It’s just the nature of life, it seems: one week, we’re flush with cash, and the next, we’re scrounging under the couch cushions for a few extra coins. But even through the ups and downs, we all learn helpful financial habits along the way. Recently, u/KiraAzura posed the question, “What’s a ‘poor person life hack’ that you still do, even if you’re no longer broke?” over on Reddit, and these 29 responses were incredibly enlightening:
1.
“I obtain unfathomable amounts of toothpaste from an ’empty’ tube.”
2.
“Use plastic grocery bags for my bathroom and office trash cans.”
3.
“Continuing to drive my 2005 Camry (my original car). If it runs, why replace it?”
4.
“Adding lots of extra ingredients (like chopped vegetables and canned tomatoes) to Hamburger Helper to make more of it.”
5.
“I never eat out for lunch on workdays.”
6.
“I like to use bars of soap, and putting the little piece of the old bar onto the new bar is mandatory.”
7.
“When I couldn’t afford meat, I used tinned brown lentils as a mince meat substitute in pasta sauce/lasagna sauce. I can now afford mince meat, but add a tin of brown lentils to extend the amount. (I like the taste, too.)”
8.
I check thrift stores and Facebook Marketplace for everything before I buy it new. About the only things I truly buy new are socks and underwear.”
9.
“Save all of your vegetable scraps. All the things you cut off of your vegetables when prepping food, freeze them. You can use them all later to create your own vegetable stock or other things like chicken stock. Just be sure to wash them well. Save your scraps of even meat, like chicken bones. All the stuff you don’t like the look of still has good flavor.”
10.
“I almost never buy coffee outside. Either make it at home or drink free crap coffee at work.”
11.
“Only buying when things are on sale (discounted).”
12.
“Rice, beans, garlic, olive oil, and soy sauce for days, baby. This 10-dollar budget for a week’s worth of food got me through college, but I’m still doing it once in a while 10 years later.”
13.
“I live near several well-known universities. Want free or extremely cheap and barely used furniture? Know which apartment complexes the wealthy college students live in and when they move out.”
14.
“Hiding money from myself.”
15.
“I’m still broke, but a good hack for food is learning to make meals that last all week and freeze well. If you don’t have a lot of time to cook, make weekly soups.”
16.
“Calling my internet and cable company every 6 to 12 months, telling them I’m going to cancel. That keeps me at the best price. I have saved quite a bit of money for the same service over the last decade.”
17.
“Kindness. Always pays back enormously.”
18.
“I dye my own hair and never, ever have a car payment.”
19.
“Free entertainment. Beach, hike, hanging out in a third space, general involvement in local community, and having an awareness of free events, which are super common.”
20.
“Thrifting 100% of my super fancy office clothes. They have no idea.”
21.
“Learn to freeze and thaw food, and buy as much of your groceries from Costco as possible. In my opinion, if you learn how to use that volume. You pay about 50% vs the normal store.”
22.
“I take tampons from my gym. Never ever paying for them again.”
23.
“Not buying bottled water. That tap water will do just fine.”
24.
“Running some lines of hot glue on the areas of your shoes that get worn out quicker before a long walk or a game of basketball or pickleball, etc., will extend the life of your shoes. Epoxy works as well.”
25.
“I make my own liquid laundry detergent and Dawn Powerwash. It’s so easy and so cheap! I do five gallons and one gallon at a time for not even close to the cost of a one-time purchase.”
26.
“I add water to soap and shampoo bottles when they get low, and the diluted soap still works fine. Learned it from my mom; do it out of habit now.”
27.
“The miscolored stack in the paint store. I’ll happily keep checking until a colour I love pops up. It’s a fun hunt, especially if you’ve got an idea but aren’t absolutely set on precisely one exact color — and there isn’t a chance in hell I’m paying $80 for a gallon of paint.”
28.
“I have a full-time job that pays well enough that I could live off it comfortably, but I have two side hustles that I maintain. If my main job ever went away, I could easily put more time into the side gigs and not immediately have to start living off my savings.”
29.
And finally, “I cut my sponges in half.”
Do you have your own money-saving hacks to share? Let us know in the comments. Or if you’d like to remain anonymous, you can fill out the form below.
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