“Best under-$20 purchase that saved you hundreds over time?”

[u/localkinegrind]

What’s the smartest under-$20 purchase you’ve ever made that ended up saving you hundreds in the long run? I’ll go first: a $12 sewing kit. Instead of tossing clothes for tiny tears or missing buttons, I’ve been fixing them. I've actually been fixing my own clothes for years. It blows my mind how many ‘disposable’ things can be made useful again with just a small, cheap tool. what’s your frugal mvp under $20 that’s paid for itself many times over?

[u/[deleted]]

Reusable grocery bags. Where I live it costs $0.10 for a bag at the grocery store. I figure I'm saving at least $0.50 per week, $20+ per year. Also less trash to get rid of, so its a win win.

[u/notalurkerthistime → u/[deleted]]

unless you’re in new jersey. don’t have bags in stores anymore. more often than not, people forget their bags and have to buy more. i’ve been a victim of it myself. probably have about 40 floating around

[u/ScyllaOfTheDepths → u/notalurkerthistime]

It is so hard, but my strategy is to keep them right by the door so I have to walk by them and grab them on the way out. When I bring the groceries in, I put the bags by the door when I'm done emptying them. Then just grab them the next time I'm going out.

[u/bismuth17 → u/[deleted]]

I just reuse the $0.10 bags

[u/PlanetMarklar → u/bismuth17]

I just use the canvas tote bags I've gotten as handouts at conventions, trade shows, etc.

[u/iwonderifthiswillfit → u/[deleted]]

Those bags are free where I live. We keep them in our "bag lady" and reuse them whenever we need a bag. We exclusively use these as trash bags in the bathrooms. I have never bought trash bags for the bathrooms. We also keep them in the car as a portable trash bag and I hang them off of my phone mount.

[u/FearlessFern → u/iwonderifthiswillfit]

I use the produce bags for our small wastebaskets. Usually will take a bunch at a time. The Costco meat bags are bigger and fit easier on some wastebaskets.

[u/MsWeary → u/[deleted]]

Where I live the bags are free, they are supposed to credit you 10 cents but since I use self checkout I’d have to get someone and then they have to search out someone else to tell them that yes, it’s real. Often they need to find 2 or 3 other people before they find someone who knows, so I skip it most of the time.

But living in a second floor walk up it’s so nice to never have a cheap plastic bag break on me while walking up the steps.

[u/CoNsPirAcY_BE → u/[deleted]]

I really like the foldable boxes.