30 “Poor Person Hacks” People Still Use Even Though They’re Not Poor Anymore
Hard times have a way of teaching you skills you never meant to learn. When money’s tight, you figure things out fast, whether that’s stretching groceries, avoiding fees, or turning random leftovers into a full meal.
What’s funny is how many of those habits stick around long after you don’t technically need them anymore. Even when things improve, there’s still a little voice in your head telling you to save the container, turn off the light, or check the unit price.
This AskReddit thread turned into a surprisingly relatable collection of those survival tricks. These are the “poor person hacks” people picked up out of necessity and never fully let go of.
1.
“Need boxes for moving or organizing? Don’t ever buy a cardboard box, EVER (unless you need really big ones, I guess). Go to your local liquor store and ask for boxes, they’ll happily give you as many as you’d like, and they’re pretty sturdy since they’re made to hold heavy objects.”
2.
“Out of tooth paste? Cut the tube open and scrape it clean.”
3.
“Buy food in bulk and meal prep. It’s better for your wallet and health.”
4.
“Add water to my shampoo or other types of soap.”
5.
“Library library library! My kids ravage through books. We easily save thousands a year using the library.”
6.
“I still use plastic grocery bags for my bathroom and office trash cans.”
7.
“Invest in spices. Learn how to cook different types of food.
A lot of East Indian, middle eastern and Asian, South American food is made up of basic ingredients with spices.
If you depend on premade/cooked food you will always starve. If you learn how to cook you will never be hungry or poor.”
8.
“Add an egg for nutrition. Got rice and veggies? Those are sides. Fry it with an egg and that it is a good meal. Add a hardboiled egg to instant ramen for a gourmet experience. A piece of toast with a fried egg is now an open-faced sandwich.”
9.
“A 20-50 pound bag of rice in your pantry will pick up a lot of slack in your diet when you’re poor… I’m not poor anymore, but I always have a ton of rice at home.”
Rice and rice, rice and eggs, rice and ground meat, rice and a can of chili, etc. I wasn’t always eating good, but I was never hungry.”
10.
“I stopped eating meat. Lentils, chickpeas, beans, other legumes, and nuts are insanely cheap. Meat is a splurge at this point even though we can definitely afford it.”
11.
“There are some exceptions, but for the most part, store brand is just as good or the same as name brand. In the case of kirkland, it might be superior.
Beans are a magical food. Even better if you make them yourself – buy a 1lb bag of dry beans for $1.25 and that is a good amount of protein and fiber.”
12.
“Keep old things as a back up pair. Shoes, glasses etc. Often I wouldn’t have money for new things if something broke, so if a pair shoes fell apart I would at least have a crappy pair until I could afford some new ones.”
13.
“Parks and trails are free entertainment that make you healthier and less depressed the more you use them.”
14.
“Freezing day-old bread. Keeping bread refrigerated. Always. Lasts forever.”
15.
“Put spinach in everything. Eggs. Soup. Salad. Fiber with a protein makes you full longer.”
16.
“NEVER go to the grocery store hungry. Always go AFTER you eat.”
17.
“Learning to love my crock pot and eating the same meal for an entire week. An amazing money saver, and I still do it because it was an ingrained habit for years.”
18.
“$5 costco whole chicken 1x week, top ramen, rice, beans and eggs. This got me through months of low income months. It was like $50-60 for a month of 2 meals/day.”
19.
“Google the fix for something that is broken and if you think you can do it try, the amount of crooks in appliance repair is insane.”
20.
“Shop thrift stores. And when that doesn’t work shop tj Maxx, Ross etc. Can generally find quality without a huge cost.”
21.
“Carry a reusable water bottle everywhere, don’t buy drinks out. Look for free days at museums and free passes for entertainment/education, like the zoo or symphony, from the library. Check into the health department for free vaccines, testing and other health care.”
22.
“Toilet paper is less expensive than tissues but works just as well.”
23.
“‘No dollar days’ see how many days you can go without spending $1. Then try to beat your previous records.
Also $3/day = $1,000/year.”
24.
“Learn and be willing to break down your meat and produce yourself.
99c head of lettuce vs 2.49 for 10oz of pre chopped and washed lettuce
99c/lb for whole chicken vs 3.99/pound for breast.”
25.
“If you are absolutely, for sure, going to overdraw and there’s nothing you can do to prevent it, go buy a grocery store gift card before the overdraw hits.
Now you have access to food and gas without having to get dinged for multiple overdraft fees before your next paycheck comes in.
Just make sure that the total overdraft (including the big bill plus the gift card) doesn’t exceed your maximum overdraft.
Better still is to not overdraft in the first place, but when you’re po’, stuff happens.”
26.
“I walk or take the bus everywhere.”
27.
“I crumble crackers into my tuna salad to add volume and found i enjoy the taste.”
28.
“When your batteries run out on your remote, just take the batteries out, rub them in your hands for 30-40 seconds to make heat friction & bam they work again. Not for long though but enough to get where you need to go on the TV.”
29.
“Shop for your groceries online. You can stay within your budget every time, no impulse buying and focus on whatever is on sale. And if you pick it up yourself there’s no delivery fee.”
30.
“Slide meals. Buy a meat that is on sale first day and a handful of Versatile ingredients. Then turn each night’s leftovers into the start of the next meal. Tacos > Taco Soup > Cheese Dip > Mac and Cheese > Casserole.”