“My Grocery Bill Is Almost Half Of What It Was”: 30 Frugal Habits People Swear By

WHO????? Who uses them once and then throws them away??? That's like thinking socks are single use.

Ace

Ace

Community Member • points

posts

comments

upvotes

FollowUnfollow

Premium

Premium user. Get details.

Only a psychopath would throw away perfectly good plastic bags after a single use.

The ONLY way I don't re-use them is if meat was stored in them. Even with hot soapy water, I don't feel comfortable reusing them due to the chance of cross contamination.

I washed them in the sink but then used the tines on the upper rack in the dishwasher to stand them upside down to dry.

Those cookies look delicious.

1970s hand-me-down stoneware. These things are unbreakable!

This is my dinner set now. Crown Lynn and other NZ made plates. I realised one day these plates were 40 years+ old and not chipped yet. Anything new I had bought chipped within a couple of years at most. So now I have a lovely "set" of mismatched dinner plates.

When I was MUCH younger, we used to go to a restaurant named Frank Baker's Attic. Nothing matched, the plates, chairs, utensils.

I love the mismatched look. Symmetry is boring.

Mismatched everything kitchen is absolutely perfect!!

The only challenge is for people with mobility/hand issues. Bar soaps reach a point where they no longer lather, or are too small to hold. I really hate plastic waste, but liquid bath/hand soap is a necessary option for us.

Bar soap is always contaminated which is why in health care we prefer liquid soap. I would love to get some awesome bar soap but as a nurse, as a mom and as someone waiting to be put on the transplant list; no thank you!

I like bar soap to wash my hands in the sink. I use way to much of the liquid stuff trying to get a good lather. On the other hand, I like body wash in the shower because it doesn't leave soap scum and a bottle lasts me for months when used with a loofah.

Can't stand bar soap or the scum it creates.

We've been getting bar shampoo too. Cheaper and lasts a long time!

I'm just going to assume the OP is a skinny fart. Thrifting doesn't work all that well for us big gals. Once you find something cool that fits, you keep it!

I would add buying furniture this way as well. You would be surprised how well stain markers, and certain types of duct tape can fix furniture up looking brand new.

I thrift all of my clothes except undergarments. I am good at finding brand new clothes with high price points. Kind of my super power.

I thrift but I stopped buying jeans second hand. They are never long enough.

I really do want to buy clothes 2nd hand. But somehow I have never found more than 1 skirt I liked and that fit me. And I habe been looking for decades! It's annoying.

My bf and I eat fast food about twice per year. We just have a few go-to meals to do quickly if we don't feel like cooking and if we want a burger or whatever, we make it at home. :) it's just more convenient for us this way. The health and financial benefits are just happy side effects. 😊

There's enough real food around. Even if you're short on time.

I consider fast food as a treat to eat once in a while.

sbj

sbj

Community Member • points

posts

comments

upvotes

FollowUnfollow

Premium

Premium user. Get details.

Across the big firms prices have gone up a lot and the quality has gone down significantly and that's saying something as it wasn't great to begin with

Freezing can significantly change the flavor profile depending on how long it's stored, not to mention nutrition loss.

Love my upright deep freezer. I can make a zillion gnocchi at a time, flash freeze them on sheet pans, then vacuum seal them in dinner portions. Same for pierogi, meatballs, and more. It also holds my huge collection of stock (chicken, beef, ham, veg, and shrimp, all made from stuff that would otherwise be thrown away). We keep a whiteboard on the door for inventory.

Wish I could do this, since I have to do all the cooking for my household of 3. Unfortunately I have no room for a standing freezer, and even if I did, my brother has zero impulse control and if I tried to do a week's cooking on Monday it would all be gone be Wednesday >.<

my favorite bulk meal is pasta sauce. i make it with either fridge leftovers, or with vegetables on sale that are still good, some tomatoes, some passata, some meat. I can usually make 10 portions for around 10 euro. edit: i put everything except for the meat, in the blender, i like the smooth structure of the sauce, also its better when its defrosted.

This comment has been deleted.

I kept two horses at one time, for what it cost my mother in smokes. Feed, vet fees, shoeing, everything ( I kept them on my own place). Thank heaven I never started. This was years ago, no idea what they cost now.

I remember a neighbor of my parents saying about he is better off burning $20 Canadian every month as that is how much cigarettes cost him (1980s). My late Dad quit in 1980. 25 years later, he developed a bleeding ulcer due to bad bacteria in his stomach. The doctor said the fact that he quit smoking helped a lot as well as not drinking. Dad always referred to alcohol as horse p***.

In Europe, some smokers save money by driving 2 hrs across the border and two hrs back because the cigarettes are cheaper there, and they are very proud of it. I kid you not.

Haven't bought a new car in decades. The way the car goes down in value as soon as you drive off the lot, really not worth it.

A friend bought a brand new 2023 truck with all the bells and whistles. Purchased all the warranties on it, plus the tires. Already having issues with the electronic brain, plus one of the tires. Took it in to find out because he lives in the country on a gravel road, NONE of the warranties cover ANYTHING! BUYERS BEWARE...ask for FULL DISCLOSURE!!!

The amount of scratches and dints due to parking in shopping centres to my 7 year old car means I'm not worried as much compared to if it was a brand new car. I would be so dissapointed if it got scratched.

I bought my current car in 2019 for £1,000, it is a 2008 mini MPV and still going well. I have money saved to replace it when it does die.

I have a 2015 that is no longer made. Great little car because I don't do a lot of driving. Every car dealership in town has been after me to buy my car. Not gonna happen.

You can also use microfibre towels; they take in dust just as well as the swiffer pads and are washable.

I use old fuzzy socks, picks up dust amazingly

I just bought a steam cleaner. They come with a reusable mop, use nothing but water steam so no obnoxious smells easy to use without even having to bend down and the floors are so clean.

I bought the reusable pads at Dollarama.