With the prices of everything going up in the last few years, there is one thing I think we can all agree that most people have on their mind: How to save money!
I also had that on my mind when I recently came across this Reddit post from six years ago by user DetachedMentally, in which they asked: "What are some interesting life hacks for saving money?"
Well, people were eager to share the many ways to save money, as the thread got over 7K responses. Below are some of the top and best comments:
1. "This is not mine, but 'The 72-hour rule' is pretty damn helpful. Basically, the gist of it is, if you want something that is not a necessity, instead of buying it immediately, add it to a list (in my case I use a spreadsheet, but whatever works), then wait 72 hours. If after 72 hours, you still want it, then you can buy it. It seems that 80–90% of the time after the 72 hours is up, I don't end up buying the item I thought I wanted."
2. "Learn how to say no. Some of us might be very lucky to be regularly invited out to that dinner, night out, concert, etc. But at a certain point it adds up very quickly and you end up spending so much money on things that other people want to do."
3. "I make less than most of my friends and family. I will eat my main meal at home when they choose a fancy place to eat, and then choose a smaller portion appetizer or soup when we are out. We are all enjoying each other’s company and I’m not breaking the bank."
4. "Don’t buy something that you normally wouldn’t buy just because you have a coupon."
5. "When at the grocery, look at the price per ounce or whatever unit it is instead of the total price. It's usually posted in one corner. [Buy whichever gives you the more ounces per price]. It's not going to save you tons of money, but it does add up. Plus, it takes out the guess work when comparing similar items."
6. "Instead of a cart grab a basket at the supermarket. Many times I've had to stop my mother from taking everything off of the shelves simply because they're on sale — which we usually end up tossing them into the bin once they expire. I notice that if I grab a basket or make her grab a basket that she doesn't grab as much mainly because she doesn't have a cart that she can fill up with random crap."
7. " If you find it hard to stick to a grocery list, order things on the grocery store app and do curbside pick-up. Some people save money even if there is a fee involved because they would normally buy more items that are not on the list."
8. "Figure out how much TV you're really watching from the streaming services or premium cable channels you're subscribed to. For example, if you're only watching Netflix for Stranger Things and not much else, then it might be worth canceling your subscription and waiting until the next season premieres."
9. "Get yourself a library card. It's not just books, but also movies, workshops, education, software, computer time, and music. I've probably saved thousands on all sorts of crap. If it weren't for the library, I probably wouldn't have been introduced to awesome books like American Gods, The Way of Kings, All Systems Down, or The Road."
10. "I don't spend $1 bills. I collect them in a box, and at the end of the year, I usually have a few hundred dollars."
11. "Look at the store-brand food items. Do you really think Safeway, Kroger, Costco, and Walmart all have independent tuna canning facilities? NO! They're sourcing the product from one of the big three (or however many) facilities that supply the name brand. This goes for the majority of store-branded items. Make it a game to find out who has what national name product as their store-brand product."
12. "Don't spend money on fancy gyms. They may be nicer and even have better machines, but if you only go to the gym to work out on basic machines you'd find anywhere, those extra hundred dollars you're spending are just being thrown away on aesthetics."
13. "I used to spend LOTS of money on clothes and purses. A friend of mine once told me that I should never buy a piece of clothing unless I was sure I was going to wear it 'as many times as it costs.' Basically, that means if a shirt costs $30, I shouldn't buy it unless I thought I could wear it 30 times. It really made me think twice before buying something."
14. "Pick four days in a row each week where you spend zero dollars on anything. This will require some thought but will force planning, discipline, etc. I’m not sure if it works for everyone, but it did for me. The trick seems to be not to splurge too much on spending days."
15. "If you have kids, buy their clothes secondhand or swap with friends. Kids grow so fast that they are out of their clothes before they get really destroyed. Spending $2 on a pair of kids' jeans is much better than spending $20–30 on something they're going to grow out of in a few months."
16. "Learn to cook! If you learn four or five reliably delicious recipes they will go a loooooong way."
17. "Buy or make small Christmas stockings, not those huge Santa sack monstrosities. Train your kids that stockings are for edible treats, not gifts. Fill them with yummy things — pretzels, mini-packs of snacks and chips, candy, whatever. If your kids are smallish and don't eat a ton of treats they'll still be super excited, and now you don't have a trillion plastic junky toys cluttering up your house."
18. "Unsubscribe to email mailing lists and don't fall for sales like: 'Today only! Buy one, get one at 50% off!' If you are in the market to buy something and find it on sale, great. Most of the time though you just wind up buying shit that you wouldn't have bought ordinarily."
19. "A more expensive good quality product will save you money in the long run compared to shitty cheaper versions of the product which you might have to replace/fix more often. Of course, higher prices do not always guarantee higher quality, so you have to do your research before purchasing."
20. And lastly, "Freeze your credit cards...literally. Place them in a Ziplock bag in a bowl full of water and stick it in the freezer. The whole point is to keep you from using it for everyday purchases since it’s not easily available; if there is an emergency, you can just take it out and thaw it in no time."
You can read the original thread on Reddit.
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.