Frugal tips are everywhere, but there are only a few that work and help people save money. A user asked, What was your biggest frugal win this year? And here are the best ones
SHOP AT A CHEAPER GROCERY STORE
“Mine was simple, but I’m shocked at how much I save. I switched from the upscale grocery store in town to the cheapest one, saving over $100 weekly on basic groceries. I would have switched earlier if I had compared my receipts sooner.”
CHANGING OLD FURNACE TO NEWER ONE
“Changing my old furnace to a newer model. The upfront cost was very high, but I saved around 1200$ per winter in the energy bill and a few dollars on my insurance bill, giving a better re-sell value to my home.”
QUIT DRINKING
“Quitting drinking a year ago and line drying nearly everything instead of using the clothes dryer.”
“Yes!!!! I’ve saved THOUSANDS literally since I stopped drinking alcohol.”
SIGNED UP FOR ALL STUDENT DISCOUNTS
“I went through ALL my recurring bills to determine who offered a student discount and signed up for that (I’m taking classes part-time). It saved me an easy $100/month.
Amazon Prime, Comcast, YouTube, Verizon. I used a website called “Student Beans” that aggregates a lot of discounts on surprising things, too, like Domino’s Pizza.”
TALK TO CELL PHONE COMPANIES
“Got two cell phone bills lowered from 60 to 30 each, Internet from 110 to 55. All it took was a few phone calls.”
‘Traded out a $90/mo PLUS TAXES of about $10/mo cellphone plan for a $25 (all-in) unlimited everything. $75×12=$900 savings, EVERY YEAR!”
QUIT SMOKING
“I quit smoking. My cigarettes were stupidly expensive, over $10 per pack. Considering I smoked 5-6 packs per week, that was savings of $60+ a week, $240 per month, and per year that’s almost $3,000 savings.”
REDUCE COMMUTE FOR JOB
“Getting a new job to reduce my commute time from 1 hour to just 15 minutes.”
MEAL PLANNING
“Making more meals ahead of time to freeze and eat when I don’t want to cook or don’t have groceries! I used to spend so much on pre-made frozen meals like what Amy’s or Lean Cuisine sell, but here in SoCal they’re like $6-7 per meal and often pretty small portions.
I’ve started making soup in advance and freezing it, and this has been such a game-changer. I don’t know how much I’ve saved, but I know I’m saving money and eating healthier.”
PFAS FILTER
“We put a reverse osmosis system (with a PFAS filter) under our kitchen sink in February. It cost $250. Partner is a facilities manager and had plenty of chops to install it. We now get fresh, clean, safe drinking water, cooking, and CPAP. We spent $20-30 a month on bottled and distilled water. The system will have paid for itself by August.”
STOP BUYING ORGANIC
“We stopped buying only organic, bio, clean food. I guess it had become a mental problem at some point because now I eat any eggs and meat, and I am still alive, lol. It saved us more.”
BUYING SECOND-HAND CLOTHES
“Buying second-hand clothes – as a woman, I love to shop for clothes, and it was one of my main expenses. Therefore I switched to second-hand stores only. Surprise, surprise – I know that only high-quality silk, wool, and linen pieces were impossible. Even if made from cheap polyester fabrics, brand new clothes worth A LOT.”
“Buying most of my kid’s clothes secondhand or cheaply from Target/Old Navy. I used to love buying expensive baby clothes. Now I do, but secondhand.”
UNINSTALLED FOOD DELIVERY APPS
“Uninstalled food delivery apps and stocked the freezer with some pre-made meals. I usually got delivery because I didn’t want to make anything or drive to pick up. Now I never feel like I want to order food. Plus, I go from $30 to $5 per meal. I used to order delivery 2-3x per week.”
CUTTING MY OWN HAIR
“Learning to cut my hair. I estimated I saved at least 1000 bucks since I stopped going to a barber two years ago.”
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This article originally appeared on Mrs Daaku Studio.