Frugal

cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/26917080

When uploading photos using the desktop website, make sure to select Full Resolution in the Upload Preferences.

You must have exactly six 5x7 photo cards in your cart for the code to apply.

If you have a friend with a costco membership, you can ask them to buy you some $25 Costco Shopcards, which you can use at the entrance to get into the store and at checkout to verify you can make a purchase. Anything you have over $25, they'll allow you to use an alternative method of payment to pay for it.

They make you turn in the card at checkout, so it's certainly not worth it if you go more than a handful of times a year, but for those who go less, it's a good way of avoiding the membership fee.

Stolen from Reddit

https://www.reddit.com/r/dataisbeautiful/comments/1ftmkwt/oc_foods_cost_vs_caloric_density/

But I loved it. Also this has Shrimp removed, because it was on the OG chart due to an error and this is an updated version.

EDIT: Here is one for protein! https://www.reddit.com/r/budgetfood/comments/1fp2ytb/foods_cost_per_gram_of_protein_vs_protein_density/#lightbox

Mine--don't laugh--is random fruit from fruit trees hanging over walls and over the sidewalk.

Although, I once tried to take a plum from a wasp who was sitting on the fruit, and she turned and looked at me, and I quickly let go and let her have it.

$40

I recently moved to a new city and don’t know anybody here yet.

I want to try out some things and meet new people and avoid sitting at home all day (but sometimes is ok)

My ideas are hiking, volunteering and reading. What would you recommend? Any good ideas?

It's been a week since I posted the last one...right?

I'm afraid I haven't been very frugal this week. Got some things mildly on sale, but still too much, so I don't think they count and won't post them.

I know someone would immediately jump in with water if I didn't caveat that, haha. Tap water is the most frugal drink, yes I know, but for me plain ol' water more of a basic survival thing. And I like to be happy too, not stuck permanently in survival mode, even if I'm also being frugal.

So.

One of my "vices", if you can call it that, is fancy tea.

I'm American and we're not really a tea-drinking culture, so I was taken by surprise when I got into drinking tea and learned you can get surprisingly nice quality loose leaf tea online that blows grocery store tea bags out of the water, and it's not a terribly expensive habit. Grocery store tea in tea bags is basically 'tea dust' left over from processing better teas, and basically almost any loose leaf tea is a better quality than bagged tea dust, so you don't have to break the bank to see immediate improvement in your tea quality.

And that surprised the heck out of me!

I eventually realized that's because tea is a dry good and cheap to ship--it's light, dry, packs small, ships well. Much easier to get your hands on than, say, alcohol or liquid drinks that are heavy or distributed in glass bottles.

So yeah. It's not as frugal as water, but I found I can usually still have some nice tea around even if I'm pinching every penny, and it can help tide me through tough spots without the downsides of other vices (like drinking, smoking, etc.)

What are your guys' favorite frugal drinks?

I was just thinking in the back of my head about how cheap LEDs have made types of lighting that would've cost way too much (both to install, and in electricity usage) no longer stupidly expensive.

For example, I noticed on Amazon some cheap furniture that has LEDs/power outlets sort of integrated right into them. Looks pretty cyberpunk-ish to my eyes. And I know years ago that sort of thing would've been marked up to high heavens.

Fancy lighting in general has changed drastically in price/design.

So...what are some things, due to changes in demand or changes in tech or changes in anything...that would've been really expensive back in the day, but which no longer seem to be, making them more frugal than they used to be?

Just curious what you guys have been able to score recently.

I don't have anything really good to share, been spending too much. Let me live vicariously (and frugally!) through you!

Do you have any genuine tricks for keeping/maintaining a car that are frugal?

Could be anything from getting a deal on a car wash, or keeping the interior nice, or keeping the engine or tires or anything really in good order.

Also, are there any things you used to be able to do frugally with your car which has changed to be more expensive--maybe due to auto manufacturers changing how cars are designed?

(I'm asking this so if something used to be frugal but isn't now, people speak up about it.)

What's a frugal trick you've chanced upon recently?

I accidentally semi-reinvented the "trencher". Basically, in medieval times, food would be served on a slab of bread and that would kinda be the plate. Or, you know, bread bowls for soup and the like.

I have an air fryer, and I've learned I can line the basket in a large flour tortilla, and it generally keeps whatever I'm cooking/warming up from getting the pan too dirty aside from some easily knocked-out crumbs.

I hate washing things, and I hate wasting paper liners, so it lets me cut down on those, and I can just eat the tortilla.

I like adding things to my icecream, usually peanut butter and frozen fruit. Got to thinking that if I added oats I could actually increase the volume without impacting the flavour all that much (I like oats). I could probably use floured starches or something like that.

Are there other things you "fill"? I think juice + water is the most familiar example. What about something like adding 20% dehydrated milk to fresh milk? Substituting some butter for oil?

Sometimes I find when I'm making my own stuff it ends up being more expensive than buying the packaged variety from the store, but maybe fillers are a way to balance that out.

When I think about bills, I annualize them. $30 a month? That's $360 a year. $5/mo? $60 a year.

I use this to help me grasp the long term cost of all my decisions, but nobody else I know does this.

For instance, my brother and I are moving soon into 2 separate apartments (we currently share a 2 bedroom) and the new complex doesn't have Google Fiber Internet. I complained to my brother that on top of everything else I'll have to pay $5/mo extra for Google extended storage I was getting for free.

He said it's only $5/mo, just get and don't worry about it. I was like, that's $60 a year which is basically a Costco membership. He said "oh hmm, good point yeah"

So I'll work on reducing my storage usage on Google to be able to stay on the free tier, but am I alone in thinking this way about everything I buy?

18M, entering uni soon and looking to replace the Osprey kids' pack that I've been using for the past 9 years.

I'd like a backpack that's able to carry a 14 inch laptop, a textbook or two, a jacket, an umbrella, a water bottle... A laptop pocket and side pouches for water bottles are preferable but not a must.

Budget approx. 500-700 HKD (64-90 USD). Looking into getting a Jansport Right Pack (with the reinforced bottom), but I'd like to hear your recommendations.

Here are my basics:

• Hydroponics: lettuce, basil, strawberries, microgreens. Cost to implement well ~ $350CDN
• Yoghurt: Cost to implement well ~ $50
• Crochet + yarn: mainly for making dishcloths. $5
• Mayo: I like mayo, obviously, but it doesn’t last very long. Has anyone made mayo that lasts as long as store bought?

More advanced ideas?

• locally sourced meat and eggs: is this cheaper? I’m in Vancouver BC and there are a lot of farms in the valley. Logistics seems challenging.
• jarring: is it worth learning how to do this and investing in the equipment? volunteering at a farm: I’m sure this would net some food
• solar power or bike generator: electricity is cheap here
• minimalism: I’m realizing this is a lifestyle. It has taken me a while to reduce, and I’m still reducing. Are most of you like this?

And things that can save money, but I don’t want to do:

• Bread: I don’t like making bread. Bread machine vs. buying a mixer?
• Beer: I’d like to but last time I tried it was messy and space consuming
• switch to cotton socks and underwear. Quantity over quality.
• no alcohol or drugs: What’s your experience?
• meal prep: savings seem big if combined with jarring. But if I had food prepped I’ll eat it, cheaper to skip meals?

Any other ideas welcome. I’m looking to save $$$ by spending $$

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/1229201

As the picture shows, most (all??) grocery stores will show the price per ounce on the item’s price tag.

It’s usually on sales tags too.

I was FAR too old before I realized this and it’s made price comparisons in-store much easier.

Note: Not my photo. Just generic photo from google.

This is one of those tips that sounds cheap, but I've really enjoyed it.

Instead of lemonade, put a drop of lemon (or lemon concentrate) in water. It's most of the taste, but you aren't drinking a tonne of sugar. I use this to add a bit of flavour to my water in WFH.

Edit: fixed typo. Thanks Jeff.