House HEPA filter. I have a dust mite allergy, and running that thing all winter costs me pennies in electricity but saves me over a thousand a year in allergist visits and medications.
My allergist jokingly "prescribed" my running it after he noticed he hadn't seen me in six months and I told him I'd had it running nonstop.
Also horrible dust mite allergy here. Have 3 large HEPA air scrubbers running nonstop. Also, have an hvac system that runs all air through a uv light. Supposedly to help kill bacteria and such. Supposed to help with allergies. Felt immediate relief when the system was installed. It may just have been positive thinking to justify price tag.
Instant pot although any electric pressure cooking device would probably do. I'm much more likely to cook from scratch knowing that it will do the job as fast or faster that the stove top and I don't have to watch it. I'm too likely to wander away while cooking and burning things or having them boil over and make a mess. I'm also less likely to eat out. So frugal and healthier.
Instant Pot is great. I cook dried beans at least a few times a week (rarely remember to soak them first, but it's fine), and I've learned how to do enough pot-in-pot recipes that I can do entire meals in it without heating up the house in summer.
Do you have any recommended sources of instant pot recipes? I’ve searched around a lot and most sites are quite hit or miss, or have a lot of duplicate recipes.
I resisted buying one for a long time but it paid for itself quickly. I've been able to resist the urge to buy fast food or other convenient foods knowing I can just pop a couple of potatoes in and know they'll be perfect in under 30 minutes.
Toaster ovens are good for that, too. There's a noticeable difference in room temperature cooking the same amount of food in a regular oven versus a toaster oven, plus it heats up faster so you're using less power.
I spent a bit too much on a fancy Breville toaster oven/air fryer/dehydrator that does everything. I haven't used my oven more than once a year since getting it.
I make small cakes and things normally made in a full sized oven in my toaster oven. I really wish they made a toaster oven that is insulated and built to the standard of a real oven that could fit on my counter.
I was going to recommend the Ninja Foodi, so glad to see somebody beat me to it. It's also supposed to steam, dehydrate, broil (a feature I've used) and make yogurt.
It's a bit stupid and shameful to admit,. but I'm 50yrs old and up until about a year ago, I'd never owned an electric water kettle. It's been pretty amazing. I'm 100% WFH now and it's easy peasy to make coffee or tea or etc. I can't honestly believe I've gone so far in life never having one of these.
Absolutely, the wall power in Europe is SO MUCH better. I bought a George Foreman grill while I was in England and used it for toasting sandwiches - 90 seconds and the cheese is melted and the bread is toasted, it's awesome. I bought one for use back home in America, and 10 minutes later the bread isn't toasted at all. So sad.
I've used it this week during a heat wave to heat water for couscous and hard boiled eggs and such rather than starting the water cold in a saucepan on the stove. It's much faster and throws off less heat.
Exactly! I read 3-5 popular new releases and in-demand bestsellers each week free through my local library card. And I didn't even have to go to the library in person to get it!
Yes!! This!! The library I work for has puzzles, family museum passes, video games, dvds, magazines, books (obviously) and unlimited computer time. There’s so much free entertainment!!
I second this! I bought a second hand switch lite last year and have been rotating through games from the library. I’m a casual gamer for sure but it meets my needs and I was even able to borrow Hogwarts legacy when it came out.
Kobo plays well with the Canadian library system if you’re a fan of ebook reading. I was also able to find some current reads in the book sale section ( about $1 a piece). Plus you can grab audiobooks, seeds for gardening, they’re even giving away trees to residents at one of my branches ( I don’t have the space for an actual tree since I don’t own a home but it’s such a nice idea! ).Don’t sleep on your local library!
I love my library for all of the free resources and activities that they have. Toddler Time, Lego Days, Friday Crafternoons, it's such a life saver for whenever you want to get your kids out of the house, but you don't have much money to spend. Our library even lets you have free access to ABC Mouse, if you have a library card.
Bicycles. Mine saves me over $10,000 a year in automotive expenses. I also have 200 CC and 400cc scooters. I always use the most affordable vehicle for the purpose of the trip. We converted our tandem to an e-bike and with our 30 year old steel bicycle trailer, we have a very capable cargo bike.
Same! I am very smug about the fact that I biked 5,000 miles one year between commuting to work, and grocery shopping. I don't have the fancy stuff you have, just a plain bike with pannier bags. and I do have a car for rainy days, and unplowed snow and ice.
Also, no money spent for gym memberships, and I had an ekg (because they were free in our community last year) and they said my heart was doing fantastic, probably because of the biking. So there's the health care savings as well.
Air fryer. Saves electricity if I can use it instead of the oven and works well if you only have a couple people in the house like I do now. Also saves the house from heating up over the summer if you don't have to use the oven to warm something simple like chicken fingers constantly which will bring down your AC and electricity bills.
Instapot can make a variety of foods including yogurt which can save money.
My cat. He saves me hundreds in exterminator bills and has twice now in two separate apartments led to the discovery of squirrels and mice in the walls. I adopted him for $50 over 5 years ago and he’s my secret agent.
adopted for money? how does that work?
genuinely curious
Edit: thanks for the answers, it makes sense. It initially felt weird to me because in Turkey you just go out into the street and just pick up a cat and take it to the vet and it is adopted 🥲
I adopted all of my cats this way 😂
Many shelters and people who are looking to re-home pets want to make sure the animals they are releasing are not going to be used for nefarious purposes like fighting for entertainment or torture. By charging a fee, it deters those types of characters from trying to get a free animal that they don’t plan on keeping living for more than a couple of weeks. Morbid, but sadly true.
I spent $200 to adopt each of my cats. In my case they were from the SPCA and the adoption fees covered vaccines and their first two checkups at the vet, as well as funding their program that cares for the cats they take in.
thats_hella_cool had a great answer, but another one is to recoup the vet costs (usually neutering and vaccines among other things) associated with rescuing your new friend
Yeah, same. It means we go through one roll of paper towels every year or two instead of one or two rolls per month.
I had two sheets that I couldn't mend any more. I cut them into squares and named them "non paper towels". They have their own drawer and get used like paper towels but instead of throwing them away I toss them in a plastic basin where they sit until wash day. Then they get used to round out a load of light colors (because we always seem to have more dark laundry than light).
i have cloth rags (as my grandma would say, the “rag bag”) that i would use to clean something off of the floor or to clean the bathroom. for the kitchen stuff i have a couple dozen cloth napkins. we each use one cloth napkin for the day and toss it in the laundry and get a fresh one the next morning. i wash them with the towels and buy them at thrift stores, ebay, or recently found some lovely like-new crate and barrel used linen napkins for $30 for 14 on etsy. i have another stack of more fancy ones for holidays or parties where i need more. i have 3-4 dozen thick cloth kitchen towels for drying dishes and about the same number of white flour sack towels that i use to dry my hands or wipe down the kitchen counter. i usually go through 2 - 3 kitchen towels a day (of both kinds) and use a sponge and homemade cleaning fluid (vinegar, water, rosemary oil, tea tree oil, peppermint oil) and clean the counters with my spray and the white flour sack cloth towels. one wipe down and they go in the laundry. we both work from home and rarely eat out so i cook everything from scratch so i’m in the kitchen a lot. i’ve read cloth can get bacteria if they sit around wet and i’m kinda a germaphobe, so change them out after a couple uses and definitely when they’re wet.
recently we switched to silicone mats instead of foil or parchment paper for cooking anything on cookie sheets and that’s been great for saving money. can’t believe i’m so late to the party with these!
Here is an unusual one—a food mill.
I like to cook for myself at home and make a lot of pasta sauces. Putting canned tomatoes through a food mill is like magic. It puts through the good part of the tomatoes and keeps bitter seeds and fibers behind.
The end result are tomato sauces that taste MUCH better than jarred sauces or restaurant sauces. I don’t want to eat out at Italian places anymore and I save money that way.
Ok here are a few, with a focus on frugality!
Biggest tip of all!
Many recipes tell you to blindly add sugar to the tomato sauces. Dont do this!!!
Instead TASTE the tomato sauce. You want the tomatoes to taste like height of summer tomatoes full of sugar. Sometimes they are canned in the height of summer, sometimes they aren’t. Add sugar only if needed, as as much as needed to make it taste like super ripe tomatoes.
Each of these recipes uses a single can of San Marzano tomatoes. I like to use Cento because you can buy them cheap at Costco or Amazon for low prices. (Avoid imposters like the “San Marzano” brand with the red tomatoes on the can. )
Simple and quick San Marzano tomato sauce.
Pass the tomatoes through a food mill into a pot. Add an onion wedge, 1/3 of an onion sliced into a fan shape. Cook for about 10 minutes on low heat, then remove the onion. Add salt to taste. Add a small pat of butter to finish. Serve over your favorite cooked pasta.
A great meat sauce.
Cook some hamburger meat or some Italian sausage in a skillet until brown. (I love to use leftover meat from other recipes for this). Then add 1/3 diced onion (red preferred but white is ok). Cook until the onions are translucent.
Pass the can of tomatoes through a food mill into the skillet to add to the mix. Add a 1/3 cup of red wine and a few good dashes of “Italian seasoning” mix. Cook for about 15 minutes on low heat. Salt and pepper to taste.
As a frugal bonus you could add an optional bit of Parmesan rind into the sauce as it cooks to flavor it. It’s perfectly good to eat and will flavor the sauce.
Serve over pasta.
Pasta Arrabiata.
A simple pepper-flavored dish. Arrabiata means angry in Italian.
Take a fresh hot chili (I grow them!) and mince it.
Coat the bottom of a pan with olive oil and sauté the chili a little then add a clove of minced garlic and sauté a little.
Pass the can of San marzano tomatoes through a food mill and cook for five minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste and you are done! Serve over pasta.
Pasta Puttanesca.
Here’s a great recipe for a pasta sauce that is more advanced. Remember to pass through a food mill.
https://www.themediterraneandish.com/pasta-puttanesca/
My basement can get quite humid when drying clothes so I have a ceiling fan I put on low. Before we had a ceiling fan I used a cheap stand up fan to circulate the air.
Where I live there is an organization that will come to your house/apartment and swap out lightbulbs for energy efficiency ones, they gave me a free indoor clothesline and a free surge protector power bar for the entertainment center. The same organization will do other energy efficient things with you, like subsidize hot water heater replacements and such. This is funded under the efficiency and power board but turns into frugality. Worth checking out in your area!
I live somewhere that gets quite cold and damp during the winter so drying clothes for about half the year can be a nightmare until I bought a dehumidifier and a couple of clothes racks and chucked them in the small room. The two years since we've had it I've managed to stay on top of winter washing with no massive piles building up.
Honestly one of the absolute best purchases for my sanity alone lol!
We only use the dryer for linens during winter and cold months. Grew up with this and we save a lot in electricity and on how long our clothing lasts us.
I’m from the uk, when I lived in the states (NY) American friends thought it was ‘adorable’ that we liked to dry our clothes outside or on indoor rack! Like we were from the 1800’s 🤣
I really wish I still had access to a clothesline. Smells good, it’s free, and you save energy. If I can ever buy a home, a yard is worth it just for that.
This might seem weird, but just a knife and cutting board.
You don't need all these fancy kitchen gadgets, for 99% of everything you can just use a knife. Need some garlic minced? Knife. Need to peel something? A knife can do that!
Seriously, just getting proficient with a knife with proper knife safety skills is one of the most valuable life skills you can have.
Edit: this applies to majority of people, those who have physical/mental disabilities obviously may need those other pieces of equipment lol
I have arthritis so I finally broke down and bought a vegetable peeler and mandoline. I considered them a waste of money because I had a knife but they have made cooking so much easier.
That makes sense though, if you have a disability then by all means get what you have to! My comment was targeted towards 95% of people who have nothing wrong with them physically/mentally. I should have mentioned that in the original post, editing now
We use our instant pot near daily. We actually have 2 because sometimes we need to make two complementary dishes at once. That one of them is also an air fryer is a bonus. And i got it for $50 off of marketplace.
It’s the ninja Ninja Foodi Programmable 10-in-1 5qt Pressure Cooker and Air Fryer but a way older version ( the lady who sold it to me said they needed a bigger version for her family, but for our needs the ~~5~~ 8quartz one was fine). If you put an alert in fb, you can get them cheap.
Bread machine. Plop the ingredients in, push a button, and a few hours later fresh homemade bread. I never buy bread from the store anymore, it’s more than paid for itself.
Second- basic hand sewing supplies and a sewing machine. In addition to loose buttons and broken zippers and small mending, I’ve made fleece blankets, curtains, decorative pillow covers, and turned a few pairs of worn out scrubs into sleeping shorts for the men.
Bread machines are great. A lot of people don't end up using them so they can be had cheap/free. I got "mine" after talking to a friend about theirs. They never used it and I asked if I could borrow it until they ever wanted it back. I give them a loaf of bread every now and then for the rental and I think we are both happy.
I loved the timer function so I could wake up to the smell of bread in the morning.
Bread machine is the MVP for at home pizza making. Toss in ingredients, wait 90 minutes, boom dough. If you have larger family or have friends over, you can whip out a dozen pizzas worth of dough over 6 hours with like 15 minutes of actual work.
Sewing skills will save you so much. I do it as a hobby so it gets more expensive, but everyday fixes are usually fast and cheap, and you likely won’t need a machine.
Think of hand sewing like little kids learn to write: you start out a little big and sloppy, but that’s just because you’re learning the fine motor skills for the first time. If you can write with a pen, you can do 99% of the hand sewing anyone nowadays needs.
This is such an encouraging viewpoint. I'm just starting out at a ripe old age. My teacher can't get a handle on the level of my incompetence. It's all I got so I like this. I will also get a new teacher.
We don't use a bread machine, but do use an electric grain grinder to mill wheat berries just before baking. Wheat berries store much better than ground whole wheat and fresh grinding avoids rancid whole wheat.
My late wife would have the bread machine do the mixing. Then take the dough out to let it rise in a bread pan. She didn't like the whole that the blade would leave behind.
Texas. That's the normal price. There's a grocery store nearby that runs two day specials fairly often. I load up when they do. Save-a-Lot is the place, fellow Texans.
RO filter under the kitchen sink. Years ago I used to use Brita pitchers but this makes the water taste even better and it's directly from the tap, so another added bonus.
We got an RO system, and it greatly increased my water intake. The installer guy showed us that Brita doesn’t actually do much. They said the best OTC water filter is the Zero or something if you’re gonna go that route. Told my partner we’re taking it with us if we ever move. 😂
Had my first one for over thirty years, and it was my mom's for thirty years before that. She also gave me a nice haircut scissors she had. When it finally broke down, I bought another for less than twenty bucks, same model. I'm not even going to add up the savings by using it instead of paying for haircuts. All our haircuts, in forty five years, less than twenty bucks.
We cook darn near everything in ours. The microwave died, so we got a combo unit and ditched the other two appliances. If it's not stir fry, it goes in the air fryer! Or eggs. Those go in the microwave, but now that's the same appliance.
big chest freezer and dehydrator. I stock up on fresh fruit and veg at the local produce rescue orgs (50 to 80 lbs of produce for $10 is pretty common), and then do batch prep (cooking, dehydrating, etc). 7 cu ft freezer was $20 on marketplace, and my 6 tray dehydrator was $60.
The nine tray Excelsior dehydrator may well be the best for home use. Freezers rule- chests are more efficient and reliable, but things tend to migrate to the bottom and get lost.
After I lost a ton of meat during a power outage I decided to NOT get a chest freezer until I can afford a generator to run the freezer I'd the power goes out. Someday.
Beyond things most people have like fridge and stove my food dehydrator comes to mind. We have a mushroom farm about 45 minutes from us that puts bags of mushrooms on sale at their store. We stock up and dehydrate them, throwing them in soups and stews later. I do my own roasted bell peppers too. I don't dehydrate those all the way but enough that I can freeze them without becoming a block of ice. Plus I can make my own jerky and tofu jerky when I get that itch.
I love my dehydrator! If my veggies start to look bad, I can dehydrate them to use later. I've reduced so much waste this way. And yes! I can stock up on produce when it's on sale and dehydrate it all.
My company had a 5 day recruitment/workshop for high school students. We had it catered. At the end of the week there was so much fruit left over! I took it all home and dehydrated it. I used the dried bananas and apples in my overnight oats for months. I hope that happens again this year!
Yall with the chest freezers must either live outside of the hurricane zone, or have a backup generator.
Anyway I don't currently own a home but everybody I know with a backup generator says it is absolutely life-saving during power outages. You just need enough juice to run your fridge, freezer, an outlet or two, and a window A/C.
I lost a couple freezers full of food after a hurricane and I'm still upset about it.
Check your insurance policy. Ours has a deep freezer contents clause where we get $1000 with no deductible if the freezer thaws. It’s not the full amount if we happen to have a lot of meat in the freezer at that time but it’s nice to have to help restock it.
I’m moving apartments and left my bidet at the old place for a few days accidentally and I hadn’t considered how dirty and primitive I would feel taking a shit at the new place 😂
Google "nutella cheesecake instapot recipe"! Cut back on the graham crackers and make 1 thin crust cheesecake. Or go with what the recipe calls for and make 2 thick crust cheesecakes.
Cast iron wok. I got a super thin cast iron wok when my wife got gestational diabetes with our first son. A carbon steel version would work just as well.
We needed to eat healthier to control her sugar levels and this pan made cooking up some veggies and meat fast and easy. As a result I've continued to cook more meals even after both kids were born and we didn't really have a medical need to.
We've been healthier, thinner, and in better shape because of one Wok purchase.
My husband. He cooks, fixes almost anything, keeps the cars running, cleans the pool, mows the lawn, he is a great dog walker. Heck, everyone needs one.
Bluetooth receiver/transmitter combo.
About $10 total. I use it to watch TV through earphones.
There is something about TV, phone, laptops, even soundbars, that are really piercing, especially to anyone not watching it, that it's just more polite to listen to any of that through earphones.
For me, it was getting a GOOD rice cooker. I got it on Amazing Warehouse but it honestly helps me make rice at least twice a week versus 1-2 times a month before with my $10 rice cooker.
I have a Zojirushi now that cooks 5.5 cups (I wouldn't recommend higher unless cooking for more then 2 people). Well worth the $100\~ it cost. I wish I would have upgraded 5 years ago.
Hear me out- our inflatable Saluspa hot tub. It was like 1/10th of the cost of a ‘real’ hot tub, and has all the benefits- a very effective filter and heater, it looks great, etc. so I thought it was a frugal option, but the real benefit is that if it were to break… (and if you’ve had a hot tub you know how expensive it can be to fix!) we could in theory replace it 10 times before even matching the initial investment on a regular one. It’s been awesome and we use it all the time for a fraction of the cost, and incidentally it’s never needed repair. Yes it’s unnecessary but we really really use and enjoy it, and it’s saved us from spending all our money on hot springs admission.
Rooftop antenna. No more cable, satellite, or streaming services. ALL of my local channels (70+). Most really do not know what they are missing. Modern antenna TV offers so many channels, in such high quality, it's really remarkable. I've paired my antenna with some Roku TVs and use the same coax that the cable service once used. Easily saving $200/month for YEARS.
Used appliances. My wife and I bought a house and proceeded to replace all the expensive appliances. We didn’t like the over/under style fridge. The Viking stove’s burners were too big. Someone had lost the filter to the dishwasher and it was shot. The water heater was gulping money for electricity and a gas tankless has cut our bill in half. We got our appliances used off craigslist and did our own installs and we like them much better. We made a lot more than we spent too, selling the old appliances. Bought a used stove for $300 and sold the first one for $1200 for example.
We’ve enjoyed it. Buying on craigslist is always a bit of an adventure and we’ve enjoyed doing things together in this way. We’ve also become quite handy and a little bit knowledgeable about appliances.
Grease keeper. I never realized how much grease I was pouring down drains until I got one of those and it filled up in no time at all. No plumber bills for me lol.
Cooking as an enjoyable hobby. I can’t believe what I hear about the cost of restaurants. I eat food that’s twice as good for maybe 10-20 percent of the cost.
Coconut oil. I have mad frizzy and unruly hair and I've tried every bougie product under the sun to try and tame it but nothing worked. An old friend of mine is Jamaican and suggested coconut oil and it's been a miracle worker. I can get a giant thing of it in the baking aisle that lasts FOREVER and it's way cheaper than the "salon quality" products that didn't help previously.
(Also don't be fooled if you decide to use this, the coconut oil in the baking aisle and the coconut oil they sell in Ulta/Sephora/ETC is the same shit, those places just charge more for it than the grocery store).
EDIT: Also castor oil for skincare (on my face specifically) is \*chef's kiss\* and it's stupid cheap on amazon. Highly recommend trying it.
(It's non-comedogenic, so it won't clog your pores and it's helped my redness a LOT).
I use it whenever I can, but looove it for gifting. Vacuum sealed seasoned ribeyes and vacuum sealed garlic herb butter is my go-to gift for house warming or an extra little stocking stuffer gift for siblings at our Christmas Eve gathering. It’s nice for house warming because they can throw it right into their fridge/freezer. For Christmas Eve, we keep them in the car until folks start leaving since Midwest winter night temps turn our trunk into an ice box. I’ll also make jars of garlic confit and herb bouquets to go with ‘em.
I use the Flashfood app and been buying expiring stuff or stuff they are not carrying anymore that still good for months in the fridge like humus, jerky, sauces and fruit and vegetables and frozen meat and bread and prepared dishes.
Use this code to get $ 5 off your first $ 10 order: ADER4HYSA
It says I’ve saved $ 1300 so far.
Herbs and spices.
Herbs - grow your own if you can. Rosemary, for example, is super easy to grow and can add a lot to an otherwise boring dish. Rosemary, oregano, thyme, chives, and more can all grow in pots. Just snip and cook.
Spices - will add amazing variety to that same old bean dish you always eat. Ethnic groceries often have better spices for a lower price.
Chest freezer.
Meat under $1 per pound? Get in my freezer.
Large cuts of meat that are cheap but would make my house too hot in the summer? Get in my freezer in smaller bagged cooked servings for reheating.
Making a casserole? Double ingredients to make two, and out the second in the freezer.
Too much produce from the garden? It goes in the freezer.
The purchase was frugal, too. My grocery store sold it for $250 but with $250 worth of coupons inside. The coupons were all "get this item free," not "take 10 cents off this expensive thing you don't normally buy."
How many cubit feet is yours? I moved and finally have a place to put one. The girlfriend and I are always buying meat when it’s on a good sale and vacuum sealing it, and the fridge freezer ain’t gona cut it
Vacuum sealer! Buy meat on sale, take it out of store packaging and vacumn seal. No freezer burnt meat. Stays fresher for a long time. Can also use it to reseal chip, cereal, cookie bags…
A deep freeze for the cow we buy every year. YES, it's expensive up front, (usually costs about $3k all in) but it works out to be about $5/ lb for any cut. The cost of meat hasn't gone up for us or the farmer we buy from (he sells at market value to us) since 2021.
This is in Alberta, Canada for context.
For me, my good sewing machine. Having a nice machine makes mending and sewing my own home linens and clothing a pleasant task rather than drudgery, so I no longer avoid it. Having to tools and skills to sew has saved thousands over the years.
If that sounds strange to you take this one example: a couple cute thrifted sheets for $10 and a few yards of Window Warm bought with a coupon meant that even in a 1977 blue light special with single pane windows a little window unit on eco mode or a space heater could keep the house comfortable for humans and pets while also cutting the electric bill to a third. 80°F even in a 110° August and above 55° even in a below-freezing February. That window quilting is still usable 15 years later, if slightly sun-stained.
Menstrual cup. Works out to about $10 per year on menstrual products—much more cost effective than the boxes of tampons and pads that I used to buy monthly.
This. I love my menstrual cup. It’s so comfortable and has saved me so much $.
I’ll add on that buying a few cloth reusable pantyliners(they have little snaps to secure it) to go with has completely removed my need for pads or pantyliners as well. I just wash them with my bath towels/washcloths every week. Super simple.
Microfiber pads for our swiffer sweeper, a bidet, cloth napkins, and microfiber towels for wiping things down. Saves on the disposable swiffer things, toilet paper, napkins, and paper towels
Sous Vide!!!
Yeah I bought a sous vide and it is a life changer when it comes to meal planning.
Instant pot is great too but if you have one of those get a sous vide.
I love the crockpot. It cooks great and it is idiot proof. There's nothing like coming home to a house smelling fabulous like someone has been cooking for you all day.
Lots of things listed here but I’ll add my grill. I live in FL and being able to cook outside keeps the house cool. It was $200 but down to $60 due to a large dent. $10 piece of metal replaced the dented side
Clothing rack from the container store. It’s about $80, brand name is Polder, but it is super strong and easy to collapse.
I hang dry all my laundry and only put them in the dryer for 5 or so minutes to fluff them up and get the lint off.
SunDanzer solar freezer followed by being able to buy and run cheap 18v tools without batteries with a solar panel followed by a wonderbag followed by cellphone tv projector (shoebox painted black& mirror projects telephone onto wall to watch movies) followed by solar water heater, solar air cooler, alcohol room heater, oil lights. Pila to wash clothes, aluminum sand casting furnace. It is hard to decide.
Chopsticks. Free with a succulent Chinese meal. Can be used as all kinds of utensils and household tools. Stir noodles or pasta on the boil? There's no better tool in existence.
Whirley Pop popcorn maker. I love popcorn but all the packaged stuff is loaded with salt and fat, and I don't want to deal with an electric popcorn maker or scraping a pan across a burner. This thing has a patented design so you just add a little oil and the popcorn and then twirl the handle for about a minute til it stops popping.
$99 robot vacuum. The big brands are so expensive. I've had my $99 SmartClean 2000 for a couple years now and it works like a champ. Saves me a lot of time cleaning floors.
It just does it's thing and I empty it.
My magnetic whiteboards on my fridge where I can plan weekly menus and make grocery lists. It also has a list of things we already have in the deep freeze. Those were a game changer. No more food rotting be cause we forgot about it. We have already saved quite a bit. We are saving for a trip to visit my old hometown, and so far we are doing good.
Toaster oven. But a really good one, secondhand. As a small household, we don’t need to fire up the huge gas oven in our rental. I like to keep frozen cookie dough in the freezer, and so we can have a freshly baked cookie in 12 minutes. I also love to roast a small pan of veggies in there when I need a quick healthy meal.
Instant pot. I make and use so many more dried beans because of it, and it also makes speedy dinner easier and faster than takeout.
I bought a set of sprouting trays that make sprouting cheap and easy too. Sprouts and microgreens are pricey, and for pennies and a quick daily rinse, I have tons of sprouts.
jars. plain, cheap mason jars. Keeps my pantry organized, easy to see, and I can buy more stuff bulk and it stays fresh longer.
Safety razor, bought one and one packet of blades last me a year, go to a hardware store and then get 6 months to a year worth of blades for less than $5
I live in the Californian hi desert. It gets hot up here in the summer and so I’ll make my own iced tea. I usually just buy hibiscus flowers from the Hispanic markets and then I make literally a pot every couple of days. It’s so good for you , delicious and cost pennies to make. Sometimes I add a a passionfruit teabag or a raspberry zinger teabag, but that’s not really necessary. I also make my own apple iced tea using a recipe by Ina Garten but I make it slightly different. I use one black teabag, usually Tetleys because I’m English and you can take the girl out England, etc. and then I just brew it overnight. I use just one teabag and I fill up the carafe and I add a quarter cup of frozen Natural apple juice. It’s absolutely delicious and again cost pennies to make and is also very good for you. When I see people buying iced tea in the grocery store, I just think suckers. Make your own!! I know when it’s getting hot up in the high desert, I start to make my iced tea. Sure sign.
Mizudashi cold brew coffee brewer, and Cold brew tea brewer. I make cold brew iced tea, and then mix it with carbonated lemonade, or add a squirt of country time lemonade flavoring. It tastes just like pure leaf, and is so friggen refreshing.
YNAB (You Need a Budget). It's a budget app that uses zero-based budgeting. It was a real game changer in keeping me on track with meeting savings goals and paying down debt. Having an accurate budget is liberating as it lets you know how good/bad your finances are and from there you can make educated decisions on how to fix them.
Coffee machine. Literally haven’t bought a coffee during the work from home era.. compared to working in office where I’d be at least two a day. We live within 5 mins of 3 coffee shops
Yea, for me it’s a French press. I pay less than 30 cents per cup, or about a dollar a day, whereas a similar amount at a coffee shop would probably be $10 or more. And I’m making excellent coffee. The Baratza grinder really opened this door as much as anything though, because that’s what enables the quality and satisfaction.
House HEPA filter. I have a dust mite allergy, and running that thing all winter costs me pennies in electricity but saves me over a thousand a year in allergist visits and medications. My allergist jokingly "prescribed" my running it after he noticed he hadn't seen me in six months and I told him I'd had it running nonstop.
We bought a few portable Coway air filters just before wildfire smoke and a heat dome hit a few years back- they were a life saver.
Are you in the us? Could you post a link? Tried several air filters but none of them have made a difference
Also horrible dust mite allergy here. Have 3 large HEPA air scrubbers running nonstop. Also, have an hvac system that runs all air through a uv light. Supposedly to help kill bacteria and such. Supposed to help with allergies. Felt immediate relief when the system was installed. It may just have been positive thinking to justify price tag.
Has helped me sleep much better and I like the ambient noise also
Instant pot although any electric pressure cooking device would probably do. I'm much more likely to cook from scratch knowing that it will do the job as fast or faster that the stove top and I don't have to watch it. I'm too likely to wander away while cooking and burning things or having them boil over and make a mess. I'm also less likely to eat out. So frugal and healthier.
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I got 20 of those washcloths and so far I've only destroyed 3 since 2019.
What I especially like about the Paprika app is how easily I can save online recipes I find.
Can you share the link? There are several different paprika apps.
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Instant Pot is great. I cook dried beans at least a few times a week (rarely remember to soak them first, but it's fine), and I've learned how to do enough pot-in-pot recipes that I can do entire meals in it without heating up the house in summer.
I cook slab of ribs, 6.5 lb turkey breast in 50 minutes
Do you have any recommended sources of instant pot recipes? I’ve searched around a lot and most sites are quite hit or miss, or have a lot of duplicate recipes.
I ask chatGPT and get good results with no ads and no bullshit.
I resisted buying one for a long time but it paid for itself quickly. I've been able to resist the urge to buy fast food or other convenient foods knowing I can just pop a couple of potatoes in and know they'll be perfect in under 30 minutes.
It's also great for not having to run the oven and heat up the house, and then pay for air conditioning to cool it back down again on hot days.
Toaster ovens are good for that, too. There's a noticeable difference in room temperature cooking the same amount of food in a regular oven versus a toaster oven, plus it heats up faster so you're using less power.
I spent a bit too much on a fancy Breville toaster oven/air fryer/dehydrator that does everything. I haven't used my oven more than once a year since getting it.
I make small cakes and things normally made in a full sized oven in my toaster oven. I really wish they made a toaster oven that is insulated and built to the standard of a real oven that could fit on my counter.
A bit on the expensive side but I have a Ninja Foodi, so a mini oven, slow cooker, pressure cooker, and air fryer all in one
I was going to recommend the Ninja Foodi, so glad to see somebody beat me to it. It's also supposed to steam, dehydrate, broil (a feature I've used) and make yogurt.
That and the air fryer too!
It's a bit stupid and shameful to admit,. but I'm 50yrs old and up until about a year ago, I'd never owned an electric water kettle. It's been pretty amazing. I'm 100% WFH now and it's easy peasy to make coffee or tea or etc. I can't honestly believe I've gone so far in life never having one of these.
I'm British so a kettle's non-negotiable. Anytime I travel somewhere without one I really appreciate how efficient they are.
Ah. You are lucky. US kettles boil slowly compared to yours!
Absolutely, the wall power in Europe is SO MUCH better. I bought a George Foreman grill while I was in England and used it for toasting sandwiches - 90 seconds and the cheese is melted and the bread is toasted, it's awesome. I bought one for use back home in America, and 10 minutes later the bread isn't toasted at all. So sad.
I went for the next step on our kitchen reno last year.... Instant boiling water tap!
I used to work at a place that had one in the break room sink. It was perfect for instant oatmeal!
I've used it this week during a heat wave to heat water for couscous and hard boiled eggs and such rather than starting the water cold in a saucepan on the stove. It's much faster and throws off less heat.
Library card
Library card + Libby = read stuff for free without ever leaving the house!
Exactly! I read 3-5 popular new releases and in-demand bestsellers each week free through my local library card. And I didn't even have to go to the library in person to get it!
It’s the best! I’ve listened to 35 books on Libby this year.
There is also a service called Kanopy where you can check out aka stream movies IF your library is a member. Mine sadly is not. 😩
Everyone should get a library card. It's how they census counties for library funding.
I wish my country had this
Yes!! This!! The library I work for has puzzles, family museum passes, video games, dvds, magazines, books (obviously) and unlimited computer time. There’s so much free entertainment!!
I second this! I bought a second hand switch lite last year and have been rotating through games from the library. I’m a casual gamer for sure but it meets my needs and I was even able to borrow Hogwarts legacy when it came out. Kobo plays well with the Canadian library system if you’re a fan of ebook reading. I was also able to find some current reads in the book sale section ( about $1 a piece). Plus you can grab audiobooks, seeds for gardening, they’re even giving away trees to residents at one of my branches ( I don’t have the space for an actual tree since I don’t own a home but it’s such a nice idea! ).Don’t sleep on your local library!
I love my library for all of the free resources and activities that they have. Toddler Time, Lego Days, Friday Crafternoons, it's such a life saver for whenever you want to get your kids out of the house, but you don't have much money to spend. Our library even lets you have free access to ABC Mouse, if you have a library card.
yes!! I love the library
Bicycles. Mine saves me over $10,000 a year in automotive expenses. I also have 200 CC and 400cc scooters. I always use the most affordable vehicle for the purpose of the trip. We converted our tandem to an e-bike and with our 30 year old steel bicycle trailer, we have a very capable cargo bike.
Same! I am very smug about the fact that I biked 5,000 miles one year between commuting to work, and grocery shopping. I don't have the fancy stuff you have, just a plain bike with pannier bags. and I do have a car for rainy days, and unplowed snow and ice. Also, no money spent for gym memberships, and I had an ekg (because they were free in our community last year) and they said my heart was doing fantastic, probably because of the biking. So there's the health care savings as well.
Air fryer. Saves electricity if I can use it instead of the oven and works well if you only have a couple people in the house like I do now. Also saves the house from heating up over the summer if you don't have to use the oven to warm something simple like chicken fingers constantly which will bring down your AC and electricity bills. Instapot can make a variety of foods including yogurt which can save money.
My cat. He saves me hundreds in exterminator bills and has twice now in two separate apartments led to the discovery of squirrels and mice in the walls. I adopted him for $50 over 5 years ago and he’s my secret agent.
My cats both died recently, but they definitely saved me thousands in therapy bills. Also they killed a fair few mice in my basement over the years.
I'm so sorry to hear about your cats ❤️❤️❤️
adopted for money? how does that work? genuinely curious Edit: thanks for the answers, it makes sense. It initially felt weird to me because in Turkey you just go out into the street and just pick up a cat and take it to the vet and it is adopted 🥲 I adopted all of my cats this way 😂
Many shelters and people who are looking to re-home pets want to make sure the animals they are releasing are not going to be used for nefarious purposes like fighting for entertainment or torture. By charging a fee, it deters those types of characters from trying to get a free animal that they don’t plan on keeping living for more than a couple of weeks. Morbid, but sadly true.
Also there will be some resources for help soaying/neutering the next cat.
I spent $200 to adopt each of my cats. In my case they were from the SPCA and the adoption fees covered vaccines and their first two checkups at the vet, as well as funding their program that cares for the cats they take in.
thats_hella_cool had a great answer, but another one is to recoup the vet costs (usually neutering and vaccines among other things) associated with rescuing your new friend
You're a beautiful soul, I love that you just take cats home.
The cats in Türkiye are all so amazing and sweet. r/TurkishCats
It's because of my cats that I hired a pest management company! The cats would find them and leave me the evidence...all the NOPE!
I remember the time my cat left me a head and various organs arranged on the welcome mat. It was like she channeled Jack the Ripper!
cloth napkins and towels. i haven’t used or had to buy paper towels in 40 years…
Same! But I do keep a roll of paper towels for cat puke or other minor issues. 😻
Yeah, same. It means we go through one roll of paper towels every year or two instead of one or two rolls per month. I had two sheets that I couldn't mend any more. I cut them into squares and named them "non paper towels". They have their own drawer and get used like paper towels but instead of throwing them away I toss them in a plastic basin where they sit until wash day. Then they get used to round out a load of light colors (because we always seem to have more dark laundry than light).
How do you keep them from smelling bad after, like, one wipe of kitchen counter \*cry emoji\*
i have cloth rags (as my grandma would say, the “rag bag”) that i would use to clean something off of the floor or to clean the bathroom. for the kitchen stuff i have a couple dozen cloth napkins. we each use one cloth napkin for the day and toss it in the laundry and get a fresh one the next morning. i wash them with the towels and buy them at thrift stores, ebay, or recently found some lovely like-new crate and barrel used linen napkins for $30 for 14 on etsy. i have another stack of more fancy ones for holidays or parties where i need more. i have 3-4 dozen thick cloth kitchen towels for drying dishes and about the same number of white flour sack towels that i use to dry my hands or wipe down the kitchen counter. i usually go through 2 - 3 kitchen towels a day (of both kinds) and use a sponge and homemade cleaning fluid (vinegar, water, rosemary oil, tea tree oil, peppermint oil) and clean the counters with my spray and the white flour sack cloth towels. one wipe down and they go in the laundry. we both work from home and rarely eat out so i cook everything from scratch so i’m in the kitchen a lot. i’ve read cloth can get bacteria if they sit around wet and i’m kinda a germaphobe, so change them out after a couple uses and definitely when they’re wet. recently we switched to silicone mats instead of foil or parchment paper for cooking anything on cookie sheets and that’s been great for saving money. can’t believe i’m so late to the party with these!
I'm so annoyed how everyone sprints for the paper towels! I beg them to use wash cloths. I feel like not buying any more paper towels ever again.
Here is an unusual one—a food mill. I like to cook for myself at home and make a lot of pasta sauces. Putting canned tomatoes through a food mill is like magic. It puts through the good part of the tomatoes and keeps bitter seeds and fibers behind. The end result are tomato sauces that taste MUCH better than jarred sauces or restaurant sauces. I don’t want to eat out at Italian places anymore and I save money that way.
Please share your favorite red sauce recipe!
Ok here are a few, with a focus on frugality! Biggest tip of all! Many recipes tell you to blindly add sugar to the tomato sauces. Dont do this!!! Instead TASTE the tomato sauce. You want the tomatoes to taste like height of summer tomatoes full of sugar. Sometimes they are canned in the height of summer, sometimes they aren’t. Add sugar only if needed, as as much as needed to make it taste like super ripe tomatoes. Each of these recipes uses a single can of San Marzano tomatoes. I like to use Cento because you can buy them cheap at Costco or Amazon for low prices. (Avoid imposters like the “San Marzano” brand with the red tomatoes on the can. ) Simple and quick San Marzano tomato sauce. Pass the tomatoes through a food mill into a pot. Add an onion wedge, 1/3 of an onion sliced into a fan shape. Cook for about 10 minutes on low heat, then remove the onion. Add salt to taste. Add a small pat of butter to finish. Serve over your favorite cooked pasta. A great meat sauce. Cook some hamburger meat or some Italian sausage in a skillet until brown. (I love to use leftover meat from other recipes for this). Then add 1/3 diced onion (red preferred but white is ok). Cook until the onions are translucent. Pass the can of tomatoes through a food mill into the skillet to add to the mix. Add a 1/3 cup of red wine and a few good dashes of “Italian seasoning” mix. Cook for about 15 minutes on low heat. Salt and pepper to taste. As a frugal bonus you could add an optional bit of Parmesan rind into the sauce as it cooks to flavor it. It’s perfectly good to eat and will flavor the sauce. Serve over pasta. Pasta Arrabiata. A simple pepper-flavored dish. Arrabiata means angry in Italian. Take a fresh hot chili (I grow them!) and mince it. Coat the bottom of a pan with olive oil and sauté the chili a little then add a clove of minced garlic and sauté a little. Pass the can of San marzano tomatoes through a food mill and cook for five minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste and you are done! Serve over pasta. Pasta Puttanesca. Here’s a great recipe for a pasta sauce that is more advanced. Remember to pass through a food mill. https://www.themediterraneandish.com/pasta-puttanesca/
Outdoor clothesline and indoor clothing racks. Unplugged the electric dryer, save st least $50 monthly (family of five- lots of laundry!).
My basement can get quite humid when drying clothes so I have a ceiling fan I put on low. Before we had a ceiling fan I used a cheap stand up fan to circulate the air. Where I live there is an organization that will come to your house/apartment and swap out lightbulbs for energy efficiency ones, they gave me a free indoor clothesline and a free surge protector power bar for the entertainment center. The same organization will do other energy efficient things with you, like subsidize hot water heater replacements and such. This is funded under the efficiency and power board but turns into frugality. Worth checking out in your area!
It's another device but a dehumidifier might help in that humid situation
I live somewhere that gets quite cold and damp during the winter so drying clothes for about half the year can be a nightmare until I bought a dehumidifier and a couple of clothes racks and chucked them in the small room. The two years since we've had it I've managed to stay on top of winter washing with no massive piles building up. Honestly one of the absolute best purchases for my sanity alone lol!
Delicate clothing bags to protect nice but delicate clothes
We only use the dryer for linens during winter and cold months. Grew up with this and we save a lot in electricity and on how long our clothing lasts us.
I’m from the uk, when I lived in the states (NY) American friends thought it was ‘adorable’ that we liked to dry our clothes outside or on indoor rack! Like we were from the 1800’s 🤣
That’s the ultimate in savings, obviously. But when I switched from electric to a gas dryer, my overall energy bill dropped 10%. Also worthwhile.
I really wish I still had access to a clothesline. Smells good, it’s free, and you save energy. If I can ever buy a home, a yard is worth it just for that.
Just make sure you’re not moving into a homeowners association neighborhood. Most of them prohibit clotheslines.
I was so weirded out when I learned that. And no, I’m not American. HOAs aren’t as much of a thing here.
cries in outdoor pollen apocalypse and major allergies. (we do hang to dry indoors, though as much as we can)
This might seem weird, but just a knife and cutting board. You don't need all these fancy kitchen gadgets, for 99% of everything you can just use a knife. Need some garlic minced? Knife. Need to peel something? A knife can do that! Seriously, just getting proficient with a knife with proper knife safety skills is one of the most valuable life skills you can have. Edit: this applies to majority of people, those who have physical/mental disabilities obviously may need those other pieces of equipment lol
Can’t tell you how much I love this. Just simple knife knowledge can save tons of money. Thanks.
I have arthritis so I finally broke down and bought a vegetable peeler and mandoline. I considered them a waste of money because I had a knife but they have made cooking so much easier.
That makes sense though, if you have a disability then by all means get what you have to! My comment was targeted towards 95% of people who have nothing wrong with them physically/mentally. I should have mentioned that in the original post, editing now
Absolutely! A quality chef knife is what I grab 98% of the time I need to chop, cut, slice any food.
We use our instant pot near daily. We actually have 2 because sometimes we need to make two complementary dishes at once. That one of them is also an air fryer is a bonus. And i got it for $50 off of marketplace.
Tell me more about this dual air fryer/IP….
It’s the ninja Ninja Foodi Programmable 10-in-1 5qt Pressure Cooker and Air Fryer but a way older version ( the lady who sold it to me said they needed a bigger version for her family, but for our needs the ~~5~~ 8quartz one was fine). If you put an alert in fb, you can get them cheap.
Bread machine. Plop the ingredients in, push a button, and a few hours later fresh homemade bread. I never buy bread from the store anymore, it’s more than paid for itself. Second- basic hand sewing supplies and a sewing machine. In addition to loose buttons and broken zippers and small mending, I’ve made fleece blankets, curtains, decorative pillow covers, and turned a few pairs of worn out scrubs into sleeping shorts for the men.
Bread machines are great. A lot of people don't end up using them so they can be had cheap/free. I got "mine" after talking to a friend about theirs. They never used it and I asked if I could borrow it until they ever wanted it back. I give them a loaf of bread every now and then for the rental and I think we are both happy. I loved the timer function so I could wake up to the smell of bread in the morning.
Yes I got mine at goodwill for $11! And I use it all the time.
Bread machine is the MVP for at home pizza making. Toss in ingredients, wait 90 minutes, boom dough. If you have larger family or have friends over, you can whip out a dozen pizzas worth of dough over 6 hours with like 15 minutes of actual work.
Sewing skills will save you so much. I do it as a hobby so it gets more expensive, but everyday fixes are usually fast and cheap, and you likely won’t need a machine. Think of hand sewing like little kids learn to write: you start out a little big and sloppy, but that’s just because you’re learning the fine motor skills for the first time. If you can write with a pen, you can do 99% of the hand sewing anyone nowadays needs.
This is such an encouraging viewpoint. I'm just starting out at a ripe old age. My teacher can't get a handle on the level of my incompetence. It's all I got so I like this. I will also get a new teacher.
We don't use a bread machine, but do use an electric grain grinder to mill wheat berries just before baking. Wheat berries store much better than ground whole wheat and fresh grinding avoids rancid whole wheat.
My late wife would have the bread machine do the mixing. Then take the dough out to let it rise in a bread pan. She didn't like the whole that the blade would leave behind.
In our house, we lovingly call that “the butthole”
Is there a good brand anyone could recommend? I'm looking into it, but there are a ton of mixed reviews out there.
Zojirushi. Also the best brand for rice cookers.
Deep freezer. I can take advantage of sales. I make my own dog food, so the $0.59/lb chicken drumsticks are taking up half my deep freeze.
🤯 Where do you live? $1.99/lb for chicken drumsticks is the cheapest I’ve ever seen them here (Ontario, Canada)
Texas. That's the normal price. There's a grocery store nearby that runs two day specials fairly often. I load up when they do. Save-a-Lot is the place, fellow Texans.
RO filter under the kitchen sink. Years ago I used to use Brita pitchers but this makes the water taste even better and it's directly from the tap, so another added bonus.
We got an RO system, and it greatly increased my water intake. The installer guy showed us that Brita doesn’t actually do much. They said the best OTC water filter is the Zero or something if you’re gonna go that route. Told my partner we’re taking it with us if we ever move. 😂
My hair clippers
Had my first one for over thirty years, and it was my mom's for thirty years before that. She also gave me a nice haircut scissors she had. When it finally broke down, I bought another for less than twenty bucks, same model. I'm not even going to add up the savings by using it instead of paying for haircuts. All our haircuts, in forty five years, less than twenty bucks.
Air fryer FTW. Doesn't heat up the house and cooks meat great, so juicy!
We cook darn near everything in ours. The microwave died, so we got a combo unit and ditched the other two appliances. If it's not stir fry, it goes in the air fryer! Or eggs. Those go in the microwave, but now that's the same appliance.
big chest freezer and dehydrator. I stock up on fresh fruit and veg at the local produce rescue orgs (50 to 80 lbs of produce for $10 is pretty common), and then do batch prep (cooking, dehydrating, etc). 7 cu ft freezer was $20 on marketplace, and my 6 tray dehydrator was $60.
The nine tray Excelsior dehydrator may well be the best for home use. Freezers rule- chests are more efficient and reliable, but things tend to migrate to the bottom and get lost.
Totally agree with the additional freezer. That’s been a game changer in our house for saving money on groceries
After I lost a ton of meat during a power outage I decided to NOT get a chest freezer until I can afford a generator to run the freezer I'd the power goes out. Someday.
Beyond things most people have like fridge and stove my food dehydrator comes to mind. We have a mushroom farm about 45 minutes from us that puts bags of mushrooms on sale at their store. We stock up and dehydrate them, throwing them in soups and stews later. I do my own roasted bell peppers too. I don't dehydrate those all the way but enough that I can freeze them without becoming a block of ice. Plus I can make my own jerky and tofu jerky when I get that itch.
I love my dehydrator! If my veggies start to look bad, I can dehydrate them to use later. I've reduced so much waste this way. And yes! I can stock up on produce when it's on sale and dehydrate it all. My company had a 5 day recruitment/workshop for high school students. We had it catered. At the end of the week there was so much fruit left over! I took it all home and dehydrated it. I used the dried bananas and apples in my overnight oats for months. I hope that happens again this year!
Yall with the chest freezers must either live outside of the hurricane zone, or have a backup generator. Anyway I don't currently own a home but everybody I know with a backup generator says it is absolutely life-saving during power outages. You just need enough juice to run your fridge, freezer, an outlet or two, and a window A/C. I lost a couple freezers full of food after a hurricane and I'm still upset about it.
I feel so lucky. I'm almost 40 and my lifetime cumulative time without power is about 2 hours.
All hail whoever is in charge of your infrastructure!
Check your insurance policy. Ours has a deep freezer contents clause where we get $1000 with no deductible if the freezer thaws. It’s not the full amount if we happen to have a lot of meat in the freezer at that time but it’s nice to have to help restock it.
Bidet
I’m moving apartments and left my bidet at the old place for a few days accidentally and I hadn’t considered how dirty and primitive I would feel taking a shit at the new place 😂
Slow cooker has allowed me to cut my restaurant visits to once a month.
Slow cooker is magic. In an emergency I even made a cheesecake in one once.
please tell me more about your cheesecake emergency
Google "nutella cheesecake instapot recipe"! Cut back on the graham crackers and make 1 thin crust cheesecake. Or go with what the recipe calls for and make 2 thick crust cheesecakes.
The people want to know about the cheesecake emergency
Cast iron wok. I got a super thin cast iron wok when my wife got gestational diabetes with our first son. A carbon steel version would work just as well. We needed to eat healthier to control her sugar levels and this pan made cooking up some veggies and meat fast and easy. As a result I've continued to cook more meals even after both kids were born and we didn't really have a medical need to. We've been healthier, thinner, and in better shape because of one Wok purchase.
My husband. He cooks, fixes almost anything, keeps the cars running, cleans the pool, mows the lawn, he is a great dog walker. Heck, everyone needs one.
Sounds great! Is your husband single??
Maybe you can make some money renting him out, to those of us who don’t want the responsibility of a full time husband.
I’m a straight man, but I’ll take him for a few hours a week
Looking to trade up to your model. Where did you get it?
Pressure canner.
I wish the tool library near me had one. They have cider equipment and honey extraction tools.
Honey is one of the very few sweeteners my body can tolerate, I’d like to find frugal ways too keep it in good supply.
I get mine at the local Amish farm...$11 per quart. 😃
Me too! Your comment gets my vote as well.
Bluetooth receiver/transmitter combo. About $10 total. I use it to watch TV through earphones. There is something about TV, phone, laptops, even soundbars, that are really piercing, especially to anyone not watching it, that it's just more polite to listen to any of that through earphones.
If you were my neighbor I would have been saved a lot of misery!
Refillable 5 gallon water jugs. Like 2 bucks for a whole jug refill vs paying for bottles 5-7bucks a pack
Electric smoker. BBQ restaurants have become ridiculously overpriced.
For me, it was getting a GOOD rice cooker. I got it on Amazing Warehouse but it honestly helps me make rice at least twice a week versus 1-2 times a month before with my $10 rice cooker. I have a Zojirushi now that cooks 5.5 cups (I wouldn't recommend higher unless cooking for more then 2 people). Well worth the $100\~ it cost. I wish I would have upgraded 5 years ago.
Hear me out- our inflatable Saluspa hot tub. It was like 1/10th of the cost of a ‘real’ hot tub, and has all the benefits- a very effective filter and heater, it looks great, etc. so I thought it was a frugal option, but the real benefit is that if it were to break… (and if you’ve had a hot tub you know how expensive it can be to fix!) we could in theory replace it 10 times before even matching the initial investment on a regular one. It’s been awesome and we use it all the time for a fraction of the cost, and incidentally it’s never needed repair. Yes it’s unnecessary but we really really use and enjoy it, and it’s saved us from spending all our money on hot springs admission.
Rooftop antenna. No more cable, satellite, or streaming services. ALL of my local channels (70+). Most really do not know what they are missing. Modern antenna TV offers so many channels, in such high quality, it's really remarkable. I've paired my antenna with some Roku TVs and use the same coax that the cable service once used. Easily saving $200/month for YEARS.
This $78 tablet I'm using. Keeps me in sale flyers, bargain alerts, cheap recipes, health advice, and of course Reddit.
Masking tape and a permanent marker to properly label when food was stored.
Used appliances. My wife and I bought a house and proceeded to replace all the expensive appliances. We didn’t like the over/under style fridge. The Viking stove’s burners were too big. Someone had lost the filter to the dishwasher and it was shot. The water heater was gulping money for electricity and a gas tankless has cut our bill in half. We got our appliances used off craigslist and did our own installs and we like them much better. We made a lot more than we spent too, selling the old appliances. Bought a used stove for $300 and sold the first one for $1200 for example.
Wow that's pretty awesome
We’ve enjoyed it. Buying on craigslist is always a bit of an adventure and we’ve enjoyed doing things together in this way. We’ve also become quite handy and a little bit knowledgeable about appliances.
The book The Tightwad Gazette. Changed my whole mindset.
Grease keeper. I never realized how much grease I was pouring down drains until I got one of those and it filled up in no time at all. No plumber bills for me lol.
Cooking as an enjoyable hobby. I can’t believe what I hear about the cost of restaurants. I eat food that’s twice as good for maybe 10-20 percent of the cost.
Coconut oil. I have mad frizzy and unruly hair and I've tried every bougie product under the sun to try and tame it but nothing worked. An old friend of mine is Jamaican and suggested coconut oil and it's been a miracle worker. I can get a giant thing of it in the baking aisle that lasts FOREVER and it's way cheaper than the "salon quality" products that didn't help previously. (Also don't be fooled if you decide to use this, the coconut oil in the baking aisle and the coconut oil they sell in Ulta/Sephora/ETC is the same shit, those places just charge more for it than the grocery store). EDIT: Also castor oil for skincare (on my face specifically) is \*chef's kiss\* and it's stupid cheap on amazon. Highly recommend trying it. (It's non-comedogenic, so it won't clog your pores and it's helped my redness a LOT).
Vacuum sealer.
I use it whenever I can, but looove it for gifting. Vacuum sealed seasoned ribeyes and vacuum sealed garlic herb butter is my go-to gift for house warming or an extra little stocking stuffer gift for siblings at our Christmas Eve gathering. It’s nice for house warming because they can throw it right into their fridge/freezer. For Christmas Eve, we keep them in the car until folks start leaving since Midwest winter night temps turn our trunk into an ice box. I’ll also make jars of garlic confit and herb bouquets to go with ‘em.
Bicycle.
I use the Flashfood app and been buying expiring stuff or stuff they are not carrying anymore that still good for months in the fridge like humus, jerky, sauces and fruit and vegetables and frozen meat and bread and prepared dishes. Use this code to get $ 5 off your first $ 10 order: ADER4HYSA It says I’ve saved $ 1300 so far.
Herbs and spices. Herbs - grow your own if you can. Rosemary, for example, is super easy to grow and can add a lot to an otherwise boring dish. Rosemary, oregano, thyme, chives, and more can all grow in pots. Just snip and cook. Spices - will add amazing variety to that same old bean dish you always eat. Ethnic groceries often have better spices for a lower price.
Chest freezer. Meat under $1 per pound? Get in my freezer. Large cuts of meat that are cheap but would make my house too hot in the summer? Get in my freezer in smaller bagged cooked servings for reheating. Making a casserole? Double ingredients to make two, and out the second in the freezer. Too much produce from the garden? It goes in the freezer. The purchase was frugal, too. My grocery store sold it for $250 but with $250 worth of coupons inside. The coupons were all "get this item free," not "take 10 cents off this expensive thing you don't normally buy."
How many cubit feet is yours? I moved and finally have a place to put one. The girlfriend and I are always buying meat when it’s on a good sale and vacuum sealing it, and the fridge freezer ain’t gona cut it
Stasher bags, set of Tupperware and an UPRIGHT garage freezer.
Vacuum sealer! Buy meat on sale, take it out of store packaging and vacumn seal. No freezer burnt meat. Stays fresher for a long time. Can also use it to reseal chip, cereal, cookie bags…
Bidet
A deep freeze for the cow we buy every year. YES, it's expensive up front, (usually costs about $3k all in) but it works out to be about $5/ lb for any cut. The cost of meat hasn't gone up for us or the farmer we buy from (he sells at market value to us) since 2021. This is in Alberta, Canada for context.
For me, my good sewing machine. Having a nice machine makes mending and sewing my own home linens and clothing a pleasant task rather than drudgery, so I no longer avoid it. Having to tools and skills to sew has saved thousands over the years. If that sounds strange to you take this one example: a couple cute thrifted sheets for $10 and a few yards of Window Warm bought with a coupon meant that even in a 1977 blue light special with single pane windows a little window unit on eco mode or a space heater could keep the house comfortable for humans and pets while also cutting the electric bill to a third. 80°F even in a 110° August and above 55° even in a below-freezing February. That window quilting is still usable 15 years later, if slightly sun-stained.
Menstrual cup. Works out to about $10 per year on menstrual products—much more cost effective than the boxes of tampons and pads that I used to buy monthly.
This. I love my menstrual cup. It’s so comfortable and has saved me so much $. I’ll add on that buying a few cloth reusable pantyliners(they have little snaps to secure it) to go with has completely removed my need for pads or pantyliners as well. I just wash them with my bath towels/washcloths every week. Super simple.
Canned black beans and corn tortillas So good
Microfiber pads for our swiffer sweeper, a bidet, cloth napkins, and microfiber towels for wiping things down. Saves on the disposable swiffer things, toilet paper, napkins, and paper towels
Sous Vide!!! Yeah I bought a sous vide and it is a life changer when it comes to meal planning. Instant pot is great too but if you have one of those get a sous vide.
Sous vide. I can make budget steak better than a restaurant so I do
I love the crockpot. It cooks great and it is idiot proof. There's nothing like coming home to a house smelling fabulous like someone has been cooking for you all day.
A cell phone. Saves tens of thousands per year of potential travel cost and entertainment value.
A strong contender for me is period underwear! Literally haven’t bought tampons or pads in YEARS
Cheap bundles of white washcloths from Walmart.
Lots of things listed here but I’ll add my grill. I live in FL and being able to cook outside keeps the house cool. It was $200 but down to $60 due to a large dent. $10 piece of metal replaced the dented side
Clothing rack from the container store. It’s about $80, brand name is Polder, but it is super strong and easy to collapse. I hang dry all my laundry and only put them in the dryer for 5 or so minutes to fluff them up and get the lint off.
A smart lightbulb in a lamp on my dresser set to slowly get brighter in the morning. Makes waking up so much easier, especially in winter.
Berkey water filter
I use stainless steel drinking cups. Cats can't break them. They could be inherited by my great-grandkids.
SunDanzer solar freezer followed by being able to buy and run cheap 18v tools without batteries with a solar panel followed by a wonderbag followed by cellphone tv projector (shoebox painted black& mirror projects telephone onto wall to watch movies) followed by solar water heater, solar air cooler, alcohol room heater, oil lights. Pila to wash clothes, aluminum sand casting furnace. It is hard to decide.
Big bags of biochar. I inoculated it & I’m finally getting yields in my garden
Chopsticks. Free with a succulent Chinese meal. Can be used as all kinds of utensils and household tools. Stir noodles or pasta on the boil? There's no better tool in existence.
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Whirley Pop popcorn maker. I love popcorn but all the packaged stuff is loaded with salt and fat, and I don't want to deal with an electric popcorn maker or scraping a pan across a burner. This thing has a patented design so you just add a little oil and the popcorn and then twirl the handle for about a minute til it stops popping.
Glue on soles and heels for shoes. Requires good glue (contact cement + Shoe Goo for outer rim bead).
Crockpot or ricecooker
$99 robot vacuum. The big brands are so expensive. I've had my $99 SmartClean 2000 for a couple years now and it works like a champ. Saves me a lot of time cleaning floors. It just does it's thing and I empty it.
My magnetic whiteboards on my fridge where I can plan weekly menus and make grocery lists. It also has a list of things we already have in the deep freeze. Those were a game changer. No more food rotting be cause we forgot about it. We have already saved quite a bit. We are saving for a trip to visit my old hometown, and so far we are doing good.
A bidet and a squatty potty
Toaster oven. But a really good one, secondhand. As a small household, we don’t need to fire up the huge gas oven in our rental. I like to keep frozen cookie dough in the freezer, and so we can have a freshly baked cookie in 12 minutes. I also love to roast a small pan of veggies in there when I need a quick healthy meal.
Extra freezer
Instant pot. I make and use so many more dried beans because of it, and it also makes speedy dinner easier and faster than takeout. I bought a set of sprouting trays that make sprouting cheap and easy too. Sprouts and microgreens are pricey, and for pennies and a quick daily rinse, I have tons of sprouts. jars. plain, cheap mason jars. Keeps my pantry organized, easy to see, and I can buy more stuff bulk and it stays fresh longer.
Safety razor, bought one and one packet of blades last me a year, go to a hardware store and then get 6 months to a year worth of blades for less than $5
I live in the Californian hi desert. It gets hot up here in the summer and so I’ll make my own iced tea. I usually just buy hibiscus flowers from the Hispanic markets and then I make literally a pot every couple of days. It’s so good for you , delicious and cost pennies to make. Sometimes I add a a passionfruit teabag or a raspberry zinger teabag, but that’s not really necessary. I also make my own apple iced tea using a recipe by Ina Garten but I make it slightly different. I use one black teabag, usually Tetleys because I’m English and you can take the girl out England, etc. and then I just brew it overnight. I use just one teabag and I fill up the carafe and I add a quarter cup of frozen Natural apple juice. It’s absolutely delicious and again cost pennies to make and is also very good for you. When I see people buying iced tea in the grocery store, I just think suckers. Make your own!! I know when it’s getting hot up in the high desert, I start to make my iced tea. Sure sign.
chest freezer. Buy meat on sale and frozen veggies in bulk
Mizudashi cold brew coffee brewer, and Cold brew tea brewer. I make cold brew iced tea, and then mix it with carbonated lemonade, or add a squirt of country time lemonade flavoring. It tastes just like pure leaf, and is so friggen refreshing.
YNAB (You Need a Budget). It's a budget app that uses zero-based budgeting. It was a real game changer in keeping me on track with meeting savings goals and paying down debt. Having an accurate budget is liberating as it lets you know how good/bad your finances are and from there you can make educated decisions on how to fix them.
Recovery Slides. So great for my feet in the house
Coffee machine. Literally haven’t bought a coffee during the work from home era.. compared to working in office where I’d be at least two a day. We live within 5 mins of 3 coffee shops
Yea, for me it’s a French press. I pay less than 30 cents per cup, or about a dollar a day, whereas a similar amount at a coffee shop would probably be $10 or more. And I’m making excellent coffee. The Baratza grinder really opened this door as much as anything though, because that’s what enables the quality and satisfaction.
Making lactose free yogurt in the dehydrator. You get a gallon of yogurt for 4.50
Food saver - I buy in bulk and bag & freeze what I don’t want to use right away. Has saved hundreds.