20 Simple But Useful Hacks For Everyday Life You Might Want To Try, As Shared By Folks Online
While scrolling through our social media feed, we read about some new life hack every day. But most of the hacks are either too complicated or just too ridiculous to have any practical use. But some hacks end up actually working and making someone’s life easier.
A Reddit user, 88r0b1nh00d88 , asked the ‘ Frugal ‘ community to share “the most frugal hack you’ve discovered that made the most difference”. People who tried some of the simplest life hacks and discovered that they actually work are shared their knowledge. Check out some of them in the gallery below!
More info: Reddit
#1
“We keep two 5L bottles by the shower and fill them up before taking a shower so we aren’t wasting the running water while waiting for the water to be hot enough to shower. We then use this water to mop the floor and water plants. It has actually reduced our water bill quite a bit and helps us save water.”
#2
“Being environmentally conscious. You’d be surprised with how much overlap there is between frugal and sustainable living. It’s the mindset more than anything else that cuts down my expenses. I buy second hand. Catch public transport. Gone vegetarian. Bring my own package free snacks. Learned to repair clothes. Compost to feed the garden that feeds me. I use reusable hygiene products (cups and safety razors). I use tea towels instead of paper towels. I use soap bars rather than liquid soaps that come in plastic containers (they last waaay longer). I buy quality clothes/electronics that last longer. I use my library rather than buying physical books. And most importantly, I’ve stopped buying plastic garbage I don’t need.”
#3
“Cutting my sponges in half. There’s nothing a whole sponge can do that a half one can’t. It’s easily the most simple frugal thing I’ve done that literally doubled my life of a product.”
#4
“Definitely growing our own veggies and herbs! I dry the herbs and use all winter!”
#5
“Put stuff in a virtual cart. Leave it. Mull it over for a few days. The urge usually passes, and that’s when I realize it wasn’t a real need and something else — boredom, insidious advertising, etc.”
#6
“I am dying my black clothes black, its great. The stuff looks like new, even though i had those short pants for 14 years.”
#7
“Having spares. Took me a long time to get my wife to do this. You have a toothpaste, or a tin of coffee or whatever. The next time it goes on sale, you buy it, even if it’s next week. Then once you finish the first and open the second you watch for sales again.”
#8
“- Taking advantage of residual heat when cooking saves me on gas and electricity. – Learning how to make sauces (mostly for Asian dishes) and dressings from scratch. – Not buying cleaning products for every part of the house. If you have bleach, dish soap, vinegar, and baking soda, you’re pretty much set for any mess in the house. – Making a list of the dishes you most frequently make – Setting a time limit for certain appliances. For instance, I’ll only turn on the TV after 7pm and I’ll try to towel dry my hair to keep hair dryer use at a minimum.”
#9
“Using curbside pickup through my local grocery store app. My account is connected, so I get points and can apply discounts from the ad. But the main takeaway is that I have removed all temptation to buy things I don’t need! It probably cut my grocery bill at least in half at this point.”
#10
“It’s not a hack of any sorts, but learning how to cook really well has been my best money saver. I almost never want to go out, because I can generally cook better food at home.
Today’s dinner (egg roll in a bowl made with marinaded chicken thighs) came out to less than $2 per portion and was within my veggie-heavy diet.”
#11
“About 1x a year I go through all of our monthly expenditures and see if I can get a better deal on anything – like cell phones, internet, insurance, etc. Also if there are any monthly memberships of any sort I cancel whatever we don’t use regularly. I usually end up saving at least a hundred dollars a month!
Also I joined the local “Buy Nothing” groups on Facebook and I have gotten so much free stuff – for example, my daughter wanted to try piano lessons but I doubted she would stick with it, so I put an ISO for a free keyboard – and someone gave us one! Also I’ve even received for free small things like painting supplies and an A/C filter. And I’ve given away a lot of things too.”
#12
“Woman here: Menstrual cup a one time expense that may last for up to 10 years. I’ve had mine for 5 years and I really I had known about these since my early 20s.
Safety razor, I think I paid like $15 bucks for it and a 250 pack replacement razors. It’s been 5 years and still haven’t had to buy more.
Bonus is less stuff going to landfills.”
#13
“Some of these are kinda weird but here we go:
Get a bidet: it takes a little bit to get used to, but once you do, you’ll never feel cleaner. That and your TP will go a lot longer.
Get a bunch of old rags and wash & reuse them instead of paper towels or anything to wash your hands. You can usually find these cheap if you look around and will save you a ton of money in the long run compared to paper towels.
Costco Membership: costco is extremely brand conscious and their products are really high quality and depending on what you buy, can last you a considerable amount of time. More so, the buying in bulk helps out, their gas is noticeably cheaper than anywhere else, and their customer service and the way they treat their employees is light years ahead of any other retailer i ever dealt with.
Switch to LED bulbs – they last longer, are cost effective now to other lightbulbs and use a fraction of the energy so you save more money too.
Make sure you keep your tire pressure right and to also change air filters yourself. These seem like easy things to gloss over but will save you a ton of money on getting better gas mileage and also just saving you maintenance costs as well. Also, the air filter replacements at most garages cost for some reason way more than they should. Go on YouTube and you’ll find videos of how to do it, and you’ll be more well-rounded. It’s pretty dang easy.
Get sleep (and a good mattress if you can). I found i spend more money or dont function as good and spend more time on needless stuff/redoing things if im sleep deprived. Getting that good sleep is free and you’re health and happiness…..health is wealth!”
#14
“I can’t stress this enough. Porridge for breakfast. It’s roughly €0.06 per person if you only added water and salt. With a little milk, fruit, and other toppings it can still be as little as €0.50 per person. Plus oats keep you full for a long time and are amazing for your health.
Here in Ireland a 1.5kg bag of rolled oats is €3. You don’t need to spring for expensive brand names. Any rolled oats will do.
Mix 0.5 cups of dry oats with 1.5 cups of any preferred liquid per person. Leave this mixture in a saucepan on medium heat and walk away for 15 to 20 minutes. Go take a shower. Get dressed, etc. Cooking oats slow gives them their creaminess. When you come back, give it a couple of stirs and add more liquid if you like a creamier consistency. Add your desired topping. And that’s it. Even plain salted porridge with a little bit of milk can be really delicious and very easy on the stomach. It’s actually really great hangover food.”
#15
“Selling my car and using a bicycle instead. Made me richer, fitter, and happier in one fell swoop!”
#16
“Hang drying clothes helps them last longer.”
#17
“Buy good quality clothes, learned basic sewing and hemming to tailor them and look good. I air dry them and they look good for a long time. Sometimes there are great sales on jeans that are too long for my size. I learned to sew a French hem to keep the original hem.”
#18
“Budgeting with cash envelopes. Having a budget for everything has been the ultimate frugal hack. Do I want to spend my $60 food budget on a takeout dinner or go wild at an outlet store and get two weeks worth of food?”
#19
“This is more environmental than frugal, but I started using kitchen towels instead of paper towels for most tasks. A roll of paper towels used to last me two weeks. Now I buy a three pack once a year.”
#20
“I buy all my furniture and clothes (except underwear) in thrift stores.”
Saumya Ratan
Saumya is an explorer of all things beautiful, quirky, and heartwarming. With her knack for art, design, photography, fun trivia, and internet humor, she takes you on a journey through the lighter side of pop culture.
