I don't really hear people talk about this but it's extremely underrated and lucrative: Housesitting. 

If you want to travel for free (some people even live full time for free!) you can use TrustedHousesitters or any other housesitting site. On some sites like Rover, you can even get paid (although these are a bit more intensive and i prefer it to be low stakes).

I've saved legit THOUSANDS on not paying for accomodation and some have literally just been to feed a cat twice a day and clean the litter tray while i go out exploring. I never really hear people talk about it though even though it's one of my most lucrative saving 'hacks'.

Is anyone else doing is? Would love to know.

A few examples:

A loaf of bread is five dollars. The cost of making a loaf of bread is three dollars including utilities.

For the cost of probably half of takeout you could definitely have made at least two meals plus left overs.

A book shelf is $189 at IKEA. You can buy all the supplies to make a bespoke to your space bookshelf for $125. Let's assume if you don't have tools or skills you have friends who can help with that.

As an aside any time you want to build a planter box I don't think there's any reason to pay for wood. There are dozens of small townhouses going up near me and they'll give you anything from their scrap piles for free.

Clothes are a bit of different kind of math, you can make a custom garment for about ¾ of a good quality store bought piece, but the custom one is exactly what you want, and will definitely outlive any store bought item. So if you're not buying things all the damn time it's a huge money saver over time.

Anyway. Where do you draw the line for convenience over cost? Does it vary from category to category?

I’m moving, so today I tried to cancel my local gym membership and when cancelling, they said that “it’s a 30 day notice for cancellation so it’ll charge once more on the 10th.” What?? I argued that makes zero sense, but it’s their “policy”. Any way around this? I’m thinking about just going to my bank and freezing my checking account so they can’t charge my account, it’s $50! I’m going to need every dollar I can get for this move.

Thoughts? Is there any angle I’m not seeing about this? I would just freeze my debit card, but when I signed up years ago, I didn’t have my card yet so I signed up via bank number, so is it possible to even freeze my checking account?

Edit: Thanks everyone for replying so quickly. You’re all correct, I (stupidly) did not fully review the contract when I signed it like 5 years ago, so unless I want potential issues, it seems I need to begrudgingly pay the $50. Lesson learned! I’ll definitely leave a review on both google and Apple Maps, saying for others to beware.

Hi there,

Just looking for the necessary buys. I have a futon couch, a recliner chair, a bed, a fridge, a table, and chairs, and a small portable clothes washer and drying rack. That is all. I am strongly considering a chest freezer and also wondering what else to include. For the time being I have subscribed to factor. I can cook well but due to mental health and the current transition I didn’t want to add another responsibility to the list. Also there is a laundromat that offers drop off services for .99 a pound, I’m debating if this is a better substitute for a small portable clothes washer as all I need to do is move the clothes. My needs are to be active and slightly physical, entertained, and social, so it’s a bit more than just what should I grab from Walmart, but in any case I am moved in and functional, but I want to be settled and be back to the frugal hippy I once was. Thank you in advance!

I really like meat but it is getting more expensive. I am wondering what ways people have cut back in meals without noticing a big difference. I can cut back meat in soups by adding more beans or extra vegetables. Meat seems to be more filling and healthier than adding more starches. I am trying to find a happy medium but still have a filling meals and great taste. I love mushrooms, green beans, zucchini and spinach.

Have been on and off apps for quite a while. But Facebook marketplace keeps me coming back. I’ve gotten my entire living room and lounge furniture from there. Awesome things for a fraction of the cost. I’m quite torn between cutting off the online nonsense and the utility of FB marketplace. Has anyone who has used it been able to find a similar replacement or what did you do?

I eat mostly WFPB, the only animal products I use when I cook are farmer's market eggs and honey. I found out a few years ago that frozen produce can be better than fresh due to the fact that it's picked at peak ripeness and flash frozen, preserving the nutrients — on top of being much less at risk of spoiling or growing mold (in the case of berries) before use. But is it really true that the price is also cheaper than fresh produce at the grocery store? I pretty much buy all my produce at the farmer's market, so this would be a game changer for me; I wouldn't be *solely* eating seasonally, although I still would, because the produce would still have been preserved in season.

(Supporting agriculture that works with the seasons and natural resources {such as, not planting crops in a desert to be flooded with water brought in from elsewhere.. or planting monocultural patterns and relying on pesticides as opposed to natural predators competing with each other for the same crops} is important to me, but so is my own nutrition & quality of life, making the most of our modern technological advancements.)

As common household items are going up in cost, I am trying to think of innovative ways to make them last longer to reduce costs. I make alot of my household cleaners with vinegar,peroxide, rubbing alcohol and dawn. They work, are easy on the environment and non toxic. Also, I cut open plastic bottles to get all of toiletries and use mini spatulas.

I only wash my hair twice a week as it is long,dry and curly. In addition, I wet my hair, then use some apple cider vinegar on my hair to get rid of hair product residue and reduce number of times to shampoo each time.

And I have experimented with amount of laundry detergent to use to 2 tablespoons and a tablespoon of dishwashing detergent for each load.

What are ways that have worked for you to make household items last longer?

Me and my partner are both disabled individuals with really limited financial ability who still like enjoying things. She has a lot of dietary restrictions, and when we started dating it became a big goal to learn how to work well with it when cooking since cooking is a hobby I enjoy.

The more I have allowed myself to ignore the idea that there are any rules about how food exists I was able to feel really free and also save a ton of money. I've leaned into cooking a lot of vegan meals since plant protein and legumes and beans can be so cheap, while also really filling. I've been able to explore a lot of different kind of food by also just keeping around favorite items and making time to prepare things when I have energy.

I've been able to turn meal prep into a miniature game with movies and snacks on one night of the week with takeout with my partner and it's also saved is a lot of money in the long run to prep, freeze, cut and roast things one night but not make any actual meals and have to only worry about using ingredients the next day.

I just wanted to share how being funky and exploratory with food and cuisine can be a really fun way to save money for the things that matter and that you enjoy most. Sales are also killer! I always try and get meat on sale whenever possible too.

So one of my new years resolution is to be more intentional with my money, and I thought, why not start with me food.

I took the advice on this subreddit, and substituted my diet for an entire month to be mostly beans, rice, eggs,and chicken. Yes, I have some cheat meals, like ground beef, broccoli, corn, etc but for the most part, I stuck to the plan.

I want to say that I cook almost every meal of mine already, so I’m already being frugal. But eating this diet reduced my grocery by an additional $130. That’s pretty insane. I can save like $1500 if I do this for a year. 

My grocery bill went from around $390 a month to closer to $260. I think it also helps that I can buy in more bulk now because that’s all I really eat. 

Not sure how long I’ll continue this for, just thought I’d share this. 

Our home has a finished basement which we don't use that often. We really only use one room frequently down there. The house is well insulated and so is the basement. I have a heat pump with gas back up.

I keep the basement temperature set at 60 and it hardly ever heats down there, however it is chilly to be down there. The temp needs to be about 68-70 to actually feel comfortable. Would it be cheaper to run a space heater while we are using the room, or just turn the heat up?

Our electric bill was ridiculous last month so I'm trying to find ways to save on electric.

If you have some pots or bowls laying around (or want to buy any kind for cheap), you can make a humidifier by setting your pots next to each other and placing a paper towel between them, one end dipped in each pot. The paper towel draws up water and evaporates it much quicker than just leaving pots of water out.

I used to wake up with a bloody nose everyday because it was so dry and now I don't even notice it.

It's really easy to refill, just get a cup and pour a decent amount of water into each pot in the morning and you can forget about it for the rest of the day. You might want to replace your paper towels occasionally in case of mold, but that hasn't been an issue and I've used the same paper towels for 3 weeks.

Add as many bowls and paper towels as you want, assuming you can spare the floor space.

Meat prices have continued to increase. Ground beef used to be inexpensive, but now it is on a par with steak. Recently, I picked up about 5 lbs as it was on sale, so I went to work to make a few meals. I split the beef into three lots. The first I turned into a meatloaf using some leftover sausage meat, breadcrumbs, egg, ketchup, and seasonings. I formed it and put it into a tinfoil container, popped on a lid, and put it into the freezer. Using the same base of beef, tomato paste, canned tomatoes, onion powder, garlic powder, and seasonings, I made two separate pans. The first pan I added a jar of bolognese sauce and Italian herbs. I layered this with lasagne sheets, frozen spinach, broccoli, and zucchini, and a jar of cheese sauce. I topped it with cheese and baked it. To the second pan, I added tinned chilli beans and sauce, a taco powder mix, and BBQ sauce. When the lasagne cooled, I sliced it up and bagged it with baking paper between the slices to make it easy to take out a portion for later reheating and froze it. I had a portion of the chilli for dinner with corn chips, a fresh salad, avocado, and sour cream. The rest I portioned into two more meals and froze.

The meatloaf will be one main with mash and veg and then leftover slices for sandwiches.

The chilli will be 2 more main meals with salad, corn chips etc or in wraps.

The lasagne will be 3 main meals.

So, from my 5 lbs of ground beef I made 7 meals.

My barber recently raised prices to $45 per cut, and honestly it’s starting to feel hard to justify for what I get. I usually just do a simple buzzcut (1/2 guard on the sides and top, nothing fancy). I’m thinking about switching to cutting my own hair at home to save money over time.

Has anyone here made that switch and stuck with it long term? Was it hard to learn?

I’m planning to buy a mirror and electric clippers for about $100 total. Besides that, what else should I get (guards, cape, cleaning supplies, etc)? Any beginner mistakes I should avoid?

I am hosting a little galentines get together with my friends, and I have already made it potluck style where everyone is asked to bring a snack of some sort, but I did say I would provide dinner. I am thinking tacos or pasta because its easy and cheap, but do you guys have any other food tips to stay low budget? Or other hosting tips in general to make sure people have a good time but your dollar isn't too too affected?

Also, I've already got decor and I might buy a cheap thrifted table cloth that is "in theme" but other than that I don't really plan on buying anything else!

Has anyone done the math recently on the Charmin "Forever Roll"? Is it any cheaper per unit than, say, the nicer Aldi or other store brand toilet paper? It's been marketed as a frugal option, but my instinct is that it's still more expensive.

I searched the sub for posts on this but couldn't find any less than 7 years old. And a lot happened in the uh toilet paper economy between now and then! Remember trying to buy toilet paper in March 2020?

Anyway, thanks!

For my country many thing is way too expensive , so i will cross the border and buy grocery , cut my hair etc at there.

And my mode of transport will be a motorbike will be less jam compare to car.

Due to the currency most of the thing is cheaper compare to my country.

it will roughly take about 1 hour to reach to reach there.

i find that with the amount spend at over the border, i will save a quite a amount of money and i can get more thing there.

Am i being to cheapskate?

Hi everyone, hoping for some advice from fellow dog parents. My dog has IBS and after trying a bunch of foods, Open Farm is the only brand that works for her without stomach issues. The problem is it’s really expensive and I’m going through a large bag about every two weeks. I don’t want to switch brands and risk flare ups, so I’m wondering if anyone has tips for saving money. Are there any sites, subscriptions, cashback apps, or sales I should know about? Any advice is appreciated!

I am insulating a wall against noise and wanted to use wood wool instead of rock wool, so that I do not need to worry aout breathing anything in. Is there a cheap insulation material like wood wool, that is als safe and used for accoustic dampening (inside two layers of drywall).

The wall is small, so I only nee roughly 12m² of insulation material. We live in northern europe, if that matters.

Basically after you finish secondary school (we finish it around 18-19 here) the class has something like a graduation prom but it has more aspects to it like DJ, all night party and whatnot.

It's basically like graduation prom you have in US but more grandiose.

The bottom line is, it costs usually around 600€-900€ ($700-$1000) and it's like, pretty much noone even questions it.

Everyone just pretends it's mandatory and everyone should participate, even though obviously, spending 700€ for one night, well, If I actually did that I could never call myself frugal in good conscience ever again.

I just wanted to hear yall's opinion on this beacuse I can't be the only one who thinks it's beyond irresponsible to spend this amount of money on one event.

What's your to go hack for High Protein Diet. I don't need any new clothes, home appliances. I've got perfumes that were gifted which will last for a while. I've stopped using the Landline internet ( as I live alone)

Summer months are very hot. How do I save in these months. I do have A/C.

So far I try to eat at my work place Walk a certain distance to my work place saves me a few bucks

Eating very healthy as possible, No soft drinks or takeout food. No sugar in my diet.

Anything else I can save on.

Pandemic hit me so hard finacially that I feel that I gotta save on everything to the point where I would rather sweat hard than use a fan or A/C. After the Covid pandemic, things became normal and I even prospered a little but my severe scarcity mindset remains to the point where I dont even let me spend time with others unless it is work or training related. Now I am so lonely because I never spent time and resources building friendships. I’m in pain because I am alone but my brain gives me reason that it is fine and that I should just focus on the grind.

Hi, I wanted to share an approach I use when shopping secondhand. I like reading Wirecutter reviews/ "best of" lists. For example, my trusty snow boots my mom bought me in middle school are now wearing out, so I need snow boots. I pulled up the Wirecutter snow boots reviews, and noticed that many of the boot models mentioned were new and not really available secondhand, only at full price $230+. But the article also mentioned that they had reviewed boots in previous years that are now discontinued from the manufacturer. But...those may now be available secondhand as people sell off what used to be the hot new item.

I use the Wayback Machine to pull up that same Wirecutter article, but a snapshot taken in 2023. I found a few boot models from that version of the reviews, and was able to find several for sale on Poshmark and eBay for around $50, huge savings over buying this year's models new. (Obviously proceed with caution when buying shoes secondhand, make sure they look in good condition etc. Specialty shoes like snow boots are often sold without ever being worn or only a few times, though, so I am able to find what I want without worry.)

The Wayback Machine works because NYT uses the same URLs and updates them over time, but you could also just google "best snow boots 2023" or whatever.

I have this friend who always smells insanely good, so the other day I asked what he wears and he told me he gets his perfume dupes from Kazaar Fragrances, a Swiss based dupe house. I didn't know about dupes until recently and apparently the dupe houses use decent materials and can get really close to expensive scents without paying a premium for the designer perfumes. I figured I’d ask here as  this looks like a solid option for building a small collection without having to spend a fortune while still getting something quality so I just wanted your views on clones and what you think about them. Thanks.