People Are Sharing The Money-Saving "Hacks" That DON'T Actually Work, And I'm Taking Notes
Money is tight for many right now, so finding ways to save is all the more critical. Fortunately, there are endless budgeting tips and hacks to source online. Unfortunately, they don't seem to all work, or they present new challenges. Redditor @Marblu_28 recently asked, "What's the one 'frugal' habit you gave up because it wasn't worth the hassle?" Here are 19 responses that stood out:
Responses have been edited for length and clarity.
1."Shopping at multiple grocery stores weekly to take advantage of sales. Our closest grocery store is a Co-Op, so we get 4% back on groceries at the end of the year. We tracked the sales at the four closest stores for a few months and did the math. We figured out that, even accounting for the slightly higher sale price at the Co-Op, we would come out even once we got the check at the end of the year."
"Same. I pass two grocery stores on the most fuel-efficient way home from work. I'd have to use gas and time to go out of my way to save a few bucks. Not worth it. Especially when strategic spending earns me fuel points. (They sometimes have deals like spend $50 and get 30 cents per gallon, so that's when I get paper and cleaning products.)"
2."I no longer wait for off-peak hours to do laundry or run the dishwasher. My chores were stacking up at the end of each evening. It was negatively affecting my sleep, so I had to stop. If I can get a load in after hours? Great. But I'm not living and dying by it."
3."When I moved into my current house in 2018, it didn't come with a dryer. I hand-dried all my clothing until this past fall. I finally caved and bought a mini dryer that is only big enough for socks and underwear. I very much prefer to hang dry my actual clothing, but the time suck of individually hanging each sock and underpants was a barrier to me doing laundry, which was formerly my favourite chore. I tumble-dry socks and underwear, but I hang-dry everything else. It's a compromise I can live with."
4."I quit buying any condiments in large bottles several years ago. With only two of us, that bottle takes up so much room in the refrigerator, and it takes so long to use up. I'd rather have a smaller ketchup bottle and be able to fit two other things in my refrigerator door. Refrigerator real estate is worth more to me."
"We're on the other end of that. It's just the two of us, and our huge fridge is so empty now. We're buying the big bottles of things that won't spoil because they're cheaper ounce for ounce and waste less plastic and packaging. We have plenty of room for all of it."
5."Couponing. I'm not organized enough. It takes so much time and effort. It's not worth it."
"I suggest trying to use the apps for supermarkets. Digital couponing is wayyyy easier, and there are specials and app-only rewards. I saved $38 off of a $120 shopping trip at Vons last week."
6."I opted out of time-of-use rates for my electricity because I was not willing to do this. We also work from home."
"Same here. Paying the standard rate instead. I also work from home, and it's not feasible for me to wait until 9 p.m. to run the dishwasher or do laundry. The nominal savings isn't enough to warrant it."
"The one nice feature of a smart washer is that it does have a timed start. I like it because it saves a couple of bucks. But even better, it runs after I'm asleep, so I don't have to hear it while I'm eating dinner or whatever. Our washer is in our kitchen, so close by."
7."I stopped saving every single glass jar that food came in. I've maxed out reusing for food or sundries, crafts, etc. I'll still save a jar now and again, but it's got to have a use in the near future. I don't have space to stockpile glass jars!"
"YES! I save things but only if I have an immediate use for it. My home is not a landfill."
—CMWZ
8."I run the AC when it is too hot for me and heat when it is too cold. I used to try to wait for certain temps. Nah, I just want to have a comfortable home."
"This right here. I cannot be hot. Can't sleep in the heat. My AC will be on this summer, and I will see what happens."
"Absolutely. Went from a home where we suffered the temps because we just couldn't afford it to a place where I can be cozy year-round. Words can't describe how nice it is."
9."I unfortunately have a lot of non-frugal habits, but one I'm giving myself grace for is getting pre-made meals. I know cooking from scratch is usually cheaper, but a bunch of raw ingredients that rot in my refrigerator and then shame-ordering DoorDash is more expensive and more frustrating than just buying some lentil packets and rice cups."
"There's no shame in using shortcut foods. The last thing I want to do after work is to prep a bunch of things for dinner. Frozen broccoli florets are fine. Instant brown rice is fine. Ready-made pizza dough is fine. It's still cheaper than takeout."
"Cooking from scratch is for people who have the time, the energy, and the focus to cook from scratch. 'Good for them,' is what I say. For me? I've got at most one of those three required elements and frequently zero."
10."Unplugging appliances. It would drive my husband wild, and it's not worth it to me."
"The electricity savings from this is so minuscule. You might save $1 a year if you're diligent."
11."We made our own laundry detergent for years until I did the math again. I showed my wife that, yeah, we were saving money. But it was such a tiny amount that it really wasn't worth the time and effort."
"A few friends jumped on that bandwagon with less than stellar results. Well, duh. You're making laundry soap, not detergent. Those words are not interchangeable. They don't work the same way."
12."Getting mad at other people in the house for leaving lights and fans on."
"Especially with LED bulbs becoming common."
"I need you to come teach my husband this. We moved everything to LEDs years ago, and he's still obsessed with reminding the kids (and me) to turn off the lights constantly. So then he spends god only knows how much to put everything either on occupancy sensors or smart home equipment with routines to turn off at certain times. I'm 100% confident he spent WAY more on implementing his energy-saving plan than he could ever actually save…"
13."Roasting a whole chicken and carving it up for half a week of meals. I used to do this most weeks. But when I ran the numbers, the difference between this and a large pack of breasts wasn't that much. I decided I valued my time more."
"I feel like whole chickens are only worthwhile if you're someone who likes to make your own stock, so you actually have a purpose for the bones and organs."
14."I don't reuse containers that don't survive the dishwasher."
"This is me with both dishes and clothes. If it can't go in the machines, I don't want it."
15."Washing my car. I bought quality products, thinking I could do just as good of a job as the professionals and save money. I was wrong. It takes me so much time. I was using so much water just to get a subpar result. Plus, my shop vac can't compare to the vacuums at a car wash."
"Commercial car washes are also much better at conserving water than you can be with a wash at home. They have ways of reusing the water for many washes."
"Plumber here. They have holding tanks that filter the water from the debris and dirt and then recirculate the water. So it's not the best water, but it's way better than buckets and buckets of your hose water."
16."Laundering my husband's work shirts. When I was pregnant with our last baby, I put on a two-hour movie and still wasn't done ironing his 10 button-down shirts. The collars and creases on the sleeves and cuffs take forever. I called the three nearest cleaners, and shirts at the time when laundered and pressed were $1.50!!! Maybe this was more affordable than the energy it took to run the washer, dryer, iron, cost of detergent...I don't know. But my husband made more than that an hour, so that's how we justified it."
17."I stopped giving up paper towels completely. Having to have separate piles of rags that could go in the load for towels, a load for 'ewwwwww gross' rags, plus throwing away some utterly biohazard rags...it was an extra chore. Also, our local thrift increased prices. Once upon a time, you could buy a grab bag for $3. But now it's $8. I am not buying an $8 bag of towels every month. That's wild waste. Paper towels cost less, and they compost or break down in a landfill quickly."
"We try to use washcloths AND rags for most things. But I'm using paper towels to clean up cat puke and gross things like that."
"I gave up kitchen cloth 'paper towels.' I live alone and had to accumulate about two weeks of cloth, kitchen towels, and rags that could be laundered together to make a whole load in the washing machine. I can't do a half-load. Those rags were nasty after two weeks of 86°F summer days."
18."Shopping for my own groceries. I'll gladly pay a delivery fee and tip for someone to bring what I want to me, and I get to avoid the hell of grocery stores."
"I actually find I save money doing this. No impulse buys."
19.Finally, "Mowing the lawn. We have an acre lot, and I can get it mowed for around $50. By the time I buy the riding lawn mower, buy the gas, service it, winterize it (which I'm horrible at), and add my time...plus we travel many weekends in the summer...it's just not worth it to me. I know it gets done, and I don't even have to think about it."
Do you have any frugal hacks of your own that you stopped doing? If so, why did you stop? Let us know in the comments below!
