Weird Things People Do to Save Money (Including Me!)

Ditch paper towels for reusable rags? Cut off the end of the toothpaste tube? This week, I’m sharing some the of weirdest things people do to save money (and fessing up to some of my own).

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[Baldwin]

Interesting how over 2% inflation has been a concern when central banks and the Fed begin to hike interest rates. I consider the rising interest rate to be a very serious issue since it will undoubtedly cause more investors to withdraw their money from the stock market. But then I'm still aware of certain investors that continue to earn over $365, 000. Wish I could accomplish that.

[trebmaster]

Shop at Aldi, Trader Joe's, and Oriental markets. Normalize picnic dates.

[Magazinelady]

In my childhood neighborhood, we had a clothesline outside and one in the basement. Today, I use a dry rack and the shower bar to hang up shirts. It lengthens the life of the clothes and it saves electricity.

[sandrawhitman]

Haha I actually cut my foundation tube in the middle when it gets really low. I scoop
It out with a q-tip and I get three more weeks worth!😂

[sherlockrobin]

I'm British and I've never owned a clothes dryer. All our clothes are air dried, for free. Most people I know don't own one, or rarely use one if they do.If you can do it in cold and rainy Britain, there's no reason you can't in America. Your clothes will smell much fresher!

[jodee]

I have years of experience working in grocery stores. As long as you cook or freeze your meat products by the sell by date, you’re good. Take it out of the original package and place in freezer bags. Note the date you freeze and use within three months. I also add marinade and or seasoning prior to freezing. Pull what you need for the next couple of days and your meat will marinate as it defrosts. If it smells bad, don’t eat it. I’ve saved hundreds of dollars by buying marked down meats.

[bigcahuna]

These behaviors in Rachel's list are kind of typical among frugal people. The show Extreme Cheapskates on TLC will show you the MOST bizarre and hilarious lengths people will go to save a buck.

[kelseyfhere]

I was literally coming home from giving a neighbor dinner when I had that same thought about giving saving me money. It cost me to make more food but I feel like giving will help me be grateful for what I have. Then I turned on this video and you said the same thing haha!

[alindalt]

Hanging clothes on the line saves us a ton during the summer.

Buy generic on 99.9 percent of items.

No car payments
Rarely eat out.
Buy or rent a movie rather than movie tickets. It’s cheaper

Clothes are thrifted.
Furniture is thrifted. Spray paint fixes a ton of issues and makes it all look nice.

No credit cards

Dollar store makeup works just fine.

We use our plastic grocery sacks as garbage sacks for our smaller cans.

Cook from scratch for many things… not all.

Don’t buy junk food. Even our valentine and Easter treats are homemade treats rather than candy from the store.

Our biggest help was using a cash envelope system and making a monthly budget spreadsheet. We gave every dollar a place in the budget.

Kids only were allowed one sport at a time. And only after they got into the 9th grade. All other extra activities were not in the budget.

Didn’t take big fancy vacations.

Paid our house off after 18 yrs this past thanksgiving on one small income while raising seven kids!
Don’t have to be weird or fancy. Just use common sense and learn to hate debt! It drove us to get it all paid off! Gazzel intensity!

[lindamorefield]

You can just empty the trash cans in the bedrooms, office and sometimes bathrooms as long as they aren’t wet to reuse those garbage bags.

[howellomaha]

We skip those high ticket prices of touring Broadway productions. Instead we have season tickets to our local community theater. An entire season of 10 productions is the cost of one touring show.
We even took it down a level last weekend and went to see a high school production of Mama Mia. Only $10 per ticket and we had a great time. Was it Broadway quality? Oh course not, but we didn't spend $100 seat (plus parking) and got to support a group of kids trying their best.

[AthaLO]

We use reusable rags daily. We also employ the use of blackout curtains and definitely use natural light.

[chalktalkwithshari]

I just bargained $50 per month off my rent (because I’m a teacher). It never hurts to ask!

[deriksherman]

For those who haven't thought of it already, fasting will save you money. I'm talking 72-96 hours at a time without food. You may have to start small, like 16-20 hours at first if you're new, but making a grocery supply last at least a few weeks with prolonged fasting once a week saves a fair bit on its own. I've seen some benefit from it, health benefits from fasting is near endless as well.

[lisaphares]

I save granola bags and rice bags that have reclosable bags. I use freezer tape to id what’s inside. These bags are thicker and sturdier than most store bought bags and allow me not to buy bags. Bread bags are great to reuse for home made bread and to put Costco bread in—you have to buy more than you can use before it molds so i put 2-4 pieces of chibata bread in a bag and freeze it. And no, I didn’t buy membership, I’m on my mom’s. They also have French country loaves 2pk so I freeze the second in bread bags. I also cut up vegetables i buy into sizes I use to cook, freeze them flat so they don’t stick together. This can be done in a recloseable bag, fill less than third and lay flat, spreading the veg out. After frozen, squeeze bag to separate them. You can use a second bag to fill and one to freeze flat and keep filling the one until full. I do this with carrots i dice, broccoli and cauliflower, celery, onions, peppers and spinach. Buy fresh then freeze so none goes to waste. It works with fruit in season when it’s cheapest, to freeze and use in pies and smoothies.

[DC-seko]

Another frugal tip is not going to the movies. It now costs me between $15 and $20 to go and that is with a senior discount! I actually find much more interesting viewing on YouTube and Rumble.

[mediumchunkymads]

We use rags sometimes and papertowels for really yucky stuff to preserve the rags. I have a giant old towel we use as the"spill towel" because it works better than a ton of paper towels and then we don't have to waste a bunch!

[yvesderrick]

Great video, one that folks really need to watch. I' m 50, retired a while at 45. 1 have 35% of my capital invstments in an IRA. 25% in index funds, and the balance spread across other investment accts. in cumulative of over $ 5M saved. I receive income from my rental properties too. Zero debt and all is going accordingly..

[jillanglemyer]

I add vinegar to my dishwashing liquid to stretch it.

[jasonrodgers]

By paying cash for a car you have the added benefit of not being FORCED to have super-expensive collision insurance! Collision is what pays for damages that YOU cause, so if you are a truly careful driver, not needed!