Most adults periodically examine their lives to try to figure out where they can save money. It might be cutting one of the streaming services we’re not using or dialing back the Starbucks PSLs. However, the people on the subreddit r/frugal take saving money to a whole new level.
A recent thread posted by u/Jskyesthelimit was chock-full of solid gold advice for anyone looking to trim the budget but who doesn’t want to put in a lot of work. (Yeah, yeah — we all know meal-prepping is effective, but who’s got the time? We’re looking for easy wins, here.)
The prompt, “What’s the little effortless, stupid thing you do that TECHNICALLY saves you money?”, got some responses and tips you’ve probably never thought of.
They’re small, they’re silly — but they do add up.
1. Spend more time outside
“if i go outside and play all day, i don’t have consumerist urges to buy stupid shit.” – looney417
Can’t spend money if you don’t go into a store!
It’s a good idea to get away from your phone or laptop for a while, too. If you’re not careful, you can buy a hundred dollars worth of junk on Amazon before you even realize what’s happening.
2. Time your dishwasher runs
“When our dishwasher is full and ready to be started, I set an alarm on my watch for 9pm. I start the dishwasher when the alarm goes off since the electricity rate goes down after 9pm.” – misterfuss
A half loaded dishwashervia nathan dumloa/unsplash
Did you know that electricity costs more during “peak hours”? Where I live, power can cost up to 4x as much from 2-7pm versus off-peak hours.
Most people run the dishwasher at night anyway, but you should look up your own local peak hours. Starting the nightly load at 9 instead of 8 every night could actually save you a couple of bucks a month.
I like that you can program a Google Nest to do this for you. It knows how expensive electricity is at different times, and will manage your supercooling for you.3. Fill a large water bottle at work before you leave.
u/MrPerfectionisback swears by this one.
Getting a gigantic, high-quality water bottle could be a great investment if you’re able to top it off at the office every day and bring your water bill down a smidge.
4. Use less laundry detergent
Most of us approach laundry detergent with a “fill ‘er up” attitude. But, usually, you can get away with even just one tablespoon if your clothes aren’t that dirty. and using less will help your clothes last longer.
u/jbblue48089 also recommends using solid bar shampoo and dish soap, which have a longer lifespan than liquid soaps.
5. Re-wear clothes (other than socks and underwear)
Another option from u/ztreHdrahciR — don’t wash your clothes at all! At least not right away.
Chances are you can get a few wears out of jeans or even t-shirts and save on laundry costs, to the tune of a few dollars per year.
6. Make your own doggie poo bags
“Use used food bags to pick up the dogs poop.” – Test
Poop bags are expensive! You could easily spend $20-50 per year, depending on what brand you use.
Next time you pack a sandwich for lunch, save that plastic baggie and use it for pick-up duty later on.
7. Charge your phone at work (or wherever there’s an outlet)
A good one from u/runmemymo.
Never pass up a chance for free electric!
If you don’t work in an office, just carry your phone charger with you. Lots of restaurants and even public spaces have outlets so you can get a little free juice.
8. Poo at work (or wherever there’s a bathroom)
u/larkfor says they save a ton of money each year on water and toilet paper by doing their business at work or the office.
Never pass up a chance for free water and toilet paper!
9. Cut sponges in half
A yellow soapy sponge.Via Pille R. Priske/Unsplash
u/plaincheeseburger recommends turning one sponge into two.
It will still work exactly the same and last twice as long.
10. Repair old dog toys
I love this one from u/pdxarchitecht!
My dogs love immediately ripping the stuffing out of new toys, which doesn’t feel like a great value for my money.
The hack? Put the stuffing back in and add a stitch or two to close it up and save yourself $10 or more.
11. Twist the stems off of peppers if paying by weight
This ingenious and petty tip comes from u/casterix75.
Not all supermarkets charge by weight for bell peppers (or similar produce), but if they do, why pay for the stem? Twist it off and save yourself a few cents at the checkout.
12. Save the cold water when running a shower or bath
An old science teacher taught me this one in high school, recommended in this thread by u/smartquokka.
Put a bucket in the shower or bath to collect the cold water while it’s heating up. Use that to water plants, fill the dog bowls, or flush the toilet.
13. Unplug everything at night
via Canva/Photos
Many people recommended this — it’s an r/frugal staple.
Appliances on standby still use power, so unplug as many things as possible before going to bed. u/Larkfor estimates this saves them $10 a month or so on power.
14. Library card
Yes. And take advantage of audiobooks, ebooks, and even streaming. My library has many great movies, shows, and lecture series (I love The Great Courses).
15. Credit card points
[I] Use my CC that gets rewards points for all purchases and bills that I can.
My entire family is going in a trip in a few months, and we booked all our flights together, 4.5k of airfare. I very generously offered to put all the airfare on my (2% cash back) card. My entire family paid me back their portion that week, and now I get the $90 in cash back!
These tips are so small they’re almost microscopic, but you know what? Most of them are so easy you’d barely notice a difference in your lifestyle and routine. And all together, you could save yourself a decent chunk of money every year by making a few simple changes.
Thanks to the thrifty people of Reddit for sharing their hacks with the rest of us!
This article originally appeared last year.
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