What stupid things did you used to spend money on?

[scfr]

• Cheap tools to save a buck, rather than buying good stuff first time
  

Ditto. But unfortunately I haven't always known in advance which tools I'd end up using a lot.

[torea]

First post here

I've been less strict about this since I got a non-minimum wage job, but my most successful savings plan was to relentlessly shop only for grocery items on sale. I had a Target and a Safeway on the way home from my job, and I'd stop at each once a week. If something I liked and wanted was on sale, I'd buy it. If I liked it and wanted it but it wasn't on sale, I wouldn't buy it.

I got really good at this and was able to drop my grocery spending from $200-250 to $100-150.

It means I don't always get to pick what I'll be eating for the next few weeks, but it's all stuff I like so it's not bad.

[disneysteve]

First post here

Welcome to the site, torea!

[disneysteve]

I thought of one that is more of a technology revolution item but still fits the conversation.

We used to spend a lot of money on photography: film, processing, albums, etc. Since the evolution to digital photography and especially smart phones, we now spend virtually zero. Our "photo albums" are always with us in our pockets. We're able to show people photos any time and any place. Plus, thanks to the internet, we can easily and freely share photos with friends and family all over the world. And none of it costs a penny. That sure beats the boxes of photo albums gathering dust in the basement and garage that nobody ever looks at.

[optimist]

Electricity. Since we did an energy audit and added insulation to the garage and attic, the electrical bills have been cut in half.

[james.hendrickson]

Electricity. Since we did an energy audit and added insulation to the garage and attic, the electrical bills have been cut in half.

Outstanding! I have heard the return from insulating your garage doors can be big, as well as the return from insulating your attic.

[Singuy]

Expensive cell phones and the 1.5 years upgrade cycle.

Thank god for T-Mobile and cellphone companies like LE and oneplus for changing everything.

Now I buy cheap 250 dollar fully paid off high end cellphones from China and they last 2 years+, and then sell them for 40% of their value if I want to upgrade again. Basically that's spending about 70/year on a new cellphone if I were to upgrade once every 2 years.

Another thing I do is use an indoor propane heater and then switch to an small electric heater after we go to bed(I wouldn't keep the propane heater running while we are asleep). Saved us probably 300 dollars in electric bill last winter(FL has mild winters but the heat pump is just useless).

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I just buy the cheaper phones and I don't have to worry as much about it breaking.

[David James]

Magazines! My wife and daughter love them. I had no idea that you could get so many of them for free. Reward Survey has a ton, you can find them on recyclebank, and they used to be Coke rewards but I think their program changed. I'm talking the good stuff - Rolling Stone, Harper's Bazaar, and I even had a free sub to the Wall Street Journal and New York Times for a year.

[disneysteve]

Magazines! My wife and daughter love them. I had no idea that you could get so many of them for free.

So true. The first time I encountered a free magazine offer, I figured it had to be a scam. Then I learned that you can find almost any mainstream magazine for free or a greatly reduced rate from the usual subscription fee. Amazon is a good resource for this, too.

[scfr]

Magazines! My wife and daughter love them. I had no idea that you could get so many of them for free. Reward Survey has a ton, you can find them on recyclebank, and they used to be Coke rewards but I think their program changed. I'm talking the good stuff - Rolling Stone, Harper's Bazaar, and I even had a free sub to the Wall Street Journal and New York Times for a year.

Your local library may be a good source for free magazines. Paper copies, yes, but even better are the on-line digital services like RB digital.

https://www.rbdigital.com/50emagazine/service/magazines/landing

[msomnipotent]

I get all of my many (so many) magazine subscriptions on Black Friday from the discount sites while going through a shopping portal like ebates. I wind up getting Readers Digest and Money, among others, for a few dollars a year. Several of the survey sites I use offer subscriptions, but I haven't seen anything I would be interested in so far.


I'm going to add batteries to the list. It was nuts when you add up my daughter's devices, and the soap dispenser, the remotes, etc. Even the cheaper rechargeable batteries didn't last long for us. I bought a couple sets of Enloop rechargeables and haven't bought batteries in a couple years.

[tripods68]

How do you know you spent that much at starbucks?

I kept a tracking spreadsheet for an entire year.

[TexasHusker]

I still spend money on stupid things today. Like gourmet pickles.

[disneysteve]

I still spend money on stupid things today. Like gourmet pickles.

What makes a pickle gourmet?