For me, it’s the simple habits passed down from family. Cooking at home instead of eating out, carrying a water bottle instead of buying one, and reusing jars or old cloth as cleaning rags.
Even shopping during discount seasons instead of impulse buying has been a huge saver. These little things may not look like much, but over time they add up and keep life grounded.
What’s a middle-class hack that still saves you money today?
byu/NoMedicine3572 inFrugal
Posted by NoMedicine3572
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Buying popcorn in bulk and popping it on the stovetop, instead of prepackaged popcorn
Brew you coffee at home and take it with you.
Tent camping instead of hotels.
Work… Figure out a work uniform. Even if it’s 4 or 5 interchangable pieces.
>and reusing jars or old cloth as cleaning rags.
Dunno man, I don’t think reusing jars as cleaning rags works very well 😉
One hack that would save my parents a lot of money but they don’t do, but that I do, is to eat before going to costco, even if it’s just the $1.50 hot dog. You don’t buy as much when you’re not hungry.
Cooking at home, making home cooked meals to bring to work, not impulse buying, looking at the price of things per weight, not just total price, etc.
Buying a sewing kit and learning basic hand sewing can help save pieces of clothing that need minor fixes for almost no additional investment. I can replace buttons, hem slacks, and reattach zippers with the same needles and thread I’ve had since 2016.
Since when is cooking a “hack” ? Just basic being a human 101.
Something more in line with “hack”, and actually something I do – is living closer to the city so that I am in range of reliable public transit and as a family we can very comfortably only have one car. Our house, especially not out in the boonies is an asset that is likely to appreciate in time. Our car, as much as we love it and its great, is only gonna lose all its value eventually, plus maintenance, plus insurance – why would I want two cars?
Works for renters, too. I always tried to rent close to where I want to be / to public transit that goes directly to where I wanna be. Sure my rent is a little more expensive, but still cheaper than a car, and better quality of life, too.
Comparing prices. With apps it’s easy.
Big purchases are where you make your savings
Also what you do
Some people spend 2k on their lawn but call it frugal cause it was on discount
Cooking beans and legumes from dry
Buying in bulk.
Workout have a nice body and personality. Make people laugh and want to be around you.
This life hack landed me a well off wife and family.
Cooking is middle class?
Pack your lunch at home. Don’t eat out
Brew your morning coffee at home, look at the grocery store flyers and plan your meal prep around what’s on sale that week, base most of your meals on canned goods, frozen veggies, and tofu/inexpensive protein options, wash/clean whatever you can using baking soda and or vinegar, don’t bother with paper towel use rags, don’t impulse buy research beforehand, get a library card and use that sucker, ensure your hobbies aren’t too expensive for your lifestyle, find weekend activities that are basically free, don’t attempt to keep up with other people in order to maintain some weird social status, keep it simple when it comes to hygiene showers everyday and have your staple products you know work well for your hair skin and teeth and buy them in bulk when they go on sale, look at your wardrobe and figure out what you actually need to replace before you go clothes shopping write a specific list before you leave your place, find frugal friends 😉
Buying your junk food at Dollar Tree. It’s not like bagged popcorn, cheese puffs, cookies, etc. are made with quality ingredients, anyway, so why pay premium?
Smartfood, Cheeto Puffs, and Keebler Grasshopper cookies at mass retailers/grocery stores are $5ish/each. So in one trip alone you save over $10 on 3 items.