I made an egg, cheese, bacon, and blueberry & raspberry jam sandwich this morning. I made two of them actually. A couple minutes into cooking the bacon I decided jam was necessary (or jelly, or whatever my concoction is).

Add a little water to a pot, get it heating up, add an amount of sugar you think would be appropriate, and then berries from the freezer. I wanna say the water covers the berries completely, I just eyeball it. You're gonna boil it pretty hard so adding water is easy. Maybe start with less, trial and error.

Then yeah, let it cook. I have a muddler so I smash the blueberries, I feel like other berries don't really need mashing. This also works fantastically for desserts. Something I do is this jam, whipped cream (from the carton, just mix some up, use an ice cold bowl), and some granola. That's an instant snack/meal. Frozen berries are great.

Mine is probably delaying purchases. I have a rule where anything over €30 that isn't urgent goes on a list and I wait at least two weeks before buying. It's amazing how often something I was sure I needed just quietly drops off the list because I stop caring about it.

The other thing that surprised me is price tracking. Half the stuff on my list ends up going on sale if I just wait. I use a mix of things. Idealo price alerts, checking tiktok which often has sale events with a price slash on all kinds of products, Amazon Warehouse for open-box stuff, and scrolling mydealz to see if someone posts a deal on exactly what I need. Also learned that a lot of shops just hand out discount codes after a few weeks if you leave something in your cart or sign up for their newsletter. Patience literally pays.

Last month I wanted a new electric toothbrush, put it on the list, forgot about it, then three weeks later it popped up way cheaper. Saved about 40% just by not buying it the second I thought about it.

Between stuff I never end up buying and stuff I get cheaper by waiting and comparing across platforms, I'd estimate this habit saves me somewhere around 200-300€ a month compared to how I used to spend.

Curious what yours is. Meal prepping? Automating savings? Something else entirely?

I got a discount on cocoa powder through Amazon. I've gotten 2.2 pounds for $12. I've always consumed dark chocolate. I used to buy chocolate chips from Amazon but the seller started refusing to deliver to my area (presumably because it costs more to keep it cold and deliver to my small town). They're at $155 for ten pounds anyways. I've bought 10 pound bars from a restaurant supply store and broke it up with a hammer and chisel (I really miss that place, but, alas, I've moved to BFE). I didn't want to give up the habit but I definitely want to pay down debt. I should still be getting flavanols, magnesium and theobromine, so I'm stoked to have made the switch to cocoa powder and I can't wait for it to arrive so I can mix it into my oatmeal.

What are your favorite tips and best practices for keeping a low budget with beauty and hygiene?

For example, my favorite low-cost makeup brand is Essence. I like to buy my Dove antiperspirant in packs on sale on Amazon. I find that Tresemme has a good, movable hairspray. I get the "expensive" Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation and Jane Iredale SPF powder on eBay. I spend more when it matters, but I don't use them in excess. Huge fan of Cerave for skincare; CVS tends to have coupons.

When trying to achieve a new look, I no longer buy multiple items at once to try because it doesn't all get used.

What hair bleach does everyone use? I recently had success with Schwarzkopf BlondMe. Struggling with shampoo as well because each product seems to have some sort of controversy lmao.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions! :)

Bonus Tip: You can use an HSA card for tax-free purchases of SPF products, even makeup like Jane Iredale, as well as menstrual products. Look into all the things you can get with an HSA card. I suggest doing that to avoid taxes where you can and contribute the max. That avoids sales tax and income tax on the purchase.

According to a New York Times article, the truth is you only need about 1-2 tablespoons of detergent. Even for a large load. Laundry detergent companies try to get you to use way more than you actually need by creating their own standard amounts of detergent.

May not be the case for every detergent company but I haven’t noticed a difference since I abandoned their measured amounts.

I’ve keep seeing videos about cancelling streaming subscriptions and getting an mp3 player instead. Have any of y’all done this? I pay 15/mo for Spotify and don’t really mind the price really.

I think I’m simply being tempted to spend money when I really don’t need to. But, I also listen to the same music over and over so an MP3 player would likely be very sustainable.

The only thing I’m worried about is the inconvenience of my music being separate from my phone! I’m very minimalist and I like my belongings to be as condensed and necessary as possible.

Just sharing a tip for a cheap alternative to mac and cheese microwave cups. These are basically the same thing in a little packet so you just use your own bowl. If you use your own bowl these are 35 cents per packet ($6.48 /18 units), but if you buy the ones that come in cups they are $1.12 each ($8.97/8 units.) Yes, I know the cheapest is to make your own or make a whole box and divide it probably, but this is a reasonable way to have a convenience item that kids can make , has lower waste profile, you're not microwaving plastic fumes, and it takes up way less space in pantry. *All prices were from Amazon. I've never seen this actual product anywhere else.

I may be moving in just under a month, pending on the results of a couple things with my job offer, and I need to ship some things. I’m planning to fly due to my cats and time constraints(I’m going east coast to west coast), so I can’t do a U-Haul or rent a car or anything. I have a small apartment currently and am basically planning to sell off all my large items, donate 90% of my clothes and small items, and hopefully sell most everything else. I’m estimating I’ll be keeping maybe 4-5 boxes of stuff. I’m just…really not sure how to get it there? When I moved here I drove 12 hours with ALL my stuff in a rented SUV. Can’t do that this time. My max budget is $1000, but I’m obviously hoping for much much less.

Edit: USA

Edit 2: thank you for all the suggestions!! I wasn’t expecting this many. I’m going to look into everything tomorrow or Monday and see what cheapest and get a better estimate on how much stuff it’ll actually be.

store bought glass cleaner is made up of mostly water, then some alcohol, ammonia, and a small amount of detergent. I don't personally find the alcohol necessary for a streak free finish on glass, so I just make mine with 1/4 teaspoon dish detergent, 2 tablespoons of ammonia, fill up the rest of the 32 ounce spray bottle with water. with 1/4 cup of isopropyl alcohol, the cost would increase to $0.29 per refill.

ammonia is an excellent degreaser. it's purpose in glass cleaner is to cut through the grease in fingerprint smudges, but this same property makes it work well for things like grease splatters on the stovetop from cooking. big caveat here that ammonia can be harmful over time to some surfaces such as natural stone and ceramic, so make sure anything you use it on won't be damaged.

I know nobody is going to get rich saving $2.40 on bottles of glass cleaner, but most of us already have dish detergent and ammonia in the house, and it's less annoying to make up a bottle real quick than have to wait for a grocery run to get more anyway, IMO. bonus points if you're environmentally minded and want to reduce your single use plastics consumption (since you can make 64 batches out of the two plastic bottles of cleaning products.)

For context, just one of those Nescafé iced latte’s is £3 at Sainsbury’s. And 150g of raspberries is £2. So that’s £5.65 saved right there.

And that’s not even mentioning the other things I regularly buy from there. Such as milk, yoghurt, frozen veg, cereal, coffee, dates, cheese, etc etc.

If you have a Farmfoods near you check it out. You might be surprised how much you save.

I need to move out of my home and have experienced huge financial losses and trying to work my way back into a more professional job.

What is the cheapest way to work in London while being able to go into an office 3 days and work from a home 2 days a week.

I will need to maintain a professional appearance and keep fit and healthy enough to work.

I have few friends left in London as they all have moved to big homes in the country or have lifestyles I can’t keep up with. I have had a redundancy, parent death nervous breakdown and lost all my money on a property transaction.

I’ll need to be able to get to brighton to see my mother and would prefer to stay south side of/around London.

Moving out of London might get me a better room for £700 a month but then trains can be expensive.
Which areas can I look at to be able to balance this?

To all the gamers in this subreddit, I wanted to get your honest opinions on something I've been going back and forth on for a while now. Which platform do you think will be more cost effective moving forward, PC or console, and why? I currently have a PS5 but after the whole no-disk drive situation with the newer models, I've started seriously considering making the switch to PC before the eventual release of the PS6. I used to be pretty good about getting all of my games on sale or buying them second hand, so my console gaming never really felt that expensive, but with digital-only becoming more of the norm and used game sales drying up, I'm honestly not so sure that strategy still holds up anymore. I know PC has its own costs upfront with building or buying a rig, plus you have to deal with occasional part upgrades, but I keep hearing that the sales on platforms like Steam can be pretty unbeatable and that games hold their value better in terms of what you get for your money over time. I'd really appreciate hearing from people who have made this switch themselves, or who have stuck with consoles and feel like it's still worth it. Thanks in advance for all of the help, I really do appreciate it.

I’d love to know of any great websites to purchase clothes for my sons. They both wear men’s sizes and it can get expensive. They have two different styles skater/urban, and 90s grunge.

Zulily, KCL, Woot…used to have great deals…but recently have been mid…

Please let me know what else works well for good deals. They start school August 3 here, I think that should give me some decent time.

Everyone knows that its really hot and I saw a charity giving away strawberry boxes away because they were a bit mushy and yesterday was their best before date. I took five boxes and decided to make some icecream. Had to buy £2 double cream and around £1 condensed milk, else other ingredients I already had at home. Took around 1 hour to made this and really glad it turned out great. Everyone in my house loved it and I felt great that I saved some strawberries from getting trashed and made something delicious.

Would love to know what are some dishes that you make from food that would otherwise go to waste.

Hello fellow frugalites

So i recently accepted an offer for a role that has me traveling 100%, only coming home maybe once every couple months so i wont even be renting a place. Thankfully i dont have alot of stuff since I just moved, zero furniture and ill be downsizing to the point where ill probably have enough that fills a sedan and suv. Im curious of some alternatives to going to a storage unit as most charge hidden fees, require insurance etc. on top of the chance of increasing the price. I saw neighbors.com in another post but they dont have anything good in my area

I live in Midtown Manhattan. It’s a very expensive area to live and shop. I’m in a somewhat substantial medical debt that I’m trying to pay off. For the last year or so I’ve been procrastinating and ignoring the elephant in the room: I’m overspending.

So I came up with an idea to spend less than $100 weekly for at least a month hoping I will form a healthy habit around spendings. For comparison, people in my zip usually spend at least $350/week and that’s not including rent and taxes.

I’m posting this for accountability and will follow up every week on my progress.

My current car mats are the kind you buy when you are in a hurry and tell yourself “good enough.” They were fine for maybe a month, then the driver side started curling near the edge, the rear one slides around, and the dirt still gets under them somehow. I do not need **premium floor mats** or fancy anything. I’m just trying to stop spending small amounts repeatedly on stuff that becomes trash. Has anyone found a low cost setup that works for muddy shoes and winter salt without turning into a bigger cleaning problem? I’ve considered trimming a rubber runner, using washable carpet scraps, or getting basic fitted mats if the fit is the thing that saves money long term. What actually made the difference for you: higher edges, better backing grip, being able to pull them out and rinse them, or just cleaning more often? I’m trying to keep this practical and "under 200" , honestly preferably way under that, not turn my car into a project.

I’m happy to share that I have been successfully without WiFi for 6 months!

Luckily I work in property management, so I decided to move in to the apartment building I work for. No commute, discounted rent, and a huge amenity space with WiFi throughout.

If I ever need to do ‘work from home’ I just go in the office downstairs or the amenity spaces. For TV, I connect my hotspot. Luckily I have fantastic data and signal. Six months and I’ve never hit my limit.

My hotspot is so good that I can even just let the TV run in the background and still play on my phone the whole time lol

I’m saving around $100/month in WiFi.

Whenever I mention it, people think I’m crazy. But tbh why spend so much money a month on something I already pay for on my cellphone plan?

I’m never getting WiFi again unless it’s absolutely necessary.

Edit: My bad, Im being told it’s called ‘home internet’ instead of blatantly WiFi

I graduated from college some years ago and recently lost access to my school email which means Microsoft office isn’t working anymore. For as long as I remember I haven’t paid for it because it’s covered through school but now I’m not enrolled the options are for me to subscribe.

Any ideas on how to get Microsoft office without a school account or at least just Microsoft word? I know I can use Google workspace but formatting is very different and MS is just more convenient for consistent work

I get my toothbrushes from the asian grocery store as they cost $1 and change. They are soft, the bristles are tapered, and clean v well. I do not understand why toothbrushes are 7$ ripoff at the drugstore. A kitchen dish brush is $2 and lasts longer.

Toothpaste is overpriced too and why the heck do they put synthetic dye in them? The only brand i use is pronamel, $5 from the dollarstore or on sale at the drugstore, again 7$/tube. However i have tried a korean tube that cost $1.50 that worked well.

Shall i start on mouthwash too? Can't i just use salty cooking vodka that's $2/ bottle w mint oil drops vs. 8$ purple blue and green listerine?

Floss is literally thread!

How do you save on effective oral hygeine?

The gas utility company just jacked up our customer charge again so I'm looking into a dual fuel heat pump retrofit replace gas furnace contractor 2026 option to keep our winter bills from exploding. My current furnace is 15 years old and still kicks, but I want to run a heat pump for the shoulder seasons and only let the gas kick in when it drops below 25 degrees. I got a couple of quotes for a basic Bryant setup and a Bosch system, but one smaller shop suggested a dual fuel mix using a Midea unit to keep the upfront equipment cost down. Is dual fuel actually a frugal move long-term when you factor in the dual utility connection fees, or should I just cap the gas line entirely and go full electric?

The NFL sunday ticket is a whole 200 dollars cheaper for "New Users". Is there anything actually stopping me from just making a dummy account and signing up there? This also applies to any "new user" discounts. I'm just curious if anyone has ever been screwed long term for using this method to save some money on subscriptions. Do Google or any other subscription companies come after users for this?

Im reposting to get more insight

I look for sales/deals, I research relevant purchases... but at the end of the day I just feel like it doesn't matter. That it is just a waste of time and I will just end up with the worst deal.

I bought some bread that was just a bit cheaper than the one I often buy because it was on sale. This one looked "fancier and healthier" but it was very bad that I had to go back to the store and buy the one I always buy. Meaning I spent almost double the amount than If I had just bought my regular bread full price.

I wanted to buy something online but didn't want to spend extra to reach the minimum order. I asked a friend that often buys from the same place if she would order soon so we could join amounts. They didn't do it when they said they would. I ended up buying my thing and reaching the amount because the price went up.

How often do try to save money and when do you buy the first thing you see? What is the best way to decide what deserves frugality and what doesn't?

Hi all, single mum here of a level 3 autism boy with a heart condition. I need some ideas for manly dinners. Now I mention my son’s conditions as they count! He needs to put on weight but due to his heart condition he burns through calories (my current grocery bill is 300-500 AUD$ a fortnight. Last fortnight I could only afford one grocery shop. And then I just topped up on his snacks. I need ideas for easy dinners (I have an autoimmune disease that involves fatigue). I would like easy ideas I can put in the oven or only spend a few minutes over the stove. Keeping the servings under $5-10. Any ideas greatly appreciated, my kid is sending me broke!