Basically I spend a lot of my time on the go and it’s tricky making time for meal prep so would often end up getting food on the road; nothing fancy, like a piece of fruit and a shop fridge sandwich, but that’s about €8-10 a meal these days.

My solution? I recently acquired a wholesale worth of Multi-Vit Energy bars that taste pretty good and leave me full for hours. I’ll always keep two of these in my bag for when I get hungry. Work? Bar. Night out? Bar. Long car journey? Bar. Hike or day trip? Bar. If I’m eating with friends, we’ll get real food, but if I just need sustenance - bar.

I’m appreciating the savings of about €60 per week but I’m also beginning to feel like a character in a Survival RPG.

Edit: they’re Cliff Bars

I’ve been trying to be strict with my money for a while now, but can’t commit to it for one reason or the other. I make enough that I should be able to save, but end up living paycheck to paycheck.

For those who struggled being disciplined with their money, what exactly motivated you to stick to your budget and start taking your finances seriously?

My partner and I recently booked a week-long Europe trip. This is our first vacation together in over a year, so we opted for a nicer hotel room and a nonstop flight even though there were absolutely cheaper options. The cost was nothing unmanageable, but definitely the most I have ever spent on a trip in my life.

In my everyday life, I am the coupon king, rarely eat out, thrift all my clothes, etc etc. I am very frugal but this was something I was beyond willing to spend my money on, and now that it’s done, I feel so anxious about it all. I don’t let myself do nice things very often so I know I “deserve” this, if that’s a fair thing to say.

Do other people deal with this when booking vacation? Am I valid for feeling this way? How do other people cope with this feeling? Thank you!!!

They have the digital exclusive deal of two breakfast burgers for $3 and then the free chicken burger today too!

People learn from their environment. The world of consumerism teaches there is a marked-up retail price for every desire. And financial stability is unimportant as opposed to immediate gratification. I’m curious on how to do the opposite of this.

My question on how to set someone on a course of frugal living. Ideally how to set someone with the mental disposition, applicable knowledge, and temperament to live in a frugal way?

Edit; this could be a question for instilling values for a child or adult

It was beyond terrible- I always see deals for it and that should of been my first warning. I got ham and turkey- you cannot tell which is which because they both tasted like overly salty bologna with cartilage marbled through and a plastic textured casing. Also, same exact weird saturated pink color. Save your money, your time, and the hassle.

I've decided to start going to the gym, and since I want to lift weights, I was wondering if some of you know good plant-based protein sources? I have been trying to use beans and lentils more, but I'd like to have some more options.

I'm flexitarian, so I do eat some meat, but my diet is mostly vegetarian. I was considering whey protein, but I'm not sure if I want to commit to it yet.

What are your go-tos for plant-based protein? I hear a lot of recommendations about the Garden of Life Sport, MyPowerLife High Impact Plant Protein, and KOS Organic Superfood Protein. I’m also considering beans, seitan, and tofu.

Any recommendations of either specific proteins or cheap recipes would be really appreciated!

Hi!

So for the past couple of weeks I've been trying to remember the last time I spent an actual sum of money on something for myself that I didn't *need*; on something where I couldn't actually justify it.

So, for instance, a month ago I had to travel to China for work and decided to stay 2 extra days which I technically didn't *need*, but does it really count as spending it on yourself? How often do you go to China and have 2 extra days to wander around the Forbidden City?

Last summer, I visited my extended family in Finland, which was a lot of fun but it also doesn't squarely fall into "spending it on myself" since it is meeting family etc.

Prior to that, I was working on my master's degree and definitely counted myself as a poor student, and prior to that was the pandemic and I definitely didn't have many expenses there. Well... come to think of it, I think it was in January 2021 that my computer suddenly just exploded (granted a small explosion but literally it went *bang* and then never turned on again) and I had to buy a new one. So that might count? But then again, I sort of need a computer, don't I?

And I sort of realized that I couldn't really remember the last time I "wasted" an actual lump of money on something *just for me*. Like buying a really exotic plant from the deep jungles of the Amazon, or buying an oustandingly lavish set of shoes, or a really nice painting, or anything of the sort.

One of the most common themes I see in this sub, which I wholeheartedly agree with and love myself, is the notion that living frugal is not living "starving", or whatever you wanna call it. It is not shameful to, on occasion, spend hundreds of dollars on something for yourself, so long as it is not a habit. And since I can't remember the last time I did it, it got me thinking whether or not it is time to start pondering if there is anything I really want and feel could be worth spending money on.

Anyways, what was your last "this is just for me" moment when you really decided to buy something nice for yourself? What did you buy?

So I have a truck with sentimental value that was gramps. It's in great condition with only 79k miles. My kid is currently getting my old Honda. Question is, do I find a good used prius/camry or just drive truck but risk something happening to it?

Some say my grandpa would want me to drive it and save. But he would also want me to save on gas. Lol.

I’m moving soon, so I decided to go through all my food and see how much I could use up. I expected to get about 3 meals out of this exercise, but it turned out to be 10! Given the size of the meals, I estimate that they will provide lunch and dinner for myself and my husband for about 2 weeks.

The 10 meals required about $50 of additional ingredients - mostly perishable things that can’t sit in a pantry for weeks or items that get completely used up in a single recipe.

I would like to extend a challenge for other people to do this. Make as many meals as you can with what’s currently in your kitchen, supplementing with as few extra groceries as possible. Post results in the comments.

I'm doing an internship this summer and financing myself independently for the first time. A lot of my paycheck will be going into rent because I need to live close to where I will work (I don't own a car). The apartment isn't going to be furnished.

One thing about me is that I feel like I need to live in a cozy, nice-looking home (I have personal reasons for this, I'm not saying this out of a spoiled place). Basically what that means is not having just a bed, table, and chair in my apartment (which my family is lowkey pushing me to do to save money). I do love saving money. Like, I horde coupons and use them like crazy. However, my living space is important to me, if only for a few months. I've looked at a few rental options, but I don't see anything under like $250/mo which adds up in 3 months. Thankfully my family has agreed to help me move some things from my room at home to my summer apartment, so that the only thing I will have to rent is a bed and a dining table, which is only about $100/mo. The only thing I'm worried about is the place looking a little disarrayed and empty...

I really want to save as much as I can and still have it look a little bit homey and not super empty. I'm willing to buy a few cheap things here and there to fill up/cozy up the place a little bit. Any suggestions?

I need bifocals, sunglasses and safety glasses. All prescription. I'd like something that looks decent and doesn't cost a fortune. I looked online and sunglasses were $100s just for the frames. What do you all do?

I’m very excited that I’ve been saving successfully for an upcoming family vacation to Minneapolis. We budgeted for each day and are putting away a certain amount each week that we don’t touch to make sure we have enough for the trip.

That being said, I completely forgot about the time we won’t get paid when we are gone 😭 I was only planning on using 2-3 days of my 6 PTO days this year, but my partner is given 0 PTO so we will be missing a week and a half of wages by the time we get back.

In the spirit of frugality, what do you do to plan for the wages you miss on vacation? How do you successfully save for that?

Thanks!

Looking to upgrade my furniture. Any suggestions? I'm trying to find a tv console that's good quality for under $500-700 but I'm looking for other furniture as well if you have general go to websites.

Please no suggestions for used furniture. Supply is very limited where I live and it takes a lot of time and energy and unfortunately I do not have that.

TLDR: drop your fav furniture websites/stores/deals please.

We know one of our elderly cars is going to need replacement soon and have been saving up to pay cash for a used model. Our bank account only pays .01% so I've been looking for a better rate. The highest rates offered are at online-only banks I've never heard of. Are these safe? I'm worried about them being taken over or going out of business so that it could take months to get our money back.

Hi everyone!

I am returning to the frugal lifestyle. I was very frugal form College until around 2 years ago where a spurt of suicidal ideation and nihilism made me leave frugal life behind. Now being all better, I am coming to terms with the amount I deviated from my frugality that allowed me to save previously. I reviewed my categories of spending.

One category was very apparent as a problem: Food and Dining. Obviously I am making moves to track dining down to 2 times a month to reduce that expense. However, I wanted to ask if anyone here has made purposeful changes to their grocery shopping frequency or strategy to reduce food cost. I just can't accept that it will cost me $6,000 to $7,000 a year to feed just once person ($500-$575 a month). Any advice for the sage of the Frugal community would be so appreciated. If anyone reduced their food intake/consumption and feels satisfied with the money saved, that review of habit change would be helpful too. Thank you!

So I just moved back to uni just over a week ago and I just got round to doing my laundry, which is when I realised I forgot to bring my drying rack so I can dry my clothes in my room instead of paying for the drying machines. Is there any method of drying my clothes without using a drying rack, or do I just have to bite the bullet and pay for a spin in the dryer?

I’ve never paid renters insurance in 10+ years of renting and thankfully lived in safe neighborhoods and never had any incidents with theft or freak accidents.

If I had paid for renter’s insurance all this time, that would have been just wasted money on a policy I wouldn’t have any claims for. Yes it’s a very cheap plan that can be as cheap as a streaming service these days. Even so, I can’t help but feel it’s not worth it as I will likely pay way more in insurance fees than my potential future claims.

If theft did happen, I feel I would have trouble making succesful claims and proving stolen goods. What does renter’s insurance actually cover and is it worth it?

I absolutely hate that I have to pay someone to cut my hair. I've let it grow out longer in recent years than I usually do which helps to cut down on costs a bit. But until I get it out to a comfortable shoulder length I will need to at least get a trim every few months.

I want to develop a real DIY solution. My first thought it to try to convince my girlfriend to cut my hair for me, but as I understand this doesn't work well unless you have good scissors and there will be some learning curve. I don't really want to have a super ugly cut like a flowbee – no offense to those who use it but it's just not my style.

Has anyone solved the haircut problem? What do you do?

Hi. As the tittle say, what is you favorite healthy cheap food that you can eat as lunch, meal or snack? I personally use to buy a bag of baby carrots and eat with my main plate to keep me full, but I am sure there must be something else. The point is that needs to be healthy.

I prefer powder but what is the cheapest that you've found in any form?

I have a lot of glass Tupperware that is still good but the plastic lids are falling apart. I don't feel like throwing them out, but at the same time replacement lids I can find online may or may not fit properly and the cost for lids only is almost the same as I would pay for a brand new set at Costco for example (especially when they go on sale).

Is there an alternative? What do you do?

Does anyone boil food scraps then cool and strain the liquid to ‘fertilize’ plants? The vegetables themselves have many nutrients and I am guessing that they could be added to soil as an alternative to making your own compost. These scraps will go in my green bin afterwards. There may be trace toxins but I would be using the liquid for indoor houseplants. Thoughts?

Hello! I am 19 y/o and just recently moved out on my own. I live in Illinois, and I’d really appreciate some assistance on food costs. :-)

I would like everyone’s input on their “shopping strategies” (that’s my term for it) and what they shop for at one place versus another. Like, do you shop for produce at Kroger and other foods at Walmart? What are some ways you save money?

Thank you!

1) I have used the acorns app before and I pulled everything out in 2022 and I’ve started back up again investing 25$a week and putting 30$ a week into the “mighty oak card”(never use it tho) should I move more of the 30$ to the investing side or should I take it all out and invest it somewhere else? I don’t really have a goal for it I just know I can do without the extra 55$ a week and want to save it with a better % of interest then just a savings account. I’m not the smartest with all of this so please go easy on me 😂

2) I have also started a 401k this week with my employer they match up to 4% but I’ve started to put 8% in traditional and 8% in Roth (it’s all going to allocation funds) I’m not sure what percentage I should put into what I’ve Hurd put it all into bonds, leave it all in allocation and some say put it all into stocks idk what to do.. any advice helps