"I Haven't Paid For It Since 2020": People Are Sharing Their Most Frugal Habits, And Some Of These Are Game-Changers
Recently, on Reddit, frugal people shared their most frugal habits in a thread with over 1,000 comments. As someone who's trying to save every penny I can, I got a few ideas reading through the thread, and it was just too good not to share. Here are some of the top comments:
1."A habit I learned from my mom as I grew up that I still do today: we usually had protein, a carb, and two side dish vegetables for dinner most nights, and she used to put the side vegetables leftover from dinner (canned/fresh/frozen peas, carrots, broccoli, sauteed cabbage, mushrooms and onions, greens, peppers, lima beans, green beans, okra, diced beets, potatoes, zucchini and tomatoes, corn, etc.) into a Tupperware container (like a large cool whip tub) and put it in the freezer."
"Over a couple weeks, she'd add all these smidges of vegetables on top of the previous vegetable dishes in the container and refreeze it until it was full, then she'd make the most amazing vegetable soup with a pound of ground beef sauteed with some chopped onion, a can of crushed tomatoes, a small can of tomato paste and some water, and the contents of the Tupperware container. Frugal, super nutritious, and deeeelicious! She managed to feed a family of five with those pots of soup for dinner one night with cornbread, corn muffins or saltines, and usually lunch for all of us the next day too."
2."I buy just about everything used."
3."I wouldn’t say this is frugal but it helps to not spend as much. I guess it’s a form of electronic window shopping — I put stuff in my cart and go back to it days later. Nine times out of 10, I don’t buy whatever it is I was looking at. Helps to not impulse buy."
4."This may sound strange, but composting and recycling. Having to separate my trash has made me analyze my food waste and other purchases. It also makes me look at home before purchasing new items."
5."Pay as you go/prepaid phone plan for $30 a month. No complaints, I'm not missing out on anything."
6."I take my lunch to work every day, and I haven’t bought coffee at Starbucks in years. I make coffee at home every day. It doesn’t even feel like frugality because I prefer it this way."
7."Reuse Ziplock sandwich bags and freezer bags."
8."I used to be trigger-happy with my debit card, but now I take out money for expenses for the week. The first month was the hardest because you're breaking old habits. That and I had to get ahead of the curve with the bills."
9."The most frugal thing that I’ve been the most successful with and consistent with is doing my own car repairs/maintenance. Ironically, my whole family and I drive Honda/Toyota, so they barely have issues, but I’ve saved myself thousands over the years by now doing it myself, and I transferred those skills to help my friends and family, which makes me feel better knowing I can help them out financially by doing expensive work for a lot cheaper for them."
10."There are a lot of frugal things I do, but the ones that have the biggest impact are tracking every penny I spend and sticking to a budget. It surprises me how many people DON'T do this. I know people who have never reconciled their accounts (checking, credit card, etc)! I use a free program called GnuCash to do these (and more... keep track of investments, net worth, etc)."
11."I work at Starbucks. We get unlimited free drinks on the clock and seven free food markets a week. I usually work six days a week, so six days a week, I eat breakfast at work, and oops, someone made an extra sandwich. We don't want to waste it, so I guess I'll eat it... Two free meals a day almost every day is pretty nice."
12."Save my bread bags for dog poop. They are actually really good bags for picking up dog poop, though."
13."I cut my sponges in half."
14."Pick up cans I find on the ground and recycle them for 10 cents."
15."I cut open all my product containers and use every last drop. It's more about not wasting stuff, but it's also frugal. You would be surprised how much product can be trapped in a moisturizer bottle or toothpaste tube. It takes a lot of resources to make our daily products. Using them up is an easy way to reduce my waste footprint. I'm outsmarting corporations who want me to buy more of their products!"
16."I buy small cucumbers and put them in my pickle jar when I run out of pickles."
17."I work construction. We often throw out a disgusting amount of cut-offs and leftover lumber. Between that and landscaping cast-offs that I stumble across, I have not had to buy firewood for many years (I also have a natural gas furnace, but usage is reduced to less than 1/4)."
18."I wash my cars using rainwater to save on my water bill. I soap up my cars when I see dark clouds and let the rain wash away the suds."
19."Me and my wife have been splitting a soda when we eat out for over 30 years. Here recently we usually split a meal. They give you so much food we both end up full anyway."
20."I'm frugal with everything, e.g., I always price compare for the best bargain for my money. Frugality is not about deprivation but spending wisely."
21."Bidet and washable cotton mini towels to pad dry. I haven’t bought TP since the great shortage of 2020."
22."I take my clothes to the tailor to have repaired if they rip or get a hole. I’ve had the tailor chuckle at me for bringing her $20 Old Navy flannels to repair, but she’s happily patched the holes, and I still have the shirts. Almost all my jeans have the crotches patched in them, but some of those jeans I ripped the crotches on 5+ years ago, and I’m still wearing them. The repairs are always far less than a new item would cost, and I’m not creating more waste and buying more junk. It’s an all-around win in my book."
23."When a bank has a cash reward for opening a new account with ACH, I transfer the minimum from savings to the account and set up a small deposit from my paycheck until the requirements are met. It's been a few hundred bucks each time."
24."I shop at a discount grocery store and get crazy deals on oddball items. Like one time, I got an entire case of bananas for $1. A few months ago, I got $70 worth of pasta salad for $3. When I first met my husband, he thought I was nuts to shop at this place. He turned his nose up at the store’s appearance because it wasn’t like Publix, Whole Foods, etc. But he turned a corner and likes to see how we get creative with whatever items this discount store has."
25."I make cold-brew coffee overnight on Sundays, then Monday morning, I refill an old jug (or whatever), bring it to work, and have cold-brew coffee Monday through Thursday at work. (I WFH Fridays). Saves me $7 a day from the Starbucks that's in my work building."
26."I drive an old, paid-off Honda Civic despite having a seven-figure net worth. It’s fuel-efficient, I have no monthly payments, and the insurance is cheap because I’m not worried about replacing it in an accident."
27."Eat all of my food in order of when it will expire instead of what I’m in the mood for."
28.And finally, "Vacuum seal and freeze high-cost foods when they are on sale. Mostly meat, seafood, coffee, cheese, and butter. Also, a chest freezer is much more efficient."
What's your most frugal habit? Tell us what works for you in the comments below!
