Breakfast: oatmeal, banana, frozen blueberries, apple pie spice, stevia, pepitas. Dinner: soaking beans for soup.

How are you eating cheap today?

Hi all! I am recently single and during the breakup I did lose some furniture. That’s neither here nor there.

I am currently in the process of scouting out some new items on FBM and Buy Nothing groups near me. I’m fairly crafty and have given second life to a number of items in the past for myself and friends. This however was when I was living at home with my mother and had access to her garage. Does anyone know some affordable ways to setup a workshop or a place to work in a large metro area? I could in theory work in the parking lot, but lugging equipment down seems like a hassle. The maker spaces in my city are NOT cheap and it makes no sense financially unless my goal would be flipping furniture which isn’t really what I’m into. Any suggestions would be helpful! In theory I could tarp up a corner of my apartment worst case… 😅

Thrifty Furniture Sources?

What has been some of the thriftiest wins you've had for household furniture and supplies?

Spring is coming up and it reminded me of thrifty source for household furniture.

Back when I lived in a town that hosted two different colleges, dorm move out week in the Spring has always been some of the best dumpster diving weeks ever.

I don't usually dumpster dive throughout the year (no shade to those who do), but move out week in the Spring has usually resulted in some amazing finds. And I don't actually go inside dumpster (safety reasons), but I'm not above looking at the stuff next to it.

Towards the end of the school year, college kids get ready to leave their dorms for the summer. Over the year, they've accumulated more stuff than expected and these kids usually don't have storage units.

And they soon get tired of packing and often find that they have no room for another item in their car or truck and have no other way of transporting some bulky items.

Instead of worrying about these items, they often get tossed to the dumpster since they have no sentimental attachments.

I've picked up couches (no cushions), dressers, lampshades, nightstands, and kitchen side tables from the side of dorm buildings.

I don't pick up cushions, mattresses, pillows, or clothing because of the risk of bringing home bed bugs or other pests. But everything else is fair game.

After picking up these items, I usually leave them in the garage or porch for a week or two, then spray thoroughly with lysol, then wipe them down before they are brought into the house.

One of my favorite couches, which I no longer have unfortunately, was a dumpster dive find. I bought some cushions from Walmart and made sure they fit nicely on the couch, added some throw pillows and throw blankets, and viola, as good as new. These all cost less than $50, so I got a whole new couch for that price.

I also once picked up a really scratched up dresser. I sanded it down then sprayed a few layers of a different colour. Looked new afterwards. With a little time and effort, I got nice tall dresser for my clothes.

What have been some of your favourite thrifty dumpster dive finds?

What was your last “major” purchase? - (I’d say “major” is purely subjective in this scenario) How long did it take you to decide? Did you ask a friend, “expert?” Did you do your own research?

https://www.reddit.com/r/budgetcooking/s/F3v9SoMtc6

I linked that post so I don't have to outline everything I used again. I HIGHLY recommend making your own crunch wraps of burritos/tacos at home, yes Taco Bell may be easier... But you will save so much money if you shop sales and batch cook!

I let the mix cool overnight so it wouldn't make the tortillas too soggy, I HIGHLY recommend this step. I used 1/4 cup of filling and a small pinch of a Mexican cheese blend for each one, and I dabbed a tiny bit of water at the end after mostly folding them. Then I set them on the slightly damp seam while making the next one, which seals it without making it too soggy. Each one was folded in foil and vacuum sealed in counts of 10 per bag.

These are going to my sister in law who just had their second baby, who's getting out of the hospital today. My Sil is quite small, I felt these cheap tortillas from Walmart would be the perfect size for her burritos. She's now tandem-breastfeeding 2 littles, and needs to keep her nutrient-intake up. These will also be sent with chocolate chip cookies (Sally's Baking addiction recipe, the only CC cookie worth making in my opinion) We've been impatiently waiting for his arrival into this world. Long live Scott, 3rd of his name!! ❤️❤️

legumes are a great source and protein and complex carbs as well as fibers.

buy them dry (they are cheaper and they don't have additives, too much salt or sugar).

and they can be eaten hot or cold.

some examples of dishes:

chickpea curry

falafels

mediteranean chickpea salad

3 bean salad

chili

cassoulet

loubia (spicy mediteranean bean stew)

houmous

lentil salad

dhal

lentil soup

but one can make lentil wraps

pumpkin lentil curry

you can sprout beans or lentils to add to your slads

steam the fava beans and add cumin, it's delicious

split pea soup is delicious

dips and spreads can be made too

roasted chickpeas are a good snack

instead of buying protein shake: add cooked split peas to your milk and fruits, cheap and healthy

you can also make something similar to tofu with any legume: look it up.

anyway these are just few ideas amongst other

edit to add:

bean or lentil patty for burgers

bean brownies

once I even made bean and lentils cookies (the natural sweetness makes you add less sugar)

and you can use lentils in your stuffed veggies/ dishes instead of meat too.

In this house we do not throw away 1.5 tablespoons of peanut butter!

A dear friend of mine broke her ankle on both sides (while on vacation) had to return early and needs surgery. She will have surgery at the end of the week, her husband has to have surgery 4 days later. Recovery time is 6-8 weeks for both of them. They will have caregivers coming in to assist. Friends are bringing meals, grocery shopping and anything else they may need. I’m making chicken & wild rice soup, homemade bread, a dozen eggs boiled & peeled, and a loaf of banana bread. What else is good, easy and thrifty to take to a friend in need? Any and all suggestions and recommendations are appreciated.

Everyday you hear about a new plan service. They range from individual to family, those you unwrap and heat to those you follow the recipe where the shopping is merely done for you. Sometimes they look like you have brought a restaurant into your home! I'm wondering about the feasibility, and the reasoning?

Tell me your experience whether you chose to do it or not!

If you have ever looked into, actually tried or considered a meal plan service, what prompted you to use it or not? Was it health related, variety related, or simply the time constraints that made you consider it? What made you pull the plug to either try or give up the idea?

If you tried it, how did you settle on which service to use? Was it a friend recommended service? Did you try several ones before finding one you liked? Did you look for certain dietary restrictions like low salt or sugar, or just pursue the menu options?

Once you started the service, did you use it for a specified amount of time? Are you using it today? Did you switch services again at any point? While you used it, did you find you ate out less? Did you need to add to your o really food/entertainment budget to do it?

If you did or do use it, was it worth it? Did you find the free time or healthier meal options led to less food waste, more time availability, and better eating? Or did you decide the costs didn't outweigh the overall benefits?

Give me the scoop!

I’ve been hearing a lot about family vacations based on homes exchanges lately. Several of my friends did this with their families last summer and apparently it was a great experience, so they’ll do it again this summer. I’m now also thinking about doing this. Apparently, you can even do non-simultaneous exchanges i.e. you don’t have to swap at the exact same time. It seems to be a great way to save some money. Instead of spending thousands of dollars on hotels or airbnbs, you just swap homes with someone else. Has anyone here tried this? How was your experience? Or if you haven’t, would you ever consider it?

I work at a nursing home, and a resident is excited to be moving into an apartment next week. He has a donation box in one of the management offices for his new home. There's hand towels, a random assortment of pots and pans, a drying rack, towels, and a bunch of Tupperware already there. What are some other good ideas?

(He is in a wheelchair, he is a disabled veteran)

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Update: Wow, I wasn't expecting so many replies! thank you all so much for the helpful suggestions and sweet comments 😊

I ended up getting him a laundry basket, some socks, a can opener, a strainer, measuring cups and spoons, and some spices (onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper, parsley, and basil). I also got him a small snake plant as a housewarming gift, they are known for helping keep the air clean 😌. I am going to tell him to get in touch with our local american legion as well, so that they can continue to help him. Again, thank you all so much 🥹

I know everyone’s life situations are different. I’m curious to hear how much money people have saved in their emergency funds given their life situation. I recently had to pay $1500 for an unexpected root canal. I feel like there are so many unpredictable emergencies in life. What do you use it for? Do you ever touch it?

Because of depreciation values, I always thought a used car was the best option. However, used car prices increased exponentially in the last few years. Which do you choose?

New cars come with warranties and you know whether the maintenance schedule was kept up. The gas mileage tends to be better as well. However car insurance and electronics can be costly. Also, problems in newer models may not be determined for a few years.

Older cars used to have fewer electronic components to break, but more often you are at the mercy at whomever maintained it or didn't. After several years, warranty recalls, defects, and other issues may not be able to be tracked. Many were made sturdier, and your insurance can be much cheaper.

So do you find buying a new car or used to be thriftier? How so? What do you do to keep maintenance and overall ownership thrifty?

I really appreciate the thrifty mentality. It's part of my upbringing as we didn’t have much growing up. Money was always tight. So, it's something that will always be part of me. Some of the very rich people I've read about still drive their old car, look at menu prices, and even cut their own hair. Would you still be thrifty if you could essentially afford to buy your whole neighbourhood? Do you know anyone like this?

I have about 10 birdhouses on a wooded property in a temperate zone (7 in the US). Plenty of rain, wind, and snow. I've struggled with getting birdhouses to survive for more than a couple of seasons, regardless of paint/coatings. I carefully applied 2 coats of Helmsman Spar Urethane to a brand new box and 2 seasons later it was already falling apart and cracked. Bummer.

A couple of years ago had a beat up old box, a really flimsy one, that I decided to slap some old asphalt shingles on. Leftovers from a roofing job. Glued them on with a glue gun. This box is shockingly still together and in good shape.

So I decided this season to shingle all my birdhouses ( the wood ones with roofs anyway). I fold and break the shingles about 1/2" (1cm) wider than the roof on all edges then staple them down with a staple gun. I then make a "ridge cap" strip with a shingle folded over the peak and staple that on to prevent water getting in at the peak.

I'm confident this will extend their lives a great deal. Caveat: I don't have any of my birdhouses in direct sunlight where the shingles will get hot.

Hope this helps you!

Most people here are really good at transforming a main entree into something different, buy it can get boring if it is always the same "next" meal. Sometimes you can add just a few ingredients or take a regular dish and completely transform the taste from usual.

So, I'm asking for that next level of detail. What do you do that makes your transformation of leftovers into something different?

If you have a rotisserie chicken, you may make soup from the soup bones, but what kind of soup? Chicken tortilla? Chicken and rice? Northern bean and chicken? Black beans and chicken? Do you add any other spices ingredients to give it a different flavor each time? Any other ingredients?

What else do you make with the leftover meat? How do transform any leftover meat or veggies?

For example, one item I make is a chicken salad. I used to use ranch seasoning instead of mayo. I would chop a hardboiled egg, celery, black pepper, green and other color bell peppers, and sometimes carrots. When it got boring, I added a little mustard into the season ing. Later, I switched out the ranch and added radish with balsamic vinaigrette. If avocado is on sale, I use it instead of other binders. Now I'm thinking of mixing it up completely by adding gherkins, a little chopped dried cranberry, and nut bits with a dash of mayo.

Tell me how you use your main entree to transform the leftovers. Hopefully, we can borrowfrom each other and all add a little spice to our leftovers!

What are some of the hobbies you have that you feel are quite thrifty?

Nowadays, it seems like just leaving the house to go anywhere like the movies, the bar, or a music concert means that you'll be spending quite a bit on multiple items.

So staying home or close to it and enjoying some quiet hobbies seems to be an effective way of not spending money.

Here are some of my hobbies:

Hiking, beachcombing, video games, reading books, and watching movies.

Video games and consoles are from garage sales.

Books and DVD movies from the library.

Beachcombing and hiking are free, other than the gas for the short drive from home.

What are some of the hobbies you have that you feel are quite thrifty?

I am laying low, watching movies, or starting a series. Housework, laundry, cooking at home and meal prepping for the week. What are your plans?

So in the last few weeks I realized I’ve started doing two things that at first seemed reasonable, but now, I roll my eyes at myself because they were just plain silly.

The first one is being overly stingy when paring my vegetables. I’ve always been the kind of person who tries to use all of my vegetables and I pare off tops and bad spots as sparingly as possible. I am fine with being careful in such a way, a lot of resources and effort and money goes into fresh fruits and vegetables so I want to use them as fully as possible, especially when they come from my own garden, but lately I’ve gone too far. After I cut off a top, I’ve been inspecting it to see if I can cut a little more off the piece I’m about to throw away. In the last week, I’ve been cutting the ends off the onions and then nibbling with my knife around the circle to get less than a half a teaspoon of diced onion. I cook with a lot of onions so I wouldn’t be surprised if I’ve spent several minutes in the last week doing that and in the end I’ve salvaged less than table spoon of diced onion. I’ve got to feed something to the compost pile after all.

The second one is even sillier. If I have a dry crust of bread, I’ll throw it in the freezer to later pulverize in my mortar and pestle to use as bread crumbs for various recipes. I don’t use bread crumbs in many dishes so it isn’t such a major undertaking, but I do it once every couple of months. Lately, I’ve caught myself brushing the crumbs off the counter after I cut my bread to save in a jar. I think I probably got a teaspoon of crumbs after several days of doing it. Then I noticed that one of the crumbs was a lady bug and that was when I realized I was being stupid and decided to write this post.

Anyone else done something silly like this?

I’m looking into a cheap car rental option for our summer vacation and would really like to hear your review of thrifty car rental. We don’t need a fancy vehicle, just four wheels to get us around. From what I’ve seen, Thrifty online booking has the best car rental prices by far. It’s obviously a budget car rental, but that’s also what we’re going for.

Thrifty Car Rental Reviews?

My question is: are they legit or is the car going to break down on the second day? Hertz vs Thrifty price comparison: Hertz costs $425 for the week we want vs. $165 for Thrifty. For one week car rental. I can handle bad customer service and just need to know if they are legit.

Is it great value for money or will the car break down? Which would you pick?

Isn’t there some sort of Thrifty discount or promotion through Costco membership?

Would you add the insurance on top? This has been on my mind every time I rent a car. Sometimes, the insurance is like an additional 30-40% cost on top of the car rental cost, which is outrageous. I think our travel insurance already covers any car rental damages. What do people normally do?

Recently, while doing my budget, I looked at my dining out category. I currently use this category for any food not cooked at home. If I pick up take out to eat at home, grab fast food or a drink on the road, or have a great meal out with a good friend, I list all of these as dining out.

Then I started thinking about my other categories and wondering where is the best place to list this? Should eating out with friends actually be listed under entertainment? Should take out be considered groceries? Am I micromanaging it under a new category to allocate more of my budget there or for true clarity? Together, the 3 categories are adding up to a tidy sum lately.

How do you count eating out in your budget? How do you keep it best under control? What are your tips and trips to keep it fun, but reasonable?

Recently I’ve noticed a pattern that’s hard to ignore: search platforms are designed to keep you searching, not finding. It’s not about connecting you with the best deals, it’s about keeping you engaged as long as possible.

Take Google, for example. The recent antitrust case revealed how queries are manipulated to favor advertisers. A simple search for “kids’ shoes” will steer you toward specific brands paying for visibility. Amazon does this too, prioritizing its own products or those of big spenders in its search results. Even Pinterest has leaned into this game, with its algorithms driving conversions at a staggering rate. The longer you browse, the more likely you are to buy—and that’s exactly what they want.

The problem: this system preys on indecision. Platforms know the more options they throw at you, the harder it is to make a choice. And while you’re stuck scrolling through endless “deals,” they’re making profits from ads and sponsored listings.

I'm becoming increasingly passionate about solving this. I want to find and expose the best systems and tools that consumers can use to disrupt this. I came across a tool called Vetted recently, and it seems half decent. Another one that I saw today is called "Our-AI", but both of these companies seem to be unable to gain visibility. Could be a coincidence, but I'm not so sure.

As consumers, we need to ask ourselves: is the hunt really saving us money—or just wasting our time? Sometimes the best deal isn’t about finding the cheapest price but about reclaiming your time and focus. Next time you’re lost in search results, remember: these platforms aren’t built to help you win—they’re built to keep you playing their game.

I’m so thrifty that I sometimes catch myself wanting to drive across the city for a good deal, but it would only save me $8 on groceries and I would have to spend an extra 40 min. to get there and back. Then it hits me: what is my time worth? What is a meaningful amount of money that would justify my spending time on it? I catch myself wanting to do this so often (okay, you caught me, I’ve spent a stupid amount of time just to save a few bucks). Have you done this? What do you think about saving money vs. saving time?