Here’s a couple examples from my life:
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Safety Razor. I get a better shave and it’s like $15 for 100 razor blades, which lasts me a couple years. Way way way better than the disposable multi-blade Gillette things, which sell 5 heads for $20.
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Handkerchiefs. I am prone to allergies, so instead of constantly buying disposable tissues, we now have a stack of handkerchiefs that can just be used a few times and then thrown in the wash. This has also saved me loads.
What about you?
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Buy from bulk stores and markets instead of bagged supermarket products.
Switch to soap strips instead of liquid detergent for laundry
Cook yourself instead of getting delivery
Use public transport and or bike
Buy local produce and fruits that are in season
Use public transport
This is the biggest cost savings for me right now… Assuming I get a cheap rust bucket paid in full (estimate in metro Vancouver, BC in Canadian $s):
- I’d expect to pay $200 a month in insurance
- I’d expect to pay at least $100 a month in gas
- I’d expect to pay $250 a month in parking fees
- I’d expect to pay at least $500 a year in maintenance, repair and incidental items (oil, winter tire storage etc.)
So all together that’s $591 per month or $7100 per year.
Transit costs me $135/month and I’m lucky to live and work somewhere where transit actually sort of works.
This is particularly true with the multitude or car sharing programs that are available in major cities like Vancouver. The odd time you need a vehicle it is trivial to rent one, which is still cheaper than owning a vehicle.
You don’t even need a car sharing program, rental car companies still exist.
And this is true both for people looking to use public transit, as well as people people afraid to go electric because they take one monster road trip every 2 years, or people considering buying a pickup truck because one time they had to move a couch.
as far as buying bulk, the idea it to look for price per unit, and with this you have to take at least a medium (month) or long (annual) look at the pricing. This is your typical restaurant budget strategy.
And this assumes you have storage space, which not everyone has.
I love the principle of buying from bulk store but after a non-zero number of weevil infestations I tread carefully. Could just be bad luck though.
I feel like those pop-top plastic barrels would prevent weevils?
Perhaps. We probably could have sealed things better in jars, but it sure was a big and disconcerting mess.
my dumbass read
Cook yourself
Switch to soap strips instead of liquid detergent for laundry
What is this wizardry you speak of? [begins Google session]
Wear a condom
Yes, kids are very expensive.
condoms contribute to landfill. babies left in the woods do not.
/s/hjBabies left in woods grow up to kill and eat horny teens in festive seasons, disrupting the local economy.
not to be all social darwanist, but i think if a baby can survive on its own in the woods, it deserves to grow up to be a horny teenager
It is hunting and killing the horny teens in a horror film-like fashion.
I know how to fix almost anything mechanical and I usually try to buy really high quality things when I can. It means spending more money up front, but things tend to last a lifetime and I don’t have to buy it again.
I can’t even fathom the amount of money I’ve saved from buying older used vehicles and doing all my own automotive work on them, or fixing all my appliances. I couldn’t fathom a $400 vehicle payment. My prius I’ve had for three years I installed a new oem hybrid battery in and have a grand total of about $7,000 into (three years of tires and replacement parts and buying the car itself). Never had a vehicle loan in my 25 years of driving.
I wouldnt dream of swapping out a gas tank, or a combustion engine, but I did a diy battery swap on my gen 1 Leaf, and it was surprisingly easy (well, physically it was hell, but engineering-wise it was a piece of cake).
My attitude to fixing anything is “well, it doesn’t work now, it’s not like I could break it more”. Swapped out a 3 euro rubber ring on a 400 euro coffee machine last week, and feeling pretty good about it.
The leaf is quite doable, because it has a small battery and a small range. Most evs though, and the ranges that are needed to be a full on vehicle replacement without the need of a 2nd ice vehicle for trips out of town are far beyond the 85 mile range of a subcompact car like the leaf. The batteries are over 1,000 pounds and run the length of the vehicles underside.
I can swap out a 4 cylinder ice at my house (sure, that is beyond your average do it yourselfer). In no way could I swap out a 1,060 pound battery in a tesla model 3.
For the record, swapping out a gas tank is not very hard.
What time are you from where a $400 vehicle payment is a lot?
I mean yes, people have payments over 700 a month but to me, paying 400 would be a lot.
Many people have payments over $700 a month.
60 months at $700 a month is $42 000 and that’s not much when you include financing cost.
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Buy and use whole chickens instead of buying chicken pieces. They’re not difficult to break down yourself, a youtube tutorial is all you need.
Then keep the bones and stuff that would normally be considered waste. Put them into sturdy ziplock bags and freeze until you have a few of them. Then take them out and use them to make a chicken stock that can be the base of a soup or stew.
Add to that, onion butts, potato peels, corn cobs, tough mushroom stems, etc. All great for stock.
Adding some more
- Reusable canvas bags when shopping
- Compost (all cardboard in the US is compostable btw)
- Buy directly from farmers. I bought half a cow and a whole pig a year ago and it’s lasted me this long. I wanted to see how much money I saved off market price of the cuts and it was around $2000
- Reusable storage containers and bags for leftovers. I have silicon ziplock bags and glass containers. Works amazing.
- Plastic wrap can be replaced with beeswax wrap (reusable) or basic cloths and works really well too
- Bar soap is better for the environment too
Im pretty certain since cardboard has plastic on the outer layer for graphics
Yeah peel off plastic the rest is compostable even the ink used on cardboard
Aleppo soaps are great. We buy like 5 bars. Lasts us about a year or more. Better than normal/modern soaps. Ancient wisdom makes these soaps.
- Reusable canvas bags when shopping
I’m sorry to be that guy, but this most likely will be worse for the environment.
Reusable bags are alot more poluting than plastic bags, because the manufacturing process can use up to 100x the energy.
What you SHOULD buy as a reusable is a higher quality plastic bag that is made from reusable plastic.
This sounds wrong I know.
I will also be that guy and say mine have already reached carbon neutral. I’ve had them for 4 years now and probably close to 1000 trips and have saved thousands if not more plastic bags in that time already. They have no rips or tears and I expect them to last another 10 to 15 years. I don’t think reusable plastic would get that sort of shelf life unless you rarely use them.
You are probably right if you can get that many trips out of it. And I was also only focusing on the environment and not the money saved, which is also wrong of me taking OPs question into account.
Not really a money saver, but I’ve been buying shampoo and conditioner bars. They often come in cardboard or paper wrapping instead of plastic containers like regular shampoo and conditioners. I enjoy the reduced plastic waste, and they don’t take up as much space in the shower.
And you can also take them with you on airplanes
My thermostat has a setting which allows for a greater temperature swing. I have it set at 2*. With the temperature set at 68f the heat refill not come on until the temperature reaches 66f. This causes the heat to run longer but less frequently, which is more efficient than running in short bursts. I also have a setting which runs the fan for a few minutes after the heat stops which scavenges the remaining heated air out of the air ducts.
I also open up my eastern/southern facing drapes/blinds in the morning to allow the sun to heat up the house through the windows for some free heat throughout the day.
Probably doesn’t apply to >90% of people here, but if you ever get to build your own house, build it so the longer side faces south, and the shorter side west (in the northern hemisphere). Then you get more midday sun in the winter when the sun is further south, and less evening sun in the summer.
Removing the window screens in the winter helps a lot too.
If you have a dishwasher, do NOT rinse things before putting them in. Just scrape off the bits into the bin. A big part of the efficiency of a dishwasher comes from not running more water or the water heater unnecessarily. If you rinse you might as well hand wash.
Also, use the cheap powder and make sure to use it in the prewash phase.
Good tech connections video: https://youtu.be/_rBO8neWw04
To continue your first point buying a decent shaving puck and brush goes a lot further than buying shaving cream. Plus, I find it much more soothing on my face than the cream. A decent shaving soap is ~$5 and lasts a month at least.
You can also buy bar body wash instead of liquid, which is far cheaper as well.
If you have space to store stuff buy bulk in things that don’t expire.
Make your own cleaners for some things. Vinegar, dawn soap, and rubbing alcohol are the base for most.
Boardwalk laundry detergent has been a great cost saver. You have to buy 40 lbs at a time, but it works great. We typically use half the recommended amount since it’s made for larger washers.
Watch for commercial products as sometimes this is the way to go for simple items that need to be durable.
I think I’ll be looking into Boardwalk. I haven’t heard of that before. How long does that 40lb detergent bucket last you?
About 6 months. It even seems to be working for the sensitive skin person in the house.
Plants / gardening.
You get free food while reducing waste in its purest form. I have alot of indoor plants giving me seasoning, fruits and vegetables that are also pretty plants and great for the indoor environment.
I also use a double edge safety razor, but have an electric razor also for a quick morning shave. Other things I do:
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I cut my hair with clippers I bought 15+ years ago for the price of 1-2 haircuts. This probably only works for people with simple, short hair, but has saved me thousands of dollars compared to getting a monthly haircut at $20+
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We put a basket with cloth napkins next to the dining table and a basket with washcloths on the kitchen counter and have drastically reduced the quantity of paper towels that we use
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I wash and reuse ziploc bags until they get too many holes in them.
What do you use bags for that you can’t use reusable containers for?
Half an onion or whatever in the fridge, freezing meats in to portions, vegetable snack portions, taking crackers on the road, organizing little odds and ends, other stuff.
I do use containers and glass jars for other things and wash and reuse those too, but containers and jars take up too much space for some things and cost a lot more. The last time I bought a (100) box of ziplocks was like 6 years ago and it’s still half full so I’m ok with my method.
Definitely support this from the eco angle, but given how much you seem to use these bags (100 is a lot, but 6 years is a long time), do you not feel the $15/year is really not a big deal? Over that time, you’ve saved ~$75, which over 6 years… It’s not that much.
Not trying to discredit the method, I’m just curious as to what makes the method work for you!
It’s more about not wasting the plastic than it is about saving money. New bags come in to rotation from other sources too. Like my buddy gave me a weed cookie in a Frozen bag a year and a half ago. That one’s been rotating for a while and I smile every time I see it.
Chest freezer if you have room for it, and a Costco membership if there’s one within a reasonable drive. Being able to buy in bulk and freeze what you don’t use can save a lot of money over time. Costco gas is also typically the cheapest so you will save a few dollars each time you fill up your car too.
If you don’t own it, don’t pay for it. That’s one of my main principles and the motivation why I don’t pay for streaming services anymore. I also noticed that I wasn’t enjoying music and movies as much anymore anyway when it was in such high quantities. That’s just about saving money.
Other one is, I don’t buy anything of which i know of that it won’t work or keep much of its value anymore after several years. So I rarely buy anything with irreplaceable batteries, that basically ends up on the junk pile after 3 years.
