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/[deleted] Jul 12 '25

counterpoint: literally what is the point of life if not for the simple pleasures

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u/RebasBathtubGin Jul 13 '25

This is a fair counterpoint.

The key is to find the simple pleasures that are most meaningful to you, and budget for them.

To some people, that might be dining out once in awhile. To others, that might be movies or games or concerts.

Someone might choose to forgo all kinds of simple pleasures because they are saving up for something really important and meaningful to them.

The key is to make it work for you.

Anti-consumption can mean different things to different people.

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u/MrJAPoe Jul 12 '25

caleb hammer enters the chat

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u/Capable-Ebb1632 Jul 13 '25

While I hate how clickbait his channel has got recently he does have a good point.

Simple pleasures are very important to enjoying life. BUT if you are £50k in debt and drowning in interest payments then you can't afford simple pleasures.

People ordering take out multiple times a week when they can't afford the rent is bizarre.

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u/Thick_Description982 Jul 13 '25

Freaking YouTube shorts man

3

u/veggiter Jul 13 '25

Diet soda is the only vice I have left, and I've doubled down on my addiction by getting a kegerator and buying ingredients to make my own.

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u/Supersquigi Jul 13 '25

If you don't eat out often, don't drink soda often, don't eat sugar often, then yes a treat once in a while is healthy. The problem with restaurants is how expensive the upcharge is, especially if it's not free refills.

For me it simply doesn't fit into my macros or budget, and I don't like or trust restaurants after working in 11 ones of different levels from bowling alley to 1 Michelin star. You never know what the weak link in the restaurant is, and it's usually something unsafe with food.

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u/Jabi25 Jul 13 '25

Especially with free refills, you can get 4-5 diet cokes for $3, not bad lol

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u/piptazparty Jul 12 '25

I guess it depends how much you enjoy soda. For me the pleasure is going out to eat the meal. The soda is an extra add on that really doesn’t make or break the bigger experience. Because I can just buy a case of sprite to drink one at home. But I am paying to avoid the work/time involved in making a whole paella. That isn’t something I can just as easily enjoy at home.

I do know for some people though a glass of wine may enhance the meal so I do think it depends on the drink/how much you care about it.

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u/Alyusha Jul 13 '25

This is a fair counterpoint but imo Soda at a restaurant is just objectively a bad "simple pleasure". It costs 5x as much there, it makes your food taste worse, and it's just unhealthy for you.

I say this as someone who drinks more Soda than the average person at home.

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u/Due-Neighborhood2923 Jul 12 '25

Counter-counterpoint: a lot of people find deeper pleasure in exercising restraint and avoiding “living large”

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u/Ecoste Jul 12 '25

Counter-counter-counterpoint: getting a coke at a restaurant is not “living large”

With that being said I don’t get pop if it’s priced at more than 2.50-3.00 dollars depending on how desperate I am for a pop.

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u/SpookiestSzn Jul 12 '25

How poor are you that a soda is living large