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Desperate times call for desperate measures, and anyone who has ever been in dire financial straits knows this. You live well within your means while meticulously deliberating over your needs and wants. As a result, you end up making the necessary sacrifices.
Someone on Reddit described it as a “poor person hack,” and the discussion opened. People shared their most efficient money-saving tips during difficult times. And even if you’re doing well, many of these nuggets of wisdom are nonetheless worth noting.
Scroll through, and maybe you'll pick up something new and valuable. If you have suggestions of your own, feel free to share them in the comments!
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Need boxes for moving or organizing? Don’t ever buy a cardboard box, EVER (unless you need really big ones, I guess). Go to your local liquor store and ask for boxes, they’ll happily give you as many as you’d like, and they’re pretty sturdy since they’re made to hold heavy objects.
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#2
Library library library! My kids ravage through books. We easily save thousands a year using the library.
#3
Parks and trails are free entertainment that make you healthier and less depressed the more you use them.
#4
Keep old things as a back up pair. Shoes, glasses etc. Often I wouldn't have money for new things if something broke, so if a pair shoes fell apart I would at least have a crappy pair until I could afford some new ones.
#6
$5 costco whole chicken 1x week, top ramen, rice, beans and eggs. This got me through months of low income months. It was like $50-60 for a month of 2 meals/day.
#7
Shop thrift stores. And when that doesn't work shop tj Maxx, Ross etc. Can generally find quality without a huge cost.
Zig Zag Wanderer 21 hours ago (edited)
Thrift stores for the win! They are also great to spend spare time in. It's amazing what you might find. My kids and my gf all love buying clothes tin them.
#8
“No dollar days” see how many days you can go without spending $1. Then try to beat your previous records.
Also $3/day = $1,000/year.
#9
Google the fix for something that is broken and if you think you can do it try, the amount of crooks in appliance repair is insane.
Andrew Keir 17 hours ago
But *always* disconnect from the mains before taking the back off. Death is permanent !
#10
Carry a reusable water bottle everywhere, don’t buy drinks out. Look for free days at museums and free passes for entertainment/education, like the zoo or symphony, from the library. Check into the health department for free vaccines, testing and other health care.
#11
There are some exceptions, but for the most part, store brand is just as good or the same as name brand. In the case of kirkland, it might be superior.
Beans are a magical food. Even better if you make them yourself - buy a 1lb bag of dry beans for $1.25 and that is a good amount of protein and fiber.
#12
A 20-50 pound bag of rice in your pantry will pick up a lot of slack in your diet when you’re poor… I’m not poor anymore, but I always have a ton of rice at home.
Rice and rice, rice and eggs, rice and ground meat, rice and a can of chili, etc. I wasn’t always eating good, but I was never hungry.
Lukas (he/him, it/its) 22 hours ago
I wish so badly I liked rice, it would help so much. Unfortunately with my sensory issues, I just can't eat it. Luckily noodles are cheap! I like getting the cheap fettuccini noodles and a can of sauce, it's simple and pretty cheap and makes a surprising amount!
#13
If it's already broken, there is no downside to trying to fix it yourself.
#14
Help out your neighbors, without asking for payment, when they're in need and when you are able.
I've been showered with free food, things, and acts of service from grateful neighbors.
Geoffrey Scott 14 hours ago
How about my side gig of lawn care? EVERYONE says I don't charge enough. I get enough to cover gas, and some labor.
#16
Learning to love my crock pot and eating the same meal for an entire week. An amazing money saver, and I still do it because it was an ingrained habit for years.
Jaya 12 hours ago
Eating the same thing for a week, would be way too much for me. But I do like making huge batches of something and then varying what I eat it with. For instance I make a huge pan of cauliflowers and tofu/lentils, and then on day 1 eat it with spaghetti and tomato sauce, on the next day with rice and peanut sauce, the third day with cheese and leftover spaghetti. It combines the best of both worlds: each day a meal that feels completely different, while still saving time and money through cooking in bulk.
#18
I stopped eating meat. Lentils, chickpeas, beans, other legumes, and nuts are insanely cheap. Meat is a splurge at this point even though we can definitely afford it.
#19
Freezing day-old bread. Keeping bread refrigerated. Always. Lasts forever.
Lukas (he/him, it/its) 22 hours ago
I've found freezing bread always dries it out when it thaws in my experience. I still do it, but it s***s
#20
Learn and be willing to break down your meat and produce yourself.
99c head of lettuce vs 2.49 for 10oz of pre chopped and washed lettuce
99c/lb for whole chicken vs 3.99/pound for breast.
#21
I grew up in central Africa where my parents worked at a rural mission hospital. We shipped a lot of canned and dried food from the US and the hospital received donations of medicines through Compassion. The food was always out of date by the time we got it, and the medicines at the hospital were already expired when they were shipped from the US. Everything got used. We ate the canned foods even when they tasted a little tinny. The medicines never made people sicker. I think so much gets wasted here.
Rob D 9 hours ago (edited)
Anytime you talk to someone who's done long-term mission work in Africa ask them an important question. How much staff did you have? Yes there are some missionaries that go over there and live dirt poor like the people they're "helping" . The vast majority the ones sent by the churches I was raised in (Campus crusàde, Pioneers, etc) had nannies, maids and cooks. Bonus trivia: name a single indigenous people who is better off having had missionaries arrive on their shores.
#22
Toilet paper is less expensive than tissues but works just as well.
Scarlett O'Hara's Ghost 22 hours ago
I always wondered which was actually cheaper. How would one actually go about figuring that out? 💙
#23
Invest in spices. Learn how to cook differnt types of food. A lot of East Indian, middle eastern and Asian, South American food is made up of basic ingredients with spices. If you depend on pre made/cooked food you will always starve. If you learn how to cook you will never be hungry or poor.
Debby Keir 7 hours ago
A bag of couscous is cheap. Boil the couscous add a few diced and fried veggies and a bit of oil or butter plus lemon juice.
#24
Add an egg for nutrition. Got rice and veggies? Those are sides. Fry it with an egg and that it is a good meal. Add a hardboiled egg to instant ramen for a gourmet experience. A piece of toast with a fried egg is now an open-faced sandwich.
#25
If you are absolutely, for sure, going to overdraw and there’s nothing you can do to prevent it, go buy a grocery store gift card before the overdraw hits.
Now you have access to food and gas without having to get dinged for multiple overdraft fees before your next paycheck comes in.
Just make sure that the total overdraft (including the big bill plus the gift card) doesn’t exceed your maximum overdraft.
Better still is to not overdraft in the first place, but when you’re po’, s**t happens.
#26
I crumble crackers into my tuna salad to add volume and found i enjoy the taste.
Bertha Madott 5 hours ago
My favourite sandwich filling is egg and tuna. Together. With mayo and celery. Much much cheaper than “straight” tuna
#28
When your batteries run out on your remote, just take the batteries out, rub them in your hands for 30-40 seconds to make heat friction & bam they work again. Not for long though but enough to get where you need to go on the TV.
#29
Spaghetti aglio e olio can be made with noodles, garlic, olive oil, and some seasoning for about $1.50 per serving, is so easy to make, and tastes like a gourmet meal. It's better with parmesan but doesn't need it.
Canned vegetables from the dollar store are exactly the same vegetables as the ones from the supermarket and are often half the price. Same with dried pasta.
Volunteer somewhere that rescues food. There's usually surplus due to storage issues and it's short time span before spoilage. Rescued food is about keeping food out of the landfill and is not exclusively for low income people.
Split the cost of the cheapest Costco membership with a few friends (one person is on card but can bring "guests") and buy bulk items to split.
Participate in mutual aid.
This one is dependent on having a car or a ride and what's available in your area, but if you have pets, go to a "farm" vet. Basically any vet outside a metropolis area. They often have much cheaper rates and are just as qualified to care for cats and dogs. I drive an extra 15 minutes to a vet just on the otherside of my city's perimeter, and consistently pay $100s less in comparison to the vets on the otherside of the perimeter.
#30
Soup, spaghetti, chicken and vegetable rice. Make enough for three days.
#31
Buy unsold frozen thanksgiving turkeys. Batch cook and freeze. I've done this several years where I'll buy 12 turkeys, smoke them over a few months, and have meal portions in the deep freeze. It lasts all year even with trying to keep 2 boys full.
#32
Add rice to ramen broth after finishing the noodles to extend the life.
Otto Katz 11 hours ago
I did something similar recently. Had a new kind of pickle, half sours, finished the jar. They were amazing! So we bought pickling cukes, cut them up, put them in the washed jar, boiled the brine, and poured it over the newly cut cukes. Fridge for 3 weeks, New Pickles! And they were great.
#34
Shop for your groceries online. You can stay within your budget every time, no impulse buying and focus on whatever is on sale. And if you pick it up yourself there’s no delivery fee.
nottheactualphoto 9 hours ago
No. I want to be able to examine the actual thing I'm buying. This head of lettuce, not that one. And so forth.
#35
Peanut butter oatmeal is really cheap calories and nutrition.
Chug water with every meal to feel full.
Auntriarch 19 hours ago
Peanut butter on rice is good though, with a bit of chilli and maybe fried onion.
#36
Start a jar collection. I haven't used plastic baggies in years. Everything goes into the jars.
#37
Put spinach in everything. Eggs. Soup. Salad. Fiber with a protein makes you full longer.
Jan Rosier 18 hours ago
Yuck, spinach - on of the very few veggies I avoid. The other one is mange-tout.
#38
Slide meals. Buy a meat that is on sale first day and a handful of Versitike ingredients. Then turn each nights leftovers into the start of the next meal. Tacos > Taco Soup > Cheese Dip > Mac and Cheese > Casserole.
Made a website to automate meal planning for it that I'm working a major overhaul but if anybody needs it, slidemeals.com.
#39
Buy food in bulk and meal prep. It's better for your wallet and health.
Kelly Scott 9 hours ago
I'm one person with a very small sized fridge and freezer. I also live in a trailer. Where, exactly, am I supposed to freeze and store all this bulk food? People that live in apartments are also in this predicament, as they rarely have a separate freezer and limited cabinet space.
#40
Crack an egg into a pot of ramen at the end= gourmet meal
VPNs are always cheaper than streaming services
That’s about all I got.
#41
I grew up in upper middle class family but still was an Eagle Scout , but both my dad and wife grew up dirt poor. Here’s what they’ve passed on to me (including my father in law)
- Honey and salt never go bad
-smoke any meat before it expires, or be sure you have the ability to freeze it.
- most canned food tastes okay even in the 5-10 yr range
- don’t throw out construction materials, especially older ones, especially older wood. But even still, any fastener can always be repurposed.
- always take the sweeteners and bread rolls home from a dinner
- always have a stash of cash that could get you thru the next week or two if something were to happpen
- always stash a carton of cigarettes, grain liquor, and ammo away as those are the most traded items in an economic collapse
- your most important resources are your neighbors and make sure to treat them well. Physical labor for their needs goes the longest way.
- keep seeds on hand for any produce that grows well in your area. Even easier if you keep seeds from the plants you’ve grown. I grow a lot of tomato, cucumber, peppers, etc.
- recycle fats and greases, they can also be used for fuel
- new age one: solar generators can save your life
- keep a rifle, fishing pole, strong blade, and net around. These can be used in many different fashions, but are key for harvesting and capturing proteins.
- shovel - you can create your own irrigation systems if done correctly.
- Be nice. Probably the top thing. My grandparents generation wasn’t called The Greatest Generatjon for no reason. Care for your fellow man, and it will eventually pay itself in multiple dividends
- get a dog if you don’t have one. They feed off scraps and willl protect you.
- remember MASLOW’s rules. That model prioritizes survival
I understand I gave survivor type of instances, but when you’re poor, you’re always on that borderline.
-.
#42
Take a spin the night before trash day in the rich neighborhoods. Buy Nothing Groups has made this even easier.
Geoffrey Scott 14 hours ago
Or in college towns, them kids throw out EVERYTHING they don't wanna haul home.
#43
Irish Spring body soap lasts an exceptionally long time.
#44
I walk or take the bus everywhere.
Upstaged75 9 hours ago
I wish I had this option. I just don't live where it's feasible. America of course. 🤷♀️
#45
Learn. To. Bake.
Upstaged75 9 hours ago
I'm pretty sure I'd spend more on supplies than I would just buying premade bread, etc.
#46
Ooh, I used to hate pizzas from the supermarket but since air fryers they taste SO good, exactly the same as take out pizza. I save so much just buying a pizza from the supermarket, adding my toppings to it (olives, more cheese) and man, it tastes soo good (don't forget to drizzle oil for the crispiness).
#47
Save (and plant) your seeds. Compost, and turn your compost regularly. Grow whatever you can, and can whatever you can't eat soon.
Nikki Sevven 7 hours ago
A lot of seeds from grocery store produce won't germinate...by design. But do save seeds from farmer's market produce.
#48
Never eat out.
If possible/reasonable walk to the grocery store. Basically if you can carry it you need it. No backpack. Keeps you busy for awhile walking then slows down your shopping to must haves only based on what you can carry.
#49
Heat at 55F in the winter and everyone gets a heated blanket. Saved hundreds.
Austzn 6 hours ago (edited)
Yeah but they don't use much electricity; only around 100 watts. The central fan for an average suburban home (not including the furnace or a/c to actually heat or cool) uses 10x that much on its own.
Load More Replies... Upstaged75 9 hours ago
I'm a hot sweaty person and even I don't keep my heat that low. The poor cats would freeze!
Fire Singer 7 hours ago
Same, I do not like summer and heat, but even I can't stay in a 55F house. Except at night to sleep in my warm bed then sure.
Load More Replies... Hugo 16 hours ago
Presumably you mean the temperature in the bedroom. For the living room I need about 21°C: it used to be less but we feel the cold more as we get older.
Geoffrey Scott 14 hours ago (edited)
My wife laughed at me when I put a heated lap blanket at the foot of the bed under the fitted sheet during our long, cold Michigan winters. First night of toasty feet stopped THAT.
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What do you think ?
Lee Gilliland 7 hours ago
All your soap shards can be put in some water and heated so they dissolve. Makes a nice soft soap.
Auntriarch 6 hours ago
I put soap slivers in a piece of net or tulle, knit it, and use it at the kitchen sink.
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Bartlet for world domination 18 hours ago
I freeze ounce sized strips of smoked pork belly, cut one into small pieces when it's still frozen, fry it and add it to my rice, beans, and onions meal. So much better and not really expensive.
Emilu 8 hours ago
That sounds nice. Do you smoke it yourself or get it pre-smoked?
Load More Replies...
liam newton-harding 4 hours ago
This is not an "uplifting" article...this is a very real sign we ARE living through late-stage-capatilism, and walking into a dystopia.
Lee Gilliland 7 hours ago
All your soap shards can be put in some water and heated so they dissolve. Makes a nice soft soap.
Auntriarch 6 hours ago
I put soap slivers in a piece of net or tulle, knit it, and use it at the kitchen sink.
Load More Replies... Bartlet for world domination 18 hours ago
I freeze ounce sized strips of smoked pork belly, cut one into small pieces when it's still frozen, fry it and add it to my rice, beans, and onions meal. So much better and not really expensive.
Emilu 8 hours ago
That sounds nice. Do you smoke it yourself or get it pre-smoked?
Load More Replies... liam newton-harding 4 hours ago
This is not an "uplifting" article...this is a very real sign we ARE living through late-stage-capatilism, and walking into a dystopia.
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