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“Don’t Use Credit Cards, Use Cash For Everything”: 30 People Debunk Frugal Hacks That Just Don’t Work
Article created by: Justinas Keturka
Many folks are looking for additional ways to save money. And in times like this, the easiest thing to do is to fall back on the advice you’ve been hearing all of your life. However, those frugality tips might save you a tiny sliver of cash, at the expense of massive chunks of your time and energy. Which isn’t all that great of a bargain now, is it?
Redditor u/LtCommanderCarter started an interesting and useful discussion on r/Frugal, asking people to share all the savings hacks that they personally think are either totally outdated or just plain wrong. And some of them might make you see how you budget things and spend your (very limited) time in a fresh new light. Check them out below.
Meanwhile, Bored Panda reached out to personal finance expert and best-selling author Rick Orford who was kind enough to shed some light on what someone could do if they find that their expenses are outweighing their income. You'll find our interview with him as you read on.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
People don’t account for quality or time at all. Yes I can clean my own house, mow my own lawn, fix whatever is broken, but all of that takes time to do it and it won’t be as good as some who does it for a living. You can always make more money so be frugal with time than money.
Bacon Tentacles 10 months ago
I embraced this attitude about 20 years ago when I realized that I could spend 2 hours shoveling my driveway free of snow before going to work, or pay a service a fixed amount to plow it, an amount that was way less than my hourly rate at my job. In other words, if I make $10 an hour and it takes me 2 hours to shovel, that's $20 I'm not making at my job. If a service charges me $10 to plow it for me...I'm still up $10. Very eye-opening.
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#2
Clip grocery store name brand coupons to save money.
Except most of the things that have manufacturer's coupons are high markup processed foods. Often another brand was a better buy than the coupon item. Sometimes a different size of the same product by the same manufacturer that didn't qualify for the discount was a better buy.
Buying generic and cooking from scratch are usually cheaper.
Bacon Tentacles 10 months ago
The most effective coupon I use these days is the fueling coupon at Kroger. Clip it every week, shop on Fridays, and you get 4x fueling points. I have literally saved at least $1.00 per gallon of gas when I fill up at their station (conveniently located in front of their store) all because I clipped the coupon and shopped on a Friday. Hardest part is remembering to clip it (in the mobile app) every week. But oh so worth it.
#3
Higher quality cost more. The cost tells you nothing about the quality, it’s better to look at the materials and how something was made.
Bacon Tentacles 10 months ago
That's a good way to put it. So: "higher quality => more money" - true. "More money => higher quality" - not always true.
#4
Going cheap on everything. You are not doing yourselves any favors by buying cheap appliances. Cheap appliances break easy and need to be replaced. When you buy something, make sure it lasts and your not throwing money away to replace it every couple of months.
Bacon Tentacles 10 months ago
Unfortunately, that is not always possible to do. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boots_theory
#5
My pet peeve is "you need to save 3 months of expenses in an emergency fund." You actually need way more than that. Eight months to a year is recommended to sustain yourself during a recession. And anytime I look for a new job, it takes two months at least before I find something. I wouldn't want to lie awake at night worrying that the last month is going to escape me before my paycheck arrives.
#6
People still parrot the “buy a cheap laser printer from Brother” talking point like it’s 2005. You don’t need a printer at all, just go to a copy shop and spend the 30 cents the one time in a decade you’ll actually need to print something.
#7
I'm in a high cost of living area and the "thrift stores" sell noticably worn t-shirts for $13.99.
They haven't been thrifty for more than 8 years in my area.
Bacon Tentacles 10 months ago
Just like anything else - once a ton of people get wind of it, they ruin it.
#8
“Don’t use credit cards, use cash for everything.” - easy way to not have a great credit score when you need a loan. Use the cards and pay it off monthly.
#9
"it's cheaper to buy in bulk"
then half of the item goes to waste because of spoilage or freshness.
Bacon Tentacles 10 months ago
Depends on what you are buying. If it's something that you can vacuum seal and freeze (or can), then it's worth it. Fresh produce, on the other hand? Unless you have a family of rabbits, then no.
#10
Almost none of these comments are actually things that are blatantly wrong they may just not apply to some people. DIY, buying in bulk, Black Friday deals, finding quality items at thrift stores, are all things that tons and tons of people have had success with.
#11
Delivery services. I do Walmart delivery all the time. I save on impulse purchases, it’s free, and the $10 tip saves me so much time and energy. Plus I can examine the price/weight in more detail.
Oh, and my kids can’t beg for stuff or sneak things in the cart.
#12
Latte factor!
It's like "okay I need to make my money go further somehow' and people are like "stop buying coffee!" It's like you really think that wasn't the first thing to go? Really? It's like when thin people tell me I could lose so much weight if I stopped drinking soda and are stunned or flat out don't believe me when I say I don't drink soda (and if I do it's usually coke zero which isn't great for you but isn't the calorie bomb they're imagining).
Bacon Tentacles 10 months ago
Stopped drinking soda over 20 years ago. Can't use that excuse any more.
#13
Wash your dishes by hand. Yeah my dishwasher uses less power to heat the water and run a load than the hot water cylinder uses just to heat the water. It uses less water than a sink full and can do more dishes in that amount of water than I can. So saves me money there too as I have to pay for water.
Actual handy frugal tip incoming, scrape food off your dishes and then just load into the dishwasher. Do not rinse your dishes. Add dishwasher powder to the prerinse section as well as the normal wash section. Select a cycle with a prerinse start. Dishes come out perfectly clean. Use powder, not tablets. Powder is generally about the same price as tablets but will get you twice the amount of loads.
Bacon Tentacles 10 months ago
Dishes, glasses, cups, silverware all go in the dishwasher after scraping. Anything else (pots, pans, plastic, rubber, etc) I hand wash. Use the right tool for the job.
#14
"tell the dealership you have cash in hand. They'll give you an amazing out-the-door price!" Haven't seen this to be true for the past 10 years. Dealerships make their money off of loans and the APR they can rake you over the coals for. They don't care if you have cash in hand. The point is to sell a loan, warranties, and future service
Bacon Tentacles 10 months ago
They've even gotten to the point where they don't lead with the MSRP, but rather your monthly payment.
#15
It's cheaper to diy/if you want something done right, do it yourself. My family always said this. I was in my 30s when i finally realized how wrong they were. While trying to plumb in a new bath tub. It took me a week to fail at it. It took a plumber an hour to do it right.
#16
DIY. Not everyone has thousands of dollars worth of equipment around and the skills to build something cheap.
People reusing plastic containers for food. No, that is not designed to be reused for ten years
#17
Eating out is just as expensive as grocery shopping these days. It varies , but the price per meal of cooking at home is much cheaper
Bacon Tentacles 10 months ago
Some cities also impose a dining out tax (like here in Central VA). Eating out is wayyyy more expensive than cooking at home. But that depends on the cuisine. Asian with all the ingredients and whatnot is more expensive to source all those ingredients, prep, cook, clean, and so on. But your basic American steak and potatoes...much cheaper to do at home.
#18
Driving for miles to save 2-5 cents on gas. I still see this done today and I don't think it helps at all. But to each their own.
Thanks to another reddit user, I will add and point out that the saving 2-5 cents is meant for those who use unleaded or diesel. There are those who use other forms of gas that I was not meaning for this to apply to because they may not have that option. My apologies.
Bacon Tentacles 10 months ago
Sweet spot of convenience, locale, and buyers' reward points programs. See my comment previously on Kroger gas.
#19
That earning more money means you lose all the gains to taxes. Nope, you always will take home more money if you get a raise. Where a raise does adversely affect a person is if the extra income tips them out of a government benefit, such as below x income receive this tax credit or that assistance program. But you have to usually be pretty low income to get those anyway.
#20
People say that a plant based diet is too expensive. That's only true if you are constantly buying all the plant based substitutes. If you're just getting normal basic food like legumes and grains and veggies and stuff like that, it's a lot cheaper than buying meat.
#21
The people who insist credit and debit cards are bad. No, they aren’t. YOU lacked the self control to understand how to manage one efficiently. They are extremely useful if you use it responsibly. They warn everyone else because of their failures. it’s quite comical.
#22
Making your own laundry detergent. It's performative frugality and a tremendous waste of time. Powdered detergent is cheap.
#23
My mother will drive around to 2 or 3 different grocery stores to take advantage of various deals, but I'm certain that the time and gas burnt driving around cancels out any savings on groceries. (This may be less true with grocery prices skyrocketing recently)
Bacon Tentacles 10 months ago
Not to mention the time spent dealing with people, traffic, etc. That can take a toll mentally.
#24
A lot of people don't save the amounts of money they believe they are saving. Pointing this out to them, even using numbers and math, can even make them angry.
#25
Cleaning products. Sometimes baking soda and vinegar doesn’t cut it. Save your body soreness, frustration, and wasted time. Buy yourself some soft scrub!
#26
The general idea that you should keep everything for as long as possible and only replace something when it breaks.
For older electric items, especially things like heaters and refrigerators, the energy consumption of an older appliance can be 4-5x higher or more than a new model. Depending on how much your energy costs the cost of that extra energy can be the equivalent of buying a new appliance every few years.
Same with cars. With the amount you spend on repairs/maintenance and the general poorer fuel consumption you're often better off financially buying a newer one sooner rather than "driving until the wheels fall off".
#27
Dollar stores.
Usually not cheaper *per unit* —they’re just packaged in smaller quantities to price cheaper.
#28
Just because it didn't cost money, doesn't mean you saved. Your time is worth money. Professionals have insurance and offer warranties, you don't get those if you do it yourself. It's important to factor those in when you're trying to save
#29
Thrift stores are cheaper for quality, if you enjoy the search as a hobby.
Black Friday has always been a performative consumption marketing ploy.
Wrong frugality is maybe just doing anything that is time consuming and unfulfilling to save a few dollars.
EDIT: And I feel like this will answer a bunch of downthread comments, Black Friday is a Q4 retail nonsense holiday that attempts to put books in the black for new year. SKUs are invented for it specifically. It's cool if you, individually, get nice deals for your family, however the entire idea is nonsense.
#30
1) "Black Friday, Boxing day etc are all scams and spending to money is the frugal option." : There is some truth to this but people miss it entirely. using these kind of sales for big purchases if the price is better or comparable to the recent price history of the item. Last year alone i got a new microwave for %50/$150 off let alone cutting my cellphone and internet bills in half. In the past i got much needed furniture, other appliances and general house hold items i really needed on these sales
2) " When moving random boxes are free!" : This is my biggest gripe. I will maintain that buying proper moving boxes saves you money and time in the long run. Firstly Random boxes are difficult to stack and move, since you're now playing tetris with them to make it fit. Driving around trying to find boxes wastes time and money in gas, plus transporting the ever popular alcohol boxes means you are now transporting air since they are glued together. Buying flat moving boxes are fairly cheap and you can pick up a bunch at once and go home with them. Every time I've helped people move, when they used uniform moving boxes everything went so much faster.
3) "Costco is a waste of money": Simply put you just don't know how to Costco. People end up buying more then they can consume and throw it out, or they over consume because they buy in bulk. The other problem is people impulse shop. Find what you need and comparison shop, more often then not you'll save a ton of money. Recently I pick up an instant pot for $60 cheaper then anywhere else, that alone is the cost of a membership. In my last trip i picked up printer paper saving about $3-4 over staples, bath soap saving $3-4 over walmart, Shampoo saving $4, mens Deoderant saving about $10, womens deoderant saving $12-15, chicken legs/drumsticks saving about $1 a pound and so forth. Even big purchases like clothes is far better quality then other stores at the same price point.
4) "That costs too much that isn't frugal" This is a personal one. Some people think being frugal means being as cheap as possible. Recently I made a post of some containers i used to clean up my pantry, i spent less then $4 per container which is cheaper then any other option out there except re-using crappy plastic ones and a lot of people jumped on me for it. I also see a lot of frugal things people do and it's either a mess, an eyesore, takes way to much time for what you're saving or all 3. Spending a few extra dollars can alleviate these problems. Remember time is money and value your time as well.
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