30 People Disprove Money-Saving Tips That Simply Aren't Effective

Many people these days are on the hunt for new ways to stretch their dollars further

Damjan

• Published in Interesting
• August 21, 2023

In an era where every penny counts, it's tempting to rely on age-old wisdom and frugality tips that have been passed down through generations. But are all these money-saving methods really worth it?

Sometimes, what seems like a wise way to save might only cut minor costs, while eating up significant amounts of time and effort. The trade-off doesn't always make sense, and what seems like a good deal might not be a bargain at all.

One insightful Redditor, u/LtCommanderCarter, recognized this dilemma and sparked a thought-provoking conversation on r/Frugal. The thread invited people to shed light on various savings hacks that they found either completely outdated or downright ineffective.

The responses were eye-opening and provided a fresh perspective on how to approach budgeting and time management. The discussion went beyond merely debunking myths and offered real insights into the balancing act of saving money without sacrificing quality of life.

Some of the shared experiences might challenge your own beliefs about budgeting and prompt you to reevaluate how you allocate both your money and your valuable time. Here's a closer look at some of these so-called "frugal hacks" that were put under scrutiny, and what real people had to say about their usefulness, or lack thereof.

Whether you're a seasoned saver or just starting to explore financial thriftiness, these insights might just reshape your approach to managing your finances.

1. Someone asked:

2. Clip grocery store name brand coupons to save money.

Except most of the things that have manufacturer's coupons are high markup processed foods. Often another brand was a better buy than the coupon item. Sometimes a different size of the same product by the same manufacturer that didn't qualify for the discount was a better buy.

Buying generic and cooking from scratch are usually cheaper.

3. So many

1) "Black Friday, Boxing day etc are all scams and spending to money is the frugal option." : There is some truth to this but people miss it entirely. using these kind of sales for big purchases if the price is better or comparable to the recent price history of the item. Last year alone i got a new microwave for %50/$150 off let alone cutting my cellphone and internet bills in half. In the past i got much needed furniture, other appliances and general house hold items i really needed on these sales

2) " When moving random boxes are free!" : This is my biggest gripe. I will maintain that buying proper moving boxes saves you money and time in the long run. Firstly Random boxes are difficult to stack and move, since you're now playing tetris with them to make it fit. Driving around trying to find boxes wastes time and money in gas, plus transporting the ever popular alcohol boxes means you are now transporting air since they are glued together. Buying flat moving boxes are fairly cheap and you can pick up a bunch at once and go home with them. Every time I've helped people move, when they used uniform moving boxes everything went so much faster.

3) "Costco is a waste of money": Simply put you just don't know how to Costco. People end up buying more then they can consume and throw it out, or they over consume because they buy in bulk. The other problem is people impulse shop. Find what you need and comparison shop, more often then not you'll save a ton of money. Recently I pick up an instant pot for $60 cheaper then anywhere else, that alone is the cost of a membership. In my last trip i picked up printer paper saving about $3-4 over staples, bath soap saving $3-4 over walmart, Shampoo saving $4, mens Deoderant saving about $10, womens deoderant saving $12-15, chicken legs/drumsticks saving about $1 a pound and so forth. Even big purchases like clothes is far better quality then other stores at the same price point.

4) "That costs too much that isn't frugal" This is a personal one. Some people think being frugal means being as cheap as possible. Recently I made a post of some containers i used to clean up my pantry, i spent less then $4 per container which is cheaper then any other option out there except re-using crappy plastic ones and a lot of people jumped on me for it. I also see a lot of frugal things people do and it's either a mess, an eyesore, takes way to much time for what you're saving or all 3. Spending a few extra dollars can alleviate these problems. Remember time is money and value your time as well.

4. Driving for miles to save 2-5 cents on gas. I still see this done today and I don't think it helps at all. But to each their own.

5. I'm in a high cost of living area and the "thrift stores" sell noticably worn t-shirts for $13.99. They haven't been thrifty for more than 8 years in my area.

6. Eating out is just as expensive as grocery shopping these days. It varies , but the price per meal of cooking at home is much cheaper

7. Thrift stores are cheaper for quality, if you enjoy the search as a hobby.

Black Friday has always been a performative consumption marketing ploy.

Wrong frugality is maybe just doing anything that is time consuming and unfulfilling to save a few dollars.

EDIT: And I feel like this will answer a bunch of downthread comments, Black Friday is a Q4 retail nonsense holiday that attempts to put books in the black for new year. SKUs are invented for it specifically. It's cool if you, individually, get nice deals for your family, however the entire idea is nonsense.

8. Making your own laundry detergent. It's performative frugality and a tremendous waste of time. Powdered detergent is cheap.

9. Latte factor

It's like "okay I need to make my money go further somehow' and people are like "stop buying coffee!" It's like you really think that wasn't the first thing to go? Really?

It's like when thin people tell me I could lose so much weight if I stopped drinking soda and are stunned or flat out don't believe me when I say I don't drink soda (and if I do it's usually coke zero which isn't great for you but isn't the calorie bomb they're imagining).

10. People say that a plant based diet is too expensive.

11. DIY. Not everyone has thousands of dollars worth of equipment around and the skills to build something cheap.

People reusing plastic containers for food. No, that is not designed to be reused for ten years

12. It's cheaper to diy/if you want something done right, do it yourself.

13. "Tell the dealership you have cash in hand. They'll give you an amazing out-the-door price!"

14. Going cheap on everything.

You are not doing yourselves any favors by buying cheap appliances. Cheap appliances break easy and need to be replaced. When you buy something, make sure it lasts and your not throwing money away to replace it every couple of months.

15. Just because it didn't cost money, doesn't mean you saved. Your time is worth money. Professionals have insurance and offer warranties, you don't get those if you do it yourself. It's important to factor those in when you're trying to save

16. That earning more money means you lose all the gains to taxes. Nope, you always will take home more money if you get a raise.

Where a raise does adversely affect a person is if the extra income tips them out of a government benefit, such as below x income receive this tax credit or that assistance program. But you have to usually be pretty low income to get those anyway.

17. "it's cheaper to buy in bulk"

then half of the item goes to waste because of spoilage or freshness.

18. Cleaning products. Sometimes baking soda and vinegar doesn’t cut it. Save your body soreness, frustration, and wasted time. Buy yourself some soft scrub!

19. The general idea that you should keep everything for as long as possible and only replace something when it breaks.

For older electric items, especially things like heaters and refrigerators, the energy consumption of an older appliance can be 4-5x higher or more than a new model. Depending on how much your energy costs the cost of that extra energy can be the equivalent of buying a new appliance every few years.

Same with cars. With the amount you spend on repairs/maintenance and the general poorer fuel consumption you're often better off financially buying a newer one sooner rather than "driving until the wheels fall off".

20. People still parrot the “buy a cheap laser printer from Brother” talking point like it’s 2005. You don’t need a printer at all, just go to a copy shop and spend the 30 cents the one time in a decade you’ll actually need to print something.

21. Wash your dishes by hand.

Yeah my dishwasher uses less power to heat the water and run a load than the hot water cylinder uses just to heat the water. It uses less water than a sink full and can do more dishes in that amount of water than I can. So saves me money there too as I have to pay for water.

Actual handy frugal tip incoming, scrape food off your dishes and then just load into the dishwasher. Do not rinse your dishes. Add dishwasher powder to the prerinse section as well as the normal wash section. Select a cycle with a prerinse start. Dishes come out perfectly clean. Use powder, not tablets. Powder is generally about the same price as tablets but will get you twice the amount of loads.

22. “Don’t use credit cards, use cash for everything.” - easy way to not have a great credit score when you need a loan. Use the cards and pay it off monthly.

23. Higher quality cost more. The cost tells you nothing about the quality, it’s better to look at the materials and how something was made.

24. My pet peeve is "you need to save 3 months of expenses in an emergency fund."

You actually need way more than that. Eight months to a year is recommended to sustain yourself during a recession. And anytime I look for a new job, it takes two months at least before I find something. I wouldn't want to lie awake at night worrying that the last month is going to escape me before my paycheck arrives.

25. The people who insist credit and debit cards are bad.

26. My mother will drive around to 2 or 3 different grocery stores to take advantage of various deals, but I'm certain that the time and gas burnt driving around cancels out any savings on groceries. (This may be less true with grocery prices skyrocketing recently)

27. People don’t account for quality or time at all.

Yes I can clean my own house, mow my own lawn, fix whatever is broken, but all of that takes time to do it and it won’t be as good as some who does it for a living. You can always make more money so be frugal with time than money.

28. Not all wrong, just work for different people

29. Dollar stores. Usually not cheaper *per unit* —they’re just packaged in smaller quantities to price cheaper.

30. A lot of people don't save the amounts of money they believe they are saving. Pointing this out to them, even using numbers and math, can even make them angry.

31. Delivery services.

I do Walmart delivery all the time. I save on impulse purchases, it’s free, and the $10 tip saves me so much time and energy. Plus I can examine the price/weight in more detail.

Oh, and my kids can’t beg for stuff or sneak things in the cart.

Whether it's debunking an old myth or embracing a modern approach to saving, the real lesson here is to be mindful and intentional with your choices. Money-saving techniques should enhance your life, not become a burden.

Finding the right balance between time, effort, and savings can lead to not just a thicker wallet but a more fulfilling and efficient way to manage your finances.

Damjan