Kate Hackett
The FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) subreddit shares the top ways they save money every Frugal Friday and we couldn’t help ourselves: we rounded up some of the best tips that anyone can try!
Check these out and let us know which ones you think you might give a whirl. And remember: even just a penny saved is a penny earned.
1. Sponges
“I cut my sponges in half. I’m so used to it now that a full-size sponge feels like overkill.”
2. DoorDash Trips
“I’ve been taking DoorDash trips in the direction I’m heading for longer drives to get my wife’s fancy sourdough bread. Now, I can write off my mileage, and I can usually make enough to pay for the bread and entire trip.”
3. Yard sales and thrifting
“I’m big on yard sales, thrifting, and flipping the things I already have, and I use that money specifically to buy clothes and shoes. I hunt for high-quality, gently-used brands priced for a steal. For my birthday next month, I have a big bag of clothes and purses, and plan to turn it all in at my favorite thrift store for store credit. I can use that for a shopping spree in the store as a gift to myself!”
4. Diamond alternative
“It’s our one-year anniversary today. I want to make people aware of a diamond alternative called moissanite. It’s lab-grown and looks just as good, if not better than the real thing. Our engagement ring stone is about 1.5 carat size, which can cost $10k-25k depending on clarity. Our moissanite ring cost about $550 and was custom made to our liking.”
5. Planet Fitness
“I belong to a Planet Fitness ($10 a month, plus yearly fee). I started bringing a gym bag and showering and shaving there to cut back on my water bill.”
6. Past their prime
“My local produce market often sells discounted bags of fruits and veggies that are past their prime. Last week, I got a huge bag of bananas for $3. I mushed up the squishiest ones to use in banana bread, and the rest I sliced up and froze for use in smoothies. This particular market runs Friday-Sunday, so if I go on Sunday afternoon, I can usually get some great deals, as long as I’m willing to do a little work chopping and freezing afterwards.”
7. Wait.
“I never buy the latest model phone or computer. This year’s $1,000 phone? It will be $300 in three years, and I’ll buy it new then. It will still be a huge improvement on whatever I’m replacing, so it will make me happy. Staying three years behind tech is a great way to save money.”
Anonymous
8. No dryer
“Weather has been over 90 degrees all week, so I have been hang drying instead of using our dryer. Cost-wise, it’s probably minimal, but it makes me feel good to give less money to the utility company, and being more eco-friendly is definitely a bonus!”
9. Split the meal
“My girlfriend has a favorite restaurant but notoriously wouldn’t be able to eat her whole meal. Now, whenever we go, we share the meal and get an appetizer. This has trickled into whenever we are eating out, we typically split the meal.”
10. Collect water
“I got an extra trash can and put it outside, so when it rains, I collect that natural water. In my area, it doesn’t rain much. I then use this water as irrigation for my backyard. Saves on the water bill a little bit.”
11. Bar soap lasts longer
“Bar soap is better than body wash. I made the switch in college to bar soap. One bottle of body wash would last me about a month and cost $3-5. I can buy eight bars of soap for the same price, and it easily lasts me six-plus months.”
12. Surveys
“I answer Craigslist ads to participate in surveys. Sometimes, they are Zoom focus groups, which can last an hour or two (these are usually $100-200). Sometimes, they’re $5 Amazon gift card surveys. I use the money to buy essentials like soap, kitchen supplies, toothpaste, etc.”
Anonymous
13. DIY Slurpee
“I enjoy the occasional frozen beverage such as a Slurpee or Icee. Unfortunately, the prices have increased such that a Slurpee is now $2.99 plus tax in my area. I’ve been buying the pre-sweetened Kool-Aid and Country Time lemonade mixes on sale for $0.99-1.49 and using a bit of that with water and crushed ice in a blender so I can get 20-plus drinks per mix.”
14. Order for pick up
“Ordering groceries for pickup vs. shopping in store saves me a few hundred a month on impulse purchases. Also, I leave my husband at home when I go to Costco. He has no self-discipline at Costco!”
15. Image search
“Online shopping tip: Install a chrome extension for reverse image searching and use it before you buy anything. Sometimes, things are sold on multiple online retailers at different prices. I just switched from buying a sofa on Wayfair to Target.”
16. MPG
“I’ve started slowing my acceleration and timing my coasting better, and I’ve improved my MPG by almost a full three MPG.”
17. Eat it all
“We are three weeks in on eating through all the leftovers and extras in our fridge, freezer, and pantry. Other than a couple of fresh bits and pieces, we basically spent nothing on food this month. Looks like we’ve hit the end of the road for full meals, but next week, we’re aiming to build our meals entirely around something we already have.”
18. Coffee
“My wife and I are mainly tea drinkers but will occasionally buy a fancy coffee drink to mix things up. In the last year, our local coffee shop has gotten just too expensive. We were at about $7 per drink with tip, which felt outrageous. So, I bought a little moka pot for $30 and started making drinks at home. I can use whatever kind of milk I want (almond, oat, coconut, or dairy) and sweeten it the perfect amount. I daresay the drinks are better, and the moka pot has already paid for itself.
“I heavily disagree with sentiment of ‘stop buying fancy coffee, and you’ll be able to buy a house, millennials.’ But in our case, it definitely helps keep us within our eating out budget each week.”
19. Budget tools
“Looking first on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace for any tools I need. As a first-time homeowner, I’ve saved well over $1,000 already on tools and probably thousands more doing work myself.”
20. Shop only 2 times a month
“We only grocery shop once every two weeks. This has the result of better planning and less waste because you are forced to eat what you purchased without the safety net of just picking up something new in a few days. There is an Aldi on my spouse’s route home from work, so on the rare occasion we need milk or bread out of cycle, we can get it, but that doesn’t seem to happen very often.”
