7 Non-Financial Tools That Will Help You Save Money | The Financial Diet

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[Jess-uwgm]

1. A library card 0:24
2. Grouped activity calendar 2:34
3. Anti-grocery list 3:51
4. A goal setting app 4:50
5. DIY home tools 6:30
6. Workout clubs 9:01
7. Gold star days 10:58

[FutureNow]

As someone who works from home, I also sometimes use my local library as another place to work out of when I need to get out of the home office without having to go to a cafe and spending money on coffee/food.

[notionsofdragonsfire]

My grocery bill has stayed low since I started ordering my groceries ahead and picking them up at the store. I only get what I need and I don’t have to worry about impulse buys. Plus, I pick them up on my way home from work, so one less thing to do on my days off.

[SamarkandChan]

It's funny as a European to hear a drying rack as a "hack". Dryers are not considered a staple in most homes here and drying clothes on a rack or outside is the norm most places.

I'm from Norway and my mum sometimes even dries clothes outside in the winter when it's snowy. Brrrr

[michellekendall]

Thank you for talking about libraries!
Another library card tip: you live outside of a county that has a big city, they might have a better selection of audiobooks/ ebooks or services. You can be eligible for a library card in a county you don’t live in. You just have to look up what else is required to get a library card from an outside county. I did this and now I have access to over 5 times the amount of audiobooks in my home county library system.
Free audiobooks for the win!

[NoraTKD]

As a university student I am a regular visitor at the library. Makes me calm and relaxed just to be there and study. Thank you for adding libraries to the list! :)

[Gigglypeach]

My best tip is to get a heated drying rack. As others have pointed out, in Europe it is not standard for us all to have a tumble dryer in our homes. About 6 years ago i invested £99 in a heated three-tier drying rack (from Lakeland for UK folks! 😊) that costs 5 pence an hour to run and will dry all my washing in roughly 4 hours, even my king size sheets and load of thick towels. So at 20p a week, I only spend roughly £11 a year drying my clothes!

[Telcomvic]

You can save produce by parboiling and freezing it. Just google "Can I freeze x?" and you will find out how, for how long, how to thaw, and how to use just about anything. I always keep frozen cut celery, carrots, and whole tomatoes in my freezer. I use the carrots and celery for soup or stew and the whole tomatoes to make chili. All I have to do with the tomatoes is run them under warm water to get the peel off.

[ButterflyBree]

Great tips!

I worked in county government for 10 years, I'm well informed, but I didn't know about all the amazing programs in our library system.

I used a lot of the free classes, free workshops, and cultural programs during a period of time I was unemployed and underemployed. They helped me grow so much personally and professionally! The libraries are truly your tax dollars at work!

[FutureNow]

My wife and I were grocery shopping this weekend and decided to buy one of those tupperware with cut up carrots and celery which is more expensive by unit of weight but cheaper in the long run because we can only buy carrots and celery in bulk otherwise and they always end up going bad in the forgettable veggies drawer in the fridge. The do not buy list is a great idea!

[emiliabolsas]

For those who rely on public transportation, I also suggest learning how transfers work. In NYC, a bus-to-subway/subway-to-bus or bus-to-bus transfer via a Metrocard lasts two hours. If timed right, I can take the subway to my destination (say, lunch with a friend or shopping or a meeting) and take a bus home, all for a single fare of $2.75 as long as the bus is at least one of the modes of transport and my first and last card swipe are within 2 hours of each other. This is easiest to accomplish if one’s start and end points are within the same borough. It has been a great way to learn my way around the city, discover different neighborhoods and get a lot of reading done, all while maximizing my travel budget.
Bonus: You will likely get free rides, too, since the bus card readers are often broken.

[ekpennock]

for health clubs, try going to your community center rather than paying for a gym membership. The classes are the same but the environment is supportive and cost next to nothing if anything!

[hayleyoesch]

Yes to #2! I live in Paris and buy individual metro tickets (it's 50% cheaper than buying a monthly pass), and it makes me hyper-aware of how much I travel. I save so much money by going to restaurants, parks, and museums near my house, or by walking somewhere an hour away on foot and taking the metro back home.

[neitilusikka]

In Finland you can borrow movies, games for pc, ps4 xbox one, nintendo games etc. Also boardgames, they have sewing machines, 3d printers, computers, tablets, e- books, books, printers (for free in some cities) facilities to study, play instruments, play games, listen music etc. All for free, you only need an id and that´s it. So, I use quite a bit of library services and enjoy it!

[theodore]

I used to have a version of the anti grocery list. It was different from yours through because instead of making a list and going to the store I would walk through the kitchen and make a list of what I already had. This act alone could add days or even weeks between grocery trips.

[HaHaHannah]

My husband and I found batteries that have a USB port under a cap at one end making them rechargeable with any USB port. Computer, new outlets with two to four usb outlets, tv, phone charges from old phones and rechargeable stuff - I have them plugged throughout the house where I turn over batteries often like the bedroom and his Xbox controllers. Plus they’re useable anywhere a AAA or AA are used (as long as you buy the correct size for what you’re using it for like any other battery) but you just swap a regular battery for one of there and when you charge it you pop off the cap and plug it in. So useful and has saved us HUNDREDS this year. My husband goes through 8-16 batteries on his Xbox controller per month. Even with the expensive ones. These last longer and are eco conscious! I love them!!

[squirrel]

CHECK your city's activity/rec center for fitness too.
I pay $35/month at our city's new activity center/gym/Rec Center. It's NICE too - classes included, new equipment, long track, full locker room, cafe, solar panels etc. Easy on my budget AND a GREAT use of my tax dollars.

[BudgetGirl]

I'm a huge fan of ebooks and audiobooks from overdrive and my library!

[gumfoil]

I work at a library and nobody comes in to use any services except the computer lab. We have free ebooks, tv, and movies to stream, as mentioned in the video. But there is a CreationStation where anyone can check out high end tech, like steadycams and cameras, VR systems like the hololens and use 3-d printers.

[alexandrakershner]

I work part-time at the YMCA which gives my family and I a free membership (yay!) but my friends and family don't see it as a "real gym" so they will pay additional money to local gyms that are more expensive and offer less than what my local Y does. Nothing wrong with humbling yourself and working out next to your community grandma, plus you get to connect with people more than you would in a "real gym".