Extremely Useful Life Hacks That Could Potentially Help You Save Money And Become A Better Spender

"If you can buy a tool to complete a repair for the same price as the repair itself, buy the tool and repair it for free next time."

Ayoub

• Published in Interesting
• December 2, 2022

With the current state of the world, a lot of people are finding it challenging to manage their expenses while the price of living is getting more costly by the day. It's a constant battle each month, which means that some alterations have to be considered to reduce spending. 

It's never easy to alter your beloved habits and be content with much less. However, understanding that your finances have always been managed poorly can help you transition from being a reckless spender. 

It's always easier said than done, but once you get used to it, you will appreciate how much money you managed to save from waste. Spending less on things that are not that important will only make your life better. 

Some people have "life hacks" that help them manage their finances more efficiently. They help you understand things better and give you more motivation to commit to change. 

A Redditor who goes by the username u/DetachedMentally made a post on the r/AskReddit subReddit with the following question: "What are some interesting life hacks for saving money?" The user received a lot of helpful answers to their question.

Scroll down to check out the full Reddit post, and scroll a little further to read the comments from the original post. 

Here's the original post by Reddit user u/DetachedMentally:

1. "Don't have kids"

--anon

2. "Always eat before going food shopping"

--Trackull

3. "When at the grocery, look at the price/oz or whatever unit it is instead of the total price."

It's usually posted in one corner. It's not going to save you tons of money, but it does add up. Plus it takes out the guess work when comparing similar items.

--Richards_Brother

4. "I don't smoke but live my financial life as a smoker."

Meaning every Monday I transfer the sum of one weeks worth of cigarettes to my savings account. If people that earn less than me can afford smoking, so can I.

--kebabhue

5. "Don’t buy something that you normally wouldn’t buy just because you have a coupon."

--Rwill113

6. "Get yourself a library card."

It's not just books, but also movies, workshops, education, software, computer time, music. I've probably saved thousands on all sorts of c**p.

If it weren't for the library, I probably wouldn't have been introduced to awesome books like American Gods, The Way of Kings, All Systems Down, or The Road.

--anon

7. "I have a friend who, at the end of each pay period, moves whatever she has in checking into savings."

It doesn't matter if she's got $5 or $50 in the account, it goes into savings the night before payday.

--Gigglefruit358

8. "learn to cook! 4 or 5 reliably delicious recipes will go a loooooong way."

--joo_ish

9. "If you can avoid it, never take out a payday loan."

--Creative_Uzername

10. "Buy secondhand!"

11. "Making one extra payment on your mortgage per year will reduce a 30 year mortgage to roughly 17 years."

---thersites-

12. "Only drinking water is a solid one. Soda at restaurants or other drinks add up a lot."

--Kings-x-Dynasty

13. "If you can buy a tool to complete a repair for the same price as the repair itself, buy the tool and repair it for free next time."

---thersites-

14. "When buying online, leave items in the shopping cart for awhile."

There is a good chance that the website is tracking this, and will lower the price overtime to entice you into buying.

I've saved a lot by being patient. Like when I got a surround sound amp for $350 that was listed everywhere for $450 to $500, just by leaving it in the online shopping cart for a week.

--Whatmeworry4

15. "Make your own lunches for work."

The cost of making/preparing your lunch for the week can be less than what you pay buying one days lunch.

Also, can provide health benefits.

--imissmydogloads

16. "If you're low income, **apply for food stamps** (or whatever your city/state calls the equivalent)."

Seriously, there's no shame in it. I neglected to apply for several years when I was really struggling because I had to unlearn the stigma that they had when I was growing up.

Times have changed. ***If you need help, don't be afraid or embarrassed to ask for it.*** I qualify for the maximum amount where I live. It doesn't cover my monthly food expenses but it gets me through a few weeks and I could make it stretch if I really needed to. It never hurts to apply.

--BabaYagatron

17. "Don't buy the cheapest option."

Often the middle priced option will be the best value. Things that are too cheap are worth what you paid for them.

---thersites-

18. "Don't drink. Alcohol is a money drain."

--kryptonianjackie

19. "This is not mine, but 'The 72 hour rule" is pretty damn helpful."

Basically, the gist of it is, if you want something that is not a necessity, instead of buying it immediately, add it to a list (in my case I use a spreadsheet, but whatever works), then wait 72 hours.

If after 72 hours, you still want it, then you can buy it. It seems that 80-90% of the time, after the 72 hours is up, I don't end up buying the item I thought i wanted.

The reason I like doing it with a spreadsheet is, I can then at the end of the year, easily add it up, and see how much money I DIDN'T impulsively spend.

EDIT: It took me a while, but I remembered where I picked this idea up from. It initially came into my world from listening to the ChooseFi podcast interview with the Frugalwoods.

Here's the podcast: https://www.choosefi.com/012-living-frugal/

and here is her original article on it:https://www.frugalwoods.com/2017/01/09/my-foolproof-method-to-stop-impulse-spending/

--Icarus_Jones

20. "I try to cost things as portions of better, or more fulfilling things i.e. A coffee is 1/10 of a new game. Ten meals out is a weekend away etc."

--_mexicola

Well, these are all very useful tips. Managing finances is something most people struggle with and a battle they are used to losing.

We hope this list can potentially help you in the future. If you enjoyed this list, make sure to check out similar content on our platform.

Ayoub