Nate
Being frugal sounds great in theory. Who wouldn’t want to cut costs, stretch dollars, and feel like a financially responsible adult? But sometimes the things we do to save a few cents end up costing way more in sanity, time, or dignity.
People on Reddit were asked to share the one frugal habit they gave up because it just wasn’t worth it anymore. And the answers?
A beautiful mix of relatable, ridiculous, and “okay, I’ve definitely done that.”
1. “I Run The AC Or Heat Whenever I Want”
“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.”
2. “Gave Up On Giving Up Paper Towels”
“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.”
3. “We Stopped Grocery Store Hopping”
“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.”
4. “Stopped Buying In Bulk—We Don’t Use Enough Or Have The Space”
“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.”
5. “No More Jar Hoarding: I Only Save Glass Jars If I Actually Need Them”
“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!”
6. “Ditched Ziplocs For Good”
“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 Ziploc bag in 5+ years.”
7. “Giving Myself Grace for Buying Pre-Made Meals”
“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.”
8. “Unplugging Appliances”
“Unplugging appliances. It would drive my husband crazy and it’s not worth it to me.”
9. “The Laundry Compromise That Saved My Favorite Chore”
“When I moved into my current house in 2018, it didn’t come with a dryer. I hand dried all my clothing until this past fall, when I finally caved and bought a mini dryer that is only big enough for socks and underwear.
I very much prefer to hang dry my actual clothing, but the time suck of individually hanging each sock and underpants was a barrier to me doing laundry, formerly my favourite chore.
Tumble drying socks and underwear but hang drying everything else is a compromise I can live with, my clothes last so much longer hang drying them, and being able to inspect them all every wash is also great for their longevity.”
10. “Only Reusing Containers That Survive the Dishwasher”
“I don’t reuse containers that don’t survive the dishwasher.”
11. “DIY Laundry Detergent”
12. “I Stopped Scheduling Chores Around Off-Peak Hours And Started Sleeping Better”
“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.”
13. “Outsourcing Shirt Ironing Was Cheaper Than My Sanity”
14. “Why I Only Buy Quality Shoes and MacBooks Now”
“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).”
15. “Tried A Cheap Haircut To Save $30—Instantly Regretted It”
“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.”
16. “Thought I Could Wash My Car Like a Pro—Turns Out I Was Just Wasting Time, Water, and Money”
“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.”
17. “Ruined My Coat Over Bulk Garlic Powder—Not Worth The Dollar Saved”
“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.”
18. “The Cold Shower Water Trick That Gave Me Bursitis”
“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.”
19. “Why I Gave Up Roasting Whole Chickens To Save A Few Bucks”
“Roasting a whole chicken and carving it up for half a week of meals.
I used to do this most weeks but when I ran the numbers, the difference between this and a large pack of breasts wasn’t that much and I decided I valued my time more.”
20. “Gave Up Changing My Own Oil”
“Changing my own oil.
It was getting harder to find a place to take the used oil.”
21. “I’ll Happily Pay To Never Step Foot In A Grocery Store Again”
“Shopping for my own groceries?
I’ll gladly pay a delivery fee and tip for someone to bring what I want to me and I get to avoid the hell of grocery stores.”
22. “Saving Pennies On Gas Isn’t Worth The Hassle”
“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).”
23. “Running The Dishwasher, Even If It’s Half-Full”
“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.”
24. “Weekly Meal Planning”
“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.”
25. “Gave Up Bulk Buying Refrigerated Foods”
“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.”
26. “Making My Own Bread”
“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.”
27. “Stopped Making Chicken Stock From Scratch”
“Making chicken stock from the rotisserie chicken.
I used to save the bones in a Ziploc in the freezer. I would add carrots and celery to it as I was using them.
We need to have the time to make the broth. Just became too much of a pain in the butt.
So much easier to just buy it.”
28. “Living On Rice And Lentils To Crush Debt”
29. “DIY Sausage Making”
“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.”
30. “Getting Irrationally Mad About Left-On Lights And Fans”
“Getting mad at other people in the house for leaving lights/fans on.”