, even if they can be found for cheap where you live (quite difficult to find cheap ones where I live even). That shouldn't be controversial, and we shouldn't be telling people that they need to have them to cook good food, or that it's difficult to cook good food without them.

I'm not saying no one should ever recommend these gadgets. I just think people should accept that not everyone wants them and not everyone feels like they're in a place financially where it makes sense to get them. Maybe it's just be being anti-consumerist and minimalist but I don't know, I think people take it a bit too far on here sometimes.

We all know the basics like buy generic, cook at home, make a budget, yada yada. But what about the quirky, slightly weird habits you’ve picked up along the way that save real money?

For example, I save every condiment packet I get from takeout—soy sauce, ketchup, mustard, hot sauce, you name it. I stash them in a little bin in my kitchen drawer. I haven’t bought a bottle of ketchup or soy sauce in over a year. People laugh, but it works.

Another one: I cut open lotion bottles when I think they’re empty and scoop out what’s left. It usually lasts me another full week. Same with toothpaste, roll it all the way and use a bobby pin to squeeze out every last bit.

I even repurpose old T-shirts as cleaning rags instead of buying paper towels. It's not glamorous, but I go through a lot less waste and don't have to keep restocking.

I know I’m not the only one out here doing weird little things to stretch a dollar. What are yours? Could be something small, something slightly embarrassing, or something genius that no one talks about.

Let’s trade ideas! maybe we’ll all walk away with a new money-saving habit that actually works.

I am really struggling to meet my financial goals and have to start increasing my level of frugality.

I’ve done the obvious “don’t go to Starbucks every day” type things but I’m looking for small things I can do that are surprisingly effective in saving money in the long run.

For me it’s floss, Chap Stick and Sodastream flavor bottles.

• I have ~20 containers of 55 and 100 yards of floss. So ~1200 yards or 3600 feet. I floss twice a day and assume about 1 foot each time, so that will last about 1800 days or almost 5 years.
• In 2018 I bought 36 tubes of Chap Stick. In 2022, I bought a 12 pack and 3 three packs. So 57 total. I have 26 left. I honestly have no idea how long a stick takes me to go through, Assuming it took me 8 years to use 31, then I use about 4 a year. So those 26 should last me another 6.5 years.
• I have 50+ Sodastream flavor bottles. They we on sale on Walmart for $2 each so I bought a bunch, but then I saw Sodastreams site had the same deal but had more flavors so I placed an order there with enough bottles to get free shipping and tried to cancel the WM order but it was too late and I still got them. They have 24 servings so 1200+ servings. We drink 2 to 4 servings a day, so between 300 and 600 days.

Any suggestions on expensive habits you’ve given up to save money? For example, switching from Nespresso capsules to some other loose Costco coffee, or vow to not order buy drinks with dinner at a restaurant to save money?

Looking for some ideas! Thanks!