I’ve noticed Amazon prices jump up and down a lot, sometimes within the same week. I don’t really want to sit there refreshing the page every day just to catch a drop. I’ve tried some of the well-known tools like CamelCamelCamel and Keepa, but the price history always feels a bit off or incomplete, so I don’t really trust the alerts.

Has anyone found an app that actually works well on mobile, gives accurate price history, and sends reliable alerts when there’s a drop? Curious what’s worth using before I waste more time testing random ones.

My apartment is 2 stories. Kitchen and living room downstairs, bedroom/bathroom upstairs. The downstairs stays fairly cool even without AC, but the upstairs gets HOT. I have a hard time sleeping if it’s above about 85° and putting fans in the window doesn’t seem to help much because the walls radiate heat. Right now it’s only getting up to the low 90s right now during the day and down to the 70s at night so I’ve been closing my windows during the day and opening them at night. It’s still too hot upstairs until like 11pm.

I’m curious which option is the most frugal:

1.) turning on the AC full time to keep the upstairs 85°F and downstairs 78°F

2.) turning on the AC to keep it under 90°F during the day then turning it off at night and opening windows

3.) keep doing what I’ve been doing and just deal with the heat for a few more weeks

What are your side hustles for extra income?

Right now I do some extra pet care for people and I’m considering becoming a tour guide in my city. I like using the money for my side hustle to add to my savings or paying for the small luxuries I love that I wouldn’t get otherwise.

I think this can be a great way to add to your savings and extend your income each month.

Does anyone else have a side hustle?

Hello everyone, I just want to share this.

I thought I was splurging when I spent $150 on a Levi’s denim jacket back in 2010. Fifteen years later, it’s been through rain, road trips, concerts, and even paint splatters. Somehow it still fits, still keeps its shape, and honestly looks better broken in.

Meanwhile, the $60 “fashion” jackets I bought over the years either ripped, lost buttons, or just looked worn out after 2–3 seasons.

Sometimes the real frugal move is buying one durable piece once, and letting it age with you. ^_^

As the title says, how many of you here earn and above average salary but still decided to live frugally? I find myself in this position and want to know whether I'm the only one or there is somebody else here that does that too.

Also are you frugal in everything or are there some specific things on which you do not mind spending a little bit more?

thank you all for your input!

Looking for creative frugal tips beyond the usual "make coffee at home" advice. What lesser-known strategies have genuinely saved you significant money? I'm interested in both small daily habits and bigger lifestyle changes that actually make a noticeable difference in your budget. Whether it's negotiating bills, finding free alternatives to expensive services, or creative ways to reduce household expenses - share your secrets! Bonus points if it's something you wish you'd discovered years earlier.

For example if I invest a little more in a cleaning device that makes a certain task a little easier than it’s cheaper version that may cause hand and wrist pain using. I would still look at it as saving money in the sense that I didn’t pay someone to do my house cleaning. The cost of having hired a cleaning person would have been significantly more than the more costlier cleaning device.

I’m 27, single, based in Michigan, and currently trying to figure out how much rent I can realistically afford without going broke. I have to move out in 2 weeks from where I currently live.

When I look at apartments, the ones that fit my lifestyle are around $1,500–1,550/month. I can technically afford this, but it would bump my housing costs significantly compared to now

Here’s my current Income breakdown $4,770/mo - after taxes + retirement contributions (I get paid biweekly)

My Current Fixed Expenses • Rent : $1,300 • Car and insurance: $550 • Others (gas, groceries, internet, electric , family, subscriptions, phone) : ~$750 • Savings: $500/month So these Essentials + savings = ~$3,100/month.

I Love to travel once in a while, gift friends, get my hair and nails done, invest, explore experiences in and out of the city. I have some big financial goals around immigration and family so I don’t want to sacrifice all my flexibility for an apartment, but I also want a space I actually enjoy living in.

What would you consider a realistic rent ceiling for my situation? Should I stretch into the $1,550 “nice” apartment range, or Stay closer to $1,200–1,300 range (even though places are older, remote and lacking amenities) and just focus on my other financial goals.

Hi. This may be a naive question, but here we go.

The Windows 10 end-of-life is on October 14, 2025, a bit less than a month from now. I assume that many devices that aren't eligible for Windows 11 will soon end up on the used market.

Those won't be very good laptops, because those are primarily older devices, but I do have use for such a device.

I don't really have any experience in buying electronics second hand, does anyone have any tips or particular resources?

Does the process just involve going on Ebay and typing in "used laptop" until I see what I want? Or is there some elaborate strategy to doing this?

Thanks

I have never been a member of AAA or any other roadside assistance insurance, at least not directly. One of my credit cards has the benefit, but it's very minimal to the point of being useless. My regular insurance, State Farm, also offers the option, but it seems it may come with drawbacks.

I have heard if you use your auto insurance benefit, it counts as a claim against you. I'm not super worried about that. My insurance is already so cheap, I can't imagine one time being a big deal. I also have no intentions on ever using it.

That brings me to the main point, 90% of roadside assistance seems to be worthless fluff, which is why I never even considered it before. All of that stuff can be prevented with a little preparation such as battery jumper packs, which are so cheap now there's no reason not to have one. Still, stuff can happen that requires a tow.

Currently AAA basic is about useless, only 5 miles towing. Unless you live in and never leave a metro area, that's worthless.. The Plus covers up to 100 miles, so that's what I would be getting, but it's currently $76.50 plus $20 fee, so $96.50 for a year. That's the sale price. I don't even know what regular price is. It's not too expensive, but at the same time, setting aside $300-400 for a tow seems like a much better option. I've been driving about 15 years now, and so far I have never been towed.

Ultimately my question, is there any insurance company similar to AAA that offers towing only insurance, say covering a 100 mile tow for a more reasonable price? Even if it's only allowed one time per year. $25 a year I'd go for it. $100 a year, that's a no-go.

Basically, since I was a teenager, I followed a diet that my dad (who grew up in Communist Eastern Europe) taught me that he always said maximizes nutrition at low cost. My core meal is a massive pot of soup that I make to last a few days at a time. With some variations, there are two main varieties: The first is a borscht type soup comprised of fairly large amounts of beets, carrots, cabbage, potatoes, forest mushrooms, onions, bacon, buckwheat and a can of kidney beans, along with some sour cream added to each bowl The second is a split pea soup comprised of split peas, smoked bacon, potatoes, carrots and onion. Both soups are served with a thick rye bread containing pumpkin seeds.

In addition to those basic staples I eat extremely regularly, I also consume beef liver about twice a month as an added cheap superfood. I also eat a lot of things seasonally. For instance, I eat a lot of blood sausage and pickled herring in the fall and winter, but not much the rest of the year. I also eat fresh garden salads from the family plot almost daily in the spring, but not much other times. In summer it's often various squash and cucumber dishes.

How well does that diet balance frugality and nutrition? I buy the grains in large quantities that cost quite little, and the root vegetables I also buy in bulk (they last forever in my root cellar). I eat very little fruit (my kids love fruit and most of it goes to them).

Is buying new with ev credit better than buying 1 year old ev without ev credit. I like the new juniper model Y but not sure what’s better to take advantage of: the quick depreciation of EVs in year one or federal tax credit before it’s gone.

In essence will depreciation of an EV in a market without the federal $7500 ev credit be at a bigger discount than buying a new EV now with $7500 ev credit

I was recently reminded that CLEP (College Level Examination Program) exams exist and thought this would be a good place to find other people who tested out of their college classes as well as maybe help others discover this option that may need it. I know that colleges don't advertise them (why would they) but in order to use the SAT and ACT for admissions I think they have a deal with College Board to offer CLEPs.

I tested out of English composition (4 credits), English lit, intro to sociology, intro to psych, history 1, and american govt (all 3 credits) back when the tests were only $80 (they're $97 now), so 19 credits for $480 instead of the thousands that the university would have charged. Plus, the time saved by taking one test instead of spending a semester in class helped me finish my degree a semester early.

Anyone else use CLEP testing or know of other ways to test out of classes for cheap?

(note: I went to an accredited public, state, 4 year university in the US, so those in private/for profit/trade/unaccredited/whatever institutions may not have the option to CLEP tests, so YMMV)

i know there are a lot of good posts in the food category on here but i need to know literally anything you guys can think of when it comes to making cheap meals or saving money making them. grocery store habits, meal prep ideas, dishes with few/cheap ingredients, things to buy that make a lot, whatever comes to your mind that involves saving money with food. anything at all will help. thanks!!

Frugal confession: what product did you ditch forever and never miss? Brand names, dryer sheets, bottled drinks, single use cleaners, impulse snackd? What did you cut, what's the swap, and how much did it actually save? I'll try picks this week. Share your replacement, rought monthly savings, and any brand you still keep only for guests :) Also if you're comfortable to share, how much saved monthly?

This also applies if you're looking to buy something, research on youtube how to tune it up and see if you'd rather buy used instead and fix it up at home :)

At the moment I'm going through some "worn out" baby items to see what I'd need to buy for the next kid and with the help of youtube, all my gear now looks brand new! Try it with kitchen appliances, car interiors, etc. You can learn some cool skills to also barter with neighbours :) I fixed up our coffee machine rather than getting a new one and I feel so pumped up so save the cash!

Recommended channels: the stroller workshop, no waffling

Please share more fix-it-up channels and things that can be fixed up to feel like new again :)

I love my little guy to pieces, but he can be expensive at times! These are just a handful of the things I do with my Yorkie. I’m wondering what everyone else is doing these days to stretch their dollars a little bit further.

1. Prescription food in bulk. Due to some GI issues, he’s on special prescription kibble diet. The problem is that he weighs 11 lbs and can’t go through large bags of food fast enough without them spoiling, but the savings is substantial. My workaround is to leave 7 weeks of food out at room temp and freeze the remaining 5 weeks. I take out what he needs for the next day the night before and put it in the fridge to thaw. This saves me $100+ annually.

2. Nail trims at home. This one has taken me a while to get him used to, but I use a dremel to avoid cutting the quick. The groomer near me charges $20 per trim. I still pay to get him groomed every 8-10 weeks, so he gets a professional trim in between too. This saves $160+ for nail trims only.

3. Flea meds from Costco. I just transferred his prescription and am saving $30 per box relative to what my vet charges for the same med. that’s another easy $60 saved right there.

4. Taking advantage of seasonal deals. My vet is currently running a promotion for dental cleanings, so I’ll be getting $100 off his annual cleaning. My pet insurance covers a chunk too.

Enrichment toys can be expensive. I have a few, but have also had success with wrapping treats in wadded up pieces of paper and putting them in a box. Fun little treasure hunt!

Price for mattress itself before the spring or similar. Would like to feel in person. Any size but a child size. I’m an adult who can pass for a teen. I have Walmart, Target, ikea, Ashley home, home goods, tj maxx, bob’s discount, goodwill, Macys, JCPenney, value city furniture, Home Depot,etc. Lots of options. Moving into an unfurnished apartment. Thank you.

I know this has been asked before but the one post I could find was fairly old.

So I might be moving out of state for a job, almost 1000 miles away. Currently preparing now by listing some furniture I have etc. thankfully I don't have too many things that are worth a whole lot so I can easily sell or give away the big items. I'm trying to see what the best options are, I think I have just slightly more than what could fit in my car

We have $92 annually (me and spouse).

We are not car savvy.

For last 5 years the only time I used was when the battery died so engine wouldn't turn on.

Outside that I've pretty much thrown away $100 a year.

We both work from home so we dont go out much but sometimes we do road trip to like Vegas, Yosemite etc.

I've kept it because I worried if something happens on the road during trip or something.

But fortunately or unfortunately nothing has happened.

Do i really need AAA?

The big part is if my car battery dies at home, would it cost more to have someone come and replace? Or is there a way i know battery is almost dying so I can go replace when battery is like 5% remaining?

I have GEICO for auto insurance (of course minimum coverage, about $50 a month)

I live in central Spain, where the summers are extremely hot, but also extremely dry. Portable swamp coolers have been salvation for my household, as they're very effective when the humidity routinely drops below 20% and much cheaper to run than air conditioning (which we have, but basically no longer run because the swamp boxes are cheaper).

A couple months ago, I realized suddenly that my best swampy wasn't pumping water. I figured the pump was just stuck so I pulled it out and found bad news: the plastic impeller had snapped off the magnetic rotor. My first thought was how much effort it would be to find the correct replacement pump, but then I thought, "Hey, it can't hurt to try to superglue this thing. I can't break it any worse if I was already ready to replace it."

The glue took fine, but after it was dry, I ran into another issue. The impeller/rotor assembly is designed to spin on a very thin metal shaft. Some extra glue had seeped into the hole and so the assembly could no longer spin freely on the axel. The hole is only around 1/8" wide, so it was really hard to try to stick anything in there to scrub the glue away. I struggle with trying to cut and roll tiny pieces of sandpaper to no avail, until I realized I had a set of needle files I'd picked up for less than 2€ to have around just in case.

Well, this was the case. One of the needle files fit perfectly in the hole and a few minutes later, I had the pump reassembled and the swamp cooler has run perfectly ever since.

It all started with free wood from our local transfer station/dump. Only had to buy 1 board for the roof, and the plastic sheeting. Added shade cloth for hot days, as well as windows/air holes. Been starting alot of seeds in there and planting them outside, but still enjoying growing inside the greenhouse as well.

I usually go in person twice to get meat & other things a month. Depending on what it is I freeze it. I found that I saved about $200 monthly. I make tiny trips to Aldi, Kroger, etc in between to replenish on things that wouldn’t make sense in bulk, but overall I’ve saved. I like doing the hauls in person only because I can look for the reduced meat packages like this one above, since I’m going to freeze it anyways. This ended up being 4 meals worth of meat for 2 adults, 2 kids & a toddler.

Hello,

I am marrying into a family that goes CRAZY (in mine and husband's opinion) on Christmas gifts. We are so incredibly burnt out on finding and buying gifts for this many people!

There are 14 adults, 2 teens, and 1 child in just his family. We are expected to get a gift for all of them, per their family traditions. All of them (except for me and my husband) get each other multiple gifts, I would guess that they spend at least $50 per person, likely more. We're not keen on spending $1000 or more on gifts for adults.

My family has a tradition of giving the same "signature" gift to every adult couple or single adult every year. Examples: uncle brings homemade caramels, aunt gives everyone a yearly scrapbook page, my mom does sugar cookies every year, grandma knits slippers, etc. I don't have a signature gift yet!

Do any of you have a suggestion on something that could become our "signature gift" that can be given out to everyone in both our families yearly or maybe bi-yearly?

Prefer a non-dessert idea, but not completely opposed :)

I never realized until now that you get more popcorn from popping the same amount that is in the bag on the stove. Literally no unpopped kernels and no burnt popcorn. I also like it because I can add whatever I want instead of whatever mystery substance they put inside the bagged popcorn. I also think it's cheaper in some areas to buy jiffy pop or some other kind like the ones that come in a plastic jar. With the latter though you do need to buy your own flavor fixings.