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Money ERA: What action or purchase has saved you money in the long run?
- Thread starter hwarang
- Start date
OP
OP
yeah definitely. Buying quality clothes is significantly better than buying off brand crap.
Just went back to eating cereal for breakfast and taking in my own lunch to work, instead of buying food from the canteen or supermarket.
Can save £££s per year that way.
Can save £££s per year that way.
purchase: My chest freezer. I'm able to go to my local GFS (sam's club/costco like store with no membership) and pick up things in bulk and reduced products.
Like in my recent trip I picked up 40 pounds of boneless chicken for like $18 total and 30 pounds of Beef burgers that also have kale and quinoa in them for $45 (they are interesting. but not bad)
and buying used is better than buying new (for shirts and pants and what not... new underwear all the way lol)
Which reminded me my action is getting a job at a thrift store. My clothes my furniture and various other things are through there. It's saved me a ton of money over the years though I've also bought a lot of crap I didn't need lol. I've lost track of how many funko pops I've bought.... and I hate how the things look. I just buy them to randomly hide on the shelves of my friends when I go visit. (though i haven't bought any in like 9 months because I don't know when I will be able to get back to doing that)
Like in my recent trip I picked up 40 pounds of boneless chicken for like $18 total and 30 pounds of Beef burgers that also have kale and quinoa in them for $45 (they are interesting. but not bad)
and buying used is better than buying new (for shirts and pants and what not... new underwear all the way lol)
Which reminded me my action is getting a job at a thrift store. My clothes my furniture and various other things are through there. It's saved me a ton of money over the years though I've also bought a lot of crap I didn't need lol. I've lost track of how many funko pops I've bought.... and I hate how the things look. I just buy them to randomly hide on the shelves of my friends when I go visit. (though i haven't bought any in like 9 months because I don't know when I will be able to get back to doing that)
Absolutely, and I got REALLY good at shaping beards and cutting hair as well.
Treating myself to bigger one-time purchases (consoles, occasional nice dinner, etc.) and avoiding easy vectors for lifestyle creep (subscriptions, eating out regularly, expensive habits, etc.)
Also knowing when the big clearance sales online for the brands you like are. (January & Julyish)
This is true but you need money to be able to do it.
The thing that probably saves me the most money is buying my cars used. I still like buying nice cars but I always get them around 2 years old and you just save so much money by doing so. The next thing is just not being impulsive. I probably think 10 times before I buy anything and its weird because I never did that when I was young and had no money.
But at a certain point you earn money to spend it so I don't mind splurging on some nice shit if we like it (i.e. clothes, vacations, furniture, etc).
I have to say I love the moniker "Money Era". Guess it filters those that are still in the barter system.
"Mercantile Era - how have you adjusted your production and distribution of goods to avoid the Crown's tariffs?"
We still eat out but I've been turning one meal into two lately and it's helped a lot. And just buying quality when you can helps with almost anything.
I do used cars too, but I pay in cash. Most expensive car I've ever bought was $3,000. I like not having payments. Bought my last car 1 year ago for $1900, and have only put $600 into it. Much cheaper then a $300 a month car payment.
cut cable and subscribe to the disney plus/hulu deal. I believe it's less than 15 dollars a month.
Not paying for a car/gas. I consciously made the choice at my current job to live within walking distance of work, and everything else that I really need is within walking distance.
I do have one of my two best friends living in the area, and if I ever really needed a ride for whatever reason, I know I could get one which certainly helps give peace of mind (though I obviously wouldn't want to take advantage of my friend's generosity).
I do have one of my two best friends living in the area, and if I ever really needed a ride for whatever reason, I know I could get one which certainly helps give peace of mind (though I obviously wouldn't want to take advantage of my friend's generosity).
i kinda did the same. My girlfriend is a hairstylist and she does my haircuts.
I do miss my barber tho, he gave me some greats cuts.
leftovers for work the next day is one of my favorite things. So much better than frozen meals or sandwiches.
Skipping breakfast (intermittent fasting 1-9), cooking stews/curry (usually made in Instant Pot ❤) and other big lot type meals on Sunday and eat that all week. That last one saves time and money but maybe not ideal if you don't like eating same thing every day. Personally I'm fine with it as I love stew. Can be had with rice, bread, mochi (which I toast in the air fryer then add to the stew). For less than 2000 yen ($20) I can have something that can feed me for an entire week.
Solar panels. Big investment in the short term, but when I pay them off in a few years, I'll essentially never have an electric bill
Bidet. I haven't bought new toilet paper since.
A rechargeable battery flashlight for work saved me a ton of money over buying the cheapo ten packs.
A rechargeable battery flashlight for work saved me a ton of money over buying the cheapo ten packs.
Totally my answer. My wife bought a Keurig and I probably save about seventy bucks a month.
Work from Home
Cut my own hair and beard
Eating at home (We stopped most fast food)
And our big one:
Sticking to our vehicles recommended service schedules. We are two people who just didn't do it. We drove our cars until catastrophe forced visits to the mechanic; we never voluntarily went. Some of the looks I would get from the guys after finally getting an oil change..... Anyway, we got new cars and have stuck to service schedules and use the dealers website to track everything. The apps tells us whats due and when and unsurprisingly in the last few years we have had FAR fewer calamities that cost huge tons of money as a result.
Cut my own hair and beard
Eating at home (We stopped most fast food)
And our big one:
Sticking to our vehicles recommended service schedules. We are two people who just didn't do it. We drove our cars until catastrophe forced visits to the mechanic; we never voluntarily went. Some of the looks I would get from the guys after finally getting an oil change..... Anyway, we got new cars and have stuck to service schedules and use the dealers website to track everything. The apps tells us whats due and when and unsurprisingly in the last few years we have had FAR fewer calamities that cost huge tons of money as a result.
Cooking my own meals by a fucking gargantuan amount.
I was literally wasting an extra $200+ dollars per paycheck (so like $400-$600+ a month) eating out all the damn time. I never realized how wasteful I was with my money until I started cooking at home. Now that extra money is put towards my brokerage account + more important things I need.
I was literally wasting an extra $200+ dollars per paycheck (so like $400-$600+ a month) eating out all the damn time. I never realized how wasteful I was with my money until I started cooking at home. Now that extra money is put towards my brokerage account + more important things I need.
I think at this point for me it's more about not buying stuff I don't need. A year into the pandemic and I've been forced to cook my own meals and stuff lol.
Really making an effort to cook. Over the past couple of years we've really focused on meal planning (not so much right now), and the pandemic helped a lot as well. Once you get into the hang of it and find some recipes you really like, you find there's almost no reason to go out.
I do not have a dryer, I hang my clothes on a clothesline. Everything feels better and I do not have a higher electric bill running a dryer.
Also, putting LEDs in porch lights, etc.
I have a garden,-i pick lettuce, collards, broccoli; cabbage, and sweet peas during the cold months here in Georgia.
No Starbucks anywhere around,.I use Aldi's German coffee, put it in a nice thermos bottle, and sip on it all morning.
Also, putting LEDs in porch lights, etc.
I have a garden,-i pick lettuce, collards, broccoli; cabbage, and sweet peas during the cold months here in Georgia.
No Starbucks anywhere around,.I use Aldi's German coffee, put it in a nice thermos bottle, and sip on it all morning.
Cut my own hair for a decade (same $50 clipper set).
Coffee and Espresso machine - rarely go to a coffee shop now unless it's for ambiance or hanging out
Fizzi - I love sparkling water and rigged up the large c02 tank adapter. Cheap sparkling water and can add flavored syrup for pennies compared to buying them.
Weights on Craigslist - squat rack, barbell, 600lbs of weights and a bench for about $300 years ago. No gym membership.
Electric car - no more gas. Charging it costs me about $30 a month.
Clothing - companies like Patagonia will repair your clothes and help recycle them cheaply.
Bidet - barely use toilet paper.
Reusable baggies - better for the environment and just wash them.
Own repairs - I change brake pads, rotors and oil on our gas car, repair the furnace, do most of my own appliance repair etc, if it's not a major job, I can and will do it. Brakes and rotors alone was quoted at $900 and I did them in about 2 hours for $200.
Pellet smoker - I love bbq. I have taught myself to make great bbq and make things like 15lbs briskets at home. Costs $35 and is amazing food for over a week.
Coffee and Espresso machine - rarely go to a coffee shop now unless it's for ambiance or hanging out
Fizzi - I love sparkling water and rigged up the large c02 tank adapter. Cheap sparkling water and can add flavored syrup for pennies compared to buying them.
Weights on Craigslist - squat rack, barbell, 600lbs of weights and a bench for about $300 years ago. No gym membership.
Electric car - no more gas. Charging it costs me about $30 a month.
Clothing - companies like Patagonia will repair your clothes and help recycle them cheaply.
Bidet - barely use toilet paper.
Reusable baggies - better for the environment and just wash them.
Own repairs - I change brake pads, rotors and oil on our gas car, repair the furnace, do most of my own appliance repair etc, if it's not a major job, I can and will do it. Brakes and rotors alone was quoted at $900 and I did them in about 2 hours for $200.
Pellet smoker - I love bbq. I have taught myself to make great bbq and make things like 15lbs briskets at home. Costs $35 and is amazing food for over a week.
Yeah, I've started prepping more of my own lunches in lieu of fast food. Significant savings and healthier to boot.
All the little snack purchases I make going to the gas station for work really adds up. Bringing my own snacks and beverages instead.
This too. Weed gives me far more milage than alcohol doess
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Not only do you save money but it's way better too.
It might suck at first but once you learn some basics of cooking it starts to taste pretty awesome.
Cutting my Hair
Using library for books, movies, games, etc.
Using library for books, movies, games, etc.
Next move to just brewing in a pot and you can cut that in half again and taste 200% better :P
I make all of my coffee at home in a French press. No filters. No run to Starbucks. And an entire press to myself is more than enough caffeine for even the worst work days. I end up hand-washing a few dishes on a daily basis anyways with how much cooking we do at home, so it's never dirty either.
Back when I had a car I used to let EVERYTHING go until it was catastrophe time. If I ever buy one again I'll be on the maintenance schedule. Also, back then I was broke AF, so it's nice to have the cash to change the oil, tires, and other shit regularly.
Coffee Machine
At the beginning of the pandemic I was just buying cold brew coffee from the grocery store because it was still relatively cheap as:
1) I don't consider myself a big coffee drink
2) It was still much cheap buying this instead of buying coffee from Starbucks
It got to a point though where I decided to finally just dive in buy a coffee machine. I just wanted a basic one that could do the job reliably and not break (more complicated parts = higher chance of breaking). I just got the Amazon Basics one over the Mr Coffee and then I attached it to a smart plug so I could control the device on a schedule. This turned out to be a great purchase. I think the machine has already paid for itself throw buying cheap coffee.
To give an idea of how much coffee I've been drinking, one 12oz bag lasts me about a month I'd say?
Hair Clipper
Not much of an explanation needed here. I was doing this even pre-pandemic. It's still fine to get a fresh cut at the shop every once in a while, but this will do just fine and the savings here are obvious.
Uniqlo clothing
I love this place and I think their shirts are pretty high quality in my experience. I make sure to care for them properly and they still are still great even though they're stupid cheap. I've tried H&M shirts a long while back and that shit fell apart. The difference in quality is staggering. I also have bought WFH attire from here (joggers/sweat pants) and they are excellent.
Libby
Get a free library membership and connect your membership to this app. Free books/audiobooks (some with a week+ waiting cue though).
PS Plus+ Membership/Xbox Ultimate Game Pass/Epic Games Store (slickdeals.net)
This only works if you're like me and don't really buy games day 1 anymore. There are plenty that I was interested in, but never bought. I ended up getting games for free through PS Plus+/EGS (i.e. Shadow of the Colossus). I know PS Plus technically isn't free, but I only paid $30 on average per year. That's than $2.99 a month and well below .01% of my take home income... might as well be free.
Regarding Xbox Ultimate, I was able to use the $1 upgrade offer and stack that against 3 years of xbox live that I applied all at once. I believe the total cost game to like $100? So that's for 3 years of this service. Therefore, there's no need for me to buy games.
Whenever a monthly game pops, I usually see it on slickdeals.net, which reminds me to login to download.
Pre-gaming (drinks)
I live in Chicago. Going out especially downtown can be very expensive. Take the time to pre-game for a couple of hours before heading out and then make sure to consistently drink water while limiting yourself to just 1-2 drinks while you're out. It's taken some time, but I've been able to discipline myself to do this as I've gotten older.
There are other smaller things / very obvious things you can do to save money, but the items above have been pretty big for me. I never had any issues eating out too much so food hasn't really been a signfiicant cost.
At the beginning of the pandemic I was just buying cold brew coffee from the grocery store because it was still relatively cheap as:
1) I don't consider myself a big coffee drink
2) It was still much cheap buying this instead of buying coffee from Starbucks
It got to a point though where I decided to finally just dive in buy a coffee machine. I just wanted a basic one that could do the job reliably and not break (more complicated parts = higher chance of breaking). I just got the Amazon Basics one over the Mr Coffee and then I attached it to a smart plug so I could control the device on a schedule. This turned out to be a great purchase. I think the machine has already paid for itself throw buying cheap coffee.
To give an idea of how much coffee I've been drinking, one 12oz bag lasts me about a month I'd say?
Hair Clipper
Not much of an explanation needed here. I was doing this even pre-pandemic. It's still fine to get a fresh cut at the shop every once in a while, but this will do just fine and the savings here are obvious.
Uniqlo clothing
I love this place and I think their shirts are pretty high quality in my experience. I make sure to care for them properly and they still are still great even though they're stupid cheap. I've tried H&M shirts a long while back and that shit fell apart. The difference in quality is staggering. I also have bought WFH attire from here (joggers/sweat pants) and they are excellent.
Libby
Get a free library membership and connect your membership to this app. Free books/audiobooks (some with a week+ waiting cue though).
PS Plus+ Membership/Xbox Ultimate Game Pass/Epic Games Store (slickdeals.net)
This only works if you're like me and don't really buy games day 1 anymore. There are plenty that I was interested in, but never bought. I ended up getting games for free through PS Plus+/EGS (i.e. Shadow of the Colossus). I know PS Plus technically isn't free, but I only paid $30 on average per year. That's than $2.99 a month and well below .01% of my take home income... might as well be free.
Regarding Xbox Ultimate, I was able to use the $1 upgrade offer and stack that against 3 years of xbox live that I applied all at once. I believe the total cost game to like $100? So that's for 3 years of this service. Therefore, there's no need for me to buy games.
Whenever a monthly game pops, I usually see it on slickdeals.net, which reminds me to login to download.
Pre-gaming (drinks)
I live in Chicago. Going out especially downtown can be very expensive. Take the time to pre-game for a couple of hours before heading out and then make sure to consistently drink water while limiting yourself to just 1-2 drinks while you're out. It's taken some time, but I've been able to discipline myself to do this as I've gotten older.
There are other smaller things / very obvious things you can do to save money, but the items above have been pretty big for me. I never had any issues eating out too much so food hasn't really been a signfiicant cost.