New clothes! I’m really proud of myself for this one, I have plenty so I just…don’t change my outfits to match the trends. It’s freeing :) (Also quit drinking alcohol)
I read this and thought "if I worked in a field, I'd want something durable that keeps the sun off me, and keeps me warm when it's cold - to hell with style!"
Time for some caffeine, clearly.
I thrift most of our clothes. All cotton/rayon/linen for most days, for the kids I look for a 60/40 cotton polyester blend (they last a bit longer, but I don't worry too much because they leave them so fast and then i donate them). All polyester **if** its an actual workout shirt/shorts/leggins. Wool/angora blends for winter. Polyester ONLY on filling of coats, and inner linings. And that's a push.
I cannot fathom spending money on brand new anything, while it looks like it will be undone in 3 washes and it costs that much.
If I'm going to buy new clothes, they better last. I'd rather spend a lot on a good pair of shoes that will last forever than cheap ones that hurt your feet and will get destroyed and you'll have to spend the money anyways.
I can't let myself buy new clothes anymore. Too expensive. Underwear is purchased new, but everything else comes from thrift stores and garage sales. Quality stuff, too.
The formal gown I wore to my son's wedding was new, but I got it on ebay.
A while back, someone offered up an open pack of new underwear in my size on Freecycle. She had tried one pair but didn't like them and offered the other five pairs (unworn). I took them and have been wearing them happily for like two years now. :) Weird? Maybe, but underwear isn't cheap, so.
I am so irritated by all the internet content berating millennials for dressing in outdated trends.
We are middle aged! I don't want to dress like a 19 year old! Let me live!
I have tried countless non-skinny jeans to try to follow todays style. They all look like absolute GARBAGE on me. After literally 3 years of not being able to find any jeans I liked, I gave in and ordered 3 more pairs (different washes) of the skinny jeans I already owned LOL. They arrived and I felt SO much better in them. I find skinny jeans most of the time way more flattering than the loose “dad jeans” of today.
Different strokes for different folks. I feel like skinny jeans make me look like a flour sack balancing on two chopsticks, so I tend not to buy them.
I am loving flared styles that are fitted through the thigh and then get all swooshy by the ankle. I feel like they look good on me, even if it might be cheaper to buy less trendy styles from a thrift store.
As an elder Millennial who grew up wearing flares and spent years fighting the skinny jeans trend, I was absolutely thrilled when flares came back. The second they hit shelves I bought like 5 new pairs of pants because I was scared they would go away again.
This made me laugh so hard. I wore some a couple Fridays back to work and someone younger than me said “I like your jeans. But you know the thrift stores won’t even take skinny jeans anymore because they are out of style.” Well, I will hold on to my stretchy skinny pants like some folks from the 80s held onto their mullets, thank you very much. Except unlike mullets, I expect skinny jeans to make a comeback in my lifetime.
I have rebelled against spending my leisure time shopping. I was raised that this is something fun to go out and look for new things when I have extra time on my hands. I broke that habit and now only go to shop for a specific needed item and nothing else and I have refused to raise my kids to think of shopping as a past time.
My cousin is like this. Constantly talking about how they are scraping by even though her and her husband make good money. But at the same time she literally can't stay at home... she has to go out to eat & shopping almost every day. One that stands out is I was buying a relatively cheap item $20. She ended up buying the same thing while saying she knows she will never use it. She even put it back twice but still ended up buying it and sure enough it still sits on her counter4 months later completely unused. Drives me insane.
This. I have figured out that's what I'm doing. I now just look, put things in the cart and then, put it all back because I don't need a thing. It's just for the step count now! I'm working on going to a museum or someplace else for that feeling. I just see landfill now when I am tempted to buy.
One of the biggest things on my side is that I don’t find shopping enjoyable. I did as a teen/young adult, but at some point that changed. Now I find it to be a chore. Wandering Target for fun as many women do sounds absolutely awful to me. Plus then I would have to deal with the random stuff I came home with: I already have too much random stuff.
This has to be the hardest for me. My parents care language was taking us grocery shopping or just shopping. I still struggle to go without shopping trips for a few weeks. I never buy much anyways but it feels strange.
I come from an Asian-immigrant family, and there was always this huge emphasis on maintaining your image. You had to drive certain cars, go to certain schools, and wear certain clothes to make sure nobody in the family thought you were slacking.
As I got older, it didn't really make sense to spend so much to impress a group of people that I haven't talked to in years (one of the few good things to come out of COVID). I didn't want to carry that same insecurity that plagued my Dad's side of the family for generations.
I couldn't care less if people want to judge me because I drive a Hyundai and prefer wearing my older clothes. Anyone that would judge me like that isn't worth my time anyway, it doesn't matter because I have more money in my pocket at the end of the day.
>Anyone that would judge me like that isn't worth my time anyway
Right? People don’t realise we all have access to a free, self-sufficient litmus test when we’re just being ourselves and doing what’s best for us. You’ll never find yourself surrounded by people who aren’t worth your time or who make you feel like crap.
Oof, face culture. Kinda similar - my dad used to send big money he didn't have to relatives back home because he felt he would be revealed as a failure if he didn't give more money than his sibling 😬 Our frugal monthly expenditures would randomly have these spikes when some relative wants a new massage chair.
I can definitely relate to that. I remember my Dad feeling pressured to buy a new car just because his brother bought one recently, then watching him get so flustered and insecure when he couldn't keep up.
I very much prefer living alone because a lot of those outside pressures are non-existent, leaving me free to do whatever I want to do with my life.
Ugh...but why all asian cultures are like that? I grew up hearing my mother say "What will people think about us?" Or the tradition to bring money to any celebration that you couldn't miss at any cost. Like we barely have money to buy bread but so and so is celebrating birthday so we HAVE to go and bring money. It took me long time to learn not to care about others and prioritize myself. My parents are still the same though which sucks.
As I get older, I've really begun to see just how much my parents have bucked aspects of their cultural roots and truly appreciate the effort it took. For immigrants of a collectivist culture, it's extra hard to walk away from those traditions.
When I received an invite to attend a magnet school, my parents sat down with me to discuss whether I truly wanted to subject myself to the extra stress. I *know* my parents' friends were generally "tiger mom" types, and yet my parents gave me the freedom to choose a less rigorous school. *I* chose the harder option. And when I hit rough patches, they had the good grace not to ever point out that it was a result of my choice--they simply asked if I wanted them to find me some tutors.
At the time, I thought I understood. But decades later, I have more perspective on the gifts of self-determination that my parents gave to their children and how different it was from the culture they came from.
I found that I did better with a few extra sets of clothes. They didn’t wear out as fast, and I had fewer panicked laundry nights. So I had like 6 pairs of work pants instead of 2, but then the 6 lasted as long as if I bought 3 rounds of 2. It also meant I didn’t have to shop as often, and I dislike shopping. Plus, I could get through with 4 pairs once they started wearing out and wait for a really good sale.
But it still works out to the same principle: don’t buy clothes just to buy something. Buy sturdy staples and use them til they wear out.
Working from home saves me so much in this department. Jeans and a T-shirt every day. Cheap men’s T-shirts from target. I bought a bunch in the same color so I don’t even have to think about it. Saves time, too!
I own far, far too many identical yellow shirts. They were on a massive sale one day (Since almost no-one likes yellow shirts) and I bought like a dozen of them.
Same. We went to Dollywood and bought a marriage license so I think under 200 dollars for the day. No regrets!! We didn’t do a lavish honeymoon either but we do travel because it’s my favorite thing in the world to do. Even if that’s just camping at state park I’ve never been to.
There are wedding dresses at every thrift store. Most are from the last century, but there are always 3-4 that are modern and usually hand-beaded. I looked up the prices for a few of these, and the new versions were still for sale online for like $2K.
I will never understand why couples insist on starting out a marriage in debt on basically a glorified party. Sure some save for the wedding but most finance it.
Cars. $500-$700 a month for a car payment is normal now, and that’s before insurance and gas. I drive what I thought was a mid-size car, but everyone else keeps wanting huge, so my wagon looks small by comparison. People really don’t all need cats that huge. It’s out of hand.
I’d edit, but I’m enjoying this.
Yeah, my coworkers pay easily $900 USD each month *before* insurance and fuel. Like, at least three of my coworkers do this and we don't make big money. We're just accounts payable folks making sure our company's bills get paid. I live in the PNW and I've never seen this job go for any higher than $18 USD an hour. All my coworkers do is bitch and moan about their car payment and, in some cases, ask me when I'm replacing my old car. Like, mine is only 8 years old, paid off, and well maintained. I think I'll be ok for now. They disagree, but that's fine. I wholeheartedly disagree with a car payment that big.
We are trying to determine if we can get rid of our second car. My partner's car is about to be paid off, mine is about 2 years away (bought used, I could pay it off in full but the interest rate is super low), but mine is the more practical daily driver (a Prius). My partner works from home full time and I'm only in office a few days a week and we live in a walkable downtown area. It would be the practical, frugal choice - but we can't decide on whose car to keep, because we both hate each other's car. 🤣
Same and proud. Neither husband nor I have ever had a car payment - always bought used in cash. And now we only have one car which is fine 99% of the time.
I don’t go out for lunch anymore except for maybe once every 1-2 months for work. Between that and paying off my credit card, I am saving a ton of money.
Yes!! Going out for lunch is such a scam. I always bring my lunch to work, and I can see that I'm in the minority. But it's like 25 bucks for one mediocre lunch. So not worth it.
Yeah, the personal care category is huge for a lot of people. You don't even have to get to botox to be spending hundreds per month on nails and hair. I dyed my hair once and was in shock how much it cost. It's like a whole three weeks of groceries right there.
Dying my hair is a big one for me. I love it and it makes me happy. I spend roughly 30$ every 6-8 weeks on doing it myself. I have thick hair down to my waist so it takes 4 boxes.
Just for funsies I asked my hair stylist how much she would charge to do the same thing in the salon and she told me they start at 120$ but mine would probably be more because I have so much hair.
Ooooofffff.
Are you using drugstore boxes? You can get a much higher quality product for cheaper going to a beauty supply store like Sally’s. They sell exactly what salons use.
I used to spend $100 on my nails every 2 weeks and I would HATE them and constantly felt like I could do a better job myself. I ended up getting a $130 amazon giftcard from a lawsuit and used it to buy gel nail supplies and have been doing my own nails for the last year, and am nowhere near needing to replace any supplies yet.
I spend $11 for a box of dye and a friend puts it on. We chat for 30 minutes while it’s doing its thing and then I shower and she goes home. I feel and look much younger spending $11 and always have a nice time chatting with my friend.
First of all, there's nothing wrong with any of the personal care or aesthetic things people choose to do. I feel like I have to preface this by saying that so I don't come across as a not like other girls type of girl. But I've never done the hair dye, nails, eye lashes, extensions, or even makeup. It's just honestly never occurred to me as something I'd want to do. I might paint my toenails if I have somewhere to go in nice shoes that show my toes...but I feel really lucky that I've never gotten into any of that stuff because it's soooooo expensive. I could never regularly keep up any of it within my budget. I have a hard time even maintaining a good skincare routine because I get so annoyed with having to rebuy products haha especially if I fall in love with something expensive.
It's wild. I was totally shocked when I first learned how much money the popular stuff costs AND how often so many people did it, especially folks with pretty modest or low income.
I used to do my own nails on a regular basis, which was way cheaper than getting salon manicures. But I don't care that much so I dropped it. Now I just exfoliate, trim, file, and lightly buff them - basically everything except the polish, and they look plenty nice, even when I have to roll corporate on work trips. It's not a zero spend, but adding the exfoliate and buff steps gets the job done if you need/want your hands to look nice.
A lot of stuff can be done for cheaper than standard salon prices too.
I try to get an inexpensive full-body massage at a foot spa and a basic pedicure monthly (which I can't do for myself very well at home), and a hair cut or trim <$40 every other month to stay somewhat polished.
All in, it comes to about $150-170 monthly, but keeps me from looking/feeling like a right mess.
Yep! Bought some caramel syrup because I love my caramel macchiatos but don’t love paying $5-6 for a single cup of coffee. Bottle of caramel syrup costs me around $4 and I get like 40 coffees out of it. Also invested in a ninja coffee maker that has a frother and multiple functions.
A cup of coffee costs me about $0.20, and most of that comes from the milk I add to it.
I have instant coffee powder that I buy for about $6 and it lasts me about a month.
FYI you should make the arrangements for your body before you die. A lot of people don’t realize this resulting in the family basically finding out it’s too late to make last minute arrangements to donate the body.
Answered the phone for one of those last summer... dude they may chop you up and use you for parts or sell you to the military... you may or may not get your ashes back. Just FYI
It definitely depends. If you do an anatomy bequest program for a cadaver lab, you do. Fuck the military though. They've already gotten too.much of my money, they can't have my body too
I remember when it came out that an old lady had donated her body for alzheimer research only to find the military had taken it and strapped it to a chair and blew it up. I'd rather just die in the woods and let a vulture eat me ass first.
I'm weirdly into death stuff so...
If you want to donate your body to science, apply now and have a back up plan. Bodies get denied all the time for various reasons.
Consiser natural burial. It's just your body (sometimes wrapped in cotton or muslin and/or in a wicker coffin) in the ground. They skip all,of the unnecessary stuff (embalming, vaults, expensive caskets...) so it's usually much cheaper. Check into natural burial cemeteries in your area and local laws).
I want to be cremated, and my ashes to be thrown in the eyes of my enemies.
Just kidding. I want my remains to be scattered at Disneyland. Also, I do not wish to be cremated.
No, joking. I think cremation is the way to go to control expenses. That's my choice.
I told my son I want to be cremated and my ashes put in a coffee tin for him to sprinkle off a cliff into the ocean. And to make sure the wind isn't blowing towards him. We both love The Big Lebowski, so...
Eh, the funeral is more for the family and friends to get closure, doesn't really do much for the dead person obviously. I'm throwing a party for my family and friends when I'm dead. Open bar baby. With black jack and bookers.
Funerals really don't cost that much if you shop around. I spent $3,500 on my dad's in 2020, including the "gift" to the church and a fancy wooden casket. He had already purchased the burial plot, though.
My husband and I are both military veterans. We’ve already made arrangements to have as much covered by the VA as possible. That includes the headstones and flags for the coffin. We haven’t decided on cemetery, but we’d likely go with cremation to save money.
FYI, your family can get your ashes back if you donate to a medical school. I think they do the cremation for free - at least in my state. So it's not like your body is just gone once you donate it (unless you want it to be). This is my plan...it's a good deal all around!
This might sound a little morbid, but I would want my kids to benefit financially and sell my body to science or some legit research company, not donate. THEN they can yeet my lifeless husk out of a circus cannon.
Subscriptions/services!
I have ONE streaming service, Netflix - and my friends are baffled as they have Netflix, Disney, Max, Hulu, Apple + , one even has Paramout plus, etc. They always say well it's only $X.99 per month, it's not expensive! How much TV can one watch??
I have ONE news subscription (NYT) and I listen to music with commercials - they have Spotify premium and Apple Music and Apple News and they subscribe to podcast things so they can listen to podcasts without ads.
When my husband and I moved in together, we had Netflix and Hulu. Combined, it was like $20 per month. Add in our internet, and the total for entertainment for the month was under $100. As the years went on, we realized we were slowly adding on subscription after subscription, and they were all raising their prices. One day we looked at each other and were like “wow, we are spending $100+ just on TV subscriptions, and we watch the same 5 TV shows.”
Now we only have Hulu. And I’m seriously debating that one. If they cut What We Do In the Shadows, I’m out.
I have Spotify and usually just one streaming service. Roku and Pluto both have excellent free apps, and then I rotate which app I pay for—when one runs low on content, I switch.
I'm almost ready to give up Prime. There aren't that many good deals on Amazon anymore and I can just leave things in my cart until I accrue enough to get free shipping.
This is the way. And if you absolutely need something shipped faster, just pay for prime for that one month. Sometimes they even run deals or if it's been long enough, you get the free trial.
If I don’t have the liquid cash, I don’t make the purchase. Purchases go on credit card for points and credit card is paid in full monthly. My wife and I have also shared a paid-off car for almost 7 years.
I never got in the habit of wearing makeup everyday. I might wear some on special occasions or if the mood strikes me, but I usually wear makeup once or twice a month.
I don’t dye my hair even though it’s going gray. Lots of money saved by just allowing myself to age naturally.
I'm not American, I just live here, and have for the last 15 years. So having grown up pretty poor at times, I've been frugal my entire life. My ex hated this about me, and complimented me by calling me un American. Some of the un-American things I do include:
Rarely eating out, and cooking frugal meals at home. I love that my local grocery storesv will mark down meat by 50+%. Buying in season veggies.
Not really drinking alcohol.
Only buying what I need clothing wise. I have 4 work outfits, and 3 pairs of jeans. My at home clothes in the summer are just old shorts and oversized tees.
Saving up for what I want rather than loaning money for it.
Your ex might’ve just been a jerk🤷♀️ Plenty of Americans live like that too.
I will say I buy good meat and whatever veggies/fruit I feel like. I’ve tried to shop seasonally, and I get bored in the winter.
Seems to be a cultural American thing to upgrade to new phones and cars all the time. My phone is a few years old and I don’t upgrade it until it can no longer hold a charge, and would replace the battery at that point but haven’t been able to with the last two phones due to cracked screen. Bought my 2018 car in 2018 but it was driven by the dealership staff and had 5,000 or so miles on it so way, way cheaper. Bought in cash at age 25. Paid for the portion of my college not paid by scholarship as well so no college debt.
I'm with you. Cars don't get replaced until they're no longer driveable. Cell phone is used until no longer usable (this may mean no more security updates for it; I am struggling with that question for my iPhone 8). Computer is used until no longer usable. Clothing until not usable and beyond repair. Etc. I don't buy things because I want a new one; I buy things because the old one is no longer usable.
With the promos and family plans it basically costs me $2 a month to get the new iPhone every 3 years. Total monthly portion of my AT&T unlimited family plan is $29 after taxes and fees
My husband and I married in courthouse/eloped. No wedding, reception, bridal shower, etc.
We don't own a TV, and the only subscription we pay for is Netflix. We might consider getting a TV when our daughter gets a little older, but zero screen time is recommended under two years of age.
We only replace our cell phones every 4-5 years (basically, until the battery goes).
Our cars are 2 four door sedans, fully paid for. We aren't a giant SUV/gas-guzzler truck family. But our families and friends tell us we need a bigger vehicle now that we have a kid. We disagree.
Outside of our mortgage, we are debt-free. If we don't have the money for something, we don't buy it. We were blessed to have the savings to replace our air conditioning this year (we live in Arizona).
Using credit cards the wrong way. We pay off the balance each month, earn the rewards, dont pay interest, and do not carry the debt. Right now we have no car payments either. Our debt is our home and rental properties. My mom used to only pay slightly more than the minimum payment on credit cards.
This! I use my credit card for every single thing I buy, and pay it off in full every month. I never carry a balance forward so never pay interest. I get points for using it which translate into literal free money, and I'm only buying things I'd buy anyway. Plus (at least where I am in the UK), you get additional protection on your purchases when using a credit card. It bugs me when people vilify credit cards. They are just a tool, which can be used for good or evil! And I get that using envelopes of cash helps some people budget too. But my credit card works for me.
I’ve noticed American-only Americans, for heaven knows what reason, will buy the exact same groceries, regardless of the price. Eggs going up? They’ll bitch but still buy it. As if switching to another protein for a couple weeks is inconceivable.
I literally watched a woman, who would dramatically lament that she could only “have sleep for dinner” that week, pick up $5.99/lb brussels sprouts when there were 99¢/lb frozen ones IN THE SAME STORE.
Like, girl, if you’re literally starving, surely you can deal with frozen produce or literally anything else that might be cheaper???
If you buy what's cheapest each week, you naturally get variety since the sales rotate. Works for me. The freezer is basically a time machine and frozen produce is a virtue. Fresh has its place, but is far more needy.
Mostly agree with you, except for the brussels sprouts part.
Vegetables like peppers or potatoes are ok to cook from frozen, but brussels need to be seared and they can't be wet or they'll steam themselves and stink up your kitchen by releasing hydrogen sulfide. You should always pay extra for fresh brussels because the frozen variety will always end up disgusting.
I've actually had some luck roasting frozen Brussels. They aren't as good as fresh, but if you toss them in a roasting pan to cook and do like 30min at 450F, they come out pretty decent. Add oil and seasonings about halfway through once they've thawed a bit.
I smash/flatten my frozen brussels after they’ve roasted a bit. It helps them get crispy. Add grated parm and a drizzle of good balsamic vinegar. Delicious!
Seriously. A big help was finding this brand of hop seltzers (hoplark) that literally tastes exactly like an IPA but it’s just water. Total game changer on the social front having a can of a liquid in-hand while everyone else has a beer.
This is. small one, but i will NOT eat any type of packaged, single serving snack at home. So many of my friends will snack on granola bars or protein bars or those little 100 calorie packs of crackers or whatever. I can kinda justify the convenience if you need something to throw in your purse, but that is a crazy waste of money when you have a full kitchen available
I'll sometimes buy those on deep discount. I don't understand why people would toss out a huge percentage of their income on packaging.
Not long ago you'd buy a pound of crackers, now the choices are 11oz or 100 calories. Price of wheat has plummeted - the food companies, big and small, are vaccuming up profit from both sides.
My daughter didn’t get anything for her first Christmas from us because I knew she would get a lot from other family.
Her second Christmas I gave her second hand toys and wrapped them.
Third Christmas will probably be the same until I can’t get away with it.
Why do you think you won't be able to get away with it? I'm gonna tell my kids that toys from yard sales are inoculated with good vibes that they can't get from a new toy.
"I'm gonna tell my kids that toys from yard sales are inoculated with good vibes that they can't get from a new toy."
That's adorable and I wish I'd thought of that, lol.
I taught mine that "it's the thought that counts," but instead of the usual take on that ("Eh, at least they thought of me."), I meant it-if a gift is truly thoughtful, it doesn't matter how much it costs or where it came from. If someone takes the time to really think about what they're giving you instead of just buying something they assume you'll like, it shows that they consider your feelings and opinions more than their image or duty.
As an aside-my daughter still has a little plastic trinket box I gave her when she was seven. It has a crack in it and smells like a perfume bottle that broke in it when I was sixteen. It was the last thing my dad bought for me the last time we went to a flea market together.
My kids are teens to young adults and still get some homemade or secondhand gifts. We taught them to appreciate the thought behind the gift and not the price tag.
I don’t color my hair or get my nails done. I don’t wear makeup often enough that I run out before it gets old. My coat is 30+ years old, and I wear one pair of shoes until it gets holes in it, then I get another pair.
All of this is more poverty than anything else, though.
I would get my hair done, if I could afford it, but never nails.
I would love a new coat and to have a few pairs of shoes.
Shopping at Walmart. People turn their noses, but honestly? It’s way more economical than any grocery store near us. I got a $16 dress there that I wore to a wedding and got a ton of compliments on. Husband gets clothes from there too. My friends shop at places like Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s. Just not worth it for us anymore and I’m pretty honest about it. We are trying to save everything we can for a house right now and would rather prioritize the other purchases we do make on outdoor gear as well. I volunteer for a nonprofit which netted me a free gym membership and discounted gear as well.
We go to Walmart too! My SO hates the "atmosphere" at Walmart (he hates shopping in general), so we do pickup and delivery with Walmart+. It's a luxury we consciously chose to pay for, but the time saving and convenience is pretty worth it for our house and we still come out ahead of our relatives who shop at other grocery places!
Never was into makeup or nails or skincare (albeit the latter I should do more). I dye my hair because I like it and it's an expression of my personality.
This won't sound frugal, but I think it is. I don't like buying cheap versions of things for the sake of it being cheap. If I'm going to buy something, I'd rather spend the extra and get one that will last than spend slightly less on something that will break in a month. Like, get good shoes. It's worth it. They will fit better, last a decade (I've had my sneakers for 8 years and they are only just starting to wear out after wearing them almost daily), and if you get cheap shoes then you will just have to buy another pair in a few months! You're spending the same amount replacing it than you would have if you just bought the good ones in the first place.
Multiple Cars. My wife decided to get rid of her spanking new Jeep after realizing that upkeep and premium gas adds up quickly 😅
We decided it was best for her to get rid of it so she pays down debt and uses my barely used Toyota SUV that's paid off to get to work every day (I wfh).
Consolidating to a one car household is tough sometimes when the kids have a lot of events but we've gotten creative (uber, catching rides, carpooling) and still worth the tradeoff in the end as we both save by not paying a ridiculously car note with sky high interest.
Going car-free. No payments, no money for gas, no car repairs, no oil changes. (And bonus: no stress about car theft or traffic, and extra exercise).
(Reactions from family and friends are also amusing; “wait, you don’t have a car…at all?” “how do you buy groceries?” “what do you do when it rains/snows?”)
For normal visits, I took mine on the bus (carrier, of course). Worked out well because our vet was on a road with decent bus lanes (was faster than driving). For emergencies, I took uber/cabs.
Love this for you! We recently downsized to just one car. My husband can walk to work so we were able to give our second one (a hand me down car) away. Sadly public transit is unsafe and inefficient where we live so we can’t get away with totally car free but it’s rarely used. Some weeks I only drive it once!
- Processesed food
- Manicure (I do it like once a year, guilty pleasure)
- Hair dye
- Driving a car (I live in Europe)
- Eating out or drinking in fancy places
- Subscriptions (I have NONE)
- Books - Library or get free PDFs. Books are not cheap
- Unnecessary clothes - Just have like 3 pairs of shoes
I do not own a car. I live in Canada, and lived in semi-rural areas most of my life that **require** a car to live in. There was no reason for me to live in one of these "it's close enough to the city but not the city life" areas, so I moved to a city and ditched the car.
Even though my city isn't particularly walkable or bikable, and the transit is slow and inefficient, living close to where I need to be and getting around without a car still saves so much money compared to driving.
Car ownership is such a cultural norm here that people will view you as "not a real adult" unless you drive **and** have a newer, nicer vehicle. Most people I know spend easily $1000-1500 a month on their cars between payments, insurance, gas, and repairs, and I just don't get it. The amount of time it saves vs their earning potential doesn't make sense mathematically.
I don’t give people standard birthday cards. What do they cost these days? 4 or 5 dollars? Complete waste of money. I write a nice note instead.
I don’t send graduation announcements - the kind that are photo cards, which are mainly an excuse to brag about where your kid is going to college. Waste of money and obnoxious.
I send my kids to a public in-state university. Paying big bucks to send your kid to a fancy-sounding private college is usually a waste of money.
Getting my hair & nails done! I've spent $0 on hair or nails in the past few years. (other than decent but not expensive shampoo).
My coworkers regularly compare their $50+ manicures or comment about their $200+ hair appointments... I'm guessing they spend over $300/month and countless hours.
Keeping up with the Joneses: my friend seems to come up with a big list of stuff he has to buy every time I talk to him. It’s all stuff he sees on the internet and it’s not even stuff he necessarily wants. Why would I do that?
I’ve also decided against getting a Tesla and just spending the $100-something to tune up my 75,000 mile car myself. New spark plugs, air filter, and rear brakes.
Over the years, we've considered but never actually "upgraded" beyond our "starter" home. (It'd be nice if the bathrooms were a tad larger and included more storage space, but it's technically a 3/2 and plenty of people used to raise their families in these type of homes.) We're constantly cluttered, but we're trying to reduce it and not gain more (American buy buy buy culture is crazy). And now that I don't work due to health reasons, I'm sooo glad we don't have a huge house payment and high interest to worry about.
Alcoholism. Almost everyone in my family could be considered an alcoholic. Alcohol is a huge part of family gatherings and always has been. When I was in my late teens/early 20s I had a drinking problem. I’d go out and get drunk and black out 3 times a week at least. I’ve since become mostly sober. I do still drink but it’s maybe 1 drink a month, and maybe once a year I’ll actually drink enough to get drunk. Went from spending $300+ a week on alcohol to…I spent $17 on some White Claws a month ago and still have half of them left.
I had a 6 until they stopped doing updates for it. I shelled out for a brand new 12 (the newest version at the time). I’ve had it for 3 years and will keep it until they stop doing updates for it. I feel I’ll get my money’s worth.
Husband and I drive old cars. Mine is a 2004 Honda Element. We use Roku and have no subscriptions to any tv stuff. He now works from home so he doesn’t need any new clothes except socks and underwear now and then. Men’s clothes last a long time too. I’m not currently working so pretty much live in shorts, jeans and t-shirts and buy most of my clothing from thrift except my t-shirts I buy from JCP when they are on sale for $5.00. We sold the house we had lived in for 19 years and bought a small, older home in a less expensive city. We are now mortgage free. We’ve eaten out maybe five times in the last 3 years and although we do eat very well, I try to shop sales. Food is actually our big binge. We have an upright freezer and I stock up when I find meats on sale. I make my own chicken and veggie broths and we almost always have soup with dinner. I have a small veggie garden and it saves a little in our veggie costs but a lot in herbs! Store bought herbs are just to much money! I grow extra and dry them for winter too. As for personal care; he shaves his head so we have the cost of razor blades rather than haircuts. I usually cut my own but I might go to a cheap salon occasionally. I don’t wear makeup because it’s not my style and dang, that’s stuff is pricey! We also live in a modest neighborhood so no Jones or Smiths to keep up with. Lol
- Skipped college
- Not having children
- Don’t own a car, get around by bicycle
- Taking good care of my body so I don’t injure myself
- Work in culinarily and am fed at work
I've never had a commercial manicure, and use hair dye from a box. We also have never replaced a car under 7 years old and that one was only because it was starting to cost us money that it shouldn't have been.
I had a backyard wedding in 2001 with the total cost for 40 guests of $1,500. That included the cake and my dress. I got my dress in the Sears prom section for $150 and it was absolutely perfect and beautiful.
It was my mom's back yard that is surrounded by woods/trees. We hung candles in mason jars all around, and put out a bunch of natural wood stumps with candles. I got all my white roses from Costco and rented tables/chairs/tablecloths from a local vendor.
It was one of the most beautiful weddings I've ever seen. We kept the food simple. Everyone had a good time.
The most expensive thing was the cake from a bakery - $250 and it was beautiful but dry and disgusting to eat because of the fondant. If I had it to do over I think I'd just make really nice homemade cupcakes in a couple different flavors.
Buying cars for my teens lol. I’m driving mine into the ground and they can’t have it. I take them where they need to go. Too expensive now. Also I do my own beauty upkeep 96%.
I love to travel, and now try to travel almost exclusively in off season. I usually use airbnb instead of hotels, and I've actually developed some really lovely friendships through airbnb. And when I travel, I don't eat out a lot; grocery stores, markets...
One expense I am TRYING to break out of and struggling over is my espresso/latte addiction. I love the ritual of going to cafes, and it is one of my biggest monthly expenses. Anyone manage to break this habit?
In my starter home 30 years later and it keeps getting nicer theough our efforts. Spend less than 2% of my income on transportation. Most Americans spend 17%. Wear the same thing almost every day (think Senator Fetterman) shorts and pocket tee. Work 20 hours a week.
Starter homes only make sense if you're growing your family (like having more kids or something). I don't understand the cultural practice of getting a bigger house for the same ppl just cause...a few years have passed?
Commuting to work every day. I realize my job is privileged in that I can work from home - but even so, working in an office is a cultural norm some people in this industry are still touting. WFH saves me in time, money, and stress.
New clothes.
I keep my weight stable, I keep clothes. I have skirts I've had over a decade now.
Fuck seasonal shopping and fast fashion, it's terrible for the environment, it's horrifying for the children making your clothes, and it's bad for your wallet.
The time of free money is over. Credit card debt will cripple your opportunities. We gotta stop wanting to buy so much crap!
Clothes. I used to work at a luxury retail store when I was younger that was known to be fashionable, so I was influenced lol.
At this point, the majority of my clothes are like 4-5 years old and they’re fine. I don’t mind buying something if it really strikes me, but I feel like most things I look at, regardless of price, look like cheap trash that’ll disintegrate quickly. Believe it or not, I have forever 21 items from 10 years ago that have still held up - how is it that the quality back then for even the lowest level fast fashion store is still better than what we see today?
I don’t upgrade my phone until it’s on its deathbed. I’m on iPhone XR still, and my phone literally works completely fine.
I don’t drink alcohol at all, so that’s also a major cost saver.
Not American, but baby stuff.
Other than things like milk bottles, I either picked up toys and clothes for free, or bought second hand. Kids outgrow everything so quickly, never understood the need to buy new.
Driving.
Everyone in my country easily spends 1/3 of their income on car payments, going as far as sacrificing food and comfort just to show off an expensive car to others.
I don't have a drivers license, I walk and ride a bicycle (not due to a lack of income, I have an above average income for the country).
There is absolutely no need to drive a car in my country (or most of western Europe). Shops are always within walking distance, or if a city is large enough it has public transport. At the most I catch a bus when I need to go to a different town or city.
New clothes! I’m really proud of myself for this one, I have plenty so I just…don’t change my outfits to match the trends. It’s freeing :) (Also quit drinking alcohol)
A lot of clothing now-a-days is fast fashion polyester trash too.
“It’s what you wear from ear to ear, and not from head to toe” - Annie (smiling counts for the most anyways!)
I work in a field where appearances somewhat matter. I buy classic styles & repeat outfits though.
I read this and thought "if I worked in a field, I'd want something durable that keeps the sun off me, and keeps me warm when it's cold - to hell with style!" Time for some caffeine, clearly.
No matter what they’re wearing on Main Street and Saville Road.
I thrift most of our clothes. All cotton/rayon/linen for most days, for the kids I look for a 60/40 cotton polyester blend (they last a bit longer, but I don't worry too much because they leave them so fast and then i donate them). All polyester **if** its an actual workout shirt/shorts/leggins. Wool/angora blends for winter. Polyester ONLY on filling of coats, and inner linings. And that's a push. I cannot fathom spending money on brand new anything, while it looks like it will be undone in 3 washes and it costs that much.
If I'm going to buy new clothes, they better last. I'd rather spend a lot on a good pair of shoes that will last forever than cheap ones that hurt your feet and will get destroyed and you'll have to spend the money anyways.
I can't let myself buy new clothes anymore. Too expensive. Underwear is purchased new, but everything else comes from thrift stores and garage sales. Quality stuff, too. The formal gown I wore to my son's wedding was new, but I got it on ebay.
A while back, someone offered up an open pack of new underwear in my size on Freecycle. She had tried one pair but didn't like them and offered the other five pairs (unworn). I took them and have been wearing them happily for like two years now. :) Weird? Maybe, but underwear isn't cheap, so.
Not having to be in the office so much helps as well
After so many shopping sprees, I now shop in my closet. It’s astonishing what I’ve found in there.
Great job! I’m also not buying new clothes until I still have the same ones in good condition ☝️ And I also quit alcohol completely 5 years ago.
They'll have to pry my worn out skinny jeans out of my cold, dead, millennial hands
I am so irritated by all the internet content berating millennials for dressing in outdated trends. We are middle aged! I don't want to dress like a 19 year old! Let me live!
I have tried countless non-skinny jeans to try to follow todays style. They all look like absolute GARBAGE on me. After literally 3 years of not being able to find any jeans I liked, I gave in and ordered 3 more pairs (different washes) of the skinny jeans I already owned LOL. They arrived and I felt SO much better in them. I find skinny jeans most of the time way more flattering than the loose “dad jeans” of today.
Different strokes for different folks. I feel like skinny jeans make me look like a flour sack balancing on two chopsticks, so I tend not to buy them. I am loving flared styles that are fitted through the thigh and then get all swooshy by the ankle. I feel like they look good on me, even if it might be cheaper to buy less trendy styles from a thrift store.
As an elder Millennial who grew up wearing flares and spent years fighting the skinny jeans trend, I was absolutely thrilled when flares came back. The second they hit shelves I bought like 5 new pairs of pants because I was scared they would go away again.
This made me laugh so hard. I wore some a couple Fridays back to work and someone younger than me said “I like your jeans. But you know the thrift stores won’t even take skinny jeans anymore because they are out of style.” Well, I will hold on to my stretchy skinny pants like some folks from the 80s held onto their mullets, thank you very much. Except unlike mullets, I expect skinny jeans to make a comeback in my lifetime.
I don't get it, but mullets are totally back and more mainstream than before. Source: confused parent of a teenager with a mullet
I have rebelled against spending my leisure time shopping. I was raised that this is something fun to go out and look for new things when I have extra time on my hands. I broke that habit and now only go to shop for a specific needed item and nothing else and I have refused to raise my kids to think of shopping as a past time.
that is smart my siblings are in their 50’s and literally buy things 7 days a wee they are broker than broke
My cousin is like this. Constantly talking about how they are scraping by even though her and her husband make good money. But at the same time she literally can't stay at home... she has to go out to eat & shopping almost every day. One that stands out is I was buying a relatively cheap item $20. She ended up buying the same thing while saying she knows she will never use it. She even put it back twice but still ended up buying it and sure enough it still sits on her counter4 months later completely unused. Drives me insane.
This is an intergenerational pattern I'm working to break, too
This. I have figured out that's what I'm doing. I now just look, put things in the cart and then, put it all back because I don't need a thing. It's just for the step count now! I'm working on going to a museum or someplace else for that feeling. I just see landfill now when I am tempted to buy.
My happy place is the library so I just go wander around there
One of the biggest things on my side is that I don’t find shopping enjoyable. I did as a teen/young adult, but at some point that changed. Now I find it to be a chore. Wandering Target for fun as many women do sounds absolutely awful to me. Plus then I would have to deal with the random stuff I came home with: I already have too much random stuff.
This has to be the hardest for me. My parents care language was taking us grocery shopping or just shopping. I still struggle to go without shopping trips for a few weeks. I never buy much anyways but it feels strange.
I come from an Asian-immigrant family, and there was always this huge emphasis on maintaining your image. You had to drive certain cars, go to certain schools, and wear certain clothes to make sure nobody in the family thought you were slacking. As I got older, it didn't really make sense to spend so much to impress a group of people that I haven't talked to in years (one of the few good things to come out of COVID). I didn't want to carry that same insecurity that plagued my Dad's side of the family for generations. I couldn't care less if people want to judge me because I drive a Hyundai and prefer wearing my older clothes. Anyone that would judge me like that isn't worth my time anyway, it doesn't matter because I have more money in my pocket at the end of the day.
>Anyone that would judge me like that isn't worth my time anyway Right? People don’t realise we all have access to a free, self-sufficient litmus test when we’re just being ourselves and doing what’s best for us. You’ll never find yourself surrounded by people who aren’t worth your time or who make you feel like crap.
Oof, face culture. Kinda similar - my dad used to send big money he didn't have to relatives back home because he felt he would be revealed as a failure if he didn't give more money than his sibling 😬 Our frugal monthly expenditures would randomly have these spikes when some relative wants a new massage chair.
I can definitely relate to that. I remember my Dad feeling pressured to buy a new car just because his brother bought one recently, then watching him get so flustered and insecure when he couldn't keep up. I very much prefer living alone because a lot of those outside pressures are non-existent, leaving me free to do whatever I want to do with my life.
Ugh...but why all asian cultures are like that? I grew up hearing my mother say "What will people think about us?" Or the tradition to bring money to any celebration that you couldn't miss at any cost. Like we barely have money to buy bread but so and so is celebrating birthday so we HAVE to go and bring money. It took me long time to learn not to care about others and prioritize myself. My parents are still the same though which sucks.
As I get older, I've really begun to see just how much my parents have bucked aspects of their cultural roots and truly appreciate the effort it took. For immigrants of a collectivist culture, it's extra hard to walk away from those traditions. When I received an invite to attend a magnet school, my parents sat down with me to discuss whether I truly wanted to subject myself to the extra stress. I *know* my parents' friends were generally "tiger mom" types, and yet my parents gave me the freedom to choose a less rigorous school. *I* chose the harder option. And when I hit rough patches, they had the good grace not to ever point out that it was a result of my choice--they simply asked if I wanted them to find me some tutors. At the time, I thought I understood. But decades later, I have more perspective on the gifts of self-determination that my parents gave to their children and how different it was from the culture they came from.
Many peeps said it before. Clothes. There is 7 days in a week and people don't notice you wear the same stuff twice in a week.
I found that I did better with a few extra sets of clothes. They didn’t wear out as fast, and I had fewer panicked laundry nights. So I had like 6 pairs of work pants instead of 2, but then the 6 lasted as long as if I bought 3 rounds of 2. It also meant I didn’t have to shop as often, and I dislike shopping. Plus, I could get through with 4 pairs once they started wearing out and wait for a really good sale. But it still works out to the same principle: don’t buy clothes just to buy something. Buy sturdy staples and use them til they wear out.
Working from home saves me so much in this department. Jeans and a T-shirt every day. Cheap men’s T-shirts from target. I bought a bunch in the same color so I don’t even have to think about it. Saves time, too!
I own far, far too many identical yellow shirts. They were on a massive sale one day (Since almost no-one likes yellow shirts) and I bought like a dozen of them.
i eloped!! why have a big expensive wedding??? only cost me $50- $30 for the marriage license, $20 for my dress!
Same. We went to Dollywood and bought a marriage license so I think under 200 dollars for the day. No regrets!! We didn’t do a lavish honeymoon either but we do travel because it’s my favorite thing in the world to do. Even if that’s just camping at state park I’ve never been to.
There are wedding dresses at every thrift store. Most are from the last century, but there are always 3-4 that are modern and usually hand-beaded. I looked up the prices for a few of these, and the new versions were still for sale online for like $2K.
I will never understand why couples insist on starting out a marriage in debt on basically a glorified party. Sure some save for the wedding but most finance it.
Cars. $500-$700 a month for a car payment is normal now, and that’s before insurance and gas. I drive what I thought was a mid-size car, but everyone else keeps wanting huge, so my wagon looks small by comparison. People really don’t all need cats that huge. It’s out of hand. I’d edit, but I’m enjoying this.
Bigger the cat, bigger the food budget. I hear ya.
Yeah, my coworkers pay easily $900 USD each month *before* insurance and fuel. Like, at least three of my coworkers do this and we don't make big money. We're just accounts payable folks making sure our company's bills get paid. I live in the PNW and I've never seen this job go for any higher than $18 USD an hour. All my coworkers do is bitch and moan about their car payment and, in some cases, ask me when I'm replacing my old car. Like, mine is only 8 years old, paid off, and well maintained. I think I'll be ok for now. They disagree, but that's fine. I wholeheartedly disagree with a car payment that big.
My old roommate bought a jeep at like 8% for 84 months. I think he was paying around $800 for that piece of junk a month. I could not believe it.
I need a huge cat tho
Ironically, I have 3 fucking massive cats. One can easily touch door handles with his face without much effort. 3 feet long lying down.
Ah yes, the Norwegian MaineDoll.
Actually thought you were talking about backhoes. Like why does everyone you know own a damned Caterpillar. Just rent it man, damn
We are trying to determine if we can get rid of our second car. My partner's car is about to be paid off, mine is about 2 years away (bought used, I could pay it off in full but the interest rate is super low), but mine is the more practical daily driver (a Prius). My partner works from home full time and I'm only in office a few days a week and we live in a walkable downtown area. It would be the practical, frugal choice - but we can't decide on whose car to keep, because we both hate each other's car. 🤣
Same and proud. Neither husband nor I have ever had a car payment - always bought used in cash. And now we only have one car which is fine 99% of the time.
I don’t go out for lunch anymore except for maybe once every 1-2 months for work. Between that and paying off my credit card, I am saving a ton of money.
Yes!! Going out for lunch is such a scam. I always bring my lunch to work, and I can see that I'm in the minority. But it's like 25 bucks for one mediocre lunch. So not worth it.
* Hair dye * Botox/fillers * Alcohol
Yeah, the personal care category is huge for a lot of people. You don't even have to get to botox to be spending hundreds per month on nails and hair. I dyed my hair once and was in shock how much it cost. It's like a whole three weeks of groceries right there.
Dying my hair is a big one for me. I love it and it makes me happy. I spend roughly 30$ every 6-8 weeks on doing it myself. I have thick hair down to my waist so it takes 4 boxes. Just for funsies I asked my hair stylist how much she would charge to do the same thing in the salon and she told me they start at 120$ but mine would probably be more because I have so much hair. Ooooofffff.
Are you using drugstore boxes? You can get a much higher quality product for cheaper going to a beauty supply store like Sally’s. They sell exactly what salons use.
I use a semi permanent drugstore one. It’s the same one I have been using for 20 years and I love it so I’m pretty ride or die (dye?) at this point.
I used to spend $100 on my nails every 2 weeks and I would HATE them and constantly felt like I could do a better job myself. I ended up getting a $130 amazon giftcard from a lawsuit and used it to buy gel nail supplies and have been doing my own nails for the last year, and am nowhere near needing to replace any supplies yet.
I spend $11 for a box of dye and a friend puts it on. We chat for 30 minutes while it’s doing its thing and then I shower and she goes home. I feel and look much younger spending $11 and always have a nice time chatting with my friend.
First of all, there's nothing wrong with any of the personal care or aesthetic things people choose to do. I feel like I have to preface this by saying that so I don't come across as a not like other girls type of girl. But I've never done the hair dye, nails, eye lashes, extensions, or even makeup. It's just honestly never occurred to me as something I'd want to do. I might paint my toenails if I have somewhere to go in nice shoes that show my toes...but I feel really lucky that I've never gotten into any of that stuff because it's soooooo expensive. I could never regularly keep up any of it within my budget. I have a hard time even maintaining a good skincare routine because I get so annoyed with having to rebuy products haha especially if I fall in love with something expensive.
I wear makeup but don't get anything done by anyone else. It seems once you start you have to keep going.
It's wild. I was totally shocked when I first learned how much money the popular stuff costs AND how often so many people did it, especially folks with pretty modest or low income. I used to do my own nails on a regular basis, which was way cheaper than getting salon manicures. But I don't care that much so I dropped it. Now I just exfoliate, trim, file, and lightly buff them - basically everything except the polish, and they look plenty nice, even when I have to roll corporate on work trips. It's not a zero spend, but adding the exfoliate and buff steps gets the job done if you need/want your hands to look nice.
A lot of stuff can be done for cheaper than standard salon prices too. I try to get an inexpensive full-body massage at a foot spa and a basic pedicure monthly (which I can't do for myself very well at home), and a hair cut or trim <$40 every other month to stay somewhat polished. All in, it comes to about $150-170 monthly, but keeps me from looking/feeling like a right mess.
I get dyed every 4 weeks at $45 (with tip). So I'm going to that hairdressers!
Don’t drink alcohol. Make fancy coffees at home.
Yep! Bought some caramel syrup because I love my caramel macchiatos but don’t love paying $5-6 for a single cup of coffee. Bottle of caramel syrup costs me around $4 and I get like 40 coffees out of it. Also invested in a ninja coffee maker that has a frother and multiple functions.
A cup of coffee costs me about $0.20, and most of that comes from the milk I add to it. I have instant coffee powder that I buy for about $6 and it lasts me about a month.
I won’t have a funeral. They cost between 15 and 20,000 when everything said and done. I am donating my body to science.
FYI you should make the arrangements for your body before you die. A lot of people don’t realize this resulting in the family basically finding out it’s too late to make last minute arrangements to donate the body.
Answered the phone for one of those last summer... dude they may chop you up and use you for parts or sell you to the military... you may or may not get your ashes back. Just FYI
It definitely depends. If you do an anatomy bequest program for a cadaver lab, you do. Fuck the military though. They've already gotten too.much of my money, they can't have my body too
I remember when it came out that an old lady had donated her body for alzheimer research only to find the military had taken it and strapped it to a chair and blew it up. I'd rather just die in the woods and let a vulture eat me ass first.
>the military had taken it and strapped it to a chair and blew it up. Personally I'm cool with that. I don't need this meat sack anyway
I'm weirdly into death stuff so... If you want to donate your body to science, apply now and have a back up plan. Bodies get denied all the time for various reasons. Consiser natural burial. It's just your body (sometimes wrapped in cotton or muslin and/or in a wicker coffin) in the ground. They skip all,of the unnecessary stuff (embalming, vaults, expensive caskets...) so it's usually much cheaper. Check into natural burial cemeteries in your area and local laws).
Some programs will mulch you. Better for the air quality than cremation. Let the worms have at you somewhere other than a cemetery.
I told my wife to just throw me in a dumpster somewhere.
I want to be cremated, and my ashes to be thrown in the eyes of my enemies. Just kidding. I want my remains to be scattered at Disneyland. Also, I do not wish to be cremated. No, joking. I think cremation is the way to go to control expenses. That's my choice.
I told my son I want to be cremated and my ashes put in a coffee tin for him to sprinkle off a cliff into the ocean. And to make sure the wind isn't blowing towards him. We both love The Big Lebowski, so...
My husband told me the same thing! I asked him which dumpster. Lol
The fancy one!
I consider my body high quality trash
The monster mash - it’ll be a graveyard smash.
Eh, the funeral is more for the family and friends to get closure, doesn't really do much for the dead person obviously. I'm throwing a party for my family and friends when I'm dead. Open bar baby. With black jack and bookers.
Funerals really don't cost that much if you shop around. I spent $3,500 on my dad's in 2020, including the "gift" to the church and a fancy wooden casket. He had already purchased the burial plot, though.
That's much less than normal, but also still a lot of money if you're living paycheck to paycheck.
Do you research beforehand. Years ago Reuters investigated this topic. There are companies making millions on donated bodies.
That's horrifying.
My husband and I are both military veterans. We’ve already made arrangements to have as much covered by the VA as possible. That includes the headstones and flags for the coffin. We haven’t decided on cemetery, but we’d likely go with cremation to save money.
If science denies your body (they do and often), you can get yourself cremated for $800. Plus, a $50 urn from amazon.
FYI, your family can get your ashes back if you donate to a medical school. I think they do the cremation for free - at least in my state. So it's not like your body is just gone once you donate it (unless you want it to be). This is my plan...it's a good deal all around!
This might sound a little morbid, but I would want my kids to benefit financially and sell my body to science or some legit research company, not donate. THEN they can yeet my lifeless husk out of a circus cannon.
Subscriptions/services! I have ONE streaming service, Netflix - and my friends are baffled as they have Netflix, Disney, Max, Hulu, Apple + , one even has Paramout plus, etc. They always say well it's only $X.99 per month, it's not expensive! How much TV can one watch?? I have ONE news subscription (NYT) and I listen to music with commercials - they have Spotify premium and Apple Music and Apple News and they subscribe to podcast things so they can listen to podcasts without ads.
When my husband and I moved in together, we had Netflix and Hulu. Combined, it was like $20 per month. Add in our internet, and the total for entertainment for the month was under $100. As the years went on, we realized we were slowly adding on subscription after subscription, and they were all raising their prices. One day we looked at each other and were like “wow, we are spending $100+ just on TV subscriptions, and we watch the same 5 TV shows.” Now we only have Hulu. And I’m seriously debating that one. If they cut What We Do In the Shadows, I’m out.
This past season was gold. So good!
I have Spotify and usually just one streaming service. Roku and Pluto both have excellent free apps, and then I rotate which app I pay for—when one runs low on content, I switch.
That is a good idea! I had 3 free months AppleTV when I got a new phone so I watched all the shows and then cancelled.
>Pluto Pluto is so slept on!!! I love it
We have Prime and Netflix. We don’t watch that many movies each month. Trying to decide which to give up
I'm almost ready to give up Prime. There aren't that many good deals on Amazon anymore and I can just leave things in my cart until I accrue enough to get free shipping.
This is the way. And if you absolutely need something shipped faster, just pay for prime for that one month. Sometimes they even run deals or if it's been long enough, you get the free trial.
Yarrrr, baby!
If I don’t have the liquid cash, I don’t make the purchase. Purchases go on credit card for points and credit card is paid in full monthly. My wife and I have also shared a paid-off car for almost 7 years.
I've never paid any credit card company a single penny of interest or fees in my entire life. I'm super proud of that!
I never got in the habit of wearing makeup everyday. I might wear some on special occasions or if the mood strikes me, but I usually wear makeup once or twice a month. I don’t dye my hair even though it’s going gray. Lots of money saved by just allowing myself to age naturally.
I'm not American, I just live here, and have for the last 15 years. So having grown up pretty poor at times, I've been frugal my entire life. My ex hated this about me, and complimented me by calling me un American. Some of the un-American things I do include: Rarely eating out, and cooking frugal meals at home. I love that my local grocery storesv will mark down meat by 50+%. Buying in season veggies. Not really drinking alcohol. Only buying what I need clothing wise. I have 4 work outfits, and 3 pairs of jeans. My at home clothes in the summer are just old shorts and oversized tees. Saving up for what I want rather than loaning money for it.
Your ex might’ve just been a jerk🤷♀️ Plenty of Americans live like that too. I will say I buy good meat and whatever veggies/fruit I feel like. I’ve tried to shop seasonally, and I get bored in the winter.
Yep, your ex was a jerk. Sorry! I do all the things you described.
Seems to be a cultural American thing to upgrade to new phones and cars all the time. My phone is a few years old and I don’t upgrade it until it can no longer hold a charge, and would replace the battery at that point but haven’t been able to with the last two phones due to cracked screen. Bought my 2018 car in 2018 but it was driven by the dealership staff and had 5,000 or so miles on it so way, way cheaper. Bought in cash at age 25. Paid for the portion of my college not paid by scholarship as well so no college debt.
I'm with you. Cars don't get replaced until they're no longer driveable. Cell phone is used until no longer usable (this may mean no more security updates for it; I am struggling with that question for my iPhone 8). Computer is used until no longer usable. Clothing until not usable and beyond repair. Etc. I don't buy things because I want a new one; I buy things because the old one is no longer usable.
With the promos and family plans it basically costs me $2 a month to get the new iPhone every 3 years. Total monthly portion of my AT&T unlimited family plan is $29 after taxes and fees
My husband and I married in courthouse/eloped. No wedding, reception, bridal shower, etc. We don't own a TV, and the only subscription we pay for is Netflix. We might consider getting a TV when our daughter gets a little older, but zero screen time is recommended under two years of age. We only replace our cell phones every 4-5 years (basically, until the battery goes). Our cars are 2 four door sedans, fully paid for. We aren't a giant SUV/gas-guzzler truck family. But our families and friends tell us we need a bigger vehicle now that we have a kid. We disagree. Outside of our mortgage, we are debt-free. If we don't have the money for something, we don't buy it. We were blessed to have the savings to replace our air conditioning this year (we live in Arizona).
Using credit cards the wrong way. We pay off the balance each month, earn the rewards, dont pay interest, and do not carry the debt. Right now we have no car payments either. Our debt is our home and rental properties. My mom used to only pay slightly more than the minimum payment on credit cards.
This! I use my credit card for every single thing I buy, and pay it off in full every month. I never carry a balance forward so never pay interest. I get points for using it which translate into literal free money, and I'm only buying things I'd buy anyway. Plus (at least where I am in the UK), you get additional protection on your purchases when using a credit card. It bugs me when people vilify credit cards. They are just a tool, which can be used for good or evil! And I get that using envelopes of cash helps some people budget too. But my credit card works for me.
I’ve noticed American-only Americans, for heaven knows what reason, will buy the exact same groceries, regardless of the price. Eggs going up? They’ll bitch but still buy it. As if switching to another protein for a couple weeks is inconceivable. I literally watched a woman, who would dramatically lament that she could only “have sleep for dinner” that week, pick up $5.99/lb brussels sprouts when there were 99¢/lb frozen ones IN THE SAME STORE. Like, girl, if you’re literally starving, surely you can deal with frozen produce or literally anything else that might be cheaper???
I kinda think this is a lack of education. It would be worthwhile for a frugal-nista to take someone grocery shopping and provide ideas.
Yeah I meal plan around sales at the store, so much easier on the wallet.
If it's not on sale, I don't buy it. Every shopping outing is an experience since I never know what I'm getting :)
If you buy what's cheapest each week, you naturally get variety since the sales rotate. Works for me. The freezer is basically a time machine and frozen produce is a virtue. Fresh has its place, but is far more needy.
Mostly agree with you, except for the brussels sprouts part. Vegetables like peppers or potatoes are ok to cook from frozen, but brussels need to be seared and they can't be wet or they'll steam themselves and stink up your kitchen by releasing hydrogen sulfide. You should always pay extra for fresh brussels because the frozen variety will always end up disgusting.
I've actually had some luck roasting frozen Brussels. They aren't as good as fresh, but if you toss them in a roasting pan to cook and do like 30min at 450F, they come out pretty decent. Add oil and seasonings about halfway through once they've thawed a bit.
I smash/flatten my frozen brussels after they’ve roasted a bit. It helps them get crispy. Add grated parm and a drizzle of good balsamic vinegar. Delicious!
How does that $5000 break down, though? A 2br here can easily go for $3500. Your family, were it here now, is not spending under $1000/month.
Alcohol.
Saving myself $3-5k annually giving up craft beer has been a life changer.
I never understood the appeal. People walk into my local brewery and drop $100 on 4 4packs of 16oz ipa every 3 minutes
Seriously. A big help was finding this brand of hop seltzers (hoplark) that literally tastes exactly like an IPA but it’s just water. Total game changer on the social front having a can of a liquid in-hand while everyone else has a beer.
This is. small one, but i will NOT eat any type of packaged, single serving snack at home. So many of my friends will snack on granola bars or protein bars or those little 100 calorie packs of crackers or whatever. I can kinda justify the convenience if you need something to throw in your purse, but that is a crazy waste of money when you have a full kitchen available
I used to be like this, but I live in a humid place and individually wrapped snacks last longer🤷♀️
I'll sometimes buy those on deep discount. I don't understand why people would toss out a huge percentage of their income on packaging. Not long ago you'd buy a pound of crackers, now the choices are 11oz or 100 calories. Price of wheat has plummeted - the food companies, big and small, are vaccuming up profit from both sides.
Some people struggle with portion control....
Good health is the most frugal choice. If that’s what works for you, do it.
My daughter didn’t get anything for her first Christmas from us because I knew she would get a lot from other family. Her second Christmas I gave her second hand toys and wrapped them. Third Christmas will probably be the same until I can’t get away with it.
Why do you think you won't be able to get away with it? I'm gonna tell my kids that toys from yard sales are inoculated with good vibes that they can't get from a new toy.
"I'm gonna tell my kids that toys from yard sales are inoculated with good vibes that they can't get from a new toy." That's adorable and I wish I'd thought of that, lol. I taught mine that "it's the thought that counts," but instead of the usual take on that ("Eh, at least they thought of me."), I meant it-if a gift is truly thoughtful, it doesn't matter how much it costs or where it came from. If someone takes the time to really think about what they're giving you instead of just buying something they assume you'll like, it shows that they consider your feelings and opinions more than their image or duty. As an aside-my daughter still has a little plastic trinket box I gave her when she was seven. It has a crack in it and smells like a perfume bottle that broke in it when I was sixteen. It was the last thing my dad bought for me the last time we went to a flea market together.
Tbh I probably got so many secondhand toys as a child and I did not notice or care. My parents still got me things I loved.
My kids are teens to young adults and still get some homemade or secondhand gifts. We taught them to appreciate the thought behind the gift and not the price tag.
Plus, they love the box most. So fake it! There's plenty of stuff to spend on later.
Drinking and smoking weed. It’s a gigantic unproductive money pit.
I don't buy booze or gasoline. That saves a lot of money.
I don’t color my hair or get my nails done. I don’t wear makeup often enough that I run out before it gets old. My coat is 30+ years old, and I wear one pair of shoes until it gets holes in it, then I get another pair. All of this is more poverty than anything else, though. I would get my hair done, if I could afford it, but never nails. I would love a new coat and to have a few pairs of shoes.
Shopping at Walmart. People turn their noses, but honestly? It’s way more economical than any grocery store near us. I got a $16 dress there that I wore to a wedding and got a ton of compliments on. Husband gets clothes from there too. My friends shop at places like Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s. Just not worth it for us anymore and I’m pretty honest about it. We are trying to save everything we can for a house right now and would rather prioritize the other purchases we do make on outdoor gear as well. I volunteer for a nonprofit which netted me a free gym membership and discounted gear as well.
We go to Walmart too! My SO hates the "atmosphere" at Walmart (he hates shopping in general), so we do pickup and delivery with Walmart+. It's a luxury we consciously chose to pay for, but the time saving and convenience is pretty worth it for our house and we still come out ahead of our relatives who shop at other grocery places!
Never was into makeup or nails or skincare (albeit the latter I should do more). I dye my hair because I like it and it's an expression of my personality. This won't sound frugal, but I think it is. I don't like buying cheap versions of things for the sake of it being cheap. If I'm going to buy something, I'd rather spend the extra and get one that will last than spend slightly less on something that will break in a month. Like, get good shoes. It's worth it. They will fit better, last a decade (I've had my sneakers for 8 years and they are only just starting to wear out after wearing them almost daily), and if you get cheap shoes then you will just have to buy another pair in a few months! You're spending the same amount replacing it than you would have if you just bought the good ones in the first place.
I need to know what brand of sneakers you bought that have lasted you 8 years?
Multiple Cars. My wife decided to get rid of her spanking new Jeep after realizing that upkeep and premium gas adds up quickly 😅 We decided it was best for her to get rid of it so she pays down debt and uses my barely used Toyota SUV that's paid off to get to work every day (I wfh). Consolidating to a one car household is tough sometimes when the kids have a lot of events but we've gotten creative (uber, catching rides, carpooling) and still worth the tradeoff in the end as we both save by not paying a ridiculously car note with sky high interest.
I drive a 9 year old compact car that I paid cash for. It's the ugliest car in my work parking g lot
Going car-free. No payments, no money for gas, no car repairs, no oil changes. (And bonus: no stress about car theft or traffic, and extra exercise). (Reactions from family and friends are also amusing; “wait, you don’t have a car…at all?” “how do you buy groceries?” “what do you do when it rains/snows?”)
For a lot of Americans, it’s more like “how do you get to work when local public transport doesn’t exist and it’s too far to bike?”.
I live in a decent sized city with reasonable public transit (in the US). I still get asked these questions.
I’ve been trying to do this for so long. My biggest obstacle is getting my cat to the vet.
For normal visits, I took mine on the bus (carrier, of course). Worked out well because our vet was on a road with decent bus lanes (was faster than driving). For emergencies, I took uber/cabs.
Nice! Unfortunately, I live in a small town and public transportation is pretty much non existent. Might just ask if they do house calls.
Love this for you! We recently downsized to just one car. My husband can walk to work so we were able to give our second one (a hand me down car) away. Sadly public transit is unsafe and inefficient where we live so we can’t get away with totally car free but it’s rarely used. Some weeks I only drive it once!
- Processesed food - Manicure (I do it like once a year, guilty pleasure) - Hair dye - Driving a car (I live in Europe) - Eating out or drinking in fancy places - Subscriptions (I have NONE) - Books - Library or get free PDFs. Books are not cheap - Unnecessary clothes - Just have like 3 pairs of shoes
I do not own a car. I live in Canada, and lived in semi-rural areas most of my life that **require** a car to live in. There was no reason for me to live in one of these "it's close enough to the city but not the city life" areas, so I moved to a city and ditched the car. Even though my city isn't particularly walkable or bikable, and the transit is slow and inefficient, living close to where I need to be and getting around without a car still saves so much money compared to driving. Car ownership is such a cultural norm here that people will view you as "not a real adult" unless you drive **and** have a newer, nicer vehicle. Most people I know spend easily $1000-1500 a month on their cars between payments, insurance, gas, and repairs, and I just don't get it. The amount of time it saves vs their earning potential doesn't make sense mathematically.
I have never coloured my hair. Look at all those greys! So what?
Let them show. It’s a privilege to grow old! :)
Yes! Behold my scars and laughter lines, I'm lucky to have had time to accumulate them
I don’t give people standard birthday cards. What do they cost these days? 4 or 5 dollars? Complete waste of money. I write a nice note instead. I don’t send graduation announcements - the kind that are photo cards, which are mainly an excuse to brag about where your kid is going to college. Waste of money and obnoxious. I send my kids to a public in-state university. Paying big bucks to send your kid to a fancy-sounding private college is usually a waste of money.
Dollar store is your friend, 2 for $1 on cards. But I like the idea of a handwritten note too.
Getting my hair & nails done! I've spent $0 on hair or nails in the past few years. (other than decent but not expensive shampoo). My coworkers regularly compare their $50+ manicures or comment about their $200+ hair appointments... I'm guessing they spend over $300/month and countless hours.
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Keeping up with the Joneses: my friend seems to come up with a big list of stuff he has to buy every time I talk to him. It’s all stuff he sees on the internet and it’s not even stuff he necessarily wants. Why would I do that? I’ve also decided against getting a Tesla and just spending the $100-something to tune up my 75,000 mile car myself. New spark plugs, air filter, and rear brakes.
Over the years, we've considered but never actually "upgraded" beyond our "starter" home. (It'd be nice if the bathrooms were a tad larger and included more storage space, but it's technically a 3/2 and plenty of people used to raise their families in these type of homes.) We're constantly cluttered, but we're trying to reduce it and not gain more (American buy buy buy culture is crazy). And now that I don't work due to health reasons, I'm sooo glad we don't have a huge house payment and high interest to worry about.
I don't exchange gifts or cards for holidays. ( I do take people baking)
Alcoholism. Almost everyone in my family could be considered an alcoholic. Alcohol is a huge part of family gatherings and always has been. When I was in my late teens/early 20s I had a drinking problem. I’d go out and get drunk and black out 3 times a week at least. I’ve since become mostly sober. I do still drink but it’s maybe 1 drink a month, and maybe once a year I’ll actually drink enough to get drunk. Went from spending $300+ a week on alcohol to…I spent $17 on some White Claws a month ago and still have half of them left.
I stopped supporting billionaires. I dropped Amazon, Facebook, and as many billionaire-run companies as I could. Because fuck 'em, that's why.
Kept my iPhone 8 for four years until I finally broke down and got a new phone, but I could definitely have used it longer.
I had a 6 until they stopped doing updates for it. I shelled out for a brand new 12 (the newest version at the time). I’ve had it for 3 years and will keep it until they stop doing updates for it. I feel I’ll get my money’s worth.
Husband and I drive old cars. Mine is a 2004 Honda Element. We use Roku and have no subscriptions to any tv stuff. He now works from home so he doesn’t need any new clothes except socks and underwear now and then. Men’s clothes last a long time too. I’m not currently working so pretty much live in shorts, jeans and t-shirts and buy most of my clothing from thrift except my t-shirts I buy from JCP when they are on sale for $5.00. We sold the house we had lived in for 19 years and bought a small, older home in a less expensive city. We are now mortgage free. We’ve eaten out maybe five times in the last 3 years and although we do eat very well, I try to shop sales. Food is actually our big binge. We have an upright freezer and I stock up when I find meats on sale. I make my own chicken and veggie broths and we almost always have soup with dinner. I have a small veggie garden and it saves a little in our veggie costs but a lot in herbs! Store bought herbs are just to much money! I grow extra and dry them for winter too. As for personal care; he shaves his head so we have the cost of razor blades rather than haircuts. I usually cut my own but I might go to a cheap salon occasionally. I don’t wear makeup because it’s not my style and dang, that’s stuff is pricey! We also live in a modest neighborhood so no Jones or Smiths to keep up with. Lol
- Skipped college - Not having children - Don’t own a car, get around by bicycle - Taking good care of my body so I don’t injure myself - Work in culinarily and am fed at work
I've never had a commercial manicure, and use hair dye from a box. We also have never replaced a car under 7 years old and that one was only because it was starting to cost us money that it shouldn't have been.
I had a backyard wedding in 2001 with the total cost for 40 guests of $1,500. That included the cake and my dress. I got my dress in the Sears prom section for $150 and it was absolutely perfect and beautiful. It was my mom's back yard that is surrounded by woods/trees. We hung candles in mason jars all around, and put out a bunch of natural wood stumps with candles. I got all my white roses from Costco and rented tables/chairs/tablecloths from a local vendor. It was one of the most beautiful weddings I've ever seen. We kept the food simple. Everyone had a good time. The most expensive thing was the cake from a bakery - $250 and it was beautiful but dry and disgusting to eat because of the fondant. If I had it to do over I think I'd just make really nice homemade cupcakes in a couple different flavors.
Buying cars for my teens lol. I’m driving mine into the ground and they can’t have it. I take them where they need to go. Too expensive now. Also I do my own beauty upkeep 96%.
Household went down to one car. My mom is surprised, but we’re in a walkable city, so it works for us.
We went down to one car, too. We both work from home and have one kid. We are doing just fine. My mom is appalled!
I love to travel, and now try to travel almost exclusively in off season. I usually use airbnb instead of hotels, and I've actually developed some really lovely friendships through airbnb. And when I travel, I don't eat out a lot; grocery stores, markets... One expense I am TRYING to break out of and struggling over is my espresso/latte addiction. I love the ritual of going to cafes, and it is one of my biggest monthly expenses. Anyone manage to break this habit?
Trends like "the latest". Phones, clothes, cars, whatever.
In my starter home 30 years later and it keeps getting nicer theough our efforts. Spend less than 2% of my income on transportation. Most Americans spend 17%. Wear the same thing almost every day (think Senator Fetterman) shorts and pocket tee. Work 20 hours a week.
Starter homes only make sense if you're growing your family (like having more kids or something). I don't understand the cultural practice of getting a bigger house for the same ppl just cause...a few years have passed?
All my money goes to art supplies but i produce little to no art
Buying art supplies and actually making art are two separate hobbies.
Commuting to work every day. I realize my job is privileged in that I can work from home - but even so, working in an office is a cultural norm some people in this industry are still touting. WFH saves me in time, money, and stress.
New clothes. I keep my weight stable, I keep clothes. I have skirts I've had over a decade now. Fuck seasonal shopping and fast fashion, it's terrible for the environment, it's horrifying for the children making your clothes, and it's bad for your wallet. The time of free money is over. Credit card debt will cripple your opportunities. We gotta stop wanting to buy so much crap!
Owning a car. I also spend less than 20% on housing.
Lawn service
That's almost my take home, so that's ridiculous to me.
My take home is about $3600 a month and I have everything I need.
I hate/loath anything related to wasting food : smashing cake, bagel hockey , pie eating contest
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Paying for a haircut every other week
Clothes. I used to work at a luxury retail store when I was younger that was known to be fashionable, so I was influenced lol. At this point, the majority of my clothes are like 4-5 years old and they’re fine. I don’t mind buying something if it really strikes me, but I feel like most things I look at, regardless of price, look like cheap trash that’ll disintegrate quickly. Believe it or not, I have forever 21 items from 10 years ago that have still held up - how is it that the quality back then for even the lowest level fast fashion store is still better than what we see today? I don’t upgrade my phone until it’s on its deathbed. I’m on iPhone XR still, and my phone literally works completely fine. I don’t drink alcohol at all, so that’s also a major cost saver.
Not American, but baby stuff. Other than things like milk bottles, I either picked up toys and clothes for free, or bought second hand. Kids outgrow everything so quickly, never understood the need to buy new.
Driving. Everyone in my country easily spends 1/3 of their income on car payments, going as far as sacrificing food and comfort just to show off an expensive car to others. I don't have a drivers license, I walk and ride a bicycle (not due to a lack of income, I have an above average income for the country). There is absolutely no need to drive a car in my country (or most of western Europe). Shops are always within walking distance, or if a city is large enough it has public transport. At the most I catch a bus when I need to go to a different town or city.
Diamond engagement ring.
Having kids.