Share your Top Ten Frugal Tips!

I've been lurking in this sub for a while now, and I've gotten a lot of great information from all of your posts. However, I think it would be useful to compile tips into one thread. So, please share your top ten frugal tips! I'll start here:<br><br>&#x200B;<br><br>1. Use Google before you buy. If you know exactly what you want, usually the first hit is Amazon, then the manufacturer's website (which will usually direct you to a third party retailer). The second hit is usually a third party retailer, too, but the price will be a little lower. However, if you scroll through a few more pages, you'll usually find that manufacturers list third-party retailers on their websites. Look through those, and you can usually find places to buy the product cheaper off of Google.<br><br>&#x200B;<br><br>2. Buy Fruits and Vegetables from Farmer's Markets over Chain Grocery Stores. <br><br>Now, I understand that some of you don't have a choice, but if I'm paying $1.50 for a pound of apples at the farmer's market, and $3.50 for a pound of apples at Walmart, I'm going to choose the farmer's market. A lot of the time, fruits sold at grocery stores are not even ripe anyway, and they can sit there for weeks, so it makes no sense to pay more money for a worse product.<br><br>&#x200B;<br><br>3. Stop Buying Bottled Water. <br><br>If you go to Walmart, you can buy a six-pack of bottled water for $4. Six bottles of water, if you drink one of them a day, is only a week worth of water. So, if you assume that you must drink water that is bottled, then it will cost you around $16 a month just for water. If you keep that up for a year, you've spent around $192 just on water, which is unnecessary. Additionally, the plastic from plastic water bottles can also contaminate ground water, which means that your tap water may not be safe to drink without a filter, anyway. If you really need to have water everywhere in a bottle, buy a water filter pitcher and fill up your reusable water bottle with filtered tap water. You will not be disappointed.<br><br>&#x200B;<br><br>4. Make Your Own Food Instead of Buying Pre-Made. <br><br>There may be convenience in frozen meals, but there is no cost efficiency. One of my favorite meals is Quesadillas, and if you buy pre-made frozen Quesadillas, they are around $8.60 for two Quesadillas. However, I buy a five pound bag of shredded cheese for $3.00, a box of sixteen flour tortillas for $4.30, and a can of pre-made diced tomatoes with green chilies for $3.30 (optional, but I use it to make a sauce). In total, it's $10.3, but it makes 16 Quesadillas, each with cheese and tortilla, which comes out to around $.64 per Quesadilla. Additionally, the only meal you have left to make is the sauce, which only takes a few pots and a couple of minutes.<br><br>&#x200B;<br><br>5. Never Pay Full Price!<br><br>*Never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever never* pay full price for anything. If you can Google something cheaper, then that's what you do. If you can make something cheaper, then that's what you do. If you can work out a deal, do that. Never, ever, EVER pay full price for anything. Never, ever, EVER buy name-brand products. Never, ever, EVER browse Amazon recommended products if you're not logged in, it will make everything seem more expensive than it actually is (I have personal evidence for this, and it's fucking crazy).<br><br>&#x200B;<br><br>6. I Want Your Old Shit. <br><br>I don't have the money to afford name-brand products, so I take people's old shit. That includes Computers, Laptops, Furniture, Books, and even kitchen utensils. As long as it's in good shape, I'll take it off your hands, and it'll save both of us money and time. I've won a few bidding wars on laptops, and the highest price I pay for them is $15. I can get a full desktop computer for $10. And I once picked up a microwave and a vacuum for free on Craigslist. <br><br>&#x200B;<br><br>7. Canned Goods. <br><br>Soda may be unhealthy for you, but it's quite delicious. Also, it's not very relaxing to just drink water all the time, so you want to mix it up with a nice cold soda once in a while. However, soda is around $4 for a twelve pack. And I'm sure you've heard the rumors that soda is all tap water and sugar, which is true. So, why are you paying more money for tap water and sugar when you can buy it for cheaper out of a faucet (for free) and a bag of sugar for $1.50? But if you mix it with Kool-Aid, you'll have a similar taste at a way cheaper price. If you're really craving soda, you can always go to a fast food restaurant and get a large soda for $1.00, which will also be made with tap water and sugar. So, why pay more?<br><br>&#x200B;<br><br>8. When You Buy Clothes, Buy Them Second-Hand. <br><br>If you haven't figured it out yet, I'm not very well-off. I'm not broke or anything, but I don't have a steady income and I live at home, so I don't need to buy a lot of clothes. However, I've been working on losing weight, so I need to buy clothes every few months as my body changes. It can be expensive if you go to a department store. I buy second-hand clothes, and I get shirts for $2.00 and jeans for $5.00. It's cheap, and if you can get past the fact that someone else wore it before you, then you'll save a lot of money, especially if you need to buy a lot of clothes.<br><br>&#x200B;<br><br>9. Don't Use Bank or Credit Card Overdraft Fees. <br><br>Just don't. If you don't have the money, don't overspend. I know that sometimes you can't help it, but if you're constantly overdrafting, either stop spending money you don't have or get a bank with no fees. I can't stress it enough. I once overdrafted twice in the same month because of Amazon and Netflix. The charges for the overdrafts themselves were around $75. I didn't have enough money to pay for them, so they overdrafted again. I had around $20 in my account before the overdraft, so I had to pay around $100 to my bank to cover the charges. Essentially, I lost around $80 of my money because of bank fees, which is just absurd. So, never, ever, EVER use overdraft protection. It's not worth it.<br><br>&#x200B;<br><br>10. Cut Your Own Grass. <br><br>I understand this may not be for everyone, because cutting the lawn is hard work. However, I have a pretty small lawn, not even a quarter of an acre, and if I hire someone to cut it for me, it's $40 a month. If I do it myself, it's $10 a month for gas, which contains more gas than I use in a month, so it's essentially free. If you hire someone to mow your lawn, either find a cheaper place to live or cut your lawn yourself. There's really no excuse for it.<br><br>&#x200B;<br><br>I know that these tips don't cover everything, but I think it's a good place to start. Any other tips you have, please leave them in the comments below.<br><br>&#x200B;<br><br>Edit: I did not account for my time with the lawn mowing, so you should also be adding my salary to the $10 a month.<br><br>&#x200B;<br><br>Edit 2: As some of you have pointed out, the cost of buying a lawn mower or other equipment should also be taken into account. So, if you want to calculate the cost of lawn mowing, you should also take into account the cost of the lawn mower, gas, and your time.