I have a dehumidifier in my finished basement that in the summer collects about 3 quarts a day. It occurred to me that I could save all that water by by flushing the toilet with it instead of pouring it down the shower.

I'm participating in my city's annual garage sale. My goal is to get rid of all of the stuff, not to make good money. But I think in 2024, anything less than 0.25$ would be a joke.

What prices would get you to stay and buy? What prices would make you walk away?

I'm selling almost everything (except baby/kid stuff).

Thoughts?

For example cleaning supplies, cooking supplies, groceries (it's been a nightmare and I basically have 0 ) , curtains, hangers and so much more it's very stressful. I desperately need help

I’m wondering if living frugal could be because of the income you/we have. When I started working and earning my own money I started saving by limiting my expenses to the basic and only needed ones, of course there were exceptions for expenses to go out and have fun. The time passed and you escalate to better positions, get better salary but your mindset about being frugal remains the same, you want to spend wisely and save money. I mean, still enjoy the life but knowing when/where stop spending. What do you think?

I never have, but I’m tempted now that there’s a little wiggle room in the budget.

Hi so basically i have a 5 year old tabby cat and he can get expensive with vet bills. I only go yearly now and do have a credit on my account for now with the vet. Those of you with pets, do you recommend pet insurance? I am really looking into it. any advice would be helpful

The title says it all.

Trying to save money because I usually spend too much on fast food. I just got a cool thermos (hot or cold). I need to make some batch stuff. I'd love some recipes. (Doesn't have to just be thermos stuff).

In the UK white sugar is a big staple for Tea, brown not so much so is lot more prices due to the scales of economy, brown is also often binned as it dries out if its not covered and has shorter shelf lifes (or just not used)

whereas white sugar you are going through it, no problem.

buying a jar of mollases and making brown sugar as you need it is cheaper + less waste.

UK 2£ KG for light brown sugar.

buying seperatly £1.17 per kg

What kinds of meals can you make in bulk that have high calories and protein? I’m a college student that also wants to gain weight, and I have no problem making stuff in bulk and eating the same thing over and over again.

TL;DR We bought office lounge equipment instead of a multifunction refrigerator.

Full story:

Admittedly this is a niche post. If you're a homeowner who'd like the convenience of a refrigerator with an ice maker and water dispenser but hates how expensive those combo fridges are, then this is for you.

We love all that functionality too, especially the ice maker part. We go through ice like crazy in summertime; ice is one of the ways we stay cool when it's 113 F (45 C) outdoors.

So when our old Brita pitcher wore out and we looked into stepping up to something built for heavier use, the most cost-effective solution for us turned out to be equipment that usually turns up in office lounges.

Here's the breakdown. Prices might be different in your region.

A 20 cu ft fridge with an ice maker and water dispenser starts at $1400 in this area.

A basic 20 cu ft fridge without ice maker or water dispenser starts at $500 here.

A standalone bottleless water cooler that looks like this sells for $200. Has three dispensers for hot, cold, and room temperature water.

A commercial ice maker like this sells for $300.

basic fridge + separate water cooler + separate ice maker = $1000

vs.

Combo fridge = $1400

Initial savings of buying separate components = $400

There are a few differences with buying separate components instead of getting them bundled. The most important heads-up is the water dispenser needs to be connected to the household plumbing. We did our own installation; that would cost something for someone who doesn't DIY. Also, space might be an issue. If floor space is scarce then countertop alternates exist for both types of item: a countertop bottleless water dispenser costs about $50 more; a countertop ice maker costs about $200 less and has a correspondingly smaller capacity.

On the bright side, this type of water dispenser has features the $1400 fridge doesn't. The standalone dispenser has three selections for hot water, room temperature water, and cold water. Fridges with water dispensers rarely have a hot water option--the most affordable combo fridge and hot water dispenser we price checked would have cost $3900, and that model didn't come with an ice maker. We're really not going to spend 4K on a fridge (lol). And the option to brew tea, etc. right out of the dispenser is why we went with this type of system instead of an under-sink filter.

At this point you may be thinking "Hey, you said you saved $1300. You've only added up $400 in savings. What gives?" You're right. Good point.

The other $900 savings happened when the old fridge wore out. After nearly a decade we were in the market for a fridge again. The good news is the water dispenser and the ice maker still worked fine, so our replacement fridge is another $500 model instead of a $1400 model.

Eventually the water dispenser and the ice maker will reach the end of their lives. When that day comes it will mean replacing one function instead of three.

One other note: we only use the ice maker for a few hours each week. We also have a deep freezer so we'll make a bunch of ice, and there's a shelf in the deep freezer for ice.

Our water dispenser is made by Avalon and our ice maker is made by Euhomy. There may be other brands that do a good job. Ours have worked well since the mid-2010s.

Obviously this particular combination of equipment isn't for everyone. For instance some people swear by electric kettles, which we've tried and which unfortunately don't heat up as quickly on North American home electrical wiring as they do on EU wiring. To each their own. Good on you if another solution suits your needs.

The point of this post is that bundling multiple functions into a refrigerator really skyrockets the price of the fridge. So if there's enough space in the kitchen to consider alternatives, it could save more than pocket change to split off those functions into separate machines.

(edited to fix a link)

Good morning!

Had a quick question regarding utility bill/electricity. My wife and I leave our AC off during the day with noone home obviously, but my question is in regard to when we are home.

Does it save us more money to turn it on auto, or for one of us to turn it on manually, and then turn it off when it gets to our desired temperature, then turn it back on when it gets warm again?

Our son is going to be born Saturday into Sunday as well, so not sure if this would change your opinion either.

Thank you!

Inflation/prices aside. This was has always been a thing and simoly curious Like i understand tax, but like were in essence saving them the ticked printouts, saving them the labor of having to spend their employees time etc. i know its minimal but i guess theyre teyi g to promote their "waived when member" which is still a monthly fee that becomes counterintuitive if you dont go often. Its a product, with limited "stock" untill it runs out, no shipping no other incvonveniene to the movie theatre business.

Currently using these but they’re like $46 for a 4-count on Amazon (that’s a $15 increase from last year) and only slightly cheaper at Walmart.

Any good substitutes?

Is that how it is?

Will I be able to save money by buying a window AC for bedroom.me and my wife are hot sleepers and prefer to sleep in low temperature.we live in a 2500 sq house.instead of setting thermostat to 68 and cooling the whole house.will I be able to cut electric cost by cooling just the bed room.

When I was a child, money was very tight and getting a whole bottle of Pepsi I didn’t have to split with a sibling was a rare treat. As a retired adult, money is not tight if I stay within my means and that means forget those $7.50 a 12-pack. Now, getting one soda pop for myself is again is a rare treat.

Went to Wendys since its been over 2 years thinking they still had the 4 for $4. Nope the closest thing would be a kids meal for $4.99 plus tax.

I got my sister her order too what a daves single used to be like a dollar or two is now also $5 and some change oh and if you wanna combo it will $10.99

So her combo, my kids meal, and another combo around the same price made the total out to be $30 bucks.

With $30 for the first time in me eating fast food history it hurt me. Since I was in a tight budget. And to add salt into the wound they updated their fries sizes and are MUCH more smaller so that means less fries.

Right now 2 Lines at Tmobile is $155 without a hotspot. I cant find anything cheaper

About a year ago I (33M) got my first career job, over 100k (now 108k). I always basically mooched off my parents for survival and they had enabled me, so I always had this idea that earned money was fun money. I've put thousands into hobbies; coffee, cycling, next generation gaming, retro gaming, pokemon, etc. I also have like 20-30 water bottles.

I had recently had $24k in the bank with a $24k student loan. I wanted a motorcycle and didn't even think about the loan until people were shocked that I would have a savings and not pay it off.

I forgot about the motorcycle, and paid off $12k. Today I paid off the remaining $12k. Before that, I've made 7 minimum payments, and just found out that it totaled to $450 of interest, I was hurt when I saw this (first time financing anything). I literally gave away over a day of working. From this moment I'm going to do whatever possible to never get ripped off like that again. Obviously that means figuring out tax loop holes. I can mostly just think of being minimal and buying used.

Not just the loan being paid off. I returned a bunch of high end clothes and got back $3k for that (I went crazy shopping recently). I sold a bike (lost $140 on it but that's still $340 in my account). I sold a professional video monitor that I had purchased for $2000, for $2200 today.

Little by little I'm going to sell most of the stuff I've purchased. Because now I value money more than short lived hobbies and hoarding.

I just wanted to share that. I must have done something good because I'm assuming many people have decades long student loans and I'm moving on from it fast so it doesn't drag on.

Any advice moving forward?

When comparing costs using USAA discount codes and the like what is the best way to find the best costs ?

Do you go direct to the retailer or use comparison sites ?

Is it known which providers will potentially stack some discounts along with CPD codes?

I was considering just racking up loyalty with one company but thay doesn't seem feasible.

Can we talk about phones? I got a google pixel 4a 3 years ago, about a year later I flipped a canoe on a camping trip with my girlfriend. Phone survived but part of the touch screen wouldn't work so I eventually just got another Pixel 4a.

I lent out the trashed one a couple months ago to what turned out to be a unreliable friend (whole other story) I'm thinking I should either get another one as a back up or upgrade.

The thing is I don't need or want to upgrade I think the Pixel 4a is a perfect phone for me. I know there's ways of loading Lineage OS on it but I want to get another backup phone just in case. The thing is I'm looking on ebay thinking an pixel 4a should be like $50 (since you can't load the newest android on it) and they are well over $100. I know I'm being cheap but why is a 5 year old phone so expensive? What do you guys do for phones? anyone else try Lineage OS?

I am so upset about this. I know a little chocolate is a treat. But it really hurts. Can I not have little treats anymore? Why chocolate, why?!!

Last month's bag or Dove Promises weighed 8.46 oz.

This month's bag of Dove Promises weighs 7.61 oz.

Basically I spend a lot of my time on the go and it’s tricky making time for meal prep so would often end up getting food on the road; nothing fancy, like a piece of fruit and a shop fridge sandwich, but that’s about €8-10 a meal these days.

My solution? I recently acquired a wholesale worth of Multi-Vit Energy bars that taste pretty good and leave me full for hours. I’ll always keep two of these in my bag for when I get hungry. Work? Bar. Night out? Bar. Long car journey? Bar. Hike or day trip? Bar. If I’m eating with friends, we’ll get real food, but if I just need sustenance - bar.

I’m appreciating the savings of about €60 per week but I’m also beginning to feel like a character in a Survival RPG.

Edit: they’re Cliff Bars

I’ve been trying to be strict with my money for a while now, but can’t commit to it for one reason or the other. I make enough that I should be able to save, but end up living paycheck to paycheck.

For those who struggled being disciplined with their money, what exactly motivated you to stick to your budget and start taking your finances seriously?