Frugalty "hacks" that worked for you?

[Allegra]

Careful about those dented cans!
It’s perfectly fine to use a can right after you’ve dropped it on the floor, even if it’s a little dented. But you definitely want to avoid buying cans that are already dented or damaged. It’s tempting to buy dented cans that are marked down, but the bargain isn’t worth it. Those cans could contain a dangerous bacteria called Clostridium botulinum. The organism is extremely rare, but its toxin can be deadly. So don’t take any chances.

I must have built up a botulinum immunity because we were literally raised on dented cans. My mom worked at a food pantry, and then as a dietician at a nursing home. She was always getting damaged cans and packages for free and bringing them home. Nearly expired stuff too. Once she got an enormous container of Cream of Wheat, which we all hated. We had that box in the closet for two years before it finally expired! We were so happy to see it go!

 

[Allegra]

For those who didn’t know, Bed, Bath, and Beyond coupons **don’t ** expire, no matter what it says on the coupon. I recently came across an some I had stuck in an envelope in my desk that were almost ten years out of date. The took them without blinking an eye. And if you have some $5 off $15 and some 20% off, the clerk who rings you up will calculate the best way to utilize each. Oh, and they can also be used at Buy, Buy, Baby, but only the unexpired ones.

This tip isn’t exactly frugal because candy is a luxury, but I read one mother’s tip to buy bags of Christmas-colored M&M’s when they go on sale after Christmas. Use the red and white ones as Valentine treats for your children and the green for St. Patrick’s Day. (This only works if you DON’T eat them yourself and DO remember that they’re hidden away by 2/14.)

I saved $50 last night on a car rental. I booked a few months ago through Costco but have checked the rates every day or so. When I saw a price drop yesterday, I rebooked at the lower rate. It’s $100 more today.

Buy Buy Baby will price match anything, even online sales!

 

[Bonnie]

I must have built up a botulinum immunity because we were literally raised on dented cans.

Wish that were true! It would be nice to have a vaccine for botulism.

But the danger isn’t in the dents themselves, but if the damage weakens a seam or puts a pinhole in the metal for air to get in. Minor dents - and recent ones - are likely fine. I say “likely” because there are no guarantees in life.

 

[peter26]

Some simple ones - home and car insurance (also business/public liability insurance if relevant for you). If you renew your policy with the same company every year without shopping around, you pay the “lazy tax” - the policy will generally get more and more expensive. Saved £104 on car insurance and £83 this year on home insurance using price comparison websites. Obviously, you need to make sure you are getting the same level of coverage (unless you have more than you need). Same principles apply to electric and gas incidentally, check every 1-2 years if you are getting a good deal.

In Britain at least, schemes are becoming quite common where you can buy discounted gift cards, even for supermarkets, electrical stores, coffee shops etc, at 5-9% off, sometimes more. Some newspapers offer these to folks who have them delivered, and some employers or trade unions give out memberships to such schemes as a perk.

 

[Allegra]

Wish that were true! It would be nice to have a vaccine for botulism.

But the danger isn’t in the dents themselves, but if the damage weakens a seam or puts a pinhole in the metal for air to get in. Minor dents - and recent ones - are likely fine. I say “likely” because there are no guarantees in life.

The internet says you can tell if a can has a leak. The top and bottom will pop when you push on it and the can will look bloated.

modernsurvivalblog.com/survival-kitchen/4-ways-how-to-tell-if-a-dented-can-is-safe/

 

[Allegra]

Some simple ones - home and car insurance (also business/public liability insurance if relevant for you). If you renew your policy with the same company every year without shopping around, you pay the “lazy tax” - the policy will generally get more and more expensive. Saved £104 on car insurance and £83 this year on home insurance using price comparison websites. Obviously, you need to make sure you are getting the same level of coverage (unless you have more than you need). Same principles apply to electric and gas incidentally, check every 1-2 years if you are getting a good deal.

In Britain at least, schemes are becoming quite common where you can buy discounted gift cards, even for supermarkets, electrical stores, coffee shops etc, at 5-9% off, sometimes more. Some newspapers offer these to folks who have them delivered, and some employers or trade unions give out memberships to such schemes as a perk.

Credit card interest rates too. Lots of times, they will lower your rate if you call them up every couple of years and ask them to.

 

[ToeInTheWater]

Re fabric softener and / or dryer sheets (I prefer to use the latter): I tried going without and buying those wool dryer balls instead. As it turns out, there are some clothes I have, mostly synthetic fabrics (fleece and the like) where static cling is a thing, and if I don’t use dryer sheets with them, especially in winter I will be walking around getting static electricity shocks all day, ouch!

However, I agree they don’t really “soften” fabric, and most cotton items especially towels do fine without them. I also have found I can re-use them at least once, sometimes twice, and have them still work for the purpose of reducing static. (I first started doing that with Method dryer sheets because the instructions actually state you can reuse them once. Then I tried with other brands and found it applies to them as well.) After that I repurpose them to wipe the floor the way many people use Swiffer.

 

[Norseman82]

I’m a male who lives alone, so for me it’s just a matter of being aware of what the local deals and rebates are for what I need and structuring my purchases around that. Also, if I have room, I stock up if something is non-perishable and on sale. Then, if you can take advantage of multiple rebates (for example, a store rebate, but pay with a card that offers a cashback reward), do so.

 

[DarkLight]

I’m a male who lives alone, so for me it’s just a matter of being aware of what the local deals and rebates are for what I need and structuring my purchases around that. Also, if I have room, I stock up if something is non-perishable and on sale. Then, if you can take advantage of multiple rebates (for example, a store rebate, but pay with a card that offers a cashback reward), do so.

Oh, there’s a lot more than that you can do as someone who lives alone!

 

[Norseman82]

Oh, there’s a lot more than that you can do as someone who lives alone!

I’m sure there is, I’m just trying to give a general “rule of thumb”, since specifics can be different depending on the situation.

 

[BlueEyedLady]

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

There are frugality hacks and there are poverty hacks. This behavior is questionable as a frugality hack, but totally fine, IMO, to cope with poverty.

YouGov is a great way to make a few bucks. I do the surveys first thing in the morning at work, and every few months they send me a Walgreens gift card that I use to buy an Amazon card. You can sign up for an Amazon card, but it’s worth less than the Walgreen’s card. That’s probably my favorite “hack”.

We signed up for Blue Apron about 6 months ago and we’ve saved an enormous amount by avoiding takeout and delivery, and the food tends to be tasty and healthy. We’ve learned a lot too.

A few years ago we invested in a basic weight bench that folds up against the wall (taking up almost no space) and between that and road running, were able to ditch our gym membership - as well as the gas to and from, the time, frustration in traffic, etc. It paid for itself in just a few months. Same with loading up on thermal gear for winter months.

We spend less than most people on housing because we spend more for compact and easy storage versions of things we want and need, we’ve converted everything we can to digital, and we use vertical space for storage. We also avoid unnecessary, redundant stuff. For instance, I hate microwaved food, so instead of having one, we use the oven and stove for everything and save space. Another example: months ago, Allegra suggested a pack 'n play over a traditional crib to save space since we’re moving. We have it all set up and ready to go, and I think it will work perfectly. Saved money over a crib, and it will save space allowing us a smaller home.

I don’t drink tap water, so I have a couple of high quality filter bottles and a filter on my tap to avoid ever paying for a bottle of water.

If we have a lazy Saturday and want to try something new, we browse Groupon and let the deal decide for us.

We’re on a cellphone plan with his mom, brother, and SIL and get a nice family plan discount.

We put EVERYTHING on a credit card, pay it off at the end of every month, take advantage of the cash back and cheaper plane tickets.

My brother’s hack: he makes an extra mortgage payment every year, which will save him enormously in the long run.

 

[Bonnie]

YouGov is a great way to make a few bucks.

Thanks for the link! I used to do surveys but with slow dial up they were becoming more & more difficult. I’ve got faster Internet now, so I’ll look into it.

Speaking of Internet - We can’t get cable where we are & can’t afford satellite. So we had dial-up - had to pay both the phone company & the Internet company. Then I bought a smart phone & got Internet service thru Straight Talk. I think it’s sold only at Walmart. Once I got used to it, I cut the cord on our land line. We now pay less than half of what we used to for both Internet & phone.

For low income people, SafeLink is free - safelinkwireless.com. It’s a tiny little phone (you’d think they’d have something bigger for the senior citizens!) but works fine. You get 500 minutes per month.

 

[Norseman82]

Thanks for the link! I used to do surveys but with slow dial up they were becoming more & more difficult. I’ve got faster Internet now, so I’ll look into it.

Speaking of Internet - We can’t get cable where we are & can’t afford satellite. So we had dial-up - had to pay both the phone company & the Internet company. Then I bought a smart phone & got Internet service thru Straight Talk. I think it’s sold only at Walmart. Once I got used to it, I cut the cord on our land line. We now pay less than half of what we used to for both Internet & phone.

For low income people, SafeLink is free - safelinkwireless.com. It’s a tiny little phone (you’d think they’d have something bigger for the senior citizens!) but works fine. You get 500 minutes per month.

In case this hasn’t been mentioned before, you may be able to access the internet for free from a public library (assuming you are not transmitting sensitive health, financial, or private information).

 

[LaughingBoy1503]

I would not say some of these are “hacks” and I am not the most frugal person. I basically just do not spend a lot of money because most things that I need or want are not that expensive. I have not tried some of these things. But I keep them in mind.

I have not tried it but my girlfriend has “Internet sharing” on her phone contract. She does not need to pay a separate bill for internet because her phone is basically a wifi hot spot and she can share it to whatever other device she wants and only pays her phone bill. And since she has unlimited data there is no extra fees. I might try this out in the future.

I use to be at the used dvd shop almost every week but then I got amazon prime for $11 and some change a month. There are hundreds (if not thousands) of free movies you can stream to a smart tv. Although I have also purchased some not free movies I still feel I have saved a lot of money on my movie entertainment bill by not being in the dvd shop every week. Plus I can just rent movies from amazon for like 2 or 3 dollars if I really just want to check them out. The entire 7th Heaven series is on amazon prime for free. That is 11 seasons about 20 episodes per season. That is a lot of entertainment for $11-$12 a month. I am on season 5 now. And there are lots of tv shows that you can watch for free on amazon prime.

My best friend and his household rent DVDS from the library for free.

I have a rewards credit card through my bank. No annual fee and no interest if you pay everything off at the end of every month. So I buy my groceries with it and pay it off at the end of each month and I get 2% back that I can redeem whenever I want. Its not much but its cool to see it add up to $50 and then just claim it.

A co worker of mine likes to take tv’s that people throw away (If you live in a fairly populated area, I am sure you have seen random tv’s sitting by the trash) and check if they work. If they do he donates them to goodwill or whatever and asks for a receipt and then get’s a tax write off at the end of the year for it.

You would be surprised how companies sometimes give you free things or discounts when you call them out for the incompetence of their employees lol. I do not abuse this at all but in the last few months I have gotten a free power drill and a $100 discount on my internet service because of extremely bad customer service. So, stand up for yourself if you are owed a service (That you paid for or are paying for) and the company is not holding up their end of the deal. The story about how I got a free power drill is unbelievable but that is for another thread.

 

[Bonnie]

A co worker of mine likes to take tv’s that people throw away (If you live in a fairly populated area, I am sure you have seen random tv’s sitting by the trash) and check if they work. If they do he donates them to goodwill or whatever and asks for a receipt and then get’s a tax write off at the end of the year for it.

I’m assuming you’re talking about modern flat screen tvs? No one here will take an old CRT computer or tv - they’re obsolete. Goodwill will recycle them, but they don’t sell them. So it wouldn’t be very honest to take a tax write off on CRTs as Goodwill is offering a service.

 

[ToeInTheWater]

I’m assuming you’re talking about modern flat screen tvs? No one here will take an old CRT computer or tv - they’re obsolete. Goodwill will recycle them, but they don’t sell them. So it wouldn’t be very honest to take a tax write off on CRTs as Goodwill is offering a service.

I did, long ago, once pick up and use a perfectly functional CRT TV, that was left in the lobby of my apartment building with a note that anyone was free to take it. I assume the owners must have bought a new TV and didn’t want to deal with how to dispose of the old one.

 

[Allegra]

I did, long ago, once pick up and use a perfectly functional CRT TV, that was left in the lobby of my apartment building with a note that anyone was free to take it. I assume the owners must have bought a new TV and didn’t want to deal with how to dispose of the old one.

When our old TV gave out a few months back, we were left with a dilemma. These new TVs are expensive and don’t mix well with toddlers. They’re top heavy and fall over easily and the screens also crack very easily. Our old TV was made of whatever is heavier than solid lead and had a huge back. Nobody was knocking that thing over! And the safety glass screen kept it from breaking when tantrums caused wood blocks to go flying. So, I went to a facebook shop and swap page and expressed our concerns and within five minutes I had over a dozen people offering us their perfectly functional TV free of charge. Apparently they’re that had to get rid of when you want to upgrade.

 

[LaughingBoy1503]

I’m assuming you’re talking about modern flat screen tvs? No one here will take an old CRT computer or tv - they’re obsolete. Goodwill will recycle them, but they don’t sell them. So it wouldn’t be very honest to take a tax write off on CRTs as Goodwill is offering a service.

I do not know if that is what my co worker is doing. Maybe he meant another thrift shop or something.

 

[DarkLight]

For me, one of the things I had to learn was to study my own tendencies.

I can be very tired in the evenings, and I don’t want to fix food. This is when the most temptation to order out comes. If I have 3 or 4 things I like to eat available in an easy form, that cuts down significantly on my desire to eat out.

 

[Bonnie]

So, I went to a facebook shop and swap page and expressed our concerns and within five minutes I had over a dozen people offering us their perfectly functional TV free of charge. Apparently they’re that had to get rid of when you want to upgrade.

You can have our old one, too! It weighs a ton & is sitting in the attic right now. Was still working when we put it up there to get it out of the way. If we can get it down without dropping it, it’s going to Goodwill to be recycled.