Frugalty "hacks" that worked for you?

[ToeInTheWater]

Hopefully this will not become a debate topic. I also wish to add a disclaimer that I realize that just become some “hack” worked for me, doesn’t mean they will work for everyone.

Now of course there are many “time-tested” hacks such as using vinegar and baking soda for cleaning and supposedly saving money compared to using pre-made cleaning products.

But I am thinking more about tips that are not mentioned in most resources on this topic.

For example, I like to cook and used to spend a lot of money on printed cookbooks, only to find that out of, say, 100 recipes I only found five that I actually cook from. Not to mention how many cookbooks are hardcover and take up a lot of space.

I still buy some cookbooks on sale or used, but I have really started to use the Internet to source recipes. Pretty much all recipes featured on TV cooking shows can be found on the website associated with the show or network.

Also, in an updated version of using recipes printed on the backs of boxes and cans, I am subscribed to the Pillsbury and Teaspoon email lists so I can get free recipes from the companies. Many of them are easily tweaked to use fresh instead of processed food. After all when I signed up for the emails the TOS did not specify “in order to use the recipes you must pledge to use the exact product called for in the recipe”.

I also rarely buy ketchup or soy sauce, because every time I order take-out and am asked “do you want ketchup” I say yes, even if I am not planning on using the packets right away. And usually Asian restaurants will throw in many sauce packets with take-out orders even without asking.

I also patronize pizzerias that have complimentary packets of salt and pepper, grated Parmesan, garlic powder, crushed dried red peppers, etc. (I actually use fresh Parmesan most of the time, but there are occasional recipes where the grated version is preferable).

I also rarely buy paper napkins as I can get them from take out type places.

Now of course I do try to be fair to the other customers, and I do not just grab every condiment packet or napkin available, indeed some fast food restaurants will only give out, say, 2 packets of sauce and make you pay for the extra.

ETA: Also, one caveat to any frugality strategy that involves “stockpiling” is, it really only works if you actually use your stockpile in time, so I have found it really doesn’t work for me too much where food items are concerned. Even canned and boxed foods have expiration dates, and certainly food quality can decline even before they actually become unsafe to eat.

 

[trek17]

Cloth napkins and kitchen towels. No paper napkins, towels, cups, plates, flatware. Saves money and resources.

 

[pensmama87]

I switched to preparing food that stretched out meat - e.g. meatballs or meat sauce and pasta rather than burgers and meatloaf. Beans and lentils are great too to stretch out protein for a meal.

I actually started using more spices - that little bottle can be expensive, but if your food is flavorful, you can feel satisfied with less.

My husband can’t abide skim milk, but we dropped down to 1% when we really needed to save. Milk is price controlled in our state, with whole milk being the most expensive.

Couponing for toiletries is also seriously worth it if you live within easy distance of a chain store and have space for storage. I used my hall closet and started storing linens under the beds instead.

I probably have a lot more I could say, but I’ll leave it there for now.

 

[ToeInTheWater]

I switched to preparing food that stretched out meat - e.g. meatballs or meat sauce and pasta rather than burgers and meatloaf. Beans and lentils are great too to stretch out protein for a meal.

I actually started using more spices - that little bottle can be expensive, but if your food is flavorful, you can feel satisfied with less.

This strategy can also help the waistline as well as the bottom line.

Couponing for toiletries is also seriously worth it if you live within easy distance of a chain store and have space for storage. I used my hall closet and started storing linens under the beds instead.

Or simply buying such items when they are on sale. However with the caveat is that you don’t want to buy more than you will use. I used to have a BJs account and stock up on giant bottles of OTC medications, only to find they usually expired before I could use all of them. Also recall once buying a lot of lotion, only to find upon using the last bottle that the oily components had separated from the watery ones. Ewww.

One point about couponing is; when using a percent-off coupon it is best to buy the largest practical size because that size is usually already cheaper per unit than a smaller size.

But if using a coupon that deducts a certain fixed amount such as $1, 50 cents, etc. it is best to buy the smallest size that still meets the coupon requirements (most state specifically they can NOT be applied to “trial sizes”.)

“Stacking” discounts if allowed is also helpful. Many chain stores such as CVS will actually refer to manufacturer coupons in their fliers. I used to live near a CVS that actually had staff clip the coupons, put them in a little basket, and leave them next to the applicable items.

Also, since I know most supermarkets put the most expensive items at eye level, and cheaper ones on the highest and lowest shelves, that is where I first look when I am shopping for a product, if the exact brand doesn’t really matter to me.

 

[Xantippe]

**For example, I like to cook and used to spend a lot of money on printed cookbooks, only to find that out of, say, 100 recipes I only found five that I actually cook from. ** Not to mention how many cookbooks are hardcover and take up a lot of space.

I still buy some cookbooks on sale or used, but I have really started to use the Internet to source recipes. Pretty much all recipes featured on TV cooking shows can be found on the website associated with the show or network.

[snip]

I also rarely buy paper napkins as I can get them from take out type places.

Now of course I do try to be fair to the other customers, and I do not just grab every condiment packet or napkin available, indeed some fast food restaurants will only give out, say, 2 packets of sauce and make you pay for the extra.

ETA: Also, one caveat to any frugality strategy that involves “stockpiling” is, it really only works if you actually use your stockpile in time, so I have found it really doesn’t work for me too much where food items are concerned. Even canned and boxed foods have expiration dates, and certainly food quality can decline even before they actually become unsafe to eat.

That’s sadly familiar with the cook books. I have a number of them that I am always planning to cook out of, but the truth is that we mostly use online recipes these days.

I have to tsk tsk a little at taking stuff from fast food places for stocking your home supplies.

Regarding stockpiling–I once had a large stockpile of Hamburger Helper and other dry goods. Sadly, our home was invaded by the (extremely gross) Indian mealmoth. You know how you sometimes find mysterious webs in containers of flour? That’s our friend the Indian mealmoth.

“Adult females deposit up to 300 eggs on or near food materials. Within two weeks larvae hatch and begin actively feeding. As they move they spin silken threads throughout the infested foods, which may become matted with webbing. Larvae feed for approximately two weeks until fully grown and select a pupation site (cracks and crevices, pantry walls, ceilings) where they spin cocoons. Transformation to pupae occurs, and adults emerge in about 30 days. The entire life-cycle requires 4-6 weeks to complete and there may be five overlapping generations per year, depending on temperature.”

planetnatural.com/pest-problem-solver/household-pests/indian-meal-moth-control/

It turned out that the mealmoths were present under the flaps of cardboard boxes and even under the labels of metal food cans.

I wound up throwing out between $100 and $200 worth of groceries (virtually all our food that was stored in the cupboard) and having to start fresh. Plus, it was disgusting.

Now here’s the biggest frugality lesson I learned from that experience: keep flour in airtight containers. After our infestation, we bought Rubber Maid plastic canisters and have never since then had a mealmoth infestation (tfoo tfoo!). Also–be suspicious of any stuff in food packages that looks like spider webs. It’s probably not.

I also rarely overbuy food anymore and so we have very food waste at our house. (My mom, bless her heart, has liquefied thousands of dollars worth of groceries over the years.)

I often find that a lot of clearance food items are not worthwhile. I bought two boxes of a really terrible gingerbread mix and I’ve also bought some really bad baby food on clearance. Pro tip: they don’t put the actually tasty flavors of baby food in the clearance section. Don’t get a whole pile of the kale-pumpkin-spinach. Your toddler isn’t going to eat it–that’s why it’s in the clearance section. Every so often, there is something good in clearance, but don’t get more than one if you aren’t familiar with the food product.

 

[ToeInTheWater]

I have to tsk tsk a little at taking stuff from fast food places for stocking your home supplies.

Well, most of the time I’m not actually taking the items, I’m being asked if I want them, or in the cases of Chinese food places, they always put packets of soy sauce, duck sauce, and hot sauce in the bag for takeout or delivery even if I don’t ask.

And it’s not like I take 20 packets at a time. I certainly think that would be going too far. Even without the ethical aspect, I also realize food items, even condiments, can’t be stockpiled too long.

So, I only take 2-3 packets of any one item at a time. I figure I am already being charged for them anyway, that even if they are “complimentary” the cost of them is already factored into the cost of the main meal items. (And I do see people dumping way more than 3 packets of sugar into their morning coffee all the time.)

It turned out that the mealmoths were present under the flaps of cardboard boxes and even under the labels of metal food cans.

I wound up throwing out between $100 and $200 worth of groceries (virtually all our food that was stored in the cupboard) and having to start fresh. Plus, it was disgusting.

Now here’s the biggest frugality lesson I learned from that experience: keep flour in airtight containers.

Ewww. I did buy airtight containers for flour and the like, but just because they are less messy to use than keeping the flour in the bag it came in. Good to know they prevent pest infestation as well.

I often find that a lot of clearance food items are not worthwhile. I bought two boxes of a really terrible gingerbread mix and I’ve also bought some really bad baby food on clearance. Pro tip: they don’t put the actually tasty flavors of baby food in the clearance section. Don’t get a whole pile of the kale-pumpkin-spinach. Your toddler isn’t going to eat it–that’s why it’s in the clearance section.

And many clearance items are there because they are going to expire the next day, in some cases they already have expired. Again, ewww.

However I have noticed that if you really like pumpkin flavored items, you can get them cheaply at the end of “pumpkin season”. I can’t think of any other seasonal grocery items that are sold only for 2-3 months out of a year, but I’m sure they exist.

I also find many “holiday themed” items can actually be bought cheap after the holiday, and used for the rest of the year. If a storage container is going to be hidden in a cabinet, it doesn’t really matter if there is a picture of the Easter Bunny, a Jack o’Lantern, Santa, etc. printed on them.

I once bought a clearance set of red, green, and gold Gladware containers in January that were labeled “holiday colors”, but didn’t actually have any pictures specific to the holiday and didn’t look at all out of place being used during the rest of the year. I guess that’s the bright side of the “increasing secularization” of the Christmas season.

 

[pensmama87]

This strategy can also help the waistline as well as the bottom line.

Or simply buying such items when they are on sale. However with the caveat is that you don’t want to buy more than you will use. I used to have a BJs account and stock up on giant bottles of OTC medications, only to find they usually expired before I could use all of them. Also recall once buying a lot of lotion, only to find upon using the last bottle that the oily components had separated from the watery ones. Ewww.

One point about couponing is; when using a percent-off coupon it is best to buy the largest practical size because that size is usually already cheaper per unit than a smaller size.

But if using a coupon that deducts a certain fixed amount such as $1, 50 cents, etc. it is best to buy the smallest size that still meets the coupon requirements (most state specifically they can NOT be applied to “trial sizes”.)

“Stacking” discounts if allowed is also helpful. Many chain stores such as CVS will actually refer to manufacturer coupons in their fliers. I used to live near a CVS that actually had staff clip the coupons, put them in a little basket, and leave them next to the applicable items.

Also, since I know most supermarkets put the most expensive items at eye level, and cheaper ones on the highest and lowest shelves, that is where I first look when I am shopping for a product, if the exact brand doesn’t really matter to me.

When I couponed heavily, I would use websites that calculated the best deals. MoneySavingMom.com was a great aggregator for these, too. CVS has horrid retail prices, but their sales and coupon policies meant I often paid next to nothing.

Keeping a price book helps too to know if advertised deals are actually any good. One grocery store chain near me has a sneaky tendency of advertising “sale” prices that are actually higher than their normal price. :tsktsk:

As far as groceries, I highly recommend Aldi if there’s one nearby. I used to be pretty careful, buying store brands and sale items etc, and our food spending still dropped by almost half when I began shopping there.

 

[Xantippe]

I think the biggest frugality hack that has worked for me is not trying to save money.

OK, that may sound paradoxical, but think how much trouble people get into saying stuff like:

–I had a coupon!
–It was on sale!
–It’s 30% off today!
–I got it at Costco!

We used to live in DC within range of a Costco, and while it was worthwhile to go there for diapers and wipes once a month, I always seemed to spend $200 on every visit, and that was not $200 worth of diapers and wipes…

Since we started doing Dave Ramsey 10 years ago, I’ve trained myself to stop thinking so much about “saving” money or getting a “deal.” I try to think more like this:

Do I need this?

and

Do I actually have the money?

Another frugality hack is that when I see something I like on Amazon, I stick it in my cart as “saved.” I have 100-150 items in my cart at any one time, because a number of those items have been there for half a decade and I periodically delete things I’ve lost interest in. I also keep a big list of things I am planning to get or do when the money appears, so that if there’s some sort of windfall or a birthday or Christmas, it’s easy to remember what our needs are.

For example, right now, we’ve switched two kids’ bedrooms and are starting to furnish Baby Girl’s room. Here’s the current list for that project:

–new window
–blind
–wardrobe (for the kid who isn’t going to have a closet in their new room)
–bed
–dresser
–bedding

That’s in order of priority, so we’ll do the window first (it’s a safety issue), then the blind (privacy), and then work through the list as money comes in.

As Dave Ramsey would point out, what we spend money on demonstrates what we value and what our priorities are. So, I need to figure out what I value, and then spend money on that.

 

[pensmama87]

Oooo, I love camelcamelcamel.com for Amazon too. You can check the price history for an item and see if it’s a good deal or not, then set alerts to be notified if it drops to a price point you deem acceptable.

Costco can be tricky. I use a price book for them the same as other stores. Since I mostly cook from scratch, I find their best deals are on mostly unprocessed foods, produce (depending on season), and meats. I also use their monthly sales to buy things like dishwasher detergent, or stuff that will keep long enough to get me to the next time it’s on sale. I’m not brand loyal to much, but I only buy Heinz ketchup, and I can’t get that at Aldi. When they sell the bottles a few dollars off, I stock up.

 

[ToeInTheWater]

I think the biggest frugality hack that has worked for me is not trying to save money.

OK, that may sound paradoxical, but think how much trouble people get into saying stuff like:

–I had a coupon!
–It was on sale!
–It’s 30% off today!
–I got it at Costco!

Yep, used to get in trouble with that too. I eventually stopped renewing my BJ account because I was spending way too much money on items that I didn’t really need.

Another frugality hack is that when I see something I like on Amazon, I stick it in my cart as “saved.” I have 100-150 items in my cart at any one time, because a number of those items have been there for half a decade and I periodically delete things I’ve lost interest in. I also keep a big list of things I am planning to get or do when the money appears, so that if there’s some sort of windfall or a birthday or Christmas, it’s easy to remember what our needs are.

I do this a lot with online shopping sites that allow you to save items. Not only does this give me a cooling off period to decide if I really need or want the item, sometimes if I wait enough the either item itself goes on sale, or I get a coupon code for, say, 40% off on the whole site.

 

[Xantippe]

W

**And many clearance items are there because they are going to expire the next day, in some cases they already have expired. ** Again, ewww.

However I have noticed that if you really like pumpkin flavored items, you can get them cheaply at the end of “pumpkin season”. I can’t think of any other seasonal grocery items that are sold only for 2-3 months out of a year, but I’m sure they exist.

I also find many “holiday themed” items can actually be bought cheap after the holiday, and used for the rest of the year. If a storage container is going to be hidden in a cabinet, it doesn’t really matter if there is a picture of the Easter Bunny, a Jack o’Lantern, Santa, etc. printed on them.

I once bought a clearance set of red, green, and gold Gladware containers in January that were labeled “holiday colors”, but didn’t actually have any pictures specific to the holiday and didn’t look at all out of place being used during the rest of the year. I guess that’s the bright side of the “increasing secularization” of the Christmas season.

Yeah, that’s right about expiration dates.

I’m also a big post-holiday shopper. I rather overdid it a year or two ago at World Market. They way overbought some amazing expensive European holiday foods and were dumping it at 75% off. Italian nougat is really good, as is marzipan filled German stollen and Venetian pan del doge.

worldmarket.com/product/dolcerie+pan+del+doge.do

(This is not weight loss advice–all of this stuff will make you fat. It’s really good, though.)

 

[Xantippe]

When I couponed heavily, I would use websites that calculated the best deals. MoneySavingMom.com was a great aggregator for these, too. CVS has horrid retail prices, but their sales and coupon policies meant I often paid next to nothing.

Keeping a price book helps too to know if advertised deals are actually any good. One grocery store chain near me has a sneaky tendency of advertising “sale” prices that are actually higher than their normal price. :tsktsk:

As far as groceries, I highly recommend Aldi if there’s one nearby. I used to be pretty careful, buying store brands and sale items etc, and our food spending still dropped by almost half when I began shopping there.

Aldi’s is great.

My husband tells me that Radio Shack actually **doubled **the price of electronic components during their big going-out-of-business sale.

 

[Xantippe]

I do this a lot with online shopping sites that allow you to save items. Not only does this give me a cooling off period to decide if I really need or want the item, sometimes if I wait enough the either item itself goes on sale, or I get a coupon code for, say, 40% off on the whole site.

Yeah, “cooling off period” is a nice term.

This is a little obvious, but Jo-Ann’s is super expensive without coupons, but OK with coupons. I’m not normally a coupon person, but this is a case where I make an exception. It’s also important to use coupons at Landsend. (Our school does uniforms at Landsend, so we’re kind of a captive audience for Landsend. I like the company, but I’d have to shop there even if I didn’t.)

 

[ToeInTheWater]

This is a little obvious, but Jo-Ann’s is super expensive without coupons, but OK with coupons. I’m not normally a coupon person, but this is a case where I make an exception. It’s also important to use coupons at Landsend. (Our school does uniforms at Landsend, so we’re kind of a captive audience for Landsend. I like the company, but I’d have to shop there even if I didn’t.)

I don’t shop at Jo-Ann but I agree with Lands End. One caveat about LE percent off coupons is that they often only apply to “Regular Price” items. As they are pretty quick to put items on sale as the seasons change, it is often cheaper to wait until the item goes on sale. This works for me, since the seasons these days, at least where I live, don’t suddenly change overnight. October can have 80 degree days interspersed with 60 degree ones.

Another place it really makes no sense to shop without a coupon is Bed, Bath and Beyond. I usually use at least one coupon, either the “20 percent off one item” or the “$5 off $15” one, when I shop there, and I see a lot of people with stacks of coupons in their hands at checkout. I’ve seen the clerks look pityingly at the rare shopper who doesn’t use a coupon.

 

[Xantippe]

I don’t shop at Jo-Ann but I agree with Lands End. One caveat about LE percent off coupons is that they often only apply to “Regular Price” items. As they are pretty quick to put items on sale as the seasons change, it is often cheaper to wait until the item goes on sale. This works for me, since the seasons these days, at least where I live, don’t suddenly change overnight. October can have 80 degree days interspersed with 60 degree ones.

Another place it really makes no sense to shop without a coupon is Bed, Bath and Beyond. I usually use at least one coupon, either the “20 percent off one item” or the “$5 off $15” one, when I shop there, and I see a lot of people with stacks of coupons in their hands at checkout. I’ve seen the clerks look pityingly at the rare shopper who doesn’t use a coupon.

Funny!

I need to remember that about Bed, Bath and Beyond.

 

[DarkLight]

If you’re doing online shopping there are a lot of browser addons that will automatically search for the best price for an item for you and check for applicable coupon codes.

 

[Xantippe]

If you’re doing online shopping there are a lot of browser addons that will automatically search for the best price for an item for you and check for applicable coupon codes.

WOW!

 

[EasterJoy]

The library. If you think you want a book, test drive it first. Do not forget to bring them back on time, though! Check out the book “Make the Most of Your Money Now,” by Jane Bryant Quinn. The chances are very good that you will be able to just make notes and won’t have to buy it. Her ideas are very good.

Consider what you can do without. For instance, it would cost $60 to color my hair, and that’s every 5-6 weeks! My hair is grey enough that it has started looking OK (and not just sort of mousey, like when the grey was just starting to come in.) That’s about $600 a year. Think of savings that way: in terms of the cost savings per year and the time investment or other trade-offs it costs you.

We like espresso. We bought an espresso maker. It paid for itself in 6 months. That was over 20 years ago. (We have had it serviced twice.)

Pay attention to what prices are doing. If beef gets really expensive compared to other meats, quit eating it except as a treat. If you have a thing for an expensive dish, like rack of lamb or something, learn how to make it at home. (Note: pay attention to the price! Some things you make from scratch are ten times better but a LOT more expensive than the commercially-made version!)

In other words, look at your more expensive habits and look for ways to prune prices there. That will probably save you more money than making your own window cleaner.

 

[pianistclare]

I don’t go “shopping” except for groceries.
I try to maximize the buy one get one or buy 2 get two sales.
I buy everything else on Amazon with Amazon Prime.
That way I don’t buy everything I see. If I might want something, I put it in my wishlist and revisit it at the end of the month.
I find that those random things lost their appeal in the last couple of week. No impulse shooing. Just delete.

 

[DarkLight]

WOW!

A lot of them will track prices for you too, so you can look at the price history of an item you’re watching as well and see what the range you can get it for is.

On another note, one thing I did was divide my fun money into “temporary” and “permanent.” Permanent fun money can only be used on things that will last for a bit - books, video games, extra jewelry, whatever. It doesn’t go towards eating out or renting a movie. It’s still money to spend on something I want, rather than something I need, but it gets me a want I can enjoy over and over again. Which in turn reduces the temptation to spend again the next time.