Saving money or managing one’s finances is an important skill to have. So following well used techniques for saving money can help you save money for rainy days. Hence when Reddit user u/maximum-gas-3491 asked people to share their money saving tips on Reddit, people had a lot to say.
Although these tips might seem insignificant, these tips really do work for most people. Having skills for managing our expenses and not giving in to random desires can help us avoid headaches during times of need.
Most people live paycheck to paycheck and one medical bill or disaster away from losing our little savings. Hence using these tips or learning these habits can help us avoid stress and headaches.
Reddit User Reddit Users Take On 22 Little Money-Saving Habits That “Seems Insignificant, But Isn’t”
Here are the top 22 money saving tips from users on Reddit that you can abide by to save money.
- u/joygernaut comments, “When you see something you want on Amazon (or Sephora or any other online shopping site), put it on a wishlist and don’t look at it for 48 hours. 98% of the time you won’t go back to buy it.”
- u/mozzarellafitzgerald commented on the post saying, “Similarly, if I get an email telling me about a sale, I immediately delete it, and I almost always forget about it completely.”
- u/franklinsuglydolphin says, “I only buy out-of-season clothes. I have a $700 coat that I bought brand new for $100, and it will last me for life with proper maintenance. Helps, too, that I’m a man. We don’t really do fashion trends, lol.”
- u/maximum-gas-3491, “I refuse to pay for 12 cent bags at Aldi. I keep reusable bags in my car, and if I forget one then I will just throw things in my trunk and grab a bag from the house to carry everything in. If I don’t buy bags each week, I save a little less than $19 a year (12 cents per bag times three bags a week times 52 weeks per year). Seems insignificant, but it adds up.”
- Greggorylane says, “I keep a running list that I call my “Want List“. Anytime I want something (for myself not the family) I add it to the list. I usually add a target price that I hope to pay for it. The list currently has about 10 things from a weber gas grill to white t shirts and a travel phone charger. If Amazon sells the item I have a price watch set to alert me if the price drops to my target…..I also find that I loose interest in items on the list and I move them to a section called “thought I wanted.”
- This is one of my favorite tips for saving money and decreasing food waste which Reddit user u/saveswhatx says, “Every few days, I take stock of the odds and ends in my freezer and fridge, and I come up with ways to incorporate it into meals. A favorite way to deal with random veggies is to make a stir fry. A favorite way to deal with random bits of bread is to freeze them and make bread pudding when I’ve accumulated enough.” Also avoid going grocery shopping while you are hungry this makes you buy more products than necessary leading to wastage.
- u/quadrophonicdaydream says, “Buy your cell phone outright and then use a prepaid month-to-month plan.”
- u/spenceandcarrie says,”Selling things we don’t use. Selling a $10 item here and there really does add up. It takes pretty low effort and we save the money for vacation. The benefit of less stuff is even better than the money, to be honest.”
- u/themonkeydidntdoit said, “I carry tea bags with me to school. It’s $1 for a cup of tea, but $0 for a cup of hot water. If I get tea on campus three times a week for a 14 week semester that’s $42 (minus the cost of the tea bags I bring) I can save each semester.”
- u/magicxcg said, “When I feel like having something sweet, which is often, I make a mug cake (~$0.36 each) instead of going out and spending $7 on ice cream.”
- u/southern-yam-1811 said, “When something you use regularly is on sale, stock up. My family likes to make Starbucks espresso at home and a small bag is now $10. When it’s on sale for its pre-covid price, I buy two or more extra and start to build up a stock pile. Eventually, you will have a lot of the staple foods you use so your weekly grocery bill will be just fresh foods.”
- u/smilefirstthenspeak says, “If your vehicle has the ability to show your MPG [miles per gallon], pay attention to it. Driving faster burns more fuel. Leave a little earlier and drive at a normal speed instead of rushing around.”
- u/gofunkyourself69 says, “Stack savings when you can, as well. The big jug of laundry detergent we use is regularly $9.48 at Walmart, and more expensive anywhere else. One other grocery store here recently had it on sale for $6.99, plus a $1 digital coupon in their app, bringing it to $5.99 per jug. In Ibotta, I had an offer for $3 back on each with a limit of 5, so naturally I bought 5 of them at essentially $2.99 per jug. At the rate we use it, we likely won’t have to buy laundry detergent for a decade or more.”
- u/heliantherne said, “Menstrual cups. I’m straight up not having to buy pads/tampons anymore (aside from keeping an emergency stash stocked). Saves me around $10 a month.”
- “I buy less than one roll of paper towels a year. 15 years ago, I bought a king size flannel sheet at a thrift store for $3. I cut it into 1-foot squares, put two together, and finished the edges on my serger. I keep them in a basket in my kitchen and use them for everything most people use paper towels for, including draining bacon and wiping up spills. I have about a dozen of them and wash them several times a week,” says u/lafayettejefferson. Adding further, “At a conservative estimate of $3 per roll of paper towels and one roll per week, I save $156/year. Over 15 years, I have saved $2340, enough to buy five sergers and a tall stack of used sheets, even considering the laundry expenses.”
- u/automatic_bug9841 said, “Switching to a safety razor, the blades are SO much cheaper. It’s been so long I can’t remember the exact savings, but I think I saved about 80-90% of the cost of razor blades when I made the switch.”
- “We started saving lots of money during the pandemic when we used Walmart grocery pickup. I buy a lot less when I’m not wandering the aisles, and I stick to a meal plan that I then select through the app,” said u/mango_38 .
- u/derprah says, “Vinegar as fabric softener. It’s cheaper to buy a gallon of distilled white vinegar, it’s better for your machine, and it’s better for your clothes. Takes only about 1/4-1/2 cup in the liquid softener dispenser. No smell, clothes feel less ‘coated’, and it has significantly reduced the amount of mildew/musty smell in our washer. Our towels absorb waaaay more water now too!”
- u/lepetitporc said “I pay with everything using cash back credit cards and pay my statement in full every month.”
- u/ok-fact7320 says, “I rent DVDs and stream shows through the library instead of having a streaming service subscription. Each month, I go through Rotten Tomatoes and make a list of things I want to see, then request them from my library. It meets my needs, and saves me roughly $30 a month.”
- u/knaimoli619 said, “The Ibotta app and the Rakuten app combined over the last three years have netted me over $1,500. Sometimes it seems so insignificant to get change amounts back on purchases, but they add up and I use them consistently.”
- u/ill_drop1135 says, “I do a thing I call ‘piggybacking’. As much as possible, I only drive when I can hit two spots on one road trip. If I need to go to Costco, I wait until I also need to stop at Whole Foods to drop off an Amazon return, pop into Home Depot for a needed tool, or visit the library. A drive that is 10 miles round trip seems short, but if you do the math, using the federal rate for mileage which accounts for wear and tear, that’s a $6.55 trip. Why would I spend that twice when I can spend it once, AND help the environment?”
Now that you know these tips, try including them in your daily habits to save money. Also let us know if you have some other money saving tips that can help our readers.
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