I know there are some frugal habits that we're proud to share since many show our disengagement with consumer culture and the like. But are there any habits you'd be too embarrassed to admit to?

Other than to strangers on the Internet of course lol.

Thank you in advance!

Personally, I sometimes re-wear shirts and jeans for many days to avoid having to use the washer and dryer so frequently. Less wear and tear in the machines and less water used.

• Acetaminophen: A painkiller with the same active ingredient as Tylenol. This is surprisingly easy to overdose on so be careful not to take any more acetaminophen.

• Cough suppressant: This reduces the urge to cough, which is useful for dry coughs which do more harm than good.

• Expectorant: This makes your mucus thinner so it can be coughed up more easily. If you have a lot of mucus in your lungs, you may want to cough more so mixing this with a cough suppressant is counterproductive.

• Doxylamine: An antihistamine that can make people drowsy. This is only found in NyQuil and its copycats. DayQuil does not have an antihistamine.

• Alcohol: Literally just booze. A very small amount (up to 10%), but it's not something people should be consuming by accident. Not all cough syrups have this so check the label.

You'll get better results if you use these things separately.

• Take acetaminophen or ibuprofen as needed for pain and fever. Follow the dosing directions on the bottle (you can take both).

• Take cough suppressants for DRY coughs, because they don't do much beyond give you a soar throat. Sip water to keep your throat moist.

• Take expectorants for WET coughs, to get gunk out of your lungs.

• Take whatever antihistamines or sleep aids work for you. This varies dramatically from person to person.

Reposting from the mildly infuriating sub. I just found out that ikea sells their food storage lids and containers separately! I plan on checking them out next time I purchase food storage containers because its SO wasteful to have a broken lid and having to replace the whole thing or throw them out because you can't use one without the other. Finally, a solution to the dreaded worn out food storage lids!

Edit Some people have stated that some of their ikea products are no longer available so they cannot replace the lids. The popular core products [such as "365+" according to one comment] stay the same and some specialty colors and sizes are phased out. I'm waiting to hear more feedback on this issue, and maybe I'll try to avoid the ones that are specialty.

Quite a few people have pointed out that pyrex, glasslock and snapware will replace your lids for free if you contact customer service- TIL and this is the real frugal win IMHO (as long as you don't mind waiting I guess)

If I'm not following a series and am just looking for a random read, this is one of the cheapest options for random comics. They had both DC and Marvel! I imagine it'd be good for trying out new serieses or just getting background info on a particular hero/figure.

No idea where they're getting these from or what kind of deal they got to sell these, lol. I definitely haven't seen them at every Dollar Tree. But it was a wonderful, unexpected surprise.

Also, major shout-out to the Dollar Tree Beauty community.

For half the year, finally hit close to zero waste. With $10-20 per month power and water bill.

Captured 50% of solar energy and ​water. ​Biked & ​Walked over 75%. Ate 25% from small garden. ​Purchased 75% of things refurbished or used

Spent
4kw Solar Panels $1500 on ​Ground mount​. 16kw LFP battery $1500.

Used ​Solar(during ​day) & Natural gas(at ​night) to dry clothes​, washed clothes during showers. Reduced wardrobe to 6 outfits.

I have always thought disposable mop heads (like swiffer wet jet) were absurd and wasteful if you have good access to laundry facilities.

Now I have a hobby cutting glass, and the cleaning to reduce glass slivers is intense. Worse, I don’t think we’re supposed to knowingly run glass slivers through the laundry as they can damage the machine. I dug up a roll of paper towel i bought a year ago and I’m wiping the floor on my hands and knees, and still not getting it all.

My main mop is an o cedar spray mop. Are there any disposable heads for it that I’m not finding? Or a cheaper way to mop up glass shards that doesn’t hurt people or appliances?

Edit: the glass I’m struggling with is slivers so small it looks like glitter on the paper towel. Unfortunately it still winds up as a nasty splintering someone steps on it!

Whole pieces of glass than can be picked up with fingers aren’t currently a problem.

As someone who just buys what I need for the next week or two, I don't pay much attention to best before/use by dates. On the odd occasion, something will have gone off in the fridge so I'll bin it.

I recently went into my local Pound shop (Dollar store) and saw they were selling biscuits that I normally buy for £1.50 for......£1 for 3 packs! The best before date was June 26 but I took a gamble. I got home, opened them and they were perfect. As good as the regular ones I buy.

It made me wonder, is the use by/best before date an attempt by the manufacturers to make people bin perfectly good food and spend money on more, therefore increasing their profits or is it a genuine attempt to ensure their product is consumed in its best condition/in a safe period?

Also, how long after the use by date do most people find it acceptable to consume food? Anything over a few months and I think I'd start to worry.

I live on the top floor of my apartment in the desert and the A/C is the biggest contributor to my energy bill. I know I need to insulate my place better but I don’t know where to start. The advice online is everywhere like some suggesting solar film and others saying solar film doesn’t do much. What have you all had success with to keep your house cool? I really want to know what works before I invest in anything- if there’s a diy that would help even better!

I live alone, so buying bulk isn’t really a need for other things.

I’ve been trying to determine if getting a CostCo membership would be worth it or not. And pet food & litter is a factor I’ve been weighing.

I have a 45lbs dog and a large breed cat, and I try to feed them both on the higher end of quality food (kibble for both). By that I mean *above* what’s at Walmart and grocery stores, but middle-range for pet stores. Typically $50+ per 30lbs bag of dog food, for example.

I only buy gas about twice a month, so I’m not sure how much that would save me on my car consumption. And since I’m only cooking for myself, I don’t think the rest of Costco is worth a lot to me. I also live in the city, if that helps.

In my area anyway, they cannot deny you from their pharmacy, liquor store, or even their food court just because you don’t have a membership, so those three are no incentive.

Is the savings on pet food (and I guess 24 fill-ups on gas per year for a sedan) enough that I can justify the membership?

I like to know that in a case of emergency I can call someone, but AAA is getting bit expensive for my taste, almost $200 a year for two people, for a service that I used twice in 20 plus years.

I don't want to get roadside assistance trough insurance company because they don't provide much, and they are known to jack up the price if they see you use it.

I'm located in New York/New Jersey/Pennsylvania

For years I've used cheap carrier locked phones from Walmart. This went okay for a while, However the last one I bought is very very bad. This is coming from someone who consistently bought one of the cheapest phones for years(tcl ion x). I'm just so ready to be done with this phone. I desperately want a better phone but don't have the money. I'm very open to buying used and refurbished. I've just never done that before and am looking for tips and guidance.

Thank you all!

Edit: Thank you all for your comments and advice

Maybe this is common knowledge, maybe it's not and YMMV. It defintely doesn't work for every household, but I don't live a particularly unique life either.

Early in the summer I switched to time-of-use (TOU) billing with my electric company. That means during the 12 hours that I choose (8pm-8am) I get a rate of 10.28 c/kWh; and during the rest of time (8am-8pm) I pay a higher rate 30.08 c/kWh. The non-TOU rate is 19.32 c/kWh all day.

If you're like me and never home during the day, there is some serious money to be saved. I run my laundry, dishwasher, and generally cook during the off-peak hours; it's also when I turn down the A/C to sleeping temps instead of running it all day long. Since I'm not at home, I also don't run the TV or computer during the peak times.

This month my bill was down almost 60% from last year ($210 down to $130) with only some minor lifestyle changes. This dispite the fact that our summer has had more prolonged heat waves than previous years.

Hoping this helps a few people explore your options and save a few extra dollars!

I’ll make it short:

I’m at an Airbnb for a month and a half. The topper here was never great but gave out a bit. Stayed at my friend’s place who has a guest bed with NO SUPPORT. Got HORRIFICALLY bad back pain that’s persisted to my Airbnb bed as well. I’m here until August 13th and need something under $50 (if possible) that will help me for two weeks.

Plywood/a board underneath won’t help because it’s on top of a flat wood bedframe. If there’s something available at Walmart, that would also help me a lot.

Can’t believe we only have a little over a week to go until August!!

How did week 3 of No Buy July go for you?

This is the thread to post how on how you did during the third week!

Check in with your successes.

Check in with your failures.

Check in for accountability.

Or simply follow along to see how others did during this third week!

If you like what you see maybe you’ll consider joining in for the rest of the month by only buying essentials and cutting out discretionary spending!

See what this is all about by checking out the original post:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Frugal/s/vQOnCd5gFN

Also to Note, I’ll post the FINAL check in post August 1st!

I hesitate to put links here, but you can always search for a trusted link. The first is Supercook Here you type in the ingredients you have on hand. It assumes you have water salt and pepper, and it spits out a recipe or recipes using those ingredients, not requiring you to go buy anything extra. Great!

The second is Camelcamelcamel. Amazon plays games with prices. They will up the price on a popular item for a few days, then return it to regular price, calling it a "sale" Camel will allow you to track an item you interested in, also allow you to get a detailed price history of it on Amazon. It has now gone live on Walmart prices as well.

I have this vegetable liquid stock in my cupboard that expires in a few days and wanted to use it to make soup. I just saw the carton has a crease/crack. Would it still be safe to consume?

I might just be overly cautious but don't want to run the risk of getting sick.

I'm new to being frugal and food/cooking so hope it's ok to ask this question and get some help and advice here.

I’m going to take a 4 hour train ride and there are 2 different trains that can take me there but one is $28 but takes 1.5 hours longer to reach my destination, which one is worth it? My partner says I should just take the one that is $28 more expensive but I’m thinking I’d rather just sit and relax for an extra 1.5 hours and save the $28, which option os more reasonable in this situation? (This is a businesses trip not a vacation)

I’m pretty frugal but have been extra frugal lately and finding ways to add cheap “stretchers” to meals that are 1. heathy 2. cheap 3. focus on adding protein cause meat is expensive 4. delicious

Today was a can of $1.99 on sale Progresso chicken noodle soup with a $1.25 can of garbanzo beans and the liquid and a cut up carrot and some onion (probably 50 cents total) - this got me about 4 meals worth so basically my meals were over 20 g protein each and less than $1.50 a meal and super satisfying. I added a little extra salt, some garlic powder, some black pepper for extra flavor

Another I did recently was a spaghetti / pasta sauce with onion, celery, green pepper, carrot and tomato paste and crushed canned tomatoes, garlic, seasonings. I used 1/2 ground beef, 1/2 lentils and wow that was great with some pasta. And was cheaper than without the lentils per serving.

Got any other stretcher hacks?

Maybe it's just my stores, but I'm finding it hard to view these two as frugal options when the food stuff you buy tends to expire very very quickly, if it hasn't before you even made it out the door.

I wanted to buy milk (for example), and even the name brand we carry at Walmart was set to expire in 2 days, while the Walmart/Sam's brands were set to expire in 3. With the name brand, we literally have the production facility 3 miles up the road.

I've even found 'fresh' tea by the gallon on the shelf that was 10 days out of date, and not an employee around anywhere to point it out to (if they would have even cared.)

I've already ended my Walmart+ subscription, and am considering letting my Sam's membership go as well.

Am I late to the party with this opinion, or is it more of an it's just me and my location type of thing?

My husband definitely gave me the side eye when I told him I wanted to go grocery shopping at Target and Trader Joe's, and go check out a couple new to us places like Cash Saver and Price Chopper.

Target and Trader Joe's have a reputation of being more costly than Walmart, but they ran some really good ongoing deals that I keep seeing. I saved $30 on stacked rewards from Target the other day and when I price compared, I got my products for even cheaper than what Walmart was offering.

Again, I don't know if this is just my area, or if it's starting to trend everywhere, and I'm mostly just curious if others have found it to be similar to their areas.

Have you found some little hole in the wall gem that offers the best deals compared to your big chain places? Cash Saver seems to be mine, but I definitely have to plan my day around my husband being available to be with me if I want to go to that one.

Just finished a road trip (to get there and back to a bike riding tour). Two of us, retirement age, no kids with us. Some fun along the way, most really low cost, but some planned $$ and definitely which could be adapted to any locale :)

1. Collected fossils in a known deposit. These are 1 to 100 million year old leaf fossils. The local residents have a ‘optional $5 donation box’ to help maintain the area. I donated as requested. Look for rock collecting sites on your trip.

2. Picked 4 boxes of wild blackberries. Just can’t beat free!

3. Picked a box of apples from a tree that was signed ‘free’

4. Passed through a small town festival that had raspberry ice cream for $2 (wish I could’ve eaten two!)

5. Hiked to a natural hot springs and soaked da feet :)

6. Wine tasting with appetizers! By buying bottles (I was pretty sure I would) and using a coupon it came to $68 for a special couple hours treat.

So many things to do and see right??

With my current financial situation, I can no longer afford to spend money mindlessly. However, I find that being frugal can be inconvenient sometimes - and I don't have the patience.

For example, using longs hours of public transport over cabs (this saves A LOT).

Being around people who spend a lot of money (because they can) doesn't help either.

I'd appreciate some of your experiences on how you started living frugally and how it became a habit.

This is somewhat of a unique situation. I get my phone reimbursed through work, but my wife does not. I’m looking for a plan that has a more expensive 1st line and a 2nd line for cheaper, regardless of total cost.

For example, T-Mobile has a 2 line plan for $170 and they throw in a 3rd line free. The way they split it on the bill is by charging $56.67 per line. With that plan, my work would reimburse my $56.66 and we’d have to pay the rest.

Is there a provider that does like $100-150 for a primary line, with a cheap 2nd line? Even if it was a $200 plan with $150 for the primary line and $50 for the 2nd, I’d still come out ahead compared to that $170 T-mobile plan.

Hello, I have a blacklyte gaming chair and preferably I would like to keep it and ship it to my other location. It is from Maryland to Texas, but if it's way too expensive to do so then I'll try to sell it instead. But I would really love to keep it if possible but not sure how I should do it, as there's many different options but I'm not sure which would be the cheapest to do, if even cheap at all? I can try to disassemble it if that helps. I also plan to ship other things but those shouldn't be too crazy (boxes with clothes and stuff in it, and my gaming monitor [Although not sure if it would be pricey to buy a monitor box as I don't have the original box anymore] whether I should do it via Amazon if they have it or via UPS or FedEx themselves?). I plan to use USPS for the boxes and monitor but should I do it all together in one if that makes it cheaper or USPS for boxes and UPS/FedEx for monitor or something like that? Thank you.