“Foil Over Your Windows”: 30 Of The Best ‘Poor People’ Life Hacks

I'm not poor but I love my library!

You can download hoopla and type in your library card number and read tons of books free

As a kid it was my hangout

Bryn

Bryn

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This is why the library is my safe space.

It's too bad people just sit in a room staring at a screen all day now:(

I’m not extremely poor or anything but my family has already been doing this for years

Tip: vinegar is an acid, baking soda is a base, so they cancel each other out and you're just wasting them. Use one or the other, not both.

It is above all a question of knowledge and common sense rather than financial means.

Stained cotton T-shirts are the best cleaning rags!

My old man’s underpants would go from him wearing them to window cleaning rags to floor cloths and eventually, the bin 🙂

Please only do this if you actually need it. I hate when people that are well off take advantage of food banks.

I have had to use food banks lately. Some are better than others. I've received a lot of expired or expiring that day food, stale food, and even some rotten food at some. I know most banks get food that is donated and it's a shame to waste food but, just because you're broke and hungry shouldn't mean you have to eat bad food.

We donate a lot of food to food banks, but it is actually better to donate money to the food bank instead. They know much better what the people need and can buy it at a better price. As for "taking advantage of food banks", not a problem in my country, more of a problem is getting people to come in.

Most of the food banks in my area have income limits in order to receive help, you can't make more than $1200/month averaged over a 3 month period.

...using a thing for its intended purpose is a hack now?

Bless the colleges and unis that don't put dates on their student IDs

Here in Italy you have to pay an expensive tax to go to an University and take classes. While medic care is almost always free, you must pay uni unless you come from a very poor family AND you take all the exams in due time.

Incredibly versatile, too. It can be a stand alone dish, or chicken bullion for a soup; add some cheap ground beef and fill tortillas for burritos, add curry spices for a curry, some chorizo and green pepper for jambalaya... We may be poor but we eat like the elite.

I used to add chicken bouillon and tomato paste for flavor. If I had extra change, I’d buy a couple carrots, a fresh roma tomato, or canned chicken to add.

beans and rice are delicious

Complete protein

They are the main staple of Brazilian food.

Yes unless it's electrical or anything plumbing related that goes more than 2 feet beyond the drain. Don't mess with electricity, period.

I am as handy as two left feet. During the pandemic our washer stopped working properly, and I really didn't want a stranger in my house (this was mid-2020, before vaccines were available and COVID was rampant). I did a little googling and it sounded like it was just the lid switch (which tells the washer the lid is closed, so it can move to the next part of the cycle). Then I went to YouTube to see if I could find a tutorial. Found one that not only made the job look pretty easy, but they were also demonstrating on my exact model. OK, then, let's see if I can do this... ordered the part ($14 + shipping), and set aside a couple of hours to try to do the work. Finished it up in about 20 minutes. :) If I can do this, ANYONE can do this!!!!

I could fix almost anything that broke: car, furnace, most electrical items, plumbing issues. Learned it all from books and the internet. Now that I can afford service people, my cost/benefit analysis has changed. I still do the easy stuff and pay for the PITA jobs. But it's reassuring to know that I know the issue and don't have to worry about a repair person jobbing me.

That last part is important. Return what you borrowed in the same condition as when you borrowed it and in a timely manner.

Home Depot and Lowe's now let you borrow/rent tools

Years ago my late wife had us start doing 2 things, first every month we would set aside money in another account to cover things that were paid every few months or annually, so when those bills came in we just paid them without a second thought. The other is that all credit card transactions are written into a check register like they are paid. I actually only write 1-2 checks a month now, so the register is filled with mostly credit card transactions, which we do this to get the cash back from, then when the credit card statement comes in it is just paid. But we were lucky because we were able to do this.

yes. that yummy starbucks drink once or twice a month is not going to break the bank

Plan meals around what's on sale at the grocery store that week. I got a 5 pound pork shoulder (butt) and made a huge pan of carnita meat. After we ate dinner, I portioned the rest into 4 more meal portions. Same goes for when items you buy consistently go on sale - buy 2 instead of just the one you need.

I'm asking a genuine question here, not criticising. Assuming OP, and most of the respondents, are in the USA, are most people paid monthly and are Automatic Payments and Direct Debits not available/not used to pay bills? I'm in New Zealand and most wage earners are paid weekly, salaried usually monthly and APs/DDs are the norm. All my bills, except groceries and the like, are paid in fixed weekly amounts on the day after payday so I actually have no bills. If my weekly AP/DD payment is more than needed for the bill, it's accumulated as credit and results in lower weekly payments. I recently opted for a refund from the fibre internet supplier, $832 goes a long way, this from a $30 weekly AP.

My credit union account has a feature where I can list pending transactions, including checks. I kist everything as "pending" from income to annual expenses like car insurance and property taxes. I have to adjust amounts occasionally, but I have a running estimated balance at all times. The pending transactions show up weeks before they're due and once I get a notice, I can change the outgoing or incoming amount.

Same with the tomato sauce for spaghetti. Much cheaper to cook it in bulk in season and then freeze in portion-sized bags or silicone molds.

I do the same here in NZ. Veggies, meat, fish, dairy with yellow stickers. I recently found an online retailer ( NZ ) who sells "wonky" fruit and veggies that supermarkets don't buy from suppliers, delivered to my door.