Hi everyone. I am 30F living without a roommate for the first time and money is tight. What household items or personal products have you found are fine to buy generic and/or from the dollar store? Looking for items like razors, paper towels, dish soap, laundry detergent, feminine hygiene, cleaning supplies, etc. If it helps, I live close to an Aldi, Lidl, Dollar General, Walmart and Target. Any tips or product recommendations are greatly appreciated.
First time living on my own, what products can I skimp on?
byu/Gold_Interaction_598 inFrugal
Posted by Gold_Interaction_598
29 Comments
Congrats on your first solo apartment!! đđ
Dish soap:
YOU CANNOT, in my opinion, some cheaper soaps feel more like water than actual soap and doesn’t lather/you can’t even see it getting clean.
Shampoo/body wash:
depends on your hair/body, my skin dried out a lot with cheaper products, maybe I was buying the wrong thing idk
Razors:
I did for a long time, I don’t see anything wrong with it but the blades did rust faster than the more expensive ones
Toilet paper:
preference
Paper towels:
I’d say don’t skimp TOO MUCH or you’ll be using a whole roll for one spill (prolly depending on the brand) or getting less for your money
Everything? For cleaning, dish soap and white vinegar will do 99% of the job.
All of the above, until youâve had a chance to try them out.
I use Wirecutterâs reviews to find whatâs worth spending more money on. They often have a budget, good, and best choice in each category. Consumer Reports is also good for this. Your local library may provide free access.
Get powdered tide, the free and clear one. Read the instructions and use the small amount, your clothes will get clean. No dryer sheets or fabric softeners. Powdered will be your cheapest option while tide still having the necessary chemicals to clean your clothes properly. There are many cheap options but they don’t really do a while lot in the way of cleaning your clothes, they’re just fancy perfumes and bubbles to make it look like they’re cleaning.
Buy a pack of washable sponges. Mine came in a 12 pack for $10 and I’ll likely never have to buy new sponges again. They just get thrown in the laundry with your clothes. I wouldn’t skimp on dish soap, I use dawn because it just works well. If someone else recommends a good alternative though then that’s worth a try.
If you’re comfortable with using one, get a menstrual cup for like $10-$15 on Amazon. It’ll last a decade and you’ll never have to worry about running out of pads or tampons again.
For me, dish soap and laundry detergent are important and we tried generic brands but weren’t happy with them. I work in a garage and the cheaper stuff just wasn’t getting oil and grease out at all. If your laundry is less dirty you may have better luck with it.
Paper towels, sponges, garbage bags, etc. we go with store brand because they do everything we need them to do. Our grocery store brand toilet paper is actually nicer than some of the big name brand ones so we also save there.
For razors I feel if you get one with replaceable heads it lasts longer than the disposable kind, and the heads aren’t that expensive in a multipack. Q-tips and cotton balls, etc. the cheap brand always work fine for me. For feminine products, I use a Diva Cup. You just clean and sanitize it, store it, and it’s ready for next time, so no expensive pads/tampons taking up space in the trash.
Canât speak to specific products, we use a lot of Krogerâs generic or Kroger brand cleaning products. Thrift some cotton kitchen towels and use them to replace or help conserve paper towels. Cut disposable sponges into smaller sizes to make more of them.
Congrats on your first solo place! I go generic for paper towels, dish soap, cleaning supplies, pantry staples, and OTC meds. Aldi and Lidl brands are great. I splurge on razors, pads, and detergent for quality. Compare unit prices, savings add up fast!
Just here to say please get the free & clear detergent. Itâs the same cost, or less, and no one will ever be allergic to it (unlike a lot of the scented versions). Also, dryer sheets can cause hives – no need to use those at all, imo.
Iâm not sure Iâd really skimp on cleaning supplies though. Skimping on going out to eat or getting take out? Sure. But, the main items for cleaning just work.
Palmolive or dawn for dish soap (free & clear here too, imo). We get our paper towels at Costco, but otherwise wait for a buy 1, get 1 deal and stock up (same for toilet paper).
Razors are a scam, basically – at least major brands. Dollar shave club or similar ones – subscribe for 1 month, get the initial items, cancel, and have razors for 8-12 months this way.
Not a huge fan of shopping at target or Walmart – usually better products can be found elsewhere, and itâs easy to overspend when visiting those stores. _Maybe_ a target or Walmart for a bulk size detergent? (A sale at a grocery store, or anytime at Costco, is usually a better deal – though, run the numbers as this will vary by region)
We usually buy our soaps when they are on sale too. Buy 1, get 1 or % off and stock up.
Aldi is a great place to go for some of these items. Itâs rare theyâll have everything, but they do have solid options (even if it isnât name brand, itâs perfectly fine).
Where youâll really save money:
– go out to eat less / cook at home more, when you can
– donât subscribe to any cable tv
– keep your internet bill in check, call every 12 months to âcancelâ and be offered the best going rate
– use a cheap cell phone carrier, lots are $30/month now (and will sometimes offer to pay your early termination fee with whoever youâre with thatâs overcharging you)
– subscribe to only one streaming service at a time (unless you grab crazy deals during Black Friday) > watch everything you want from it > cancel > sign up for next streaming > watch all you want > cancel, rinse & repeat
– donât overspend on a car. Only have what you need. Try to avoid financing it if at all possible
– shop around for insurance (car or otherwise) – weâre paying literally 1/2 the price of others through the Costco program (not sure if you can get a quote before having a membership though, and Iâm sure this will vary by state, so donât rush into buying a membership just for this)
– make building up a rainy day fund ($3k-$10k) your first priority. People tend to make bad financial decisions when in a bind (like car breaks down). Itâs best to have a rainy day fund to be ready for these scenarios and not over react
– if you shop at aldi, lidl, and local Asian / Hispanic markets, veggies can be super cheap – price compare for yourself. Itâs not impossible to eat healthy & cheap, but may mean going to 2-3 stores vs 1 (example – aldi has great canned and jarred veggies, some good fresh veggies, but is missing out on a wide selection – get what you can at Aldi, especially canned/jarred, then go to the Hispanic / Asian market to get cheap fresh veggies if you have one in your area that has good prices)
These are all tips you didnât ask for ⌠but, itâs easier to skimp in some areas vs others. Cleaning/hygiene supplies arenât the easiest to skimp in once you have it figured out.
Buy a menstrual cup. Watch for sales in products you do buy. When there is a sale, buy two or more. Use less than the package says and see what happens. I find they want you to use more than you need.
I recently switched to Dollar Tree for all my beauty and personal care items and my skin has never looked better. Theyâve started carrying dupes of high-end popular productsâfrom Fenty lip gloss to Drunk Elephant skincare. Rough calculations, my new skincare routine costs $7 a month and the name-brand equivalents would cost over $120. Join us over at r/dollartreebeauty!
Think about personal hygiene over glamour. Target is excellent for quality makeup, body products, etc. Stick to the tried and true. Any old bar soap for the bathroom, body lotion, etc. You don’t need a million products,
Do you have easy access to a washing machine? If so, I’d skip disposable paper products and use cloth for most cleaning. You can make rags from old t-shirts or thrift towels and cloth napkins for cheap. A week’s worth of cleaning rags take up minimal space in a load of towels, which you’re already washing anyway. And they’ll last forever so you don’t have to have a budget for paper towels, napkins, etc. I hang wet ones to dry and then stash them in a mesh basket under my sink until laundry day.
Feminine hygiene: get what works best for you and don’t skimp. Just keep an eagle eye out for SALES. The Flipp app might help you find the best price.
Dish soap: Be slightly picky here, because the cheapest dish soap doesn’t stay foamy and you will use it up much faster. I usually buy “Sunlight” or equivalent; I buy the huge jugs of it when it goes on sale and refill the little squirt bottle. HINT: when hand-washing dishes, pour a little dish soap in a bowl with some water and set it by the sink. Just keep dipping your washing sponge into that dish. A tiny amount of dish soap goes a long way!
Avoid using disposable items (like paper towels) on a daily basis. You can buy a dozen cloths (I just use rags made from old Tshirts) and wash them. Use paper towels only for really disgusting things like pet accidents.
Toothpaste. The basic ingredients you need for brushing your teeth are the same in every toothpaste. You pay more for taste and other extras like whitening and a nice taste.
Your best bet might be just buying Aldi brands for pretty much everything. While everything they have might not be our absolute favorite, some of it. Is and itâs all, at minimum, serviceable/tolerable.
If you want a laundry booster like oxiclean, just buy a $2 box of Borax instead. It also allows you to get cheaper laundry detergent.
If you use a machine that runs the water through the detergent cup + powdered laundry detergent, you may need to throw the detergent into the drum instead or rehydrate it to ensure it all gets to your clothes instead of becoming a solid chunk in the machine’s detergent cup.
Honestly, I buy pretty much all of those with the generic brand. I would look at what you absolutely must buy with a specific brand (only because the generic doesn’t make it exactly like that) and budget for that but buy the rest generic. I’ve never had any issues with generic brand items.
Contrats on the place! For general stuff, if money is tight right now mostly because you need to stock the whole house all at once, getting a small size now to hold you over and replacing with the bigger economy packs might be the best way to get yourself started. Its a little more expensive per unit, but less upfront cost.
Powdered laundry detergent and dishwasher detergent tend to be cheaper than pods/liquid bc its easier to ship. I’d buy laundry detergent, specifically, in small quantities when trying out new products just to make sure you’re not going to break out in a rash and then are stuck with a whole jug.
Paper towels, toilet paper, and sponges can definitely be generic. If you have old towels/t shirts already, they make good cleaning rags too. Broom and a mop can definitely be generic.
Dish soap, vinegar, baking soda, and bleach (not all at the same time) will cover most of your immediate cleaning needs. I’d buy a hand soap too just so you don’t dry out your hands.
Like with the powdered detergents, bars of soap are mostly cheaper than body wash. A facial bar like Dove and a body bar like Dial will get you clean though I totally get that sometimes you want/need the fancy stuff for skin condition.
Razors are personal, I’ve always hated the cheap cents razors that are completely disposable. I got one of those fancy tilting head razors that takes straight razor blades, the Leaf, but its a big money investment at the beginning.
Hmm, just because this is your first solo place, make sure you have a toilet brush and plunger now. They can be dollar tree or whatever. Just don’t get stuck without them lol.
Haven’t seen any post about switching to safety razors. You can get them for $.50-$.75 per blade.
All of them. I always buy generic first and then switch to name brand only if I can’t find something that works well as generic.
Lots of cleaning supplies! Generic bleach and vinegar, sponges, hand soap (though Iâd get the good dish soap if youâre washing dishes by hand).
Iâd suggest a menstrual cup if youâre comfortable with it. Theyâre not that expensive upfront, and they last years. So much $$ savings! And thereâs never a dry tampon feeling with it.
If you have a friend with a Costco membership, ask them to get you toilet paper and paper towels for you and reimburse them for it. Thereâs a list out there somewhere of the most cost effective things at Costco. Maybe worth a look?
Keep up your car maintenance! If you donât, the long-run repercussions will be rough and very expensive. A $60 oil change and $400 of new tires are cheaper than a ruined engine and a hydroplane accident.
Generic vitamins are usually just as good as the expensive stuff.
If you need prescription meds, use GoodRx. That app saves you so much money! And Costco also has great prices on meds.
Do note that Dollar General has a sordid history of falsifying prices. It will say one price on the shelf, but youâll be charged more than that price at the register. There have been multiple lawsuits over it. So Iâd avoid that place on principle and because you wonât know the full cost until youâve already been rung up. If you want to deep-dive, thereâs some good videos on YouTube about it.
To keep your clothes soft and smelling fresh, use wool dryer balls. They sell them at Walmart and Target. Infuse with your favorite essential oil – just a tiny bit every now and then – and your clothes will be soft and smelling great (I use a green tea, lemon verbena mix) No more fabric softener – terrible for the environment and your machines!
Get a wet/dry electric razor. I got mine for $20 on amazon and its lasted years and works amazing. Bonus, I donât get razor burn using it.
Bar soap, toothpaste, toothbrushâs, cleaning supplies. Never get cheep toilet paper.
Aldi had this silicone sponge with a hard scraper at the endâŚI love it! Roam the âAisle of shameâ just for curiosity when you do go. đ
Honestly, I feel like utilizing multiple places for goods is the way to go. Shop sales (which you can check in the apps now), and unless you have a very specific brand you like, go with what your budget.
I donât buy personal care items at dollar store. Walmart seems to my best price for those items, even compared to Target. Target is my âI canât find this specific item at Walmartâ go to.
Aldi is my best produce shop, but I dislike their generic items like almond milk, and some other stuff.
TL;DR- shop sales and be willing to venture to different stores đ
Congrats on your own place. Iâve never lived alone. Went from home, to military, to roommates, to marriage. The independence must feel amazing đ
Invest in a dozen microfiber cloths – I use paper towels for meat messes and pet yuck, but I use microfiber with hot water for most everything else. Rinse and dry thoroughly between uses, launder regularly.
Get in the habit of cleaning as you go – rinse dishes and the sinks and shower with hot water immediately after you use it.
You need WAY less detergent than you think – I use about 1-2T per load, and skip the dryer sheets. I do add 1T of a disinfectant like Odoban if I have a particularly yucky/stinky load. Same with dish soap, use as little as possible – you can always add more as needed.
Aldi for everything – they are so affordable. Face wash/lotion, moisturizer, all of it is really good.
For cleaning the house, vinegar and dish soap will clean just about everything. Kitchen, bathroom, etc. Fill a small spray bottle with vinegar, and squirt in some dish soap, mix. This cleans stainless steel sinks in the kitchen, watersports everywhere, grime from bathtubs, makeup and hair product residue etc.Vinegar is also fantastic for cleaning glass and mirrors.
Powdered Tide is one of *the most effective* laundry detergents, and you can also use it to wash your floors effectively (used to clean houses, this is a trick we used).
You kinda answered your own question.
When I moved out, I got my dish drain, cutlery, oven mitts, trash cans, broom, dustpan, detergent from dollar tree. I still have them all so no issues.