"It Supercharged My Savings": 31 Frugal Habits That People Say Really Help Them Spend Less Money
With the cost of everything being so high these days, I'm absolutely obsessed with finding ways to save money. So when u/cucumberappleblizz asked people on Reddit to share their more unique and unexpected tips for saving money, I had to round up some of the top responses to share them with you. Here's what people had to say:
Note: Comments have been edited for length and clarity.
1."If you see something you like but don't know the cost of it — in your head, assign a price you'd be happy to pay for. When you find out the price, see how much you still want it if it varies greatly from the price in your head."
2."I started combining my daily walks for exercise/relaxation with trips to the store. I used to walk to a nearby park, do a few laps on the track, and walk home. One day, it occurred to me that I had three stores — a discount store, a department store, and a grocery store — within an equitable distance of my walk. So I found a shopping bag that I could fold up and stick in my back pocket, and started walking to a store everyday to buy whatever was on my list that was easy to carry. Imagine my surprise when I discovered I had cut my monthly gasoline cost in half, not to mention the wear and tear on my car."
3."I sat down and made a budget. I realized I had been lying to myself for decades. I am now getting back on track, and it’s painful and joyous all at once."
4."I keep three or four frozen meals from Trader Joe’s in my freezer for when the urge for takeout hits."
5."Community events, for sure. My city library offers fun adult craft nights for free once a month. It's fun to meet new people and just relax. So far, I've taken a canvas painting class, a clay project class, and also a free sound bath/yoga class. Also, if you have a city library card, there's an app called Cloud Library to rent audiobooks and ebooks for FREE."
"I haven’t heard of Cloud Library, but I use Libby, and it’s great! I highly recommend taking advantage of getting a library card."
"Kanopy and Hoopla come with many libraries, as well. Movies and more e/audiobooks. Also, city passes to cool places."
6."I stopped drinking!"
"This supercharged my savings. I also ended up eating at home more once I did this."
7."Soup Sunday. I take my leftovers from the week's dinners and make soup every Sunday. I keep three portions fresh for that week's lunches and then freeze the rest. As of today, I have around 50 portions of miscellaneous soups in my freezer for easy-to-grab lunches. I've been doing this for just over a year and I figure I've saved over $4,000 with this alone."
8."A tip I always tell people is to think about how much time that money took to earn. Say, if you're paid $15 an hour, and that video game costs five hours to earn, after taxes, then you worked five hours for that video game. It's a good way to teach someone to be frugal early, especially if they hate their job."
9."Buy in-season fruit and veg. It sounds like a no-brainer, but it also forces you out of your rut and makes you get creative. And if you are really craving strawberries in January (I know the feeling; the struggle is real), just get frozen ones. The fresh ones are usually gross. Oh, and watch your store ads for meat sales. Get some freezer bags, split it up, and freeze it. Or make a big batch of whatever and eat off of it for a few days."
10."Increasing the time between recurring expenses like haircuts adds up to savings over time. I have long hair, which makes it more doable, but for example, six haircuts a year vs. four saves a lot while not actually denying you the pleasure of said haircut."
11."Honestly, one of the most unexpectedly helpful pieces of advice I found online was, 'Everyone expects you to be broke in your 20s. So act a little extra broke.' Yeah, your 20s are probably when your income is lowest, but you can get away with a ridiculously frugal lifestyle. Nobody will judge you for looking/acting/living like a poor college kid, telling people you 'can't afford' concerts and brunches, etc. Also, the sooner you invest, the more compound interest can work its magic."
12."Keeping an eye on car maintenance and service. My old family car had minor damage that was ignored until the car broke, and repairing it wasn't convenient anymore. So we carefully chose a reliable brand and looked for a second-hand model available. It happened in 2009, and I still drive the same car, built in 2005. I took care in cleaning and treating the interiors with proper products (add to the frugal list: cleaning my car as a hobby rather than a necessity)."
13."Frugal tips for travel: Travel in off-seasons. Buy groceries when you arrive so you lessen your dining at restaurants. Pack snacks for plane rides, including tea or instant coffee if you’ll be in the airport for a while. Consider Airbnb and hotels (it depends on the area, but it is worth looking at both for price comparison). Look for self guided tours, visit welcome centers/visitors centers for pamphlets that often have discounts in them for things to do. Look for parks or other public spaces when considering sightseeing. Many cities have incredible parks! Take public transportation when feasible over renting a car. So many of my best times traveling have been on foot, too!"
14."It's better to buy used old quality stuff than new quality stuff. Because new stuff isn't meant to last, even if it's good quality. It doesn't mean the same nowadays. Quality jeans now last maybe 2-3 years, while jeans bought 20 years ago still hold up."
15."I hang my clothes to dry. Not only does it save on my power bill, but my clothes last a LOT longer."
16."Rounding up. When tracking my spending, not only was it easier to tally, making me more likely to do it, but by rounding numbers up, it was also better because I tended to underestimate things and overspend."
"This is huge for me. My natural inclination is to only look at the first number — so $49.99 is remembered as 'like $40.' This is actually how most people operate and is why stores price things like this. Rounding up solves this and is likely truer to your spending."
17."I wrote down every penny I spent for one month. I saw that I was frittering a lot of money away at convenience stores, stopping for drinks, etc. It gets really hot here in the summer, and I overheat easily, so I needed something cold to drink. Started bringing a quart of ice water with me when I was out running errands. Wrapped it in a towel to keep it cold and then found a very small insulated ice chest to use. This alone helped me save a great deal of money when I needed to cut back on expenses."
18."Paying yourself back. For example, I just bought a new pair of expensive shoes. The deal I had with myself is that I can buy these, but I have to save that amount of money on my next credit card statement. I use this for a lot of things. Quite honestly, it is probably too much, haha, but it only saves me money."
19."Our local appliance store has a 'dents and dings' section, and we’ve had great success with them. Also, I learned about Habitat for Humanity’s Re-store, and I’ve found phenomenal deals there for our house projects! Learning to DIY everything from drywall to minor electrical has saved soooo much money over time."
20."It's not a huge money saver, but it is one I use almost every day now. Reusing grocery store pickle juice by putting other veggies like onions, cauliflower, and carrots in it. I get more use out of the pickle purchase and waste less vegetables."
21."To save money and waste less food, figure out a few cheap meals you can eat daily, weekly, or several times a month — beans and rice, oatmeal, grilled cheese and tomato soup, whatever. There are a few things this can help with. You save money on groceries and waste less food because you’ll use up all the ingredients, bonus points if it’s mostly shelf stable ingredients. It can save time and decision fatigue because you don’t have to decide what to eat; your brain knows you have red beans and rice on Mondays, and you finish any leftovers on Wednesdays, etc. You have oatmeal for breakfast every day, and always add whatever fruit you need to use up."
"My personal favorite is beans and rice. There are so many versions from around the world to try, and you can always add whatever meat or vegetables you need to use, even in small quantities. It’s also easy to turn any leftovers into soup."
22."Sign up for EVERYTHING. Buffalo Wild Wings, Jimmy Johns, Abercrombie, LLbean rewards, etc., and always use a different month for your birthday on each one, but the same day. I always use the 15th because my real birthday falls on October 15. Every month, check your email and see what freebie or discount you can get at some random store/business nearby. I've gotten everything from lotion to sunscreen to free apps or sandwiches, etc. Free goods = things you don't have to buy = saving money! Furthermore, when you ARE going to one of these businesses **use the app**!! They'll always sweeten the deal on the app, and sometimes it's simply more food (or whatever) for COMPLETELY free!"
23."Buy the sample size first before you commit to the full product. This has saved my ass on shampoos I didn't like, makeup, sunscreens, and even food. Buy the small portion size first, then, if you like it, buy the bulk saving size."
24."If you work for a nonprofit, make sure you submit your paperwork for the public service forgiveness program. Saved me a ton of money. All of my student loan debt is forgiven."
25."Use curbside pickup as much as possible. If you don’t go into the store, then you won’t buy unnecessary stuff. It also saves a lot of time and hassle."
26."Using the ClassPass app. I've heard some people don't have a lot of options by them, but for me, I can go to classes at gyms, yoga studios, etc., for sometimes more than half the price of what they charge for memberships."
27."Learn a new default. There are often things we spend money on in a pinch, but life happens, and we spend more than we realize because our fallback is to spend. If your default too tired/too stressed/too busy meal is fast food, find a frozen meal to stock that doesn't take much time or effort. Because fast food adds up, and the frozen meal isn't exciting, but it works just as well as fast food those days. If your default to spend time with friends is to go to dinner or for drinks, start making the default inviting them over for dinner or drinks or a board game or to a fire in the backyard. It is cheaper, and you don't have to shout to make conversation."
28."When I enter a store, I don’t get a cart or basket to prevent overbuying things I don’t need. I hold everything in my hand."
29."Don't throw money away. It seems simple but look at anything you buy for the sole purpose of throwing it away. Some examples: I don't use very many paper towels. One roll lasts me 2-3+ months because they're for oil/grease cleanup only. For everything else, I have white kitchen towels. I use white so I can bleach them really well when they get washed. Paper plates and plastic forks are only used if the power goes out. I have well water and don't want dirty dishes piling up if it's out for a bit. Feminine products: I got a reusable cup years ago and stopped buying tampons or pads. While I still use toilet paper, using a bidet cuts down on that."
30."Joining a buy-nothing group and asking to borrow things instead of buying them is great for trying new hobbies. I borrowed a couple of different sewing machines before deciding on one with features I really liked and ended up being gifted it because she liked having the space more than the thing."
31.And finally, "When shopping for clothes or accessories online, I rarely buy immediately or pay full price ever. I’ll usually save the item and wait at least a month to see if I still want it. If I do, then I will buy in a sale. OR my other little hack: I look at the brand's tagged photos on Instagram. Quite often, you will find a tagged pic of an influencer with a discount code!"
Is there anything you would add? Share your favorite money-saving tips in the comments!