In a world where “frugal living” and “budget-friendly life hacks” are trending, they are not always as easy as they sound. In fact, some of them require so much effort that they can literally drain a person completely, and who would want that?
Even Reddit user Mrblu_28 is struggling with such a “hack,” so they asked netizens, “What’s the one ‘frugal’ habit you gave up because it wasn’t worth the hassle?” They soon found out they’re not the only ones, as folks spilled out many such things they’ve experienced. Just scroll down to check them out, as you might find them relatable!
More info: Reddit
#1
I run the AC when it is too hot for me and heat when too cold.
I used to try to wait for certain temps. Nah, I just want to have a comfortable home.
Image credits: Mahaloth
#2
I no longer wait for off-peak hours to do laundry or run the dishwasher. My chores were stacking up at the end of each evening and it was negatively affecting my sleep, so I had to stop. If I can get a load in after hours? Great. But I’m not living and dying by it.
Image credits: Efficient-Quarter-18
#3
I stopped saving every single glass jar that food came in. I’ve maxed out reusing for food or sundries, crafts, etc. I’ll still save a jar now and again, but it’s got to have a use in the near future. I don’t have space to stockpile glass jars!
Image credits: jamatosoup
#4
Giving up paper towels completely.
Having to have separate piles of rags that could go in the load for towels, a load for “ewwwwww gross” plus throwing away some utterly biohazard rags was an extra chore. Also our local thrift increased prices. Once upon a time you could buy a grab bag for $3 but now it’s $8. I am not buying an $8 bag of towels every month, that’s insane waste. Paper towels cost less and they compost or breakdown in a landfill quickly.
Image credits: SurviveYourAdults
#5
I stopped buying in bulk. There’s 3 of us, we’re not going through things quickly and we don’t have the space to store buckets and whatnot.
Image credits: troubledpadawan3
#6
Shopping at multiple grocery stores weekly to take advantage of sales.
Our closest grocery store is a co-op, so we get 4% back on groceries at the end of the year. We tracked the sales at the four closest stores for a few months, did the math and figured out that even accounting for the slightly higher sale price at the co-op, we would come out even once we got the cheque at the end of the year.
Plus, when you go into a store for one or two things you never leave with just what you came in for. Without all those extra shopping trips, we figure we are saving money. Though it seems counter intuitive.
Image credits: SylvanField
#7
Laundering my husbands work shirts. When I was pregnant with our last baby I put on a two hour movie and still wasn’t done ironing his 10 button down shirts. The collars and creases on the sleeves and cuffs take forever.
I called the three nearest cleaners and shirts at the time laundered and pressed was $1.50!!! Maybe this was more affordable than the energy it took to run the washer, dryer, iron, cost of detergent… I don’t know. But my husband made more than that an hour so that’s how we justified it.
Image credits: kajocael
#8
Fellow former Ziplok rinser here! It was causing mental anguish seeing them clutter up the kitchen drying out.
Invested in quality glass snapware and a big roll of parchment paper. I have not needed a Ziplok bag in 5+ years.
Image credits: Efficient-Quarter-18
#9
I unfortunately have a lot of non-frugal habits, but one I’m giving myself grace for is getting pre-made meals. I know cooking from scratch is usually cheaper, but a bunch of raw ingredients that rot in my refrigerator and then shame-ordering DoorDash is more expensive and more frustrating than just buying some lentil packets and rice cups.
Image credits: GeckoRoamin
#10
Unplugging appliances. It would drive my husband crazy and it’s not worth it to me.
Image credits: sjsmiles
#11
I don’t get cheap shoes. I remember getting cheap shoes at an outlet and they fell apart after two months. Nice shoes come from “The Walk Shop” and trainers from REI.
I have had various laptops and while Windows machines are cheaper, I can’t even due to blue screen issues. I only get MacBooks now (once every 7 or so years).
Image credits: VapoursAndSpleen
#12
I don’t reuse containers that don’t survive the dishwasher.
Image credits: lisasbrandy
#13
My son and I typically go to a nice barbershop. I had never done a cheaper haircut, so I gave it a go a few months ago and we both went to a Magicuts in the mall, to see if I’m overpaying for haircuts. They absolutely butchered our hair. I saved about 30 bucks. Concluded not worth it.
Image credits: Sionn3039
#14
Making my own laundry detergent.
Image credits: Salty-Mortgage9738
#15
Washing my car. I bought quality products thinking I could do just as good of a job as the professionals and save money, I was wrong. It takes me so much time, I was using so much water just to get a subpar result. Plus my shop vac can’t compare to the vacuums at a car wash.
Image credits: mutemarmot42
#16
Collecting water in the shower, the cold water in a bucket while waiting for the warm to come through. Hauling it out to the garden gave me a serious case of bursitis in my shoulder.
Image credits: lovenorwich
#17
I all but ruined my best coat trying to load a bag with garlic powder at winco because I was hellbent on saving that dollar…
Note to self: bulk powdery stuff is not worth the hassle, and I hope my garlic powder footprints up to the cash register served as a warning to others.
Image credits: bfiddytwo
#18
Changing my own oil. It was getting harder to find a place to take the used oil.
Image credits: CMWZ
#19
Meal planning a week in advance. A few times our whole household caught an illness and we wound up wasting tons of groceries. I prefer to stop by the store every day or two for whatever fresh ingredients we will use right away.
Image credits: Menadgerie
#20
Making my own bread. At the time I didn’t have a bread machine, so it was all by hand and 3 hours from start to finish.
Image credits: AlwaysatTechDee
#21
Driving further to save a few cents per gallon. My small car gets great gas mileage and a full tank is only 10 or 11 gallons. So I keep an eye on gas prices as I drive around and when I’m near a quarter tank, I fill up at most any station that’s convenient.
I won’t pay 0.25¢ or more than the average but if the difference is 5¢ or even 9¢, I realized I didn’t need to make myself crazy over saving 50¢-90¢ per fill-up (every 2 weeks or so).
Image credits: LaughDailyFeelBetter
#22
Stopped buying refrigerated foods in bulk. Made me feel pressured to eat it all before it expired, leading to an empty fridge faster and then out to buy more food. Grocery deals are nice, but can’t beat the savings of not buying more food than needed in the first place.
Image credits: aizennexe
#23
Legitimately eating rice and lentils for most of my meals.
I still eat plenty of rice. But rice and lentils was my getting out of debt meal.
Image credits: Raging_Rigatoni
#24
One more- I run the dishwasher every single night as long as it is at least half full like some kind of billionaire. I no longer wait for it to be fully stuffed.
Image credits: CMWZ
#25
Getting mad at other people in the house for leaving lights/fans on.
Image credits: amber90
#26
DIY sausage making.
Maybe I’ll get back into it someday, but the process was slower than expected and standing in one place for so long caused hip strain.
Image credits: doublestitch
from Bored Panda https://ift.tt/krsLGN5
via IFTTT source site : boredpanda
