20 Unique Frugal Living Tips from Reddit to Save You a Fortune
If you want some frugal living tips that aren’t generic like “pack your lunch” or “make your coffee at home”, then you’ll love this list of truly unique ideas.
20 Unique Frugal Living Tips from Reddit to Save You a Fortune
People of Reddit are sharing their best frugal living tips, and if you implement them, you’ll save big too.
Do you have any frugal living tips that help you save money? Share in the comments so everyone can get even more ideas.
Grocery Delivery to Cut Impulse Spending
“I switched to grocery delivery during the pandemic and even though there’s a monthly/yearly fee, I’ve kept it because it cut my impulse purchases down to near zero and actually saves us money. Spending less and eating less junk.”
Another good option is curbside pickup, which will also cut down on impulse spending. You won’t be able to grab extra items not on your list like you would if you shopped inside the grocery store.
Portion Out Extra Dinner Servings
“When you make dinner at home, before you serve yourself put some servings into plastic containers for meal prep. This helps with portion control and now you have a couple days of lunch to bring to work instead of buying.”
—u/GamingGems
Dilute Dawn Soap
“I mix Dawn dish liquid with some water in a spray bottle to clean my dishes. Just spray what I need and it really cuts down on the amount of Dawn that I use/waste.”
—u/deleted
Be sure to dilute the soap with distilled or purified water, not tap water to avoid it getting contaminated.
Catalog Clothing
“Catalog your clothes. So you don’t happen to buy the same piece of clothing again, especially if it’s the basic pieces.”
Add Plants To Your Home
“Add plants to your space. It lifts mood, improves the air you breathe, easy to grow more through propagation, reduces the urge to buy stuff to fill in any empty spaces, and it gives a sense of care for yourself and your environment.”
“All good and uplifting that prevents buying out of stress or loneliness.”
—u/fun4days71
Organize Everything
“Organize your stuff. Like all your stuff, including long term storage and things.”
“If you are anything like me you collect and never get rid of anything that still has a use, or might be useful in future, and that CAN truly save you a lot of money… but only if you know you have it, and can find it when you need it.”
—u/lanallama85
Organizing is key to saving money because you don’t want to buy things you already have just because you can’t find them.
Don’t feel like you have to spend a ton of money on organizing products either, there are many cheap options at Dollar Tree or try to repurpose items around your home.
The goal isn’t to get your space Instagram-worthy (unless you want that), it’s more about functional organization so you know where all your items are.
Reusing Bread Bags
“I save bread bags for all kinds of things, especially transporting shoes (perfect size) and for cleaning the cat box. Tortilla bags are also resilient ziplocks.”
—u/LTAGO5
Everything But The Kitchen Sink Soup
“Idk how unique it is, but everything but the kitchen sink soup, which is basically just throwing a bunch of cr*p together to make a soup in order to get rid of stuff that’s about to go bad or otherwise needs to be used up.”
“You can put so much stuff into soups, and you can freeze leftover soup, too. Really helps to prevent food waste.”
—u/RivenHarlow
Replace Paper Towels With Microfiber Towels
“Get 100 hand towels/chamois/microfiber rags and use them instead of paper towels. Treat them as single use basically except you put the dirty ones in a basket and throw them in a very hot load of laundry.”
Try to swap out as many single-use items as possible to maximize your savings, plus it’s good for the environment.
Reduce Social Media Time
“Don’t use too much social media. Most of the advertised things by influencers are not needs.”
—u/sadbutsocial
Impulse buys from TikTok shop, Facebook, or Instagram can add up so much.
You don’t need to cut out social media altogether, even just decreasing it a little can have a big effect on your wallet.
Buy Gift Cards to Get Cash Back
“If you use credit cards (and pay it off in full every month) that offer say 5% cash back at grocery stores, MAX THAT BABY OUT by purchasing gift cards at the grocery store.”
“So for example, Discover credit card has 5% cash back for a certain quarter of a year, say January to March, where you can spend $1500 at grocery stores.”
“If you can’t spend that much on actual groceries, buy gift cards for other places like Target or Amazon or whatever you like at the grocery store.”
—u/gwof
This is a great money-saving tip, but only if you can pay off your monthly credit card balance every month to avoid interest fees.
Utilize Community Resources
“I think sharing resources with others is an underrated frugality tip. Taking advantage of community, and also contributing to it.”
Make an Amazon Wish List
“Instead of online shopping, I make Amazon wish lists all year long. Then, when Christmas/birthday comes along and people ask what I want I just send the list.”
“It keeps me from buying stuff I don’t need and makes it so I always get stuff I want for gifts.”
—u/checkplus
Stock Up On Essentials During Black Friday
Black Fridays a great time to stock up on practical items. It’s when I buy my beauty/pet/home supplies in surplus.
Best Time to Shop Estate Sales
“The last day of an estate sale is usually half price or free day.”
Library For Audio Books and eBooks
“Register for your local/state library’s online card. Check out audio and ebooks for free; sure there might be a waiting list, so choose another one while you wait. it’s saved me so much money!”
Find Frugal Friends
“Find a friend that is also frugal.”
“One of my buddies is also trying to save up money, and so far it has been really nice to have a partner in crime. We made a list of frugal activities, and often do something cheap/free whenever we hang out.”
—u/tvan3l
Clear Out Food Cupboards and Pantry
“Clear out your grocery cupboard in the week before payday.”
“Use up all the pasta and rice packets with an awkward small amount left in them, the cans that have been at the back for a while, the bits and bobs of veg in the freezer, the nearly-empty sauce bottles.”
Wash Your Shoes
“One thing I do is wash my shoes, specifically Ugg style boots. I think a lot of people wear them for a season, they get dirty, and next year buy a new pair. I wash mine once or twice a year and they come out looking new.”
Cut Sponges In Half
“Cut a sponge into two to get double the life. My sponges usually get moldy and mildewy and gross before they become unusable.”
Familiarize Yourself With Tax Codes
“Read up on your state’s tax code. There are some cool deductions for things you might already be doing.”
