I picked up a habit during a tight month where I forced myself to use everything in my fridge before buying more groceries. It started because I was broke, but now it has stuck. I’ve saved so much money and I waste way less food. Funny enough, I actually look forward to the challenge of figuring out what to make with whatever I have left.
What’s a frugal habit you picked up during a tough time that became a long term win?
What’s a “cheap habit” you started out of necessity that you still keep because it genuinely made your life better?
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Convincing myself that my food At home is better than in the restaurant
Saving all my scraps for broth. Veggie. Beef. Chicken. Turkey. Bones, fat, skin, all the cuttings of veggies that are low in water. It’s made my cooking taste so much better and now I never buy boxed broth!
Tracking every Cent I spent.
Hoarding takeaway napkins & sauces. Never buying paper towels again, AND my meals spice level is endlessly adjustable~
i boil fruits to make a healthy fruit juice or freeze them then use the frozen fruit to make the same water
Drinking water in place of pretty much anything else.
Basically free, no sugar, no carbs, no calories. It really is just better in everyway.
Working on cars myself. I can do brakes, oil, most fluids, shocks,and small engine jobs. Save me thoudands.
Drinking as much water you can the second you wake up.
Always bringing food from home for lunch at work.
I can’t say I’m as frugal as some on here, but the habit I keep up with is luxury at home. I have 3 different ways to make coffee at home and it’s always perfect for me. I make steak at home and get a nice bottle of red and it’s always great. My husband will never eat bread from a store again and helps me make it too. No need to go out for many items I might crave and it makes an interesting hobby and we can eat the mistakes.
Also, buy clothes that will last and repair them. No need to go shopping, which I actually enjoy thrift stores, but I have plenty of quality clothes that I enjoy wearing.
I cut my own hair. Takes me 20 mins, don’t have to bother with making appointments, driving, etc.
I switched to primarily plant-based proteins about three years ago. I didn’t do it to be frugal, but I found that it is extremely inexpensive. Every morning for breakfast I make a smoothie out of frozen bananas, frozen blueberries, fresh, spinach, and pea proteins. Every Sunday I make a big batch of some type of bean dish, using dried beans. I parcel it out into Tupperware and bring one to lunch every day. It is really shocking to me How inexpensive dried beans are. I would estimate that each meal is between $.50 and a dollar.
Pack a cooler and bag of snacks and drinks for roadtrips, take a tea kettle and pour-over coffee kit for morning coffee in hotels rather than hitting up SBX downstairs
Not buying anything for Black Friday. 100% discount!
Eating beans regularly. They are so good, cheap, healthy and once you get a preparation rhythm going very easy.
I use cheap shampoo like Suave instead of expensive body gel. I can get them on sale for $2 for a big bottle.
• Checking key websites before buying a game.
• Buying almost any PC parts used if possible
• Filling up gas whenever it is $2.80 or under, even if I only need 15% a tank. The little savings add up!
• Buying expensive clothes used or replicas before committing to paying the high price.
• Download tons of food apps, look through them for deals or Freebie Guy on Instagram for current food deals when I’m hungry and don’t know what to eat.
• Farm daily freebie credits on online gambling websites. Slow but reliable earnings.
Washcloths instead of paper towels. I did go back to buying paper towels but they’re used a lot less now. Mainly for puke and contact lenses.
Cold brew tea and coffee. I have four carafes: coffee, black and green tea, and barley tea. Set them on my counter for a couple hours then in the fridge. Dump them in my Stanley mug before I head to work. Haven’t had coffee in Starbucks this century.
I always have Zatarain’s Red Beans & Rice/Jambalaya/Gumbo Mixes in the cupboard to use up whatever’s left in the fridge: rotisserie chicken, ground beef, peppers and onions. Make a batch for dinner and freeze the rest. I can get 4-6 meals out of every package.
Making my own coffee
Protein shakes. Not really “cheap” but definitely a money and health saver. I use them when I’m too busy to eat properly and they save me from eating fast food and junk throughout the day because the protein helps me feel full.
Glass jars from spaghetti sauce and fruit spreads. Anything that’s 20oz or larger is turned into food storage containers and water glasses.
Drinking tea and coffee over soda and bottled water saves a ton. Plus, I have practiced zero food waste for years.
Making my rice in 1:1 rice and beans. i.e. 1 cup rice & 1 cup beans. It genuinely tastes good (I love beans) and it’s filling. Also packed with nutrients. Plain rice is too boring at this point.
I bulk buy household consumables in the off season when everything is on sale. i.e. in the spring I buy furnace filters, salt, winter windshield fluid, things like that. In the fall I do the opposite. When I bulk buy, I also buy exactly enough for the season/year. I pretty much have this down to a science at this point.
I also buy a years worth of toiletries in January because everything is on sale then. You can also get really good deals on “fancy” toiletries that are leftover from the holidays. This helps me to avoid the temptation of spontaneous buying of toiletries to try new products (a weakness I used to have) that I almost always end up not liking as much as my usual products.
My other frugal habit is just to avoid shopping as much as possible. It is NOT a boredom activity for me like it is for a lot of people. It started when I was sick for a few years and couldn’t really go to stores and at the time I was also decluttering my house because I was home a lot more then normal. The not shopping, while also streamlining my house really taught me how much stuff I truly did not need and how freeing it was to not have to look after so much stuff.
Nowadays every year, I actually, happily, own less. My goal in 2026 is to track exactly what I buy that is not a need or a consumable, because I think the list would be impressively small. My family often teases me that I probably buy more then I think. I don’t, and it would be nice to have an actual list to show them. They are all shopaholics so its sorta a friendly family tongue in cheek activity to prove them wrong.
I tell my mum this nearly everyday. We were poor when we were kids, as was her family, and it’s really stuck with her to have as much food as possible. I’m the opposite, I want to be able to see EVERYTHING. I shouldn’t have to move anything to see another product (an exception is duplicates ofc). I’ve explained it actually makes me anxious and I don’t eat what we have because there’s too much, that we need to eat what’s there. Alas, last night she bought the meat and veg for dinner despite the other meat and veg we have.
After a few years of hard work
I actually can make just about anything better than any restaurant
And it’s tailored to my taste
Basically only go out to eat stuff I don’t have access to or things I can’t do
That doesn’t mean everyone needs to invest time and energy and make it a lifestyle change
But literally any amount of time and energy WILL improve anyone’s life
Instead of diminishing returns , they compound instead
I fucking love everything I make and it keeps getting better and better with time
Like 10000 recipes on YouTube
Literally everything you like is better and cheaper at home from spaghetti to tacos
Times are tough , vegetables and groceries that cost 12 bucks are coming out 35$ consistently
Anyone have stockpile of cans at home?
Food shortage?
Look up pozole soup
Throw all that mess in there!
Perfect place to start this coming winter!
If I want something that is not a need, I put off buying it until I see if my interest fades (which it often does).
Started buying marked down produce. I now always have a freezer full of smoothie ingredients and two or three kinds of simple syrups steeping my fridge to flavor beverages like shrubs and iced teas.
Learning music and drawing with YouTube instead of go shopping
Cycling. Started as a cheap way of sport while getting my mind together from the divorce. Had much fun. Bought a new bike ( with the Christmas bonus). Biked more. Started to do trips and errands by bike in stead of car. Found a new bike boy friend. More bike trips, bike weekends together, less car.
Married. Bought more bikes. Car went to rare mode ( freight trips, hospital trips and far away family trips only). Body very happy, mind very happy wallet very happy. Car sad.
I consider it a personal challenge to eat everything in my fridge and freezer in a three-month time frame. We do it, and it’s actually fun!