When I was a kid, I once heard a story about hares that were driven to the top of a hill by a flood and cut off from the outside world. And about the wise owl who advised them to grow wings and fly away. And when one of the hares timidly asked how they could put the advice into practice, the owl replied that it was tactics, and its business was strategic advice.

Then, many years ago, I did not fully understand the irony of this parable. Now, as an adult, and regularly confronted with all sorts of financial advice from experts, I finally realized all its wisdom. Finance and frugal tips can really be incredibly useful, however, with one limitation - they are not suitable for everyone.

#1

For me, it’s get roommates and live somewhere cheaper. I have PTSD from an old roommate pulling a knife on me, another ex-roommate SAing me, and I’m also a massive introvert. Home is my happy place. I don’t drink or go to bars, my hobbies are v low cost, and so I spend more of my paycheck on housing costs than others might. Solely for peace of mind.

At the end of the day, money isn’t everything and quality of life is important. Being frugal means not spending money frivolously, but ensuring peace of mind and comfort isn’t frivolous imo.

Image credits: piglet33

#2

Give up Starbucks, brew your own! You’ll save so much money!
B***h, I don’t drink coffee

#3

I'm really annoyed with the "grow your own food, it's cheaper" tips. Has anyone ever managed to keep basil alive? And then you have to buy pots, soil, fertilizer and in summer water the plants every day. It's very time consuming. And the whole plant could die on you.

I grow some stuff as a hobby, chilis, chokeberries, grapes and strawberries, but it doesn't save money.

Image credits: bluemercutio

No, we are by no means saying that frugal tips are not helpful at all. Just the opposite - but it often turns out that we cannot apply them to ourselves. For example, advice to do gardening for a person who lives in the very center of a metropolis, or follow that '50/30/20' budgeting strategy at a time when about half of your budget is being eaten up by debt payments. Without immersion in the context of each individual case, advice is almost useless.

#4

I hate it when people are like “if you save ten bucks a day/week/etc you’ll have X amount by the end of the year!” Like bro, I’m living paycheck to paycheck , if I don’t run out of money after rent that’s a major victory for me.

Image credits: IcePackNiceCat

#5

Googling coupons! Love the concept but the ones I find are always fake & unusable!

Image credits: 00kumquats00

#6

coupons. They only have them for boxed, packaged, processed stuff that is not really whole food. You never see coupons for produce, for meat, for flour, etc. And I think this is by design. They're not going to trick me into buying c**p I don't want.

Image credits: yoshhash

And yet we sometimes tend to believe in universal solutions. Scientists call this the 'Forer effect' or the 'Barnum effect' (named after Phineas Barnum, creator of the legendary circus empire in the 19th century). According to this effect, it is natural for a person to project even the most vague and uncertain forecast or advice onto themselves, finding similarities even in opposite situations. It is possible that the numerous financial literacy tips are just a special case of the Barnum effect.

#7

I’m in Texas, no way I’m turning this AC down, or working out outside. I will pay those bills if it means I don’t have to live in this swamp a*s humidity.

Image credits: bulimiasso87

#8

It’s the opposite for me. Winter are -20C to -40C. Ain’t no way I’m exercising outside in the winter.

My pet peeve is telling me to shop at Costco because it’s cheaper. I live alone so the portions of fresh things are just too big. The membership and driving to a separate store doesn’t save me any money.

Image credits: always-peachy

#9

References to stores we don’t have. “Just go to Sam’s Club and get beef for $3/lb”.

Firstly what the hell is a Sam’s club? And second beef hasn’t been that cheap where i live since the war.

Image credits: rammo123

In any case, not a single selection of even the most useful tips can replace an individual consultation with a financial expert, because we are all completely different. If you remember, the great inventor Thomas Edison once said: "Genius is one per cent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration". It sounds impressive, but in practice it is probably applicable only to one person - Edison himself, who until the last years of his life had an incredible capacity for work, but always lacked theoretical knowledge. Similarly, advice from, say, Warren Buffett may sound very convincing, especially given the name of an expert, but it can only be suitable for a limited circle of people.

#10

Thrifting as your main source of clothing. It's great if you're on a smaller size, which is cool, you'll have lots of options and can take things in. I wear 14-16, L-XL depending on brands. My options are all either really short things, really out of style things, or just unavailable because they're already gone. And now with resale market booming the good stuff is gone off the racks quick, and i'm not willing to pay $12 for an old navy shirt that I can buy on sale for 5.99. All good brands are gone before I even get there. I used to get decent work stuff, leggings and other work out clothes, even got a nice, outdoor branded puffer jacket for like $15. But now, a stained tshirt goes for 7.99+. I just wait for sales, and buy better things at retail stores.

Image credits: gandalfdragon

#11

Cheap hotels. I would rather live/stay in an airport terminal than a cheap a*s bed bug museum. And I have.

Image credits: ICumInThee

#12

When people endorse ⭐️ thee most ⭐️ unethical companies on the damn planet. I'm not perfect at all, as a consumer, or as a person...I'm f****d up too.

But endorsing WalMart, Amazon, McDonalds... these companies very loudly & proudly treat their employees like dog s**t.

( If someone is dirt poor & lives next door to WalMart, ok -- that I understand. No other option in life, to survive. )

But dude, I usually hear these endorsements from people who are upper/middle class, & have more dough than me. ? it's so annoying.

"You don't have Amazon?!?!? Huh?! Why not?!?"

Because they treat human beings like slaves.

Image credits: genesimmonstongue415

Here, by the way, we are faced with another misfortune of our time - a huge amount of available information, among which there can be both useful things and one hundred percent fakes that can even be harmful. Therefore, we should act like gold diggers of old times, sorting through tons of sand for the sake of one or two golden grains. So please feel free to scroll this list to the very end and who knows maybe at least one of the tips enumerated here would come in handy for you.

#13

unplug appliances when you aren't using them bc they draw a tiny amount of power. so spend a whole bunch of time running around my house so I can save like less than a dollar per year

Image credits: dexnola

#14

One tip that doesn't really work for me is to stop using delivery services and buy my groceries at different stores based on coupons etc. I buy the same stuff weekly from the same online only store that offers free delivery for purchases at just about my standard base weekly shop cost, and the few dollars I may save more buying at physical stores with coupons etc is just not worth the time and hassle I would have to spend getting everything home myself.

Image credits: Whole_Mechanic_8143

#15

Cheap shampoo. My hair looks like s**t with that stuff and I get sores on my head.

Image credits: SuccessfulBrother192

#16

Anything concerning energy and being uncomfortable. Yes, I can always put a sweatshirt on. Yes. I can always take clothes off.

But no a/c meant I couldn’t comfortably cook. Turning heat off or down in the winter meant arthritis flair ups, and I was miserable, cranky, hated life. Either means poor quality sleep.

Anything that involves changing skin care or hair care. I have a lot of sensitivities, and while I’ve tried all of the cheap brands, I always end up going back to the stuff that works and doesn’t make me miserable.

Meal prep. I don’t get how people do this. I’ve yet to see a TikTok demonstration that looks like it would be good for every single day.

Image credits: Fit-Meringue2118

#17

Gardening. If you don’t have anything to garden with, it’s a little pricey. Also, if you don’t have the knowledge, the trial and error is costly of money and time. In season produce bought at the farmers market is so low cost that I can’t seem to bring myself to garden

Image credits: Berts-pickled-beans

#18

Pay with cash. I don't mean making sure you have the money in the bank for big purchases but literally having bills on you at all times and only buying things with cash rather than card. People who preach this say you spend less when you have to part with physical money, but I have found that to be the opposite with me.

Image credits: SweaterWeather4Ever

#19

All the US-centric advice, tbh. Yes, I understand that most of the sub is probably from the US, but not everyone, and it's fairly grating when people just assume that everyone is from the US.

Eg. "Buy in ethnic stores!" - yes, they're probably cheaper than supermarkets/etc... *IN THE USA.* But where I live, "ethnic" stores are crazy expensive because they do in fact carry imported "exotic" stuff. There are the so-called "Chinese" stores usually ran by Chinese or Vietnamese owners that carry a lot of items that are off-brand/downright fake/sourced in less than fully ethical or legal ways, they used to be a bit cheaper than supermarkets, but not anymore... or when they *are* the product is painfully low quality or downright dangerous.

Image credits: utsuriga

#20

The advice that you should acquire moving boxes by driving around town and begging for boxes at liquor stores and grocery stores is a huge waste of time and will only create a ton of agony when you're trying to load a truck with a bunch of irregularly shaped dilapidated boxes that don't easily stack on a dolly.

Quality moving boxes from a hardware store only cost about $2 and will make moving day a breeze. They're also going to hold up well to be used to subsequent moves, so store them under a bed or in the back of a closet

Image credits: SnackThisWay

#21

Homemade washing powder . Just no .

Image credits: cheezyzeldacat

#22

That 50/30/20 is a valid budgeting strategy. No one talks about what to do when your debt payments are 50% of your take home income.

Image credits: NoGoodInThisWorld

#23

Has anyone else noticed that the tips about stretching meals with stuff from the produce section doesn't really work well? Carrots or onions for some things- sure, I guess- but I keep seeing the suggestion to use $6/lb mushrooms to bulk up the $3/lb ground beef. Like, what?

Image credits: naturalbornunicorn

#24

It’s not common advice but performing maintenance on your car, like an oil change. Changing out windshield wipers or air filters is one thing. Changing your own oil - if you don’t have the tools - is not THAT much cheaper than taking it to the mechanic (although it is in the long run). The other aspect is that it could be dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing because you’re physically going under your car to perform the task. My driveway is on an incline so I’d rather not.

#25

For me, Costco & Sam's Club are NOT cheaper than supermarkets. And, when I do shop there I spend way more than I would regular grocery shopping. When I had a four person household, the main savings were the pharmacy, roasted chicken, smoked salmon, lunch meat and sliced cheese. Now the household is down to me and my son, who works at a restaurant and gets 1-2 meals free per day. I was buying the roasted chicken weekly and converting that to soups, meat for casseroles and salads but have gotten a little tired of that. Neither store has good rolls, bagels, or bakery breads in my opinion. Sam's had good deals on wine but no longer. I also go tired of, after returning home, having to immediately repackage bulks products into smaller packages to freeze or store. And, maintaining plastic bags and containers for packing is a pain.

Image credits: CAZelda

#26

Gym membership is a great value. It cost me little over a dollar a day. I get access to a pool, locker room, shower, bathroom, all the machines, all the weights, an indoor basketball court, other people to play basketball with, and I can bring a guest with me any time. As long as I am able to use it regularly a gym membership is one of the last expenses I'm willing to cut.

Image credits: Patzercake

#27

Cheap toilet paper!

Image credits: Rare_Bottle_5823

#28

Every month my electric company sends an e-mail telling me my household uses more electricity than average, and gives lame a*s tips on how to save energy. We already use our AC as little as possible, but when the house feels like an oven for half the year and an ice box for the other, wtf can we do?! Am I just supposed to deal with heat stroke when my home’s interior is near 100 degrees? I’m about as sparing as I can be, and I’m still stuck paying several hundreds of dollars for electricity every month.

#29

“Buy rice and beans!”

I am not a fan of rice or beans at all and I’m tired of people always telling me to buy it.

Image credits: MiaLba

#30

Change jobs and move to a LCOL. I’ve spent 20+ years in my film career. I have rent control. No, I’m not moving to live in a dull city with no job for me.

Image credits: Lazyassbummer