In the face of 40-year high inflation, you can’t help but watch your wallet get thinner. In fact, more than a third of American adults are tapping into their savings accounts to cover increased living expenses, withdrawing an average of $617 during the first six months of this year. As nearly everyone is feeling the effects of skyrocketing costs of everything from fuel to rent to groceries to entertainment, we could all use some helpful tips and tricks to stretch our dollars.
Being thrifty and finding ways to pay less for everyday goods is generally the way to go. But have you ever heard the saying "I’m not rich enough to buy cheap"? Turns out, some tactics that help reduce spending now can easily cost you more in the long run — whether in time, energy, or money.
So when one user reached out to 'Ask Reddit' inviting people to share "false frugalities" — low-cost things that turned out to be expensive — most people are unaware of, the thread immediately became a hit. We’ve gathered some of the most illuminating responses to share with you, so continue scrolling! Be sure to upvote the ones you agree with and then chime in with your own experiences in the comments.
Psst! After you’re done with this list, check out Bored Panda’s earlier piece with tips on how to live more frugally right here.
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There was a sub about how to budget food/living expenses. And the ideas that people had were ridiculous and required you to be financially well off enough to facilitate their idea of what saving money is. I don't think I received advice from anyone who knew what it was like to be poor, or actually truly need to responsibly budget their funds.
One guy wanted me to plant a garden to grow some carrots or other veg. I explained that I have a small apartment, and that carrots are a dollar for a big bag. He actually got uppity with me and became a total shithead when I explained that I live in a small apartment in the middle of the biggest city in canada. There is no benefit to turning half my apartment into a garden so I can grow five bucks worth of veggies in a few month's span. I can't just go outside and plant vegetables. It's also cold here 9 months out of the year.
I got berated out of the sub after pointing this kind of s**t out numerous times.
I spent about $100 once on soil, plants, lumber for a raised bed, etc. to wind up with about $10 worth of a few veges. No green thumb here.
Bottled water. It's marketed to appear that it's healthier and cleaner than tap water, plus the plastic bottles are not sustainable. Just buy yourself a thermos or reusable water bottle and stop buying overpriced plastic with over-glorified tap water included.
It's healthier if you're in a region that has contaminated water, or parasites, like in Mexico, * for example, and other regions in countries around the world that are otherwise developed around the world.
Cheap batteries. They don't last, they don't work well, and many of them are duds. When I was in high school, I always, always listened to my discman. One day the batteries died so I walked up to the gas station and chose between the Duracell batteries and the bronze-colored batteries. I bough the cheaper no-names and they died before the day was over. And I had to go through social studies without music.
I learned two things that day; WWI history, and not to buy cheap batteries.
"Rent is throwing money down the drain"
Owning a home is not always smart. It can be, but not always. It's not just the house cost, but costs in taxes, interest, insurance, repairs and maintenance, etc.
Then there's opportunity costs. I know folks who can't move until they sell, and can't take better jobs cuz they can't move. A house can be a big anchor in some contexts.
Yeah I might rent, but I know I'll never have to replace a roof for $20,000 or pay any maintenance. Notwithstanding, investors screwed way too many people out of affording a home. It truly is the American dream now because you have to be dreaming to think you can afford one.
At $2k a month for an apartment you spent $24k in a year & you’ll never see it again. Ever. The roof is yours. It’s equity. And you just made your home more attractive on the housing market.
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There's one thing the people who give this kind of advice don't factor in : retirement. A lot of people don't plan right, or are victims of rent rises, and end up not being able to afford rent in their old age. Give me the security of a fully paid house in my older days over renting any time.
My biggest fear is being homeless. The fastest growing segment of the homeless population are people over 50 years old. I'm close to retirement age. I have a solid house with no mortgage and sleep very well at night.
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Totally disagree. My house went up 70k in 2 years time and worth is still going. Yes, maybe will drop at some point but rent would cost me more than my current mortgage, plus its mine at some point in life and I can sell it with profit which wouldn't be a case if I would rent. I was renting for ages and always ended up with maintenance of someones house anyway - painting, decorating and make it more liveable. Now I can have a dog and don't ask to fix anything, I do it, pay for it but it is mine investment. Renting in current prices isnt worth.
Totally agree. In three years I’ve gained well over $100K in equity. The peace of mind I have knowing I could sell my house should I need to and be okay is absolutely priceless. I would also be spending significantly more for rent in my area. Not that I think renting is bad, I know it works for many, but owning a home for some of us is truly the best option.
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I know a lady who rented for years, then bought a house and two years later sold it and went back to renting because it was cheaper and easier for her.
I rented most of my life and was able to live in multiple states and another country.
The beef I have is by renting you're getting no credibility, you're getting no equity. You're just building someone else's credit and equity.
Very true. Other costs of home ownership beyond the mortgage; insurance, property taxes, utilities, repairs, normal maintenance, and HOAs can be a surprise. If you are staying in an area for the long term and if you can afford it, buying might make more sense. Rent typically rises while a mortgage will remain the same. (All other costs of home ownership typically rise though.) One benefit to homeownership of course is that a home’s value rises too creating equity for the owner. This equity can be used as a means to create or protect wealth, giving a homeowner something borrow against for starting businesses or paying for unexpected expenses. Being an anchor is not always great, but owning also gives stability, knowing that they won’t be evicted by the landlord or that their rent will be increased, that they can get repairs done immediately rather than having to call the landlord or management company. Rent gives you freedom to move easily and less responsibility for maintenance.
Generally I agree,owning a home is a good investment for retirement years. Equity allows you to sell and move to a smaller place without a yard. Fixed mortgage rate helps, if refinancing when rates are low, but be aware of living in states with no income tax and only property taxes to pay for everything. Now taxes for us are as high as mortgage and insurance.
Load More Replies... I disagree. You just need to be smart when buying a home and factor those things into what you can afford to pay. On my first home we had to replace the roof, air conditioner, and furnace, as well as do some renovations, but I still made over 400k profit when I sold it. I've never profited off of changing rentals
This is an extremely short-sighted mindset. Rent is throwing money down the drain. Period.
So is every hobby of yours, if you put it that way. Every luxury, from Netflix to getting chips, is "throwing money down the drain". Good luck with your miserable life that only consists of bean counting. In the meantime I'll enjoy my life, as a tenant, knowing that it is the better option for my well-being. :)
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Some of us are not physically able to take care even a small house and property, so renting an apartment is the best living situation. I love my little apartment; it's the perfect size for me, the rent is income based, so I'm not paying whatever hellish amount of money on a mortgage (nor do I live in awful price areas such as NYC or Chicago), it's very quiet, there are trees and greenery all around me that I don't have to take care of other than never littering and picking up the extremely rare bit of litter that might land on the ground (everyone here, literally EVERYONE, loves this apartment 'plex and takes great care of it). I do not want the heavy financial burden of a house, especially since both of my children are many years deceased, and there is no one to whom to leave anything.
I rent, my landlord is responsible for all repairs, he decorates every couple of years with paint and paper I have chosen, he replaces carpets every five years. The cheapest I can get a mortgage for, for the house I live in now is £950 per month, I pay £400 and I'm only responsible for my rent, council tax and gas bills. He pays electricity and water!
Depends on your needs and income when you retire. If you have no kids and like to travel a lot, better maybe to rent and put extra money in 401 k, especially if employer matches. If having no kids, a reverse mortgage could also be an option depending on circumstances. So buying vs. rent comes down to individual life styles and needs.
It’s more a commentary on how things are. No matter how much of a ~good attitude~ I have about buying, it doesn’t make me any more able to afford the things OP is describing, especially now our garbage government is increasing interest rates.
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As my old mentor used to say. "rent, be it house, car, or tools, are never long term solutions ". You should always weigh up options, not just buy, though.
We bought a house and when we came to sell made 50k on it. That aside, our mortgage was about £800 per month all in including utilities, the guy we sold it to did nothing to the house and was renting it out for £1300 minus utilities. Yes there are maintenance costs to owning but the margins on rental are so high that it barely affects them and will go out of there way to not affect any bottom line so will get the cheapest shoddyest work they can find that will barely pass the inspections. when it's your own home you put a bit more effort for it to last
Also areas change. I know many people who bought houses or flats in good neighbourhoods, only for the place to become much less attractive and lose money trying to sell it.
Depends, I have rented for 20 years at about half what a mortgage would cost for the same house. In that time my landlord has replaced the roof and HVAC twice along with thousands in other expenses and taxes. There is a calculation to help figure this.
In 20 years you could’ve had a paid-off house with no monthly bill.
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This! My rent is partly a freedom tax (I can leave any time) and partly an insurance. How many people just so get a £ 6,000 boiler, a washing machine and a microwave within 3 months without having to worry about the costs? That's right - I did. And the living room will be painted next. I'm well aware of having a great landlord - and he hopefully is happy with me as a tenant as well. This is my 10th year in his flat. Oh, and did I mention the chimney repair last year, that cost every party in the house £ 10,000 ?
That is one of the big things. My friend is renting quite small apartment and he pays about two times what I pay for our house. But the kicker is that in 30 years, I will own the house, he will be just short of 30 years rent. It is not fair, and nobody says that it is fair. Still, there is a silver lining, our next project is upgrading one part so we can offer super affordable living space to someone, who will save all wanna be rent money and will be able to put downpayment on their own house/apartment. It will cost only electricity. Will it be great place? No. But if it can give one person the needed lift, it will be worth it.
Live outside of DC. Years ago, was living in an apartment and paid $1500 for 900 Sq feet. I then bought two bedroom house, 2400 square ft where I paid $1800 mortgage a month and $800 estimate in taxes a year HOA fees. Had limited repairs (washer, dryer, hot water heater). Ten years later, sold property for more than 2.5 times what I paid. Yes, I know this is not normal, but run your numbers and evaluate your situation. I was in apt and was told in two days they were coming in to do work abd EVERYTHING had to be 3 feet from the wall. Thanks- just has hernia surgery 2 days before. Had to hire people to more my furniture. Called apt manager many times about the termites that are the woodwork. No response. Just because there is a management co does that mean they are an upkeep co. You pay estimated $1.50 to wash a load of clothes, and same to dry in a common area where people WILL take your laundry out of both machines and put their into the machines, or they steal your laundry.
Rent is absolutely, positively throwing money down the drain. There are intermediate steps between renting and owning a big ol' house. The only way you lose money is if you buy more than you will need. (Would you rent a seven-room, 2,000-sf apartment? If not, buy smaller.) Buy a condo. Buy a frickin' double-wide. Unless you don't expect to be living where you are for more than a few years, buy. Mortgage plus mortgage insurance (for when you can't afford 20% down) plus condo fees plus taxes plus insurance plus repairs and maintenance are STILL less than the cost of renting in most US cities. WARNING: Choose your time to buy. This is the worst time to buy in over 2 decades.
Sadly, when you rent you are actually paying taxes, insurance and mortgage. It's just for someone else's house. Owning is always better. The trick is to buy within your means. It drives me wild when one person is living in a four bedroom, three bath house while droning on about not having a living wage. Buy less than you can afford and live simply. Keeping up with the Jones is passe and idiotic. As for the "American Dream", it's an individual dream, with no specific design, wherein you make your own way. My grandparents generation rarely owned a home. My grandfather didn't own a home until he was 60. But he'd come out of the UK coal mines so, for him it was fulfilling a dream.
Rent is a huge anchor too. It really depends on what you think is worth the trouble. As for me we got a fixer upper century house and it's quite relaxing to know we can do whatever we want to the house without permission. We can fix problems right away, we don't have to wait; we can pick out what appliances we want, not just take the cheap-a*s option we're given, and we certainly aren't stuck in a building infested with vermin or falling down around us without the ability to do anything about it. I've rented and known renters who are stuck in some horrific should-be-condemned living spaces and they're stuck there because they rent. On the other hand, this house wouldn't have been possible without my two housemates having had the stability in childhood and their adult lives to live in the same place and have the same bank account and have support from their families and stable jobs AND the numerous programs in this state designed to help first-time home owners buy a house...
...overall it really depends on many MANY variables. Rent puts you in the hole but owning a house comes with an exchange--house payments and escrow/taxes might come out cheaper than rent, and you might get a detached home (better for controlling vermin and for privacy) but if something breaks you don't just get to call maintenance, you have to find a repair yourself. So it depends on what aspects of each situation you like and don't like really. I grew up with a handyman and a deep sense of privacy and being able to go outside in a yard; so the house needing me to take care of her myself doesn't seem like a bad 'price' for having the privacy and control. But ymmv. That said, rent is predatory; but a co-op where all the tenants own the building together, that's a good, unionised version of 'renting', and I wish it were more common for everybody. We deserve a sense of ownership over where we live, a sense of community and belonging--regardless of where and what we call 'home'.
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Owning a home is supposedly the American dream. I've been there. I'm never going back there. As a renter I do not pay property taxes or for repairs. And my water is included in my rent.
Depending on your needs, like if you have to move often, then renting might be a good short term solution, but the argument that renting is a better deal the purchasing is generally a dud. If you plan to retire, constantly having to pay rental costs may very likely force you back into the work force.
Exactly. If you cant afford to maintain it, its not an investment. I can't afford a new hot water cylinder.
I prefer to rent. Landlord does the maintenance and mows the lawn for me.
I rent for now but have more enough for a down payment and I can count rent payments to my credit here in Canada.
Not everyplace has a notion of home ownership as investiment the way it is done in the US. Where I live, thinking about your home as your money, is just not a thing for the average person. If you buy a house, you die in it, if you are rich enough to buy a second one you put it for rent and try to get a third one if you can. Selling your home around here is only for people who went totally broke and lost everything or people SO rich that they can move somewhere else just for the fun of it. That's partially because the whole mortgage system, as we see in American movies, doesn't work well at all here. You can take a loan using your home as leverage, sure, but that is an almost guaranteed way of losing it to the bank.
😂 😂 rent IS throwing money down the drain. As a general rule, rent is a huge payment compared to a house payment. Something doesn’t have to be replaced every year either unless you don’t take care of it. Even with the extra expenses, you still pay less. After 30 years it’s yours. After 30 years of rent, you have a big fat NOTHING.
here are the two advantages of home ownership that makes the insurance, taxes, and upkeep worthwhile: (1) you have children you want to pass your wealth off to, and (2) you have something you can borrow against for tuition, life emergencies, etc....if you don't have or plan to have children, save the money...you will be freer and have more disposable income and free time...
Buying a house is cheaper in long run. For large North American cities, TOC (total occupancy cost)of a house is same or lower than renting a similar property. House will paid off in 20 years or so and your TOC will drop considerably. Rent is forever, at mercy of a landlord who could be an a**hole.
Lived in San Francisco and rented a house for 1/3 what the mortgage would cost, "why don't you buy?" Uh, math?!!
I didn't want to have to deal with rising rent prices, so I bought a condo. Did not know there was a condo association fee, so I still have a monthly payment. There is a pool, and for some reason I don't have to pay a water bill. Always investigate first.
If renting were always cheaper than owning then there would NEVER be any landlords! Same as gambling. If punters always won, why would anyone ever be a bookmaker?
Buying is dumb. You can't take it with you and the maintenence will kill you. Rent or use a motor home. Don't have kids.
WRONG. If you are renting, you are paying for taxes, interest, insurance, repairs and maintenance in your rent. If you are renting, you are not paying the costs to buy; loan fees such as funding fees, inspections, title fees, and the like. If you will be in the same place for about 5 years, it's better to buy, as these costs to buy are spread out over those years and offset by increasing property values.
It's true that you need to be at the right point of your life to make the commitment. But in every way, home ownership is less expensive overall than renting. My monthly mortgage payment *includes* insurance and taxes and it is still less than rent for a smaller apartment in the same town. Having a house opens up other economic opportunities too. Like you can rent out a room to help with expenses, or you can devote a room to a side gig like sewing tote bags or building furniture or growing exotic succulents, etc.
most people who say that owning is always better then renting have either never owned or someone else handles all the other aspects for them, or they own a condo where they pay a service fee to deal with things thus not much diff then renting outside of building some equity. when you own then every little expense is 100% on you, lawn and property care all on you, repairs are on you, snow removal and salting again on you, and so on. when you rent all of that stuff is on the landlord exception is if you rent an actual house or condo you may have to cut grass, rake leaves, and shovel snow. in an apartment that is all on the management to deal with. so if a new roof is needed you don't have to shell out 10s of thousands of dollars, or if plumbing or wiring fails you don't gotta pay the hundreds for experts to come fix it. unless you did the damage yourself.
Yep... consider too the average housing cost in your area. I live ... oh good lord. Let's just say whenever I hear headlines like "This celebrity's house cost a whopping 2.5 million dollars"... I think "oh. So the cost of an average, 30 year old, 3 bedroom single family home here... that needs repairs and a new roof" - yeah. The mortgage and interest... will ensure you're pretty much paying rent anyhow because you'll NEVER 'own' that house, but now you have the added bonus of being solely responsible for ALL repairs/issues in the house.
I can see arguments on both sides. Personally I'm sick of renting, the house we live in has awful thin carpets, squeaky floorboards everywhere and tired kitchen cupboards. It's quite dated and needs a revamp but I doubt when we move the landlord will do one, they'll just ship the new tenants in! We are completing on a house now but out of interest if we were going to rent another house in same area these days the prices have gone way up, like £200 pm! And some of those places look like ours. At least with my own home I choose when to update it and have a colour on the wall that isn't magnolia, lol, and can put pictures up. Yes all a cost of my own but to me, this will improve my comfort and mental health overall in the house actually feeling like a home
Due to the combined effect of working as preschool teacher and going through a divorce with an irresponsible man who paid none of the bills he agreed to take on, I could never afford it. I got my elementary school credential and built up my credit, but I live in the Silicon Valley, houses aren't cheap. Now I am planning my retirement and may move to Sonoma, so a house would get in my way. Becoming a homeowner isn't simple for lots of reasons,
Interest only factors in if you take out a mortgage for it. It's not so much a point against buying a house as it is against going into debt. You do have the option to save up and buy the house outright. It might take a while, and you might have to settle for something small or even a trailer until you can afford something bigger, but it's better than having debt, in my opinion.
Until there is a rental crisis and you are living in a tent.
This advice is very situational. Yeah buying a house in some back of the black stump woop woop town isn't going to be worth it. Buying a house in prime commuter belt outside London is a whole different kettle of fish. Even with ab mortgage if you have to move for a job you can just rent it out and it will cover it's self.
Except that when you are buying a home besides mortgage you also have any repair cost or appliance replacement cost and property taxes, and insurance. At least when you rent the landlord has to fix anything that they provided.
The tax deductions for a lot of those expenses can really help. Just remember, never get a mortgage that's more than 3X your annual salary.
Owning the RIGHT-SIZED home is going to save you money. Buying a family-sized, separated house when you're single is like paying housing for four or five, when you only need housing for one. But if you're living in an apartment without roommates, you really owe it to yourself to talk to a realtor about buying a condo. You'll still pay a LOT in condo fees, and it may not FEEL like you're saving money, but the difference is that 30 years from now, you'll be ahead the entire value of the condo. If you DO get married, you'll be able to afford a down payment and get a great rate.
I feel very screwed over because I was miseducated that you need 20% down to own a home. No, you need about 6%... and most of that is closing costs... and you can borrow that from your retirement plan, if you have one. If you can live in an apartment without roommates, you can afford a condo. May not be the best time to buy... but the rule of thumb is you should buy if you don't foresee yourself moving or having a massive change-of-life (marriage, children, etc.) within three years.
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Rent vs Own will always be a catch 22 because as the saying goes, "location, location, location". I live in the rust belt in the US, and my section of the city has been on life support for decades. It's mostly blue collar and low income. My house is 110 years old, been in my maternal line all that time so needless to say repairs/upkeep are endless, to say nothing of wanting to remodel. Everything put into this place, will NOT be recouped in a future sale. It's a money pit that I have to stay here to enjoy, physically, even if I don't want to because otherwise it's the same as setting fire to the money in the backyard. To leave, I'd need to rent with roommates (strangers) which I've never done before to live in a much better area with opportunities and support. Everyone's situation is different, and attitudes can and do change the older you get. For some, owning isn't the boon it seems to be and for others, renting can represent more benefits and freedom for the money spent.
I used to have a house but I rent now. You don't have to worry about shoveling snow or mowing the lawn. When something breaks it's some one else's problem. I like it much better. The only problems is hearing noises from other people all the time.
Yesterday I got a sight unseen offer in the mail to buy my house for 40k more than I paid for it...4 years ago. I'm not going to sell as I plan to retire here, but it does go to show that a home can be an investment IF you plan on remaining in the same location long enough.
I think this shouldn't be on the list. Renting and owning depend on so so many factors. Not everyone has the same lifestyle and not everyone has the same family. Landlords are still assholes but renting can be convenient for a good bunch of people.
I bought a house and I pay ~6000 crowns in mortgage in a month (about 300 USD). Then I have to pay ~2000 for energy and water and another ~2000 for transportation. That is ~10000 per month, right? Now, my colleague pays ~18000 in rent for his apartment and something like 3000 or 4000 for energies. That means that I have ~12000 more money every month to spend on my house... But we have huge garden and in few more years it will be great place to live.
Hubby and I bought a small house in a nice neighborhood. We tend to be pretty frugal and don't have many expenses. We're just average middle class people. We paid off our house completely in 10 years and used the money from that sale to buy a new house, all one story, that's bigger, was built far better/sturdier, and we can afford the payments--we even over-pay. So buying a home and being able to stick to a payment schedule was hugely beneficial for us. Paying rent for an apartment--where rent would always go up, where we would be surrounded by noise, would have to worry about parking, and could be evicted at any time---that's just not worth it. Buy a home has the best possible move we could possibly make.
Here is the kicker, Toronto rents are now higher than a mortgage, so people that pat themselves in the back because they rent might be losing while a house will in 30 years will be paid off, yes you will have expenses like replacing a roof but you will still be better off.
The one massive thing you are forgetting here is that in general house prices increase a lot faster than any savings ever will. This will happen with each property you own. At a certain point you will choose to downsize and will be able to release a significant amount real money from the property. In fact, it is even possible to release some of that equity without selling the property, but it will have to be paid back (with interest) when the property is sold.
Where I live, my flat cost 230 000 eur 15 years ago. Now the minimum price is 700 000 eur. If I would have rented a flat, I would have given away the same amount of money every month to the owner that I'm paying the bank now. By the time I will be on pension (in 2 years) the loan will be paid and I'll only pay the monthly charges (water, heating, electricity). This way I can still live in my flat, even with a relatively small pension.
Owning a home IS expensive, but I couldn't afford to rent here for the money I make. I pay $254.00 US a month in fees where my neighbor pays $2500.00 US a month in rent for the identical unit next to mine.
If you wanna own, go rural. Look for 5/10 acres out skirts of town in places like Oklahoma City.
This can be true... But! When the home values increase the way they've done in the last 10 years you'd be missing out on a lot by not owning a home. Also, if you buy a home with a decent interest rate your payment never changes. Rent goes up every year. My friends bought a place in 2004 and the payment is $1000/mo. Now if they had to buy that same house at market value they would be paying 2500/mo at least. They locked in their payment for years to come! All depends on your situation, but if you can buy and handle maintenance costs, it is worth it!
Buying a house blows. I need a new washer and dryer set, roof repair, garage door inspection, garbage disposal replacement, front stairs resurfacing, HVAC inspection and various plumbing and electrical work. I figure... about $5,000 ought to cover it.
A co-worker built his new house, believing his old would sell right away. It didn’t and was unable to rent it for sometime. His family was paying two mortgages while living in poverty for a while.
I once worked with someone who explained that she'd never buy a house because when she and her husband go away for a few months to somewhere warner like, they just pay rent in a lump sum and leave knowing that the landlord and maintenance is watching over the property and that they don't have to worry while they're gone. It made sense.
Cheap, single ply toilet paper. You end up having to use way more just to get the same effect of the good stuff.
And you generally end up with a middle finger in your bum after it pokes through the cheap paper
Aggressive lane changing while driving.
All that accellerating to get into the "better" lane just wastes fuel, and you save a negligible amount of time.
There was a small TV documentary here in Australia I remember watching that did tests on it. They sent two drivers across Sydney in rush hour traffic: one who would change lanes only when it was absolutely necessary (obstructions, turnoffs, etc), and one who was super aggressive changing all the time.
The aggressive driver got to the destination 2 minutes earlier, though with *80% more fuel consumption than the other driver*.
Actually, I've always wondered about that, but had no way of testing it out!
I once watched a show about extreme penny pinchers. One episode depicted a man who spent about 3 hours a day riding his bicycle or walking around looking for dropped change around pay phones, gum ball dispensers, etc. The whole time I couldn't help but think that even a minimum-wage job would yield him more capital for his time, especially once you factor in bicycle tubes and shoes.
In general, people of this nature fail to realize that the benefits of having money is its positive influence on your quality of life. When your quality of life suffers in order to save money, you've completely reversed your priorities to a mind-boggling level.
This is a hobby for some elderly folks. Perhaps reliving an old past time joy of finding coins on the ground. I once found a $20 bill on the sidewalk. I was just walking, going about my day. I wasn't straining to meet quotas and multi-tasking. A minimum wage job, for the amount of work that you end up doing with little downtime, other than your required breaks, does not lead a great quality of life and the pay does not equal the time and efforts. IF I could make the same amount just walking and looking at the ground as I do at my current job I'd choose coin hunting. And the coins aren't taxed.
All construction.............do you want it done cheap? or do you want it done right?
When it’s done right, it’ll usually cost a lot less in the long term than when it’s done cheap.
Not going to the doctor/dentist!
Wellness checkups are important. Your prognosis will always be better if something is caught early on.
Surprised I haven't seen this yet; using third party hotel booking sites. The sites guarantee you a room and a price but not the type of room you requested. Calling the hotel directly will not only guarantee the room you want but often they beat the price of the websites. On my last trip a particular site favored by an Enterprise captain quoted $129 a night, when I called the hotel they gave me $79 a night.
I don't know where ur staying. I work at quality inn and we can't even match those sites nevermind beat them.
Doing the dishes by hand vs. using a dishwasher. The dishwasher requires a lot less water, time and energy.
Or in my case, doing the dishes by hand vs. not doing them at all (no dishwasher, and no space to install one).
When it comes to tools, buy nice or cry twice.
I saw a popular comment here a couple weeks ago talking about reusing those little handwarmer packet things by slicing them open and adding more magnesium flakes obtained by shaving down sparklers.
For f**k's sake, just buy some new handwarmers.
I knew a fellow who owned one of the most expensive houses in town, but was too cheap to run his swimming pool filter except when he was actually swimming. With virtually no filtration, the water would get thick with debris and algae. He would then by stuff to kill the algae, but then he would have water full of dead algae. And the crud would stiff on the pool bottom, making it very hard to clean off. He spent way more on chemicals than he would have spent on electricity. The owner of this cement pond was a retired rocket scientist.
i have always been told that the smarter a person is, the less common sense… because they’re focused on their whatever
i went to greggs, a well known bakery in the UK. I bought a sandwhich and a drink. as i went to pay, the guy offered me the meal deal. "a sandwhich a drink and crips (chips) for only £1.99. a sandwhich and a drink was £1.59. the sandwhich was £1 and the drink was 59p. by themselves, crisps (chips) were 20p but as part of the meal deal they were 40p. this means that the SPECIAL MEAL DEAL OFFER was more expensive than buying each item individually. CLEVER F*CK***
Heating and air-conditioning. Being uncomfortable, irritable, and unproductive isn't worth the few hundred dollars you save by lowering the heat or not turning on the AC.
Depends. You don't need an industrial central air conditioning system in a tiny bungalow, as my my ex's parents installed. They like to be freezing in the summer. Nor does it have to be sweltering in your home in the winter. And they don't need to be kept on all the time.
In many cases, buying a name-brand product with a coupon is *still* more expensive than buying the store-brand.
Or, buying something just because it's on sale, but not necessarily because you need it.
Mobile phone contracts with a free iPhone etc.
You think you're getting a good deal with a free phone but with 35 pounds a month contact for 2 years, they really screw you.
Buying heavily used cars, sometimes. There are exceptions, but all of my friends who religiously buy the cheapest car they can find are always having trouble. Very expensive trouble, that sometimes adds up to close to the cost of a new car, or at least a better maintained used car.
Believe it or not, some people would like to buy a new car, but can't afford one. Crazy, I know.
Travel and times: A lot of people take the cheapest flight they can find, but to me, saving 50 bucks on a $500 ticket isn't worth a 7am flight or a red eye.
"Buying that rent-to-own laptop Consumer Reports checked out is equivalent to paying 311% interest, which is far worse than the 30% interest rate you see on crummy credit cards.
Buying a big cheap house far from your common destinations.
You will pay with time, petrol, housework, sleep, your relationships, and/or career
Instead:
1.Buy or rent a small house with a 10-30 minute commute.
2. Let happiness ensue.
Home brewing beer.
It's a wonderful hobby and I highly recommend it, but don't think you're going to save money.
My ex like to make apple cider moonshine. He had to buy mason jars and a s**t ton of alcohol, apple juice and whatnot. Thought he was going to make all these underground sales from his friends. Pfft. He sold nothing and I got to keep most of the mason jars. Those come in handy for many things.
Extended warranty
You think you are saving cash on the off chance the product you bought doesn't hold on and you need repairs, but I don't know anybody who has ever been happy about this choice
On the opposite end of the spectrum, car insurance for rental cars. My father and his colleagues used to travel the world and rent cars for several weeks at a time. It would only take one car accident in all those years of renting cars to justify the cost. Many of these rentals were for off-road use. The rookies thought to save cash passing on the insurance and would eventually shell out thousands on repair
Cloth diapers. You still have to buy special (expensive) detergent, and run so many loads in the washing machine. I worked it out when we started cloth diapering 3+ years ago, and it cost the same as if we just did disposable diapers.
Plus all the TIME put into washing/drying/assembling.
I like cloth diapering, I do recommend it, but I hate when it gets lauded as a cheap alternative.
(Edit: Yes, really, you do have to use specially formulated detergent. You don't? That's cool. Your diapers are getting build up of both ammonia and detergent. Good luck with that smell and the leaks, and that is coming from experience.
Also, nowhere did I mention the upfront cost of the diapers themselves. When I talk about price, I'm talking about water and electricity bills.)
people don't do cloth diapers for the nonexistent convenience or the not-so-cheap price. they do it because it's more sustainable & better for the environment, & usually far more comfortable for the baby.
Being cheap with anything you’re going to use a lot or over a long time. Better to spend $180 on a single frying pan that will last 10+ years than buy a $40 frying pan each and every year because they c**p out so easily no matter how careful you are with them. This metaphor, of course, fits the bill for almost any frying pan that is non-stick or costs less that $100 to begin with.
Leasing a car instead of buying one. I'm not gonna get into the specifics but it's pretty much always more costly
Only if you plan on keeping your car for longer that's two/three years. But if you plan on getting a new car every couple of years then paying only the depreciation seems like a better deal. But if you keep your car for 5-10 years... then buying is definitely cheaper. Longer than 10... might start looking at costly repairs.
Justifying the purchase of anything solely because it's a "good deal." I hear this misconception all the time.
If you spend $100 on shoes, even if you bought it at 99% off, you're still out $100. You haven't saved a penny, and that'll be a real problem if you needed that $100 to pay your utility bills.
Edit: clarity and $10,000 shoes.
http://www.luxist.com/2010/02/26/louis-vuitton-offers-10-000-alligator-wingtips/
It's all in the intended budget of what you were planning on spending. If you're expecting to buy $200 shoes and had allowed room in the budget or saved for them, and then the shoes are found to be $100 on sale, then, yes, you saved $100.
Professional home repair services. Real companies have insurance, you can sue if things go wrong. Some handyman that someone knows is likely going to do something that violates a warranty, will be judgement proof, and won't get a permit.
I do construction defect claims and this is partly true. A contractor's work product is not covered by insurance. That's if you hire a guy to install Windows and they are defective, insurance does not cover the replacement of defective windows. Not unless they are installed in such a way they cause damage to other parts of the home. I.e. Leaks and damages the interior drywall
People with flex fuel vehicles buying E85 instead of gasoline. The reduced mileage you get out of E85 eats up any saving you get at the pump.
I know people that skip going to the doctor until the last minute to save the office visit payments. It's a terrible idea since by the time they get there the simple cold turns into pneumonia and costs much more to heal.
bad example. going to the doctor for a cold is a waste of time & money. there's no cure for a cold, nothing the doctor can do other than say "you have a cold." so if someone has a cold, yeah they're gonna wait until it turns into something bad to get help; it would've been a needless expense & it's not like they could've known beforehand that this particular cold would be pneumonia...
Not paying off your mortgage to save the tax breaks...
While it is nice to save taxes, the long term financial benefits are astronomical when you free up a mortgage payment.
Completely stupid assertion because it obviously depends a lot on the situation. If the interest rate is very high and the property value not increasing then yeah, pay it off early if you can. If you have a low rate, if the value is plummeting, if you use the extra money to invest in anything with better returns then no, don’t pay it off early and keep it for as long as you’re in the second situation. Never heard of leverage or gearing?
Dining Plans at college. I literally could go out to eat for every meal for the price of them. And I often did. I saved a ton of money because I don't eat that much/snack more often .
Supermarket specials.
Next time you go shopping, grab a calculator and work out the cost per 100 grams (or whatever equivalent weight) and you'll almost invariably find that the products with the big 'Sale!' signs are not the cheapest.
Of course it's impractical to do this with every item so you can of course estimate, or shop at a store that all ready has the cost per 100 grams of the price tag like I do.
In Germany (or the entire EU?) the store needs to put the price per 100g on each item, so you can easily compare.
Shaving with a straight razor. It's a larger down-payment to start into it (simple but nice razor, strop, and brush cost me about $100), but I recouped that in less than a year just by not buying more cartridges. In theory, a razor will last pretty much forever, for free.
Here's the problem, though. I nicked my blade and had to repair it, so I bought about $80 worth of reworking stuff (much less than I could have spent). Then I bought a fancy 1930's blade and restored it. Then I bought a better brush, and a better stop, and a better shave mug, etc.
I started because it appealed to my practical side. Then it quickly became a ritualistic money hole.
You could also split the difference and buy a double edge razor, where you just need to replace the blades, which are cheap.
A $5 pair of sneakers is not a deal, no matter what your wallet says.
Maybe consider them if you only need shoes for another month...
$5 isn't gonna be great quality, but most $20-30 shoes are just as good as $100-200 shoes. so don't go to the other extreme either. depends what type of shoe & how much use you'll get out of them. i've been wearing a $30 pair of off-brand converse that i actually got for half price at $15. they've lasted five years & counting, & they're my go-to everyday shoes.
Where I work, we do price adjustments on products that have gone on sale since the customer purchased them. Most of the time, the refund isn't worth the amount of time, energy, and gas the customer uses driving to the store.
I can't even imagine making the effort to go get the adjustment. It's on sale now and I bought it last week? Oh well. My bad timing.
Steam sales. You think all these games are a great deal, but you end up playing very few of them and proceed to buy new games you would buy anyways. Remember, you didn't save $7.50, you spent $2.50.
Stopping at Costco for just one thing because its cheaper than the grocery store. Sure I save 3 dollars on the initial item that I went in to get, but the bill at the till always seems to average 400 bucks.
Lol this is dumb. I get that it's easy to spend a fortune at Costco (I love costco) but I regularly go in for a couple things and spend less than $50
Cheap legal services.
A good lawyer that takes 3hrs at $300 an hour will do a much better job far cheaper than a shitty lawyer that takes 5hrs at $200 to do the same job.
This is partly why good lawyers are so expensive - because they're cheaper.
People overinflate the hell out of their tires to get better gas mileage, then have to spend much more to get new tires when they wear out far sooner.
Don't mess with air pressure in tires period. Those numbers are not just a suggestion. It may cost you more than just a new set of tires. Does not matter what your dad's nephew's uncle's hairdresser's dog's ex roommate said, keep your tires properly inflated. Also the air you put in tires is already 78% nitrogen, don't pay for the other 22%. Edit: Sorry for any confusion. I am referring to paying for 100% nitrogen in your tires.
Rewards points. You are paying for them.
Not necessarily true. I’ve had a rewards points credit card for 10 years now, and they haven’t gotten a dime out of me. My card carries absolutely no fees, and no interest because I pay it off every month. I get the convenience of paying by card vs cash, and I receive between $200 - $400 back each year in Amazon gift cards. (I purchase from Amazon anyway, so it’s as good as money in my pocket). If you have the discipline to pay off your credit card every month, you can be the person credit card companies hate.
Restaurant specials. It's rarely cheaper and it's typically food that is about to go bad and needs to be sold instead of thrown out.
But then people complain when food is thrown out, and if it's still good enough to be consumed without much difference then it's all good.
Hybrids. Sure, you save $200-$500 dollars a year on gas costs. But every 5-10 years you will have to replace the battery pack, which can go from anywhere from $2,500 to as much as $6,000, especially on some of the new electric cars with larger packs. Not to mention the initial bump in price you pay with most hybrids. You add a small cost for low rolling resistance tires every time you change them.
Furthermore, the so called point of a hybrid car is saving the environment. The materials used in hybrid cars, specifically the batteries and other components that require rare earth elements, not only require more energy, but put out more harmful types of chemicals than traditional processes. The story gets worse if you go with a plug in hybrid, as 60% of wall power comes from coal plants, a less cleaning fuel than gasoline.
Note: this post originally had 48 images. It’s been shortened to the top 45 images based on user votes.
Sounds like a wealthy person that has no idea what it's like to be poor. I disagreed with most of the examples they gave.
Agree. I’d like to see the math behind some of these claims.
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We also need to consider how saving money is much easier when you already have some. Yes, good-quality products are costly and save you more money in the long run. But if someone is poor, they can't afford to buy the more efficient product. And they have to buy the cheap, low quality one, changing it often and being forced to waste money. Financial wisdom is useless if you don't have the money to apply it
Have you read Terry Pratchett? Look up Vimes’ boots theory of economics
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Several of these rely on the assumption that poor people can just - for example - spend 100 dollars once a year instead of 20 dollars every month. But always remember Captain Samuel Vimes "Boots" theory of socioeconomic unfairness: A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his feet dry in ten years' time, while a poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet.
One thing I read that makes a lot of sense is that if you can afford a quality pair or jeans (example) that fit well and you know you’ll wear them often, the math can pencil it out for less cost per wear than something that doesn’t fit well you don’t enjoy wearing. I wear my Birkenstocks almost daily until they are literally falling to pieces ever 3-5 years so I feel ok splurging on a new pair when I need one. This only works if you do t get the poorly fitting ones too.
If your winters are extreme, please invest in good, good coat and boots, if possible.
Buy a good bed...not a cheap one. You will spend at least a third of your life in it, after all. It may take awhile to save up the money, but it will be worth it.
I had a much younger roommate awhile back, and I remember him explaining to me that he would rather drive to his dads house to fill up his tires for free than do it at a gas station for a couple dollars. I pointed out that his dad lives 20 miles away, so he'd be spending 40 miles of gas money to save that couple dollars...but his expression stayed blank...
Didn't see Black Friday mentioned. I mean, there are definitely deals but very often there are also "deals" that, if one kept an eye open throughout the year, are not actually new or even a deal. Another one is those "going out of business sales", where everything gets discounted... Except, it's often over the initial suggested price. I've seen things being sold at prices higher than they were at a competitor that was still in business, yet people thought they actually got a deal out of it. Guess I should say: look around, don't blindly buy based on that one discount.
"High interest savings account" Banks in my area pay One Cent per One thousand $$ per month
People who have the money to buy a gas heating system in their home, but choose to remain on firewood heating because "the gas central is very expensive, wood is cheaper". However, on the long term, wood is usually more expensive
Wood burning is also catastrophic for air quality, both inside and outside the home.
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Dr Phil, before he got Jerry Springerish and I quit watching him, did a show on tightwads who were costing themselves more in man hours, if not actual money, by doing such things as going from one fast food place to another, stealing packets of mustard and catsup and squeezing them into an old store bought bottle. It would take him two hours to gather the packs and fill one bottle. At $5 and hour which was minimum wage at the time, he was expending $10 to save $2.50.
Susie that's true, but some people have more time than they know what to do with. Maybe they don't care about minimum wage.
Load More Replies... How about supermarkets that add barbecue rubs to meet. Don't buy it, that meats going bad!!!!
For the first time EVER I have a dishwasher and I have only used it 3xs I used to say if I had one I'd never wash them again- so much for that one lol
Poor people know that being poor is expensive. We need things now but can't afford a good one so we get what we can. And the result is endlessly replacing crappy stuff and never getting to have nice things. Look up the Vimes boots theory of economic inequality.
People, for the most part, these are general examples, not specific to your particular situation, and yes, subject to some caveats, but most of the replies start "not always". No, not always. And, yes, it's also true that sometimes you don't have the money for the better stuff, no matter how much is saves in the long run. I still wouldn't throw out a lot of these suggestions.
Check youtube for extreme cheapskates (especially look for title: cooks lasagna in the dishwasher)
I encourage you all to join me for “NO BUY JULY”!! For just one month, don’t buy ANYTHING but essentials (food and gas, etc) Borrow big items, clothes for special occasions, etc from friends: If you absolutely need something, buy it second hand, or with old gift cards (I save mine up for lean months). Cook at home, and forgo the delivery services. Many low Income households live this way, and it’s pretty eye opening to see how much you don’t really need.
I encourage *you* to join me for 'stop telling other people how you think they should live summer*! Simply stop 'inviting' people to 'join you' for various things to change how they live. It's pretty eye opening to see how much advice you don't really need.
Load More Replies...
Sounds like a wealthy person that has no idea what it's like to be poor. I disagreed with most of the examples they gave.
Agree. I’d like to see the math behind some of these claims.
Load More Replies... We also need to consider how saving money is much easier when you already have some. Yes, good-quality products are costly and save you more money in the long run. But if someone is poor, they can't afford to buy the more efficient product. And they have to buy the cheap, low quality one, changing it often and being forced to waste money. Financial wisdom is useless if you don't have the money to apply it
Have you read Terry Pratchett? Look up Vimes’ boots theory of economics
Load More Replies... Several of these rely on the assumption that poor people can just - for example - spend 100 dollars once a year instead of 20 dollars every month. But always remember Captain Samuel Vimes "Boots" theory of socioeconomic unfairness: A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his feet dry in ten years' time, while a poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet.
One thing I read that makes a lot of sense is that if you can afford a quality pair or jeans (example) that fit well and you know you’ll wear them often, the math can pencil it out for less cost per wear than something that doesn’t fit well you don’t enjoy wearing. I wear my Birkenstocks almost daily until they are literally falling to pieces ever 3-5 years so I feel ok splurging on a new pair when I need one. This only works if you do t get the poorly fitting ones too.
If your winters are extreme, please invest in good, good coat and boots, if possible.
Buy a good bed...not a cheap one. You will spend at least a third of your life in it, after all. It may take awhile to save up the money, but it will be worth it.
I had a much younger roommate awhile back, and I remember him explaining to me that he would rather drive to his dads house to fill up his tires for free than do it at a gas station for a couple dollars. I pointed out that his dad lives 20 miles away, so he'd be spending 40 miles of gas money to save that couple dollars...but his expression stayed blank...
Didn't see Black Friday mentioned. I mean, there are definitely deals but very often there are also "deals" that, if one kept an eye open throughout the year, are not actually new or even a deal. Another one is those "going out of business sales", where everything gets discounted... Except, it's often over the initial suggested price. I've seen things being sold at prices higher than they were at a competitor that was still in business, yet people thought they actually got a deal out of it. Guess I should say: look around, don't blindly buy based on that one discount.
"High interest savings account" Banks in my area pay One Cent per One thousand $$ per month
People who have the money to buy a gas heating system in their home, but choose to remain on firewood heating because "the gas central is very expensive, wood is cheaper". However, on the long term, wood is usually more expensive
Wood burning is also catastrophic for air quality, both inside and outside the home.
Load More Replies... Dr Phil, before he got Jerry Springerish and I quit watching him, did a show on tightwads who were costing themselves more in man hours, if not actual money, by doing such things as going from one fast food place to another, stealing packets of mustard and catsup and squeezing them into an old store bought bottle. It would take him two hours to gather the packs and fill one bottle. At $5 and hour which was minimum wage at the time, he was expending $10 to save $2.50.
Susie that's true, but some people have more time than they know what to do with. Maybe they don't care about minimum wage.
Load More Replies... How about supermarkets that add barbecue rubs to meet. Don't buy it, that meats going bad!!!!
For the first time EVER I have a dishwasher and I have only used it 3xs I used to say if I had one I'd never wash them again- so much for that one lol
Poor people know that being poor is expensive. We need things now but can't afford a good one so we get what we can. And the result is endlessly replacing crappy stuff and never getting to have nice things. Look up the Vimes boots theory of economic inequality.
People, for the most part, these are general examples, not specific to your particular situation, and yes, subject to some caveats, but most of the replies start "not always". No, not always. And, yes, it's also true that sometimes you don't have the money for the better stuff, no matter how much is saves in the long run. I still wouldn't throw out a lot of these suggestions.
Check youtube for extreme cheapskates (especially look for title: cooks lasagna in the dishwasher)
I encourage you all to join me for “NO BUY JULY”!! For just one month, don’t buy ANYTHING but essentials (food and gas, etc) Borrow big items, clothes for special occasions, etc from friends: If you absolutely need something, buy it second hand, or with old gift cards (I save mine up for lean months). Cook at home, and forgo the delivery services. Many low Income households live this way, and it’s pretty eye opening to see how much you don’t really need.
I encourage *you* to join me for 'stop telling other people how you think they should live summer*! Simply stop 'inviting' people to 'join you' for various things to change how they live. It's pretty eye opening to see how much advice you don't really need.
Load More Replies... 