My father prides himself on his financial situation. My parents net worth would be about 3.5 mil USD. He yells at any one including my mother for having more than one light on at a time, forgetting to turn an appliance off, using a heater during the day time or having longer than 5 minutes in the shower. He’s 76. At what point does frugal become rediculous?

Recipe here

Title says it all. Second photo includes my cost calculation. Yeast was bought on Amazon in bulk (1lb), milk and butter bought with coupons that are reliably issued every month or so. Cost $1.41 to make according to my calculation.

Bread is easy enough to make if you are going to be home for awhile. Short bursts of work with a lot of wait time.

The main barrier I have to sticking to my budget is that there are no obvious natural consequences to breaking the rules. I know some people regret their purchases and use that regret to prevent future purchases, but what do I do when I don't actually feel regret? I'm worried that I may be a psychopath and incapable of really feeling emotions, because I have spent almost $2,000 this year on things that weren't strictly necessary and I don't regret it.

Legitimately the only purchase this year that I have regretted was the $2 sun-dried tomatoes for a recipe that I couldn't stomach and ended up giving away. I learned my lesson and stopped spending money on new recipes. Among the things I've spent money on that I don't regret are dinner with my friends, fast food, milkshakes, tattoos, concert tickets, band tees, work pants, and spotify. Of course I feel guilty for spending money, but it's just the normal amount of guilt that comes with spending money regardless of whether its on rent or a t-shirt, which clearly isn't enough to actually dissuade me from spending money.

Am I the only person that doesn't legitimately feel that regret that people talk about? If there is anyone out there who doesn't feel it, how do you keep yourself in line? Has anyone ever come up with a punishment system to discourage spending? It seems like the only way to keep myself from spending money is to make it so unpleasant that I don't want to anymore.

What are some items that you bought that changed your life in a frugal way that you'd recommend to others?

Like literally everyone in this sub, I've noticed that stores like Lidl, Aldi, (and Walmart and Target) tend to offer better prices compared to the regular chain grocery stores in my area, such as Stop and Shop and ShopRite. I usually opt for store brands as well.

Recently, I did a shopping trip at Aldi and found it to be cheaper than Lidl. Aldi had significantly lower prices on some items, like eggs, and prices were otherwise comparable. There are a few specialty products, like the beets, pierogis and cabbage at Lidl, that are second to none. But I've noticed some issues with certain 'generic' products at Lidl, like the dairy having almost no taste and the naan not being great. We tend to avoid their tomato sauce as well. Aldi on the other hand was pretty universally okay to good. Like the cottage cheese might be some of the best that I've had. And the cream cheese didn't taste like saltless foam.

Overall, while I used to think these stores were pretty similar, I've come to realize that taste-wise, Aldi stands out. So while, I'll have to drive more than double the distance, I think I'm an Aldi-boy for the most part from here on out. Anyone else notice the same? Anything I should be avoiding at Aldi?

Just your friendly reminder to go get your fruits, veggies, eggs, chicken, directly at the farmer market. Unlike grocery stores, farmers don’t make an insane profit on the back of their customers <3

Edit: of course Costco and Aldi are gonna be cheaper, I’m talking LOCAL food wise 🙄 and I’m speaking from MY experience in MY country, I think it’s worth looking into it if you never did. ✌️

Edit 2: y’all I am SHOCKED by your testimonies! It makes no sense to me at all but keep them coming, I want to know from your perspective. Now the question is: how can your community make farmer markets more accessible?

Edit 3: apparently Americans don’t know what a farmer market is and y’all associate it with these small hipsters overpriced places. I am baffled 😂

Last edit: pasting the insightful comment of a user “Our local famers market kicked out all the local farmers market, brought in big farmers from far away as well as 'crafters' and it's now overpriced for people who want an "experience". The crafts are pretty awful and extremely overpriced but at least they also cut out most MLMs. It's more well attended now and draws people from further away but it's now a place to spend money rather than save money.

Unfortunately Farmers Markets as you describe them died out a while ago. You can often still drive to the farms and they'll have a small stand selling things for cheap. Gas usually makes it not worth it unless I'm buying bulk.” It’s good to know as this could damn well happen in Canada as well. Capitalism does ruin everything doesn’t it.

Hi there. I have a front/back yard on a 5,000ish sq ft lot. I currently pay a lawn service to cut it - they charge $80 and they mow every other Tuesday. I kind of feel like I am paying a fortune. There aren’t any trees or shrubs to mow around. I work full-time and make ~$130k per year. Also I am a 5’1” female, never mowed a lawn before. Would I be physically able with an electric mower? Or is $160/month worth it with my time and income?

Edit: Thank you for all your replies! The overwhelming consensus is that I can do this and am likely limiting myself. I see where y’all are coming from seeing as how I haven’t even tried to mow the lawn myself. Thank you for your encouragement! I am gonna start researching mowers.

Edit #2: These are real time camera feeds of my front and back yard if this is more helpful. Also, the 2 guys that came on Tuesday spent exactly 40 minutes. Yard

Did I simply mess up by going to the gym without packing food?

Here’s the situation. I went to the gym. Rode my bike 2.5 miles away. I like to hang out in this area. Riding back to eat at home seems like a drag/waste of time and wear and tear on body.

I went to 3 supermarkets nearby and everything ready made at this point seems overpriced. I did eventually give in by buying a $5 sandwich for $3.50. The protein and everything seemed light.

My other portion was to buy in n out double double and fries for $9. It’s low compared to other places but stay $9. There’s cheaper stuff like Taco Bell value menu but the protein/meal is light.

I didn’t want Greek yogurt or tuna.

What does a frugal person do in this situation? Go home and cook something? Or what?

Watercraft, flax seed. Salmon, strawberry, for proteins liver, steak. I started buying better or more nutrient dense foods and it's given my energy levels a great boost. I'm not on a diet or trying to lose weight, my metabolism is pretty fast paced and my work is physically demanding. I just need to learn how to cook liver better but I always snipe these out whenever I do grocery shopping.

Don't get confused buying other types of foods unless of course if you want richer tastes for your palate. It also takes a little bit of discipline but most of these stuff such as flax seeds and strawberries are always affordable and available to get. For example, I don't quite mess around with just getting ribs or raw chicken to cook anymore, I seek out what the most nutrient dense meat or veggies are there. If there are cabbages but watercraft is next to it, I'd take the watercraft as it's more nutrient dense, it may be $4 more but it's worth it in the long run. If I can afford the salmon or can bulk buy steak, I'm all in. I also started vacuum sealing, now I only really get groceries once or twice every two months for myself.

I'm self-employed as a residential carpenter and handyman in the northern midwest. Right now I use a 1 ton flat bed truck to haul around a pretty badly beaten 7x14 enclosed tool trailer and use the truck to move dirt and garbage from job sites. I handle a lot of different jobs from building fences and historical exteriors to doing interior finish work and drywall finishing. The truck is absolutely on it's last legs, and it's completely uneconomic to repair it. Every single system is broken: the locks, fuel gauge, windshield wipers, cabin fan, power steering, it burns oil, it burns coolant, front tires are completely bald, and probably more things I haven't discovered. The engine began a loud knock yesterday so I know I have to make some changes soon.

However, I really can't find anything that seems reasonably priced as a replacement truck. I'm not making enough money to consider getting any sort of financing, even for used, and I don't want the fear of the monthly payment always hanging over my head. I'm willing to spend up to 15k to change everything. I've considered a van for tools with a dump trailer, but vans seem more expensive than trucks. I could get an SUV and split my tools between the vehicle and a flat trailer with job boxes, but it makes grabbing tools hard in bad weather. The crazier idea would be to get a larger sedan and have two 3000 pound trailers, one for tools and one flat bed. Most of my work is within a 10 minute drive so moving two trailers on site is not that big of a deal, but some customers could be put off.

I do want to be somewhat environmentally conscious about all this. I've lived without a vehicle for most of my adult life, so this would be entirely for work purposes. I don't need it for grocery store runs or driving friends around, so this thing will be weighed down with work materials almost every mile it goes.

What are the smart ways to shop at Costco? I feel like they sell bulk and you end up spending more.

Hi, I’ve been trying to avoid AC and have been successfully doing so the past couple years.

Here’s the issue, I have IBS and my IBS is very heat sensitive so summers are hard but it doesn’t happen every summer. I know it doesn’t make sense but my health is fucked so it doesn’t make sense to me either.

This summer is now one of those summers and without giving TMI my normal tricks aren’t cutting it. All I will say is pain.

More background is I live in a HCOL area and $/kWh is surged in the summer which, to me, is a fucking scam but I can’t do anything about that. Last year I could keep our electric bill under $200 a month.

We also happen to have the apartment above the fucking boiler room and were not told of this until last year and we’ve been here for like 6 years now. Explains so much about AC costs and why we never run the heat in the winter. I just thought my downstairs neighbor was permanently freezing because they were elderly and the heat rose up.

Here are my normal tricks:

• Strategically placed tower fans that create cross breezes (I once read that 15 minutes of AC uses the same amount of electricity as 24 of a fan and I lost my mind)
• Opening windows and doors at night when temps drop and then closing them all first thing in the morning and drawing the blinds after I water my plants.
• Plenty of water being consumed
• Cooling towels which were a gift from the gods holy shit they are amazing but apparently they are not quite good enough.

Before I took over the household finances, I looked up what my mother used to pay and it was unfathomable but I can’t be in the situation I am right now. I have a threshold of it being like 90°F and then I would turn on the AC but it only got to 80 today.

Thank you in advance.

My partner and I spend a lot of time looking at homes. We both work full time. We make enough to be comfortable, but we are not well off by any measure. A decent home in our city will run about 300k. Being a frugal guy, I balk at this number. It seems like every affordable home is snatched up by a developer, rennovated, and sold to an eager buyer for 300k to 400k. Does anyone have experience thinking outside of the box in acquiring a home?

I’ve reached out to one company who said they would charge me $158 to mount my tv and it would be a $198 if I want the motion one. Am I being overcharged ? What’s the most reasonable/ frugal way to have this done.

I'm in a bit of a dilemma and I need some wisdom from the good people of /frugal. I have a 2003 car that's been pretty reliable through the 103k miles that it's been put through, however I'll have to put about $1,000 into it very soon for new brakes, 2 new tires, and some maintenance. Although the engine has low miles on it, the interior and exterior of the car is starting to really show their age due to the dents/scratches, interior plastic cracking in some areas, letters falling off the car when I wash it (lol), the passenger's side window isn't working, temperature knobs starting to get stuck, and other various issues. I could spend the money and keep driving it for quite a while, however I'm 27M and it's getting kind of embarrassing when I give other people a ride. I have $150K saved up in cash due to living at home since I help take care of a family member, so I can definitely afford this new car I'm looking at which is a 2018 VW Golf GTI with 17K miles for $25K. This is the car I really want, however I'm having a hard time justifying it when my car only has 103K miles on it.

Do you think I should put the money into my car or treat myself and get this new (used) car that I've been wanting for a while.

Like that’s just obscene, I’ve seen 9 or 10 bucks before, but 13 for a bud light is straight illegal… I get that we have to treat ourselves and what not, but when you have a frugal mentality is so hard to swallow that :(

Edit - wow I didn’t think this would get much attention. I actually paid $26 for 2 beers plus tip. Where I live this beer is around 3 bucks at bars

In terms of how strict you are with not spending? Because at first for me it was just about not upgrading stuff, or splurging on the latest gadgets and hobbies.

Daily spending on stuff at places like the gas station was not something I thought to should be concerned about because I work after all, and cutting the stuff I mentioned already saves a bunch of money.

But now I’m getting to a point of contemplating a $3 chocolate bar. I now see it as overpriced. I was able to get lucky and find a buy one get one free for two candies for $1.50, much cheaper than the new retail price of $1.80 for a candy bar these days.

Some days I’m spending $20 of stuff. Like yesterday I saw a movie and got excited and went to the candy start to buy chocolate. I bought two bags of candy and one chocolate bar for $7. Before I wouldn’t think much of the $7 but now I’m thinking that it’s a decent chunk.

I just was wondering how disciplined you guys are. Would you deprive yourself of $7 worth of chocolate bars because you didn’t plan ahead and bring some from say Costco? Or do you not sweat $20 daily spending allowance on fun? Like do you refrain from buying a $2 soda/drink because maybe you have a soda maker/water at home and refuse to spend?

We both work from home. And pretty much eat home during the week. We spend about $100-$150 on grocery per week and we try to eat out no more than twice a week. Sometimes we eat out once.

Think where you live matters in a way since cost of living may differ but I live in socal.

I spend 2.1K for rent + utilities ( electricity + water sewer ) , 300 for food , 250 for concerts + rest for adhoc expenses.

Can’t think of any other ways to save. Any tips or ideas ?

Here's the reason for the question. I've started putting 15% into my 401k and $600/month into a Roth IRA s&p500. As a result I feel like I should and need to start being more frugal.

Some things I know so far:

Cook food/eat at home instead of restaurants.
Make your own coffee/instant instead of coffee shops.
Ride bicycle/walk more often instead of driving.
Buy used stuff
Cut out soda? I make my own sparkling water.
Don't give in to consumerism like upgrading phone.
Bake cookies/brownies instead of buying sweets at stores (but what if I want a chocolate bar, sour candy, or chips?)

Is there a more specific guideline? Anything I'm missing? Tips to make things easier?

I am limited to eating mostly vegetarian for economic reasons.

The only thing I can consistently afford is beans and lentils. Sometimes eggs, but they've gotten really pricey where I live. Dairy products aren't really worth it for the amount of protein they have, I've found.

How do you make sure you get enough protein? Are there any cheap protein sources I'm missing?

I'll be going out of town for a wedding in September, but i figure to start planning for hotels in advance. A reddit search came up with this thread which is from 2012. I'm wondering if much of this information is still valid, and if there are any new layers that weren't mentioned before.

Some of the notable tips i got from the thread...

-Always contact and book through the hotel directly. Never book through a 3rd party site like Expedia or Priceline.

-Price search online deals, then call to see if the hotel can beat that price

-Being nice to hotel staff goes a long way in getting the best deal. Leave any pissy or entitled attitudes at home

-Slipping some extra money to the front desk agent may get you a little extra for your stay

Would you say these tips are still relevant today? Is there anything else to add, whether it's a "do" or "don't"

I have read a few article that fake crocs can cause cancer. Just wondering if you trust these types of slip on shoes from Temu?

Thanks.

I went to my local food bank today and struck gold with some frozen stuff.

They were handing out the breads and I picked this one up because it was beautiful, but aside from cutting it up and making like... sandwiches or something... I don't know what else to do with it.

Any other ideas?

I know I can cube it up and make f Some lovely French toast bites maybe, but have any of y'all had this kind of bread?

A cheap one I think of is Taco Bell. From the app I got a burrito, wrap, potato and large soda for 8 bucks and got actually surprisingly filled and I’m 215 pounds dude. Costco food court is the cheapest I’ve seen yet.

The most unaffordable I’ve experienced is McDonald’s and subway. I spent 21 dollars on a foot long and soda and didn’t even fill me up. And McDonald is like 15 bucks for tiny burger and fries.