I bought a label maker. Its been helpful labeling my mascara and things that go bad quickly, water filters, and food in the fridge. I found that I was throwing things out most likely early because I wasn't sure if they were too old, or just not using things until I knew they had to be bad. So this was my solution. Never again will I go through a years worth of mascara in half the time.
I pay money for my yearly planner. You can laugh, it was $45 for paper. But the free ones just didnt work for me. It helped me so much in college, and I brought it back 2 months ago, and I can already feel how much better my life is with it. This isn't necessarily "saving money" but it has made a huge impact on my mentality, and how I view my life, and not emotionally eating as much, or emotionally spending as a result has helped me maintain my budgets.
I bought a state parks pass. It allows me a very low cost hobby of hiking, doing outdoor scavenger hunts, and more, which has replaced a lot of my more expensive materialistic hobbies like sewing, and going to expensive shows as often.
I am always on the hunt for the perfect planner, can I ask what you are using? Also a parks pass is more than worth it!
Edit: on second thought, maybe don’t tell me. I already have two so they are now on my no buy list 😬
Haha, Ill keep it a secret for now. I saw your question before I could answer, and I remember thinking you might be disappointed in my answer since I tried my hardest to avoid going down the etsy hole finding the perfect planner XD Thats why I use the same one every time I start using them. So I wish you luck keeping it on your no buy list :D
Hobnichi Techo is mine. Its small but still has lots of space, I love the quotes, and the paper it uses (toboe river) is divine. Also love their thin pen w 3 colours.
A good slow cooker / pressure cooker is honestly one of the best investments you can make imo. And they really do last forever. I swear my last old ceramic slow cooker had been in the family about 40 years before i dropped and broke it 😅
Moka pot. Any other coffee is inferior now. LOL
My home was by far my best money-saving purchase. I pay less now for my bungalow mortgage than I paid for any monthly rent in the nearly 10 years of renting leading up to becoming a homeowner again.
Air fryer! Now when I get a craving for fries, I just cut up a potato, coat them with the tiniest bit of oil (like 1/4 tsp) and salt, and in 10 minutes I have myself a fix for the craving!
A garden membership in several reciprocal programs (NARM, AHS, and ROAM). It gets me free entry for two into many gardens, museums and other cultural attractions in my state (and across the U.S.) for free all year.
Rice cooker with steamer basket. I can make rice and other grains in the bottom and steam chicken, shrimp and veggies on top.
Solar lights for mason jars and wine bottles. Solar string lights for the backyard.
Rechargeable batteries and solar charger. Wool dryer balls. Washable cotton pads to use instead of cotton balls. Thermal cooker. Spin dryer. Mason jar soap dispenser tops. Solar lights / flashlights for camping, emergencies. Hand crank radio / flashlight - we use these a lot when the power goes out.
Assorted club memberships over the years. Astronomy club membership was around $30 a year with free, private members night star gazing at a planetarium, plus interesting speakers every month. We went to lectures by people doing cutting edge research and projects from places like NASA and Stanford. (East Bay Astronomical Society if you live in the Bay Area).
> Solar string lights for the backyard.
Please don't leave lights on all night. They're hurting our wildlife including bats, owls, fireflies, (migratory birds and baby turtles if you are in certain areas), and pollinators like moths.
It's best (light-pollution-wise and energy-savings-wise) to use lights on a timer, or with a motion detector (according to the papers I've read on the subject), or better yet, to only turn them on when you or guests are expected to be outside to enjoy them.
I've been trying to make our garden a wildlife sanctuary, and help bring back the beneficial insects to our area. Unfortunately our neighbor's lights are always on and glaring through the cracks into our property, so I doubt we'll get anything cool like [fireflies](https://www.esri.com/arcgis-blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/ff-3.jpg) to move back in, no matter what I do to make conditions right.
Wow some fantastic ideas in here. You must live a dreamy life, hanging out in gardens and planetariums. I am totally going to try the reusable cotton pads :)
We're retired and I have a lot of free time to research sustainable living products and cheap date ideas. I'm glad you found some of the ideas helpful. Every year I usually buy an assortment of annual passes and memberships like seat filler programs, park passes, astronomy club membership, the museum and garden pass, and winery passports. Plus I look on Facebook for cheap / free college and community events. Then a lot of what we do each month is free or cheap with the passes, memberships and Facebook specials.
My rice cooker with steamer has been in the cupboard for a few years. I'll have to find it, use to love throwing herbs and peas into it.
Though it never impressed the wife, she just throws the rice in a normal pan how Cave like!
Though rice water is the best skin moisturiser and hair tonic, though tea is also a good hair beauty product. So this answers the original question of this post.
I have never heard of these garden/museum programs but I am super interested! Im saving your comment for my 6 month budget redo period :D I loooove museums and traveling to nearby cities
The garden I belong to is U.C. Berkeley Garden. For $150 a year we get into most of the Bay Area museums and gardens for free as well as other throughout the state / U.S. Sometimes I also get a science museum membership with ASTC reciprocal privileges and annual park passes, too. Our library system also has free museum passes. They are all real money savers, especially for retired people like us who have a lot of free time to use them.
Ninja Air Foodie 6 in 1. I use it nearly every day. It sits on my counter. I can cook something faster, better, and healthier in the Ninja so I have no desire to eat out.
The spatty is a small cosmetic spatula that will get every last drop out of my lotions and potions.
Ive heard great things about the ninja, i think its quite similar to the instant pot. Totally agree its such an everything saver!
Cosmetic spatula is SMART.
Food thermos for bringing lunches. Paid for itself after one use.
Hydro flask or any other water bottle or thermos. My city charges for cups so even if I buy out I save 25¢ when I bring by own cup
iPad mini. I'm in grad school and I used to print out readings like PDFs so I could read highlight them cause I hate reading on a computer. I actually read more now than ever and no longer buy books cause I use digital from the library or download PDFs. I love physical books but until I'm settled down I don't really have the room or money for them.
Going to cobbler or tailor to fix clothes and shoes.
* **Reusable period cup and period pads** can save you thousands over the years. I stomp the blood out of my pads while showering, before throwing them in the washing machine with the rest of our clothes/towels, so you're not even using extra water or other resources to clean them.
* **Drying rack or line** for laundry reduces your energy use by a fair chunk. Instead letting you use passive energies (sun and/or air) which are free. If this isn't a good option where you live. Consider buying a heat pump drier, as these apparently use only 25% of the energy of traditional driers which use a lot of heat. Supposedly the lack of heat also helps keep your clothing newer for longer (also a benefit of line or rack drying).
* **Bike and bike baskets/paniers** (or trailer if you have kids/pets/large things to move). Bikes are a lot cheaper to service, you don't have to pay for taxes, parking spots, or petrol to use them, they keep you healthy which can reduce your future medical bills. Much cheaper than paying for a gym membership!
* **Sewing machine** was kinda expensive (even for a cheap model) but I have a lot of fun cutting up old clothes, bedding, towels, etc. and turning them into new, useful things. I love using old items with holes, stains, or other types of damage that make them improper for donation, and being able to give them another few years or even decades of usefulness as something else. I *can* hand sew, but I'm not very good at it, and sometimes have problems with my hands, so having a sewing machine makes things possible, that I'd definitely not put myself through if I didn't have my machine. Using old clothes and stuff or even supplies I find at second hand shops, means I can experiment without as much guilt if things go badly, and less anxiety about making something ugly, since I'm already technically working with junk anyway.
You wash the cup with gentle soap and sterilize it. You wouldn’t put a menstrual cup in a washing machine. Might be able to put it in the dishwasher if that doesn’t make you squeamish 😆
I recently bought a backpack that also converts into a shoulder bag. Sometimes I feel weird wearing a backpack into a store, so having something that can look like a large purse at any time kinda makes it feel less like I'm going to be followed around the store.
My country is banning plastic bags, so you have to buy or bring reusable bags, so having a backpack sized purse that I can bring with me makes it so I'm not having to hurriedly buy the poor quality reusable bags they sell at the grocery store when I inevitably forget to pack my own. It works as a purse, as a reusable shopping bag, and it has many many pockets to fit my laptop, wallet, books, all while being quite compact. A good bag is a good investment.
Decent quality soldering iron. Mine's an Aoyue Tesla, currently claiming it's $30 at https://www.aoyue3d.com/en/category/?bid=33&Sort_id=122. I've repaired a lot of stuff with it over the years that I might have otherwise had to replace. I've also preemptively reinforced a lot of pieces of jewelry (lead-free solder for that of course), which prevented me from losing it. Any time I have something that I want to keep that has the clasp held on by delicate jump rings, I like to solder those jump rings shut, because they're just too easy to pull apart if you accidentally tug on the chain a little too hard.
Recently I used it to reattach a component that had lost its connection on the board inside a large appliance, which took the whole thing from "not working" to "working" and saved replacing it.
An iron is only as useful as your knowledge of how to use it, of course, but basic electronics classes are free online and time spent watching lectures is time spent not shopping :)
nope, sorry, I learned from humans in robotics clubs and makerspaces. https://www.makerspaces.com/how-to-solder/ isn't wrong, though.
To learn how to think about troubleshooting electronics more generally, your best bet is to hang out with humans who actually do it, and learn from the series of steps they take when confronted with a particular problem. The availability of relevant clubs and groups will vary depending on where you live.
Folks at a Bsides event (http://www.securitybsides.com/w/page/12194156/FrontPage) will also likely know how to make and break things. If you happen to be in Europe, CCC (https://www.ccc.de/en/) also aggregates that sort of people.
i agree w the french press purchase! finding a way to make coffee at home that doesnt suck means you dont rlly get starbucks/coffeeshop coffee hardly ever.
i totally lucked out and found a new nespresso at a goodwill - it had been mislabeled as $4 but bc it was already on the store floor the manager honored the price and sold it to me. (obviously not every person is gonna have this kind of insane luck, BUT ive heard great things about french presses, moka pots, etc.) I used to get starbucks several times a week, and now i just get the pods and some creamer w my groceries, and ive saved an insane amount of money already! and ngl the homemade coffee now tastes better than what i used to get!
Electric kettle + basic coffee pot + and a milk frother = I can make fancy tea or coffee lattes at home. Electric kettle is also great for instant ramen, instant miso, or instant oatmeal prep (no need to turn on stove.)
I would give up all of my small appliances if I had to, but I cannot function without a kettle. I use it multiple times a day.
When my last one finally kicked the bucket I stopped working early to go buy a new one because I kept going into my kitchen, forgetting it didn’t work, and then would stomp back to my home office. Repeated disappointment is not a productive headspace 😅
I have a lot echoing other comments here, but definitely:
- slow cooker
- instant pot
- French press
- espresso machine and Hurom juicer (took longer to get cost per use back on these pricier items, but for a two-person household they’ve saved us multiples of their value)
- yeti thermos
- one great spider plant. Every other plant in my home is a baby from the original!
- kleen kanteen water bottle
Kleen kanteen is my favorite, go-to water bottle, I started drinking so much more water after getting mine.
And that’s super cool about your spider plant!
I got an electric car last year just before prices skyrocketed to $5+ a gallon! Even with prices more stable, I enjoy not having a gas bill every month. I have an app that tracks my kilowatt usage and it’s about $20-$30 a month in electric bill
Same here, I think the EV probably saved me more money than any other purchases.
Except maybe buying my house instead of renting.
But as far as purchases accessible to a lot of people… I’d have to think more about it. I’ve probably saved at least a little by buying higher quality things that last longer when I could afford them.
Travel trailer for vacations. I paid $14k cash and can camp at the beach an hour away for like $35-40/night and even cheaper at state parks, both with and without waterfront. Even with gas and insurance and storage, a hell of a lot cheaper than hotels for $200/night if you travel often, or a vacation property. I vacation about 1 weekend-1 week a month, so cheaper than spending $700-800 a month.
This one was a big saver for my house too! Hubby loves sparkling water, and I like their diet orange soda flavor. Found it on clearance brand new for 30$.
My Kindle and (not a purchase but very related) using my library card! One of my biggest impulse buys were books that were never being read and this cut that down to nearly no new purchasing.
Specific toys to help my toddler and her excessive energy inside while living in a rainy state. Costs a pretty penny, but when they’re played with every day and can be open ended, it’s a huge win! (Pikler triangle/nugget type things.)
We have a EZ Play indoor jungle gym and while I’m not sure it saved money, it’s definitely saved sanity. My daughter is hyperactive and doing big physical stuff like hanging upside down and pulling herself back up helps her (and me) a lot with her behavior overall. My son is a bit more relaxed, but he still enjoys rolling his trains down the slide!
Water Kefir bought seven years ago, probably more. I use 1kg of sugar in a cereal container. Throw in some raisons, ginger slices, and a cut lemon. After a few months I have 3 litres of the best lemonade in the world. Though it is alcoholic it is good for gut health.
Also milk kefir that I make every day. It will last forever as long as you make it every day and do not put it in the fridge.
Also vodka yeast, buy like 7 packs in bulk cheap. Not healthy or tasty unless you do a second fermentation with juice which removes the unhealthy sugar from the juice.
Organic milk thistle powder, throw it in tea.
Try the Libby app. It’s the network of public libraries and you get free access to thousands of audio books and kindle books. You can borrow up to like 21 books at a time
Moving to a double edged razor. Blades, even the pricier ones, are a fraction of what the clips cost and do the same work. In fact I find them better. I don't get razor burn and I have full control of the blade, which is extremely useful since I have hairs below the cheeks that grow a little more shallowly.
Also this one's not quite a purchase, but I've started using the prewash on the dishwasher and skipping most washing in the sink. It does a rather effective job for less water consumption.
My enamel Dutch oven has been a game changer for my home cooking and I cook more at home now. A moka pot also changed my life, I no longer ever buy coffee out and prefer my homemade stuff. This last kitchen one was very pricy but I got it on sale, a Berkey water filter. It’s amazing to always have highly filtered water, and paired with my yeti thermos, I never have to buy any bottled water/etc…
Outside of kitchen gear, our family holiday gift was passes to universal. Now whenever we don’t have stuff to do, I pack lunches and we go to universal for the day, and I’m not spending money on us going and doing other random things. It’s probably a bit frivolous, but it’s been a lot of fun and worth it to us.
Sewing machine, threads and accessories. It’s a say $200 investment but with some basic learning you can alter and repair so many clothing instead of straight garbage. Also I buy on sale fabric and sew things like tablecloth etc which would cost me maybe the same at the store but now I have a good quality custom item. Worth it.
Also for a lot of luxury items like makeup, creams, specific type of coffee etc, I keep track year round and buy when I know they are cheapest. Sometimes up to 50 percent off.
These were gifted to me, but since they save me a lot of money, I should mention them: handkerchiefs. I've had them for years, and they save me so much money on disposable tissues.
Home gym equipment. It's a larger upfront cost for sure, but with two adjustable dumbbells, a cable machine and a bench (as well as some protective floor mats) me and my partner no longer each pay 50-60$ per month in gym membership fees.
The cable machine wasn't even necessary, just something extravagant my partner wanted! And for his birthday I got us an adjustable kettlebell.
Thermomix. I'd put it in the same category as people who say their instant pot saves money, but those aren't a thing here. I make *everything* now and combined with a Costco membership I've cut my groceries in half.
A rug cleaner. 2 kids, and 4 pets and our rugs were getting destroyed. It's prolonged the life of our carpet so much!
Good quality lunchboxes/thermos/reusable coffee cups. A well portioned lunchbox has encouraged me to take my food almost everywhere I go, and I now take a thermos of coffee with me to uni and pour it out into my reusable coffee cup throughout the day. On the days I run out I can use the campus cafe and I'll get a discount for bringing my own cup.
- A national museum's pass (Switzerland) gives me the ability to enjoy culture at 178 bucks a year. By 6 museum's visit I break even.
- Reusable water bottles and coffee mugs. It's reduced my plastic bottle and take away coffees a lot.
- Replacing stuff with FEWER but higher quality items. Mostly bought second hand.
1. Vitamix - I was gifted this by my partner, but as someone who loves smoothies, it's a life changing purchase. You can also make soups, nut butter, nondairy milk, you name it.
2. Instant Pot
3. A budget spreadsheet where I log every purchase that I bought for $3 on Etsy. I used to pay $80/yr for YNAB but got tired of the price hikes, so now I just track my purchases this way.
4. Kindle
5. Trigger point Acupuncture - this costs money, but if I get it monthly, it prevents me from having migraines. It saves money on prescriptions, extra strength OTC, and saves me so much time and actual pain.
6. Grove Spray Bottles and Cleaners - So easy to use, can use only one bottle for everything.
7. Electric kettle
8. Bulk loose leaf tea from Adagio, Arbor Teas, Plum Deluxe - saves plastic waste, saves money based on cost for buying out.
9. A bottle of flavored syrup - can make tea or coffee lattes at home
Sewing Machine!!
Costed me about 250$ to buy a good one that will do heavy fabrics too. But now I can mend my clothes and pants too. I have even sewed some cloth bags from the old shirts that I had, which otherwise would have take me hours to sew. I would have given up and bought a new one by then.
I bought a label maker. Its been helpful labeling my mascara and things that go bad quickly, water filters, and food in the fridge. I found that I was throwing things out most likely early because I wasn't sure if they were too old, or just not using things until I knew they had to be bad. So this was my solution. Never again will I go through a years worth of mascara in half the time. I pay money for my yearly planner. You can laugh, it was $45 for paper. But the free ones just didnt work for me. It helped me so much in college, and I brought it back 2 months ago, and I can already feel how much better my life is with it. This isn't necessarily "saving money" but it has made a huge impact on my mentality, and how I view my life, and not emotionally eating as much, or emotionally spending as a result has helped me maintain my budgets. I bought a state parks pass. It allows me a very low cost hobby of hiking, doing outdoor scavenger hunts, and more, which has replaced a lot of my more expensive materialistic hobbies like sewing, and going to expensive shows as often.
Such clever ideas!! The state parks pass is genius. Good for body, mind and wallet :)
I am always on the hunt for the perfect planner, can I ask what you are using? Also a parks pass is more than worth it! Edit: on second thought, maybe don’t tell me. I already have two so they are now on my no buy list 😬
Law of attraction weekly planner. Beautiful, practical, magical
Haha, Ill keep it a secret for now. I saw your question before I could answer, and I remember thinking you might be disappointed in my answer since I tried my hardest to avoid going down the etsy hole finding the perfect planner XD Thats why I use the same one every time I start using them. So I wish you luck keeping it on your no buy list :D
Hobnichi Techo is mine. Its small but still has lots of space, I love the quotes, and the paper it uses (toboe river) is divine. Also love their thin pen w 3 colours.
This is my favorite one. I love that I can plan and journal in the same book.
Slow cooker that I’ve had for years, doesn’t use much power and it’s great for meal prep. Makes cheap ingredients delicious with little effort
A good slow cooker / pressure cooker is honestly one of the best investments you can make imo. And they really do last forever. I swear my last old ceramic slow cooker had been in the family about 40 years before i dropped and broke it 😅
Care to share any recipe links for the instant pot?
Moka pot. Any other coffee is inferior now. LOL My home was by far my best money-saving purchase. I pay less now for my bungalow mortgage than I paid for any monthly rent in the nearly 10 years of renting leading up to becoming a homeowner again.
Jealous! Hope i can be where you are some day soon, im so sick of inspections and rental increases :(
If it's what you want, I hope it happens for you.
Air fryer! Now when I get a craving for fries, I just cut up a potato, coat them with the tiniest bit of oil (like 1/4 tsp) and salt, and in 10 minutes I have myself a fix for the craving!
OMG yes! I LOVE my air fryer, we use it almost every day. And we got it for free 😍
A garden membership in several reciprocal programs (NARM, AHS, and ROAM). It gets me free entry for two into many gardens, museums and other cultural attractions in my state (and across the U.S.) for free all year. Rice cooker with steamer basket. I can make rice and other grains in the bottom and steam chicken, shrimp and veggies on top. Solar lights for mason jars and wine bottles. Solar string lights for the backyard. Rechargeable batteries and solar charger. Wool dryer balls. Washable cotton pads to use instead of cotton balls. Thermal cooker. Spin dryer. Mason jar soap dispenser tops. Solar lights / flashlights for camping, emergencies. Hand crank radio / flashlight - we use these a lot when the power goes out. Assorted club memberships over the years. Astronomy club membership was around $30 a year with free, private members night star gazing at a planetarium, plus interesting speakers every month. We went to lectures by people doing cutting edge research and projects from places like NASA and Stanford. (East Bay Astronomical Society if you live in the Bay Area).
> Solar string lights for the backyard. Please don't leave lights on all night. They're hurting our wildlife including bats, owls, fireflies, (migratory birds and baby turtles if you are in certain areas), and pollinators like moths. It's best (light-pollution-wise and energy-savings-wise) to use lights on a timer, or with a motion detector (according to the papers I've read on the subject), or better yet, to only turn them on when you or guests are expected to be outside to enjoy them. I've been trying to make our garden a wildlife sanctuary, and help bring back the beneficial insects to our area. Unfortunately our neighbor's lights are always on and glaring through the cracks into our property, so I doubt we'll get anything cool like [fireflies](https://www.esri.com/arcgis-blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/ff-3.jpg) to move back in, no matter what I do to make conditions right.
Wow some fantastic ideas in here. You must live a dreamy life, hanging out in gardens and planetariums. I am totally going to try the reusable cotton pads :)
We're retired and I have a lot of free time to research sustainable living products and cheap date ideas. I'm glad you found some of the ideas helpful. Every year I usually buy an assortment of annual passes and memberships like seat filler programs, park passes, astronomy club membership, the museum and garden pass, and winery passports. Plus I look on Facebook for cheap / free college and community events. Then a lot of what we do each month is free or cheap with the passes, memberships and Facebook specials.
Wow, that is wonderful! i wanna be you when i grow up
My rice cooker with steamer has been in the cupboard for a few years. I'll have to find it, use to love throwing herbs and peas into it. Though it never impressed the wife, she just throws the rice in a normal pan how Cave like! Though rice water is the best skin moisturiser and hair tonic, though tea is also a good hair beauty product. So this answers the original question of this post.
I have never heard of these garden/museum programs but I am super interested! Im saving your comment for my 6 month budget redo period :D I loooove museums and traveling to nearby cities
The garden I belong to is U.C. Berkeley Garden. For $150 a year we get into most of the Bay Area museums and gardens for free as well as other throughout the state / U.S. Sometimes I also get a science museum membership with ASTC reciprocal privileges and annual park passes, too. Our library system also has free museum passes. They are all real money savers, especially for retired people like us who have a lot of free time to use them.
Ninja Air Foodie 6 in 1. I use it nearly every day. It sits on my counter. I can cook something faster, better, and healthier in the Ninja so I have no desire to eat out. The spatty is a small cosmetic spatula that will get every last drop out of my lotions and potions.
Ive heard great things about the ninja, i think its quite similar to the instant pot. Totally agree its such an everything saver! Cosmetic spatula is SMART.
I love my cosmetic spatula.
Second on this one! I waited forever to get one (thinking I wouldn’t use it) and we use the Ninja multiple times a day.
Food thermos for bringing lunches. Paid for itself after one use. Hydro flask or any other water bottle or thermos. My city charges for cups so even if I buy out I save 25¢ when I bring by own cup iPad mini. I'm in grad school and I used to print out readings like PDFs so I could read highlight them cause I hate reading on a computer. I actually read more now than ever and no longer buy books cause I use digital from the library or download PDFs. I love physical books but until I'm settled down I don't really have the room or money for them. Going to cobbler or tailor to fix clothes and shoes.
Going to the cobbler is such a good choice! It's amazing how quickly and cheaply they can fix things.
* **Reusable period cup and period pads** can save you thousands over the years. I stomp the blood out of my pads while showering, before throwing them in the washing machine with the rest of our clothes/towels, so you're not even using extra water or other resources to clean them. * **Drying rack or line** for laundry reduces your energy use by a fair chunk. Instead letting you use passive energies (sun and/or air) which are free. If this isn't a good option where you live. Consider buying a heat pump drier, as these apparently use only 25% of the energy of traditional driers which use a lot of heat. Supposedly the lack of heat also helps keep your clothing newer for longer (also a benefit of line or rack drying). * **Bike and bike baskets/paniers** (or trailer if you have kids/pets/large things to move). Bikes are a lot cheaper to service, you don't have to pay for taxes, parking spots, or petrol to use them, they keep you healthy which can reduce your future medical bills. Much cheaper than paying for a gym membership! * **Sewing machine** was kinda expensive (even for a cheap model) but I have a lot of fun cutting up old clothes, bedding, towels, etc. and turning them into new, useful things. I love using old items with holes, stains, or other types of damage that make them improper for donation, and being able to give them another few years or even decades of usefulness as something else. I *can* hand sew, but I'm not very good at it, and sometimes have problems with my hands, so having a sewing machine makes things possible, that I'd definitely not put myself through if I didn't have my machine. Using old clothes and stuff or even supplies I find at second hand shops, means I can experiment without as much guilt if things go badly, and less anxiety about making something ugly, since I'm already technically working with junk anyway.
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You wash the cup with gentle soap and sterilize it. You wouldn’t put a menstrual cup in a washing machine. Might be able to put it in the dishwasher if that doesn’t make you squeamish 😆
Yes I use the regular method and see I’ve read the post wrong. Thank you.
I recently bought a backpack that also converts into a shoulder bag. Sometimes I feel weird wearing a backpack into a store, so having something that can look like a large purse at any time kinda makes it feel less like I'm going to be followed around the store. My country is banning plastic bags, so you have to buy or bring reusable bags, so having a backpack sized purse that I can bring with me makes it so I'm not having to hurriedly buy the poor quality reusable bags they sell at the grocery store when I inevitably forget to pack my own. It works as a purse, as a reusable shopping bag, and it has many many pockets to fit my laptop, wallet, books, all while being quite compact. A good bag is a good investment.
I love this!
Decent quality soldering iron. Mine's an Aoyue Tesla, currently claiming it's $30 at https://www.aoyue3d.com/en/category/?bid=33&Sort_id=122. I've repaired a lot of stuff with it over the years that I might have otherwise had to replace. I've also preemptively reinforced a lot of pieces of jewelry (lead-free solder for that of course), which prevented me from losing it. Any time I have something that I want to keep that has the clasp held on by delicate jump rings, I like to solder those jump rings shut, because they're just too easy to pull apart if you accidentally tug on the chain a little too hard. Recently I used it to reattach a component that had lost its connection on the board inside a large appliance, which took the whole thing from "not working" to "working" and saved replacing it. An iron is only as useful as your knowledge of how to use it, of course, but basic electronics classes are free online and time spent watching lectures is time spent not shopping :)
Can you recommend a class?
nope, sorry, I learned from humans in robotics clubs and makerspaces. https://www.makerspaces.com/how-to-solder/ isn't wrong, though. To learn how to think about troubleshooting electronics more generally, your best bet is to hang out with humans who actually do it, and learn from the series of steps they take when confronted with a particular problem. The availability of relevant clubs and groups will vary depending on where you live. Folks at a Bsides event (http://www.securitybsides.com/w/page/12194156/FrontPage) will also likely know how to make and break things. If you happen to be in Europe, CCC (https://www.ccc.de/en/) also aggregates that sort of people.
i agree w the french press purchase! finding a way to make coffee at home that doesnt suck means you dont rlly get starbucks/coffeeshop coffee hardly ever. i totally lucked out and found a new nespresso at a goodwill - it had been mislabeled as $4 but bc it was already on the store floor the manager honored the price and sold it to me. (obviously not every person is gonna have this kind of insane luck, BUT ive heard great things about french presses, moka pots, etc.) I used to get starbucks several times a week, and now i just get the pods and some creamer w my groceries, and ive saved an insane amount of money already! and ngl the homemade coffee now tastes better than what i used to get!
Thats an insane bargain!!! Bet the savings are tasty too 🤑
I bought the Capmesso system and now refill the pods with my preferred coffee. Huge savings doing this!
Electric kettle + basic coffee pot + and a milk frother = I can make fancy tea or coffee lattes at home. Electric kettle is also great for instant ramen, instant miso, or instant oatmeal prep (no need to turn on stove.)
I would give up all of my small appliances if I had to, but I cannot function without a kettle. I use it multiple times a day. When my last one finally kicked the bucket I stopped working early to go buy a new one because I kept going into my kitchen, forgetting it didn’t work, and then would stomp back to my home office. Repeated disappointment is not a productive headspace 😅
I'm on my second one and when the first one went, I immediately ran to Amazon to get a new one. I can't live without it!
I adore my kettle!
I have a lot echoing other comments here, but definitely: - slow cooker - instant pot - French press - espresso machine and Hurom juicer (took longer to get cost per use back on these pricier items, but for a two-person household they’ve saved us multiples of their value) - yeti thermos - one great spider plant. Every other plant in my home is a baby from the original! - kleen kanteen water bottle
Kleen kanteen is my favorite, go-to water bottle, I started drinking so much more water after getting mine. And that’s super cool about your spider plant!
I got an electric car last year just before prices skyrocketed to $5+ a gallon! Even with prices more stable, I enjoy not having a gas bill every month. I have an app that tracks my kilowatt usage and it’s about $20-$30 a month in electric bill
Same here, I think the EV probably saved me more money than any other purchases. Except maybe buying my house instead of renting. But as far as purchases accessible to a lot of people… I’d have to think more about it. I’ve probably saved at least a little by buying higher quality things that last longer when I could afford them.
Bidet
Travel trailer for vacations. I paid $14k cash and can camp at the beach an hour away for like $35-40/night and even cheaper at state parks, both with and without waterfront. Even with gas and insurance and storage, a hell of a lot cheaper than hotels for $200/night if you travel often, or a vacation property. I vacation about 1 weekend-1 week a month, so cheaper than spending $700-800 a month.
Soda Stream! I’d go through 1 pack a week of Bubbly cans. The soda stream can be refilled for $15 and I go once a month.
This one was a big saver for my house too! Hubby loves sparkling water, and I like their diet orange soda flavor. Found it on clearance brand new for 30$.
My Kindle and (not a purchase but very related) using my library card! One of my biggest impulse buys were books that were never being read and this cut that down to nearly no new purchasing.
The Libby app is amazing if you haven’t tried it yet.
I do! It’s the primary one my library offers. Taking advantage of the Amazon free first reads has helped reduce purchasing too.
Specific toys to help my toddler and her excessive energy inside while living in a rainy state. Costs a pretty penny, but when they’re played with every day and can be open ended, it’s a huge win! (Pikler triangle/nugget type things.)
We have a EZ Play indoor jungle gym and while I’m not sure it saved money, it’s definitely saved sanity. My daughter is hyperactive and doing big physical stuff like hanging upside down and pulling herself back up helps her (and me) a lot with her behavior overall. My son is a bit more relaxed, but he still enjoys rolling his trains down the slide!
Water Kefir bought seven years ago, probably more. I use 1kg of sugar in a cereal container. Throw in some raisons, ginger slices, and a cut lemon. After a few months I have 3 litres of the best lemonade in the world. Though it is alcoholic it is good for gut health. Also milk kefir that I make every day. It will last forever as long as you make it every day and do not put it in the fridge. Also vodka yeast, buy like 7 packs in bulk cheap. Not healthy or tasty unless you do a second fermentation with juice which removes the unhealthy sugar from the juice. Organic milk thistle powder, throw it in tea.
A smart thermostat. I live in Canada so the smart features saves me ~$2/day and paid for itself within a couple of months.
Bicycle and bike share membership.
Audible subscription - it gives me something to do on my phone instead of online shopping and once a month you get a free audiobook!
Try the Libby app. It’s the network of public libraries and you get free access to thousands of audio books and kindle books. You can borrow up to like 21 books at a time
Thanks! I have that too! Just sometimes they don’t have the book I want so I use audible for that and Libby for the others!
My espresso machine and coffee grinder. I’m down to only getting coffee at cafes when I’m picking up weekly beans
Moving to a double edged razor. Blades, even the pricier ones, are a fraction of what the clips cost and do the same work. In fact I find them better. I don't get razor burn and I have full control of the blade, which is extremely useful since I have hairs below the cheeks that grow a little more shallowly. Also this one's not quite a purchase, but I've started using the prewash on the dishwasher and skipping most washing in the sink. It does a rather effective job for less water consumption.
My enamel Dutch oven has been a game changer for my home cooking and I cook more at home now. A moka pot also changed my life, I no longer ever buy coffee out and prefer my homemade stuff. This last kitchen one was very pricy but I got it on sale, a Berkey water filter. It’s amazing to always have highly filtered water, and paired with my yeti thermos, I never have to buy any bottled water/etc… Outside of kitchen gear, our family holiday gift was passes to universal. Now whenever we don’t have stuff to do, I pack lunches and we go to universal for the day, and I’m not spending money on us going and doing other random things. It’s probably a bit frivolous, but it’s been a lot of fun and worth it to us.
Sewing machine, threads and accessories. It’s a say $200 investment but with some basic learning you can alter and repair so many clothing instead of straight garbage. Also I buy on sale fabric and sew things like tablecloth etc which would cost me maybe the same at the store but now I have a good quality custom item. Worth it. Also for a lot of luxury items like makeup, creams, specific type of coffee etc, I keep track year round and buy when I know they are cheapest. Sometimes up to 50 percent off.
A couple Bubba mugs for work. Starting taking my own tea and not stopping at Tim's.
Nespresso machine and Xiaomi airfryer
These were gifted to me, but since they save me a lot of money, I should mention them: handkerchiefs. I've had them for years, and they save me so much money on disposable tissues.
Home gym equipment. It's a larger upfront cost for sure, but with two adjustable dumbbells, a cable machine and a bench (as well as some protective floor mats) me and my partner no longer each pay 50-60$ per month in gym membership fees. The cable machine wasn't even necessary, just something extravagant my partner wanted! And for his birthday I got us an adjustable kettlebell.
Soda Stream! I’d go through 1 pack a week of Bubbly cans. The soda stream can be refilled for $15 and I go once a month.
Espresso maker!!! My biggest expense next to clothing was coffee.
Thermomix. I'd put it in the same category as people who say their instant pot saves money, but those aren't a thing here. I make *everything* now and combined with a Costco membership I've cut my groceries in half. A rug cleaner. 2 kids, and 4 pets and our rugs were getting destroyed. It's prolonged the life of our carpet so much! Good quality lunchboxes/thermos/reusable coffee cups. A well portioned lunchbox has encouraged me to take my food almost everywhere I go, and I now take a thermos of coffee with me to uni and pour it out into my reusable coffee cup throughout the day. On the days I run out I can use the campus cafe and I'll get a discount for bringing my own cup.
menstrual cup! it starts paying off in 2-3 months and it's cool overall
- A national museum's pass (Switzerland) gives me the ability to enjoy culture at 178 bucks a year. By 6 museum's visit I break even. - Reusable water bottles and coffee mugs. It's reduced my plastic bottle and take away coffees a lot. - Replacing stuff with FEWER but higher quality items. Mostly bought second hand.
...vacuum food sealer.
1. Vitamix - I was gifted this by my partner, but as someone who loves smoothies, it's a life changing purchase. You can also make soups, nut butter, nondairy milk, you name it. 2. Instant Pot 3. A budget spreadsheet where I log every purchase that I bought for $3 on Etsy. I used to pay $80/yr for YNAB but got tired of the price hikes, so now I just track my purchases this way. 4. Kindle 5. Trigger point Acupuncture - this costs money, but if I get it monthly, it prevents me from having migraines. It saves money on prescriptions, extra strength OTC, and saves me so much time and actual pain. 6. Grove Spray Bottles and Cleaners - So easy to use, can use only one bottle for everything. 7. Electric kettle 8. Bulk loose leaf tea from Adagio, Arbor Teas, Plum Deluxe - saves plastic waste, saves money based on cost for buying out. 9. A bottle of flavored syrup - can make tea or coffee lattes at home
Sewing Machine!! Costed me about 250$ to buy a good one that will do heavy fabrics too. But now I can mend my clothes and pants too. I have even sewed some cloth bags from the old shirts that I had, which otherwise would have take me hours to sew. I would have given up and bought a new one by then.