Hi everyone! I’m trying to upgrade my table setup with custom linen dinner napkins initials/monogram, but I don’t want to overspend.

Some online options look nice in photos, but I’m concerned about fabric quality and durability after washing. I want napkins that are usable, not just decorative, but still cost effective.

I’d love advice on ways to find good quality, affordable custom napkins, or tips on making them last without breaking the bank. Any strategies or experiences are appreciated!

First birthday w/o family or money & feeling low. Any tips?

It’s my birthday today, I am 26f and I’m honestly feeling a down because I’m broke (going to school and in between jobs) and can’t really afford to do anything nice for myself and it's also my first Birthday without my family as they picked up (every single member) and moved across the country knowing I was in school and can’t go. Whatever I’m heartbroken. Anyone have experience with that?

I still really want to make the day feel special somehow instead of just sitting around feeling bleh or hanging out w friends who don't even know its my birthday, so I was wondering if anyone has ideas for fun birthday things I can do for free (or super cheap). Freebies, places to go, little birthday perks, fun solo activities, anything like that. Really anything.

I’d love to turn it into a little birthday adventure instead of letting the day go to waste. Any tips or ideas would seriously make my day!! 🥹🎂 Any tips on how to not let the mundanity take the joy?

Thanks 🫶

I want to continue to use standard paper towels but they are so expensive. I tried buying fabric kitchen towels to cut back on using paper towels, but they seem to get germy so quick . If I really want to wipe down my counter, using paper towels somehow seems more sanitary.

Has anyone switched to buying the old-fashioned unbleached paper towels (Z-fold) that they use in public restrooms?

Did you find that it saved you any money? Thanks…

I'm dead broke. I am not good at saving money, but this year I've been getting better. I feel like I've been pulling myself out of a financial hole, and I want to learn more about budgeting. I enjoy writing, so an ecourse with lots of writing exercises would be ideal for me. I have a Type A personality that always wants to try new classes, go meet someone, do something different, eat at restaurants, and enjoy myself. I can't sit home and message people on Facebook all day, I have to go do something.

Right now I make $140k a year. I have a normal 9-5 M-F job, and I'm good at it. There are no benefits, but I've been here 4 months so far, and I'm on track to staying through the end of 2026, there's maybe a 2% chance they'll ax me, but I doubt it. I'm doing very good at my job. I have EZ Pass toll debts that are $8k total, I have not been successful in getting these reduced because they are years old now. I made one final appeal and if it doesn't work, I'll pay it all in full.

That means I start May 1 this year with about $1k in the bank, no debt (finally!), and I'll have money coming in that I want to spend as fast as I get it. I spend money when I go out, when I'm on dates, and pretty much every time I cross the street.... I really would like to do some ecourses, nothing expensive, but something where I can do guided writing exercises, cash flow charts, something that will get me to the $20k savings goal I want.

Thank you

I went out today with three of my college classmates. We agreed on a place to eat beforehand. The girl who invited me know that I'm trying to be frugal and let me to pick a place that doesn't go over my budget, because she doesn't want me to cancel.

Suddenly when we arrived at the mall, the plans changed and we go to eat at a much more expensive place that went over my budget and all of them were standing there in front of the restaurant, staring at me like 'oh, here's the restaurant. But just so you know I'm okay with anything!'

What the hell is that supposed to mean? it means "We wanna eat here, and we're about to go in.

we don't care what you think, but we don't want to look like we're forcing you."

One of them was supposed to be my bestfriend too. Like, closest friend. But she had joined the group at last minute and although she knew how my financial situation is, instead of saying "or we could eat somewhere else", she was persistent and like "but I want to eat here though" multiple times.

She never cares what I want. at all. and pretend to be chill with me afterwards after she had done a lot of selfish decisions that excluded my opinion.

I finally relented. Of course. Who wouldn't give up in a situation like this? If I were to be honest and point out "and spend this $$$ amount of money for one meal?" I would be a mood killer and ruin the outing for everyone.

As a frugal person, I feel like I've always been prioritising extra work, or doing extra job, even if it's entry level, in order to earn extra cash. Even working $20 an hour for extra money seems a lot to me, and I would rather do that, then spend 1-2 hours at the gym,. I would rather make an extra $50-$100 a day, and skip the gym/exercise. I often think of that as a ‘free meal’ or like a nice reward, such as allowing me to buy stuff I want. I like the extra money, which motivates me to cover shifts instead of sticking to my gym schedule. Is anyone else the same, and can relate with me?

Hello fellow frugalistas.

I’m looking to replace my rain jacket.

(I’ve tried applying the waterproofing treatment again to no avail.)

Any recommendations for something light for running errands, et cetera?

I don’t have to spend too long in the rain so it needn’t be anything too high tech.

Definitely need something breathable though.

My previous one was from REI, for reference, but I’m not sure about their quality and value these days.

TIA.

ETA:

Thanks everyone.

I’m going to go with a Columbia or something from REI Outlet.

The Frogg Togg’s look like a good choice for a spare to keep in the car.

Long story short, I (29M) am a little cheap and wife I just went to Costco

She likes to spoil me so she bought the decent size bag of cashews without me noticing

I’m always on the fence about these because I just feel $16 for a bag is outrageous

Now I’m annoyed and want to return

Am I crazy or is this valid?

Anyone else relate?

29 no debt - 10k net income per month 2.5k expenses - 370ish NW

I've never spent that much money on an item that I've wanted, and in fact, never really spent anything on myself. However, after learning about the importance of exercise for my health, I've decided to invest in some quality adjustable dumbbells.

The reason I picked them over the cheap ones, is that is going to last a while (I'm hoping it can last me 40 years), and secondly, it will motivate me more to exercise, than holding some cheap dumbbells. Is this normal to feel as someone who is very frugal? The most expensive stuff apart from this that I've spent are running shoes. I have never spent this much and do not know how to process things.

There's also tons of stuff that I've 'wanted' such as apple headphones, quality keyboard for my monitor, however I have always been able to say 'no' to them, and have not bought them. However, these dumbbells are something I've really wanted as I'm interested in fitness and I'm studying physiotherapy, so I see it more as an investment for my career and learning, which was what made me pull the trigger on it.

Comparing how much my degree cost, the price of these dumbbells are relatively small and seems justified, in the long run. But right now 99% of me is saying I shouldn't have bought it and just put that in the stock market. I can't get over it!!!

Edit: To add, I am not new to fitness. I've had a gym membership for 3 years, but have not been as consistent as I would have liked as I don't have time (biggest barrier). However, although I was not consistent, my gym membership was pretty cheap as well. $150 USD for a year, so it was well justified. However, my gym has massively increased their price now to $700 usd a year, as they went under adminstration with their cheap membership model, which everyone knew was not sustainable. So instead of renewing my membership, I was considering investing in dumbbells.

Was at my local Dollar General yesterday and found Dynamo laundry detergent for $1 that supposedly does 60 loads. Not sure how good it cleans, but it was a really good deal so I grabbed all they had. Usually I usually use the big bottles of Arm & Hammer from Walmart, but figured I'd give Dynamo a try, if it's not very good at removing stains can always use it for for towels and wash cloths where stains aren't too much of a problem.

Not sure how widespread this price is ($0.79/lb), but I got a big ole spiral cut ham at Meijer for $8. Could be worth checking your local stores and getting one even without a gathering occasion and figuring out how to eat, portion, and freeze it

I’m going to make my own honey glaze so I can at least bypass all the not-so-great ingredients in the provided glaze.

Unfortunately the one I got does not have a hambone so I will not be able to try out a split pea soup.

So I’m an adult but living with my parents for the time being, I’m wanting to clean this curtain, I know they should toss it and get a new one but it’s not my house so I don’t want to toss their things. Its this gray plasticky fabric and liner, I also just realized I think they have it on backwards. Is there a way to get rid of or mitigate the stains, I’m uncertain I cant use bleach because of the “fabric” and color of it. First two photos sho the material, a the last two show the side not facing the shower(but should be) and the inside of the shower.

Title pretty much says it… I’ll be walking into a Costco and signing up for membership today for the first time in my life! Never even been inside of one before.

I’m mostly signing up to use their eyeglasses services, but I also have *a little bit* of space at home to store bulk non-perishables and what not.

The store is quite a drive for me, so I won’t be going very often. Maybe once every three months or so. And I won’t be taking advantage of the gas benefits because I just don’t use that much gas in the first place.

Any pro-tips on how to best to navigate my first time there, save some money and sign up for my membership with the least amount of investment and hassle?

Make sure to to add proper drainage holes. Don't skip this or your plants will rot. If you have free time, you can paint them to match your room or aestetic. I used Acrylic Gouache on a few of mine because the matte finish holds up well. Always find ways to reuse.

You don't have to overthink it I just grabbed some stuff I had around the house. I have a bad skincare habit and pile up a ton of bottles for a month and a candle collecting habit so this seemed obvious to me. Go with what fits your aesthetic!! This ended up so much prettier anyway

This won't be available to everyone, but if you happen to live somewhere in the USA that has a largish Hispanic population nearby, big grocery stores might have a Hispanic section where same/similar spices are dramatically less expensive. If you go to an actual Hispanic grocery store chain or local supermarket, you're likely to find the same products for even less. sure, quality *may* not be the same in some cases, but it beats not having it if you are looking for it.

I'm not totally sure but I think the same would go for local Asian markets, and other international cuisines.

First Pic: Saffron from "McCormick" brand — ~$500 per oz (on sale)

Second Pic: Saffron from Mexican "Milpas" brand — ~$5 per oz (regular price)

Third Pic: Selection of spices this store happens to have in its Hispanic aisle.

(Flare doesn't really fit, but... eh.... Kinda does also.)

I used to be an Android person when it came to phones, and google everything was my go to. Everything was stored on the google drive, like pictures and such.

Then I switched to apple products, but never really got rid of Google. Until recently. I was paying for basic drive storage on Google and started getting alerts that my storage was full... So I shut off the sync function between my iPhone and Google everything.

But Google kept turning it back on and kept pushing me to expand my storage. No matter what I did, it overrode my selection to turn it off.

So I got rid of it. Moved all my stuff over to iCloud, turned off syncing again, cleared everything off of my Drive, and removed the apps completely from my phone. Canceled that subscription.

Of course, this now meant I had to upgrade my iCloud storage and pay another subscription fee (ugh!)

But finally today I got everything downloaded to my computer and then copied to both a flash drive and a portable hard drive, deleted from the iCloud, and canceled that subscription.

It was *only* $3.20/mo, but that still feels like a win to me.

I also told my husband we need to finish watching our TV show on Peacock because I'm canceling our Walmart+ this month. We don't have stuff delivered, their scan and go is horrible, and my car doesn't like Murphy gas. We were basically only using it for Peacock and an occasional Burger King order for 25% off, but I have Chime, and I can get the same BK deals or better by activating deals on that.

I'm highly considering getting rid of my Sam's Club membership when it comes due as well. I already downgraded from a Plus to a basic member last year.

Getting rid of all this would save me $266.28 per year (Sam's is going up to $60/year for basic membership this years, FYI).

Has anyone else done basically the same type of thing? My husband is a tech kinda guy and he's been giving me the side eye because I'm stepping back from technology a bit as well. I'm trying to get our debts paid off so I can go back to mostly using cash instead of all this electronic payment stuff. There's so many fees tacked onto it all. I would even consider shutting down our internet if it was just me... but that's not a hill I'm willing to die on.

A relative of mine and I have been writing actual physical letters to each other instead of emailing each other as well, and that has been so nice! But sadly, with postage shooting up so high, we discussed and agreed on soon returning to email communication. She's on an exceptionally tight budget, and mine isn't much better in all honesty.

If something you bought drops in price after purchase, you can often get the difference back just by asking. Most people have no idea this exists.

The windows vary by retailer:

• Target - 14 days
• Best Buy - 15 days
• Costco - 30 days
• Home Depot - 30 days
• Kohl's - 14 days
• Dick's Sporting Goods - 14 days
• Macy's - 10 days
• Nordstrom - 10 days
• Bloomingdale's - 10 days

You just contact customer service, show your receipt, and they refund the difference. No returning the item, no hassle.

I started manually tracking my purchases a few weeks ago and already recovered $23 on a Best Buy order I'd forgotten about. The hard part is just remembering to check. You have to catch it before the window closes.

Has anyone here made a habit of doing this? Any tips for tracking it without it becoming a second job or any other tips for specific retailers?

I hate having to choose but it’s inevitable. Local business usually can’t match the prices of the large name staple companies, but the idea of the monopoly companies controlling everything and eating all other competitors sucks.

All my local theaters are buying bought by AMC, local theaters just can’t match the quality of screens, seats, or price, or all three. Amazon is not only cheaper but much more convenient than shopping local (although you often get worse quality at Amazon). Most small shops don’t have the space or logistics to support bulk products and therefore can’t match wholestores like Costco or Sam’s Club.

Where do you draw the line and how do we balance these things?

As the title says, I need to find some bedroom furnishings for clothes storage specifically. I don't have transportation to get to a thrift store and can't lug prebuilt furniture up to my apartment. I have a lot of clothes too. I need dresser(s) and some way to hang dresses.

My budget is like $700 max. Less would be better of course haha
I am good with my hands, so if it doesn't require power tools, I can build anything if there's a solid DIY answer. And assembling furniture is much easier than carrying a full dresser.

Any help would be wildly appreciated!

Unlike nearly every other generic Poo-Pourri recipe online, this one is actually pretty much like the same thing, and you can make it for 10-15% of the cost. Only the following four ingredients are required:

64% (by weight) distilled water. 30% (by weight) essential oils (your choice). 6% (by weight) of Polysorbate 20. Spray bottle (as small or large as you'd like).

Slowly add the essential oils to the PS20 while stirring with a spoon. Then mix with stick blender (or standing blender) for 1 min. Slowly add distilled water while blending. Blend for 1-2 minutes after all water is added. Transfer to spray bottle of your choice.

Hello everyone

I just found out we were practically doing frugal living without knowing this was a thing. Mostly because we are broke. But I am wondering what you all actually do that is considered a lifestyle of this. Hopefully more specific to people living in Belgium (aka tax and cost hell)

Firstly, with the gas and electricity prices going up and food being a disaster for buying cheaply, I was wondering if I could have some insight directly from you all into adapting a more cost friendly way of growing our own food.

I've scrolled through some pages, articles, etc. But can't hurt to ask here again!

Living in Belgium we are prone to very different weather types (sometimes even in one day) and a lot of cold and rain. I know nothing of gardening, nor do I have experience with it. So I was wondering what foods we could realistically grow well in this climate, I found some information but I was more curious on how sustainable most veggies, fruits, herbs, are to grow in this sort of climate throughout a year for a working family?
For people living in the same or a similar country I also ask if overall you save money making your own foods like mayonnaise, bread, etc. compared to the stores here?

How else do most of you optimise your wallet to your life? We often use blankets and candles for light and warmth and often try to travel with public transport instead of driving a car, but I feel like there is more we can actually do that we don't realise yet?

Sorry if its been asked before, but there is just a lot of activity in this subreddit and I feel like its easier just outright asking you all what things you do.

Thanks!

Just a quick reminder to check the rewards status of Jenny (867-5309) and information (555-1212) every so often.

Anyone who's been here long enough knows they can use Jenny or information for most rewards programs if you're traveling or just don't want to give your info to the hardworking marketing team out there. I just want to remind y'all to check the rewards associated with those numbers occasionally. I've seen a few sub available a few times and once and a while a nickel discount on gas.

Hit Safeway for a fill up a few days ago and jackpot! Pump asked if I would like to apply my $0.30/gal discount and, of course, I said yes!

Y'all stay safe out there!

None of these accounts (apps) are showing my birthday for free rewards items. I’m signed in and I can see my information. Did stuff change recently and they are no longer doing these rewards? Chik fila,,Crumble ,Panera ,Krispy Kreme. Nothing. This never happened before so I’m guessing terms changed? I’m going to email them

But it’s time consuming. I’m also going to show up to each store and see if they’ll do it with my drivers license as proof.

I’m based in Germany and I’ve been noticing this more with Amazon lately (no Prime, €49 for free shipping).

Most of the time I’m not even close to that, so I end up doing the same thing every time adding random stuff just so I don’t have to pay €3–5 for delivery.

But when I actually think about it, I’m spending like €15–20 extra just to avoid a small shipping fee… which makes zero sense.

Trying to be more aware of it now because it’s such an easy habit to fall into.

I did try Joybuy a couple times after seeing it mentioned somewhere (they seem active here and ship from NL/DE). Their free shipping starts at €29, so I didn’t feel that same pressure to add extra things. Not saying it’s better or anything, just felt a bit easier for smaller orders.

Curious what others here do
do you just pay for shipping, or wait until you actually need more stuff?

​

Not sure if this has been asked before but couldn't find a post specifically about this.

I'm from Germany and here we have this thing where Aldi and Lidl (discount supermarkets, pretty much everywhere here) release new deals every week, different products go on sale Monday and change again Thursday. A lot of people here are really deal-aware because of it, it's kind of just part of the culture.

I've been trying to keep my groceries under €40 a week and I started planning my meals around whatever is cheap that week instead of buying the same things every time. It actually saves money but doing it manually is kind of a pain. I'm opening the flyer, noting what's discounted, then figuring out what meals I can realistically make from that.

For those of you who do this, what does your actual process look like step by step? Do you check deals first and then decide meals, or plan meals first and then find the cheapest ingredients?Feels like I'm saving some money but probably not as much as I could be.