I challenged myself to cook all my meals at home for one month just to see if I could stick to it.
By the end, I had saved over $300 without even trying that hard. On top of that, I was eating healthier, wasting less food, and actually enjoying the process of cooking.
It made me realize that frugality isn’t always about strict budgets or complicated systems sometimes it’s one simple habit that ends up changing everything.
What’s one frugal habit you tried that surprised you with how much it saved?
The frugal habit that saved me more than I expected.
byu/sarah_west_1 inFrugal
Posted by sarah_west_1
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Sewing. One little hole and the shirt or pants would be ruined. Now I can fix these before they get noticeable. Also have repaired household goods that require mending on a machine such as straps. Saves so much. And doesn’t contribute to trash heap.
Just buying stuff I need! I go to a store with a list and only go down the aisles where the stuff I need is located. I get in, then get out quickly so I’m not distracted. When shopping online, I look for sales on what I need, and I don’t browse for other random things.
The other thing that helps me is having a reason to save money. I always have home repairs and projects to get done, so having that goal always in mind helps me stop buying junk I don’t need.
Shopping sale flyer loss-leader items, generally from the front page.
Make your weekly menu based on what is on sale rather than making your menu first
OP I second that! Meal prep. I invested in some simple food containers – the ones you get at a deli or Chinese restaurant. Nothing fancy but effective and inexpensive. I spend a weekend a month and make 6,7 recipes, label them with dissolvable labels (sounds expensive but you can get 500 for $10), and freeze them.
***I want to be clear, I’m really fortunate that where I live there is a lot of freezer space. I know this is not normal!**
– gives you options to pick from for a meal.
– less cleaning up after each meal. Do it all in a weekend a month. Yes time consuming and tiring. If I didn’t I’d easily fall back unto the habit of overpriced take out.
– healthier eating – I am not cooking to loose weight, but now I know what goes into my food. Spices, meats, fake sugar, almond flour, etc.
– overall less expensive!! I do a huge groceries run when I cook, but that’s spread over a month
– when I am craving fresh food or take out, I can still do that
– less food waste
– for me, I found a bunch of recipes on Pinterest. I would cook maybe 5, 6 that I’ve tried before, and 2, 3 new ones. If I didn’t like, then I don’t need to eat again. I saved the recipes I like & build a menu haha
– Pinterest is a great resource for recipes!
Look, I know it’s a huge effort, and I didn’t change my habits overnight, BUT I did put a lot of effort into it, increasing it over time. Once I got into a rhythm and schedule it wasn’t as daunting.
Reach out for suggesting!
YEARS ago I always bought a cup of coffee at work’ cafeteria. Only 50cents for a small and 75cents for a large cup. Not much, I could afford it.
At some point I started bringing my own thermos of coffee daily. Ive already made a cup for me to enjoy at home in the morning before work anyway so just need to make more. Better coffee and more for the money.
Now almost 10 years later, I haven’t spent another cent buying coffee at work. Now price has gone up $1.5 (maybe more) for the small cup.
Same with bringing my lunch to work. At the beginning it was sporadic and I was still buying at work if I didn’t feel like cooking. Covid hit and the cafe went downhill (in food options and taste while price went up). Now I cook big batches on weekend and bring my lunch everyday. Or bring leftover if I eat out on weekends.
All in all, I truly haven’t spend any money ($0) at the work cafeteria the last 5-6years. And I’m proud of it.