Unbelievably Simple Frugal Hacks Smart People Swear By—And You’ve Never Heard Of Them Before!

I order my groceries online and it really cuts back on impulse purchases. This ties in with meal planning and cooking at home. Find someone with a baby 6-12 months older than yours, 1 year is a good gap, and see if you can have/buy all their usesdclothing. You’ll want to find someone with a close birth month so the seasonal stuff matches up.

sellyberry , mrsmaria Report

Try free entertainment. In many cities, libraries have passes for check out and/or free days at museums. Audiobooks, videos/dvds/streaming, ebooks, magazines are all available for free.

rducky26 , distingue Report

I wash ziplock plastic bags and reuse them. I don’t do this for ones that store raw meat of course but they can last quite awhile. I tried those material reusable ones but my kids lose them. We also reuse food containers for the kids lunch so when they lose those I don’t mind. We reserve movies from the library for free and have taught our kids to love read and they do it all of the time. We go to the library at least once a week. We don’t spend our money on stupid kid c**p. My kids receives gifts for birthdays and holidays. Recently I went to a store with a friend and she always lets her kids pick things out of the 1-5 dollar spot area. Over time that will add up. One tripe could cost her an extra ten dollars easy. Like wise I don’t buy myself everything I want. I own a capsule wardrobe everything pretty much goes with everything else. I probably have under 30 items of clothing for the summer season for all occasions. We drive older cars but keep up the maintenance. We both have work cell phones. I know this isn’t an option for everyone but as long as it’s allowed use your work phone for your personal phone. Meal plan for breakfast lunch dinner and snacks. Buy food on sale that is in season. Work alternating shifts to avoid paying for childcare. It [is bad] but for awhile we had to with our daughter and it saved us so much money.

User , MART PRODUCTION Report

Get a returnable cost hobby. My son and I started coin roll hunting. You get rolled coins at the bank and go through them looking for any that have value. Silver coins (in US these are pre 1964 dimes and quarters) have around a 5x of face value. At worst, you find nothing and get your cash back for them at the bank… but get to have the thrill of the chase for no cost.

User , Pixabay Report

Making your own cleaners, and using old cut-up shirts/bar cloths instead of paper towels. You’d be surprised how much you spend on cleaning supplies from the store. Vinegar is your best friend. I also save a TON making my own laundry detergent. Took me a few times to nail it “just right”, but this has been a huge savings.

bluemonetlily , Pixabay Report

Repurposing. Take big empty containers from powdered coffee creamers or instant coffee- and reuse them with other products.

katCEO , Kym MacKinnon Report

Buy non perishable items in bulk and on sale if possible. Also do this for things I use all the time like flour/rice Plan meals ahead of time. Any fresh ingredients that aren’t used up have another meal planned to use the. For example, I use half a head of cabbage in my stir fry so I plan another meal that uses the other half or I will forget to use it. Replace light bulbs in low traffic areas with motion sensing light bulbs. I never worry if the utility room light was left on and it’s wonderful.

User , Marco Verch Professional Photographer Report

I have a family membership to a family gym + indoor pool. My whole family of 6 exercises / swims there usually 3 times a week for $90 a month. Besides having something healthily to do outside the house, it also pays for itself by having us shower there instead of the house on the days we go. Our water is very expensive.

UntrustedProcess , issuekid Report