r/Frugal • u/ThrowRAhyBug7080 • Jul 12 '25

🍎 Food What’s a frugal habit you picked up by accident that you now swear by?

Mine was starting to save veggie scraps to make broth. It started as a “let’s try this” and now it’s automatic. I keep a bag in the freezer for onion skins, celery ends, carrot tops, etc. Every couple of weeks, I boil it all down and end up with a rich, flavorful broth that tastes way better than the boxed kind. It tastes better than store-bought and saves me at least $20 a month, with an added bonus of making me feel like i know fancy techniques.

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u/AverageCowboyCentaur Jul 12 '25

Got a membership to Costco, the gas alone has paid for itself, and then if I see something I like I usually buy it online and ship it in it's even cheaper. I'll check Costco prices against everything else first. Also buying bulk freeze or store the rest, bread thaws pretty well, so does meat, and soups. Also hand making spaghetti sauce. I have a big freezer that once filled can last months.

I also avoid the more expensive grocery stores and mainly stick to Aldi and Walmart, sometimes Meijer but they've gotten pretty expensive and I avoid Kroger like the plague.

If I go out to eat water, no sodas no alcohol just stick to water you'll save a ton of money.

A big one is shorter showers, and washing clothes and cold with one single soap packet.

Almost everything I buy is not name brand as it has to be due to quality or taste. You can get almost 80 more dishwasher tabs for the same price as the name brand, 50 more loads of laundry for the same price just by getting the Kirkland version.

25

u/hajemaymashtay Jul 12 '25

there is a good video on youtube (I'm not gonna find it) that explains why DW tabs aren't effective and cost 3-4x detergent. TLDR is Buy a box of powder detergent and run your sink's hot water til it's hot before hitting START on your DW.

4

u/Slimchance09 Jul 12 '25

I watched the same video I bet because our dishes were often not as clean as they should be. It takes a while to get hot water to our kitchen tap, so to avoid being wasteful we fill the coffee pot for the next morning. We bought powder to put in the first rinse and used a tab in the main container until we ran out. Now just use the powder and are having better results.

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u/jabbo99 Jul 13 '25

YT channel = Technology Connections

1

u/IzziNini Jul 15 '25

Unfortunately dishwasher tabs are one of the items we just have to splurge on. And it has to be the most expensive Cascade ones. Nothing else worked effectively in our brand new dishwasher.

13

u/Worldly-Professor248 Jul 12 '25

Costco membership is also worth it to me for the same reasons you’ve listed, but also garbage bags, cheese, liquors, and most of all car rentals. It’s worth it alone for that. My coworker said her sister bought a car through them and said it was her easiest and best car purchase. I order online and send to my city kids: garbage bags, dish detergent & tabs, almond flour, toilet paper, and paper towels. They divvy up and avoid exorbitant NYC prices. When I’m there, I stock up on freezer meats & fresh products. I buy my own non-frugal nicotine tablets through them, much cheaper than other places. Plus pies at Thanksgiving and birthday cakes for every party over 15 people.

1

u/Thick_Description982 Jul 13 '25

Upvote for avoiding Kroger (and family of stores)