I have a dog (10yrs) and a cat (7yrs) and it seems vet bills are higher than ever. We had a couple scary situations with the cat and the dog this year that between the two cost about $13,000.

When I first got my boys I had pet insurance, but back then it seemed the options were only good for young animals. Now it seems the situation has changed? Vet bills are more expensive and there seems to be an expectation that everyone has pet insurance?

I love my babies and I want them to have long, healthy lives, but their medical bills are costing more than mine these days!

What's the current wisdom here?

Check the fixed "base charge" on your water bill. Most utilities base this flat monthly fee on the size of your meter, regardless of how much water you actually use.

​My house had a 1-inch meter. I had the water company swap mine down to a 3/4-inch and my fixed monthly fee immediately dropped by $35/month ($420/year). A 5/8-inch meter is standard for most homes, so I may eventually drop it down even smaller to save even more.

​Zero noticeable difference in household water pressure. Check your bill and your utility's rate sheet—you might be paying a monthly premium for a larger line you may not need.

Hey all,

We are 6 people in the house, 4 children under 15 and no matter what we try to do the bill runs around $500.

Here is our plan:

Rate plan: EV2-A, which means 12am-3pm is considered off-peak

Off-peak: Approximately $0.23/kWh

Summer peak (4–9 PM): Approximately $0.54/kWh

Winter peak: Approximately $0.41/kWh

We are already making sure the car is being charged at night, dish washer also runs either in the morning or after midnight, and to do the laundry and dryer in the morning.

I tried to analyze my bill with agents but basically all come up with the conclusion that we are pretty much efficient.

So that's it? I'm destined to pay $500 a month?

* edit: We are using the AC very rarely
* edit 2: We live in CA, south bay

Currently paying $60+ tax for Spectrum (earlier Cox). Just 2 of us at home, normal mobile browsing, occasional Netflix etc on TV. Dont need gbps speed.

I was wondering if there are cheaper Internet plans out there, similar to US Mobile for cellular phones. Cox hasn't been bad, but I was wondering what others have been using outside of Xfinity, ATT, Spectrum etc that just does the job

Apologize this has been discussed in the past.

Hey all. So I know rice, oats, pasta, beans, etc. I do eat all those.

Thing is, Ive lived beyond my means for awhile, I want to get back on track. My main hobbies when I'm doing well are hiking, gym, and sports. All basically free for me. I avoid a lot of other spending when I'm doing those. Problem is that boosts my caloric needs a lot, meaning I need more food. I'm a big guy and I'm currently cutting so that helps, but I still need like 2.5k calories a day to not have too big a deficit. I really don't know how I'm gonna eat enough in 6 months when I'm done cutting and need 3.5-4k.

Protein and fruit/vegetables actually aren't an issue in my area. I think protein is over hyped in the quantity you need anyways but I digress, nutritionally I'm good. I just don't really want to eat a whole box of pasta or a lb of rice everyday, etc. I don't think it's particularly healthy even though I try to mostly get whole grain pasta and brown rice. Lentils and beans are great but I can't do them everyday in huge quantities without alienating my stomach and my coworkers. I thought about potatoes but I'd have to eat a shocking amount if I'm doing it without butter and cheese, etc.

I could add more cooking oils or butter or whatever but I don't really want to add unhealthy stuff just to stretch my meals.

I can just accept the staples and a boring diet but wondering if anyone has any cool calorie dense relatively healthy cheap ideas.

Having a Lazy Sunday with a slight headache. So my brain unload here to Reddit. Long but I like reading stuff like this so maybe you do to, or will be inspired to do your own challenge.

One of the ways I like to save money is to challenge myself to see how long I can go before grocery shopping again. Noteworthy - it is a single household and I buy bulk meats and multi pack frozen vegetables.

It has been 16 days since my last grocery store shopping except for a few snack items bought here and there.

I am hoping not to grocery shop even for snacks for at least 5 to 7 more days. I could go longer but I am running out of fresh produce. I get cranky without regularly eating vegetables a couple of times a day and preferably fresh.

I have to pick up a perscription at Costco. I know this will be a hard trip because I usually buy at least tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, celery and green beans every trip to Costco; and I am craving pumpkin pie and/or cheesecake. Their cheesecake freezes well (that's my excuse, 😁).

I usually eat 2 meals and @ 3 snacks items. Typically a late breakfast or lunch, and late dinner.

Today's Sunday meals - Protein Shake, Cheese and Crackers, Peanuts. Dinner will be Steak, Brocolli, Baked Potato or Garlic Ciabatta Roll. Maybe a late night snack.

Mix and Match for the remainder of the week is as follows.

Monday - Milk and Cereal or a PB&J sandwich, and dinner of Egg Fried Rice with mixed Vegetables made with soy sauce, fresh garlic and ginger, and a couple of snacks.

Also going to see if I have all the ingredients to make Butternut Squash soup which I think I do.

Tuesday - Oatmeal, Leftover Egg Fried Rice, Can of Lentil Soup, Apple and snacks, Apple

Wednesday - Oatmeal, Protein Shake, Apple, Tunafish, Soup - either Butternut or Homemade Chicken Soup from freezer.

Thursday - Scrambled Eggs with Bacon, Snacks, Chicken with Vegetables and Ciabatta Rolls

Friday - Cottage Cheese and Canned Peaches, Protein Shake, Pasta with Bolognese Sauce.

Saturday - Oatmeal or Eggs with Bacon if I still have eggs, Snacks and Trader Joe's Frozen Shrimp Scampi with a frozen vegetable \~ first time trying hopefully it is good. Snack for the night likely Peanuts or popcorn.

Next Sunday - still have foods but running low or out of eggs, milk and produce. So after 23 days I am pretty sure this will be the day I go to the Grocery Store.

If interested, below is my mental food inventory for the coming week, what I have remaining for meals off the top of my head. It will be interesting to see what else I have that does not come to mind.

■ BREAKFAST and LUNCH ITEMS

Steel Cut Oats, make with water - sprinkle with brown sugar & cinnamon, or dash of honey or maple syrup

Traditional Rolled Oats - usually for cookies or apple crisp

Cereal - Shredded Wheat

Milk @ 2 cups

Cream of Wheat but I will only make if I have milk and I don't have much milk remaining.

Cottage Cheese

Frozen fruit for Smoothies that I can blend with Cottage Cheese

Eggs

Bread

Peanut Butter and Jam

■ FOR DINNER & FROZEN ITEMS

Frozen Chicken, Steak & ground beef \~ enough for @ 2 more weeks

Low Sodium Bacon

Ciabatta Garlic Rolls

Garlic Toast

Frozen Homegrown Crushed Blended Tomatoes

Frozen Vegetables - enough for about 7 to 10 days if I cut back

A Trader Joe's Frozen Shrimp Scampi meal

2 Frozen Apple Turnovers

Frozen Homemade Chicken Soup @ 3 servings

Plenty of Pasta and Pasta Sauce

Tuna fish

Progresso Lentil Soup

■ Other Items & Snacks

Fresh Carrots, Onions and maybe celery I hope

Only 1 Russet potato remaining 🥲

Can of Peaches and Pineapples

Rice, Quinoa and Dried Beans

Couscous & Soup Pasta

Packet of Ramen Soup

Green Apples

Frozen Puff Pastry

An Ice Cream Bar

Blue Cheese

Frozen Breaded Chicken chunks and breasts

Popcorn for stovetop

Peanuts

2 cans of Artichokes

2 lemons

Chicken and Beef broth

Flour

Pancake Mix

Frozen Butternut Squash

Beets

Mozzarella Pearls

Dried Beans and Lentils

2 Cans of Chickpeas

Can of Crushed Tomatoes (maybe)

Cheese spread and Crackers

Black Greek Olives & Regular Black Olives

About 10 Fairlife Chocolate Protein Shakes

Saltines - 2 sleeves

Edit - found a full bar of Cream Cheese and 2 Kiwi in my fridge. I also have homemade frozen chicken bone broth.

P.S. I shop at Aldi regularly also. Costco is very specific needs. Have found no better tasting cherry/grape tomatoes, nor better quality and tasting beef.

I have type 3b hair, which if you don't know what that is, they made a chart of hair curliness. It goes 1-4, a-b. I have a hard time finding the right products for my hair because they can be a little spendy sometimes. I used to just buy raw coconut oil meant for cooking and used that as conditioner, but it kept my hair greasy and made it heavy, so Ive stopped using it for the most part. Now it's pretty basic, cheap brands that work for the most part, but my hair still struggles with frizz.

If I could, I'd try out the more expensive brands that seem to work but obviously if I could do that I wouldn't be on this subreddit. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I put second in quotes because it was our second dinner not our second anniversary. It was our 20th anniversary. 20 years of adventures and struggles, amazingly joyful experiences and realistically supporting each other through the drone and difficulty of life.

We are pretty much on the border between lower class and lower middle class, but we've always lived below our means so we don't struggle on a day to day basis, but we have to get creative to do fun things while still saving to replace the roof that probably should have been done this summer but will wait till next year.

As I said, our 20th anniversary was this past week and because we were both busy at work, we didn't really do anything on the day, but decided in advance we would think of something fun to do on the weekend. We got up on Saturday morning and talked it over and we both agreed we wanted to have a posh picnic.

So we went to a couple of boutique grocery stores and a bakery and bought fancy bread and cheese and olives and pickled things as well as some prosciutto, caviar, unusual fruits and a bottle of fancier wine than usual. We added some ingredients from home like eggs and chicken breast to make deviled eggs and some furikake chicken salad. We spent about $100 on our purchases but probably added another $10 of ingredients from home.

Then we walked out to a local breakwater in the evening and had a lovely picnic by the sea, watching the sunset and eating like victorian royalty. It was such fun. We reminisced about our time together... The best vacation we've ever taken, the most interesting wild animal we've ever seen in person, the best beach we've ever swum at, the best spot we've ever pitched our tent, the best hike we've ever taken, and of course the best picnic we've ever had.

It was such a great time, and confirmation of our life together. And then today, we had some of the leftovers sitting on our balcony, adding new memories we had forgotten to share last evening.

Because this is r/frugal, I will point out that we spent far less than we would have had we gone to even a moderately nice restaurant in our city, but we will be enjoying the left over olives, sun-dried tomatoes, goat cheese, figs, persimmons, walnut stuffed eggplant, and several other ingredients for weeks to come.

I know that not every person would want a picnic for their 20th anniversary, but both my wife and I thought it was the perfect way to celebrate our life together. Here is hoping for another 40 years, which would put us both in our 90's so that is as optimistic as I'm willing to be.

I want to get a few neighbours together to save $ and split bulk orders: Costco, Butchers Box steaks (lol, a side of beef maybe), etc.

How did you handle collecting $ and splitting stuff up?

Is it actually worth it, or a total headache?

I can imagine it might become a nightmare of people not committing to pay up / pick up. Plus these days people seem less interested in dealing with their neighbours, and don't know many of them.

Any tips?

Asking on behalf of my wife. She has diabetes and is well managed in that regard, but has incredible cold feet. Mentioned the diabetes as it may be related(?)

In the winter she enjoys wool socks, so I'm trying to help her stock up on those, but some times wool socks aren't enough. I've thought about getting her a pair of sheepskin boots like uggs as logistically that will keep her the warmest while being safe for diabetes, but she is very anti sheepskin, which is okay and I respect but it makes it a bit harder to find good shoes/foot coverings.

She can not use anything that produces heat with a battery or what have you. Socks, of course, have to be washed after every wear and that can cause a lot of wear and tear if she's rotating a few pairs of super thick wool socks, and some times that isn't enough.

I made her a pair of leg warmers out of a thrifted scarf, and they are fighter to her calves and ankles so she can put them under her pants legs. They are working well for fall weather, but I'm struggling to find any ideas for the winter. She does not like a lot of boot designs, and with being poor it's harder to find something high quality that also works for insulation.

Any advice? I'm thinking wool socks plus stirrup wool leg warmers, and or a pair of thick fleece lined slippers or camp shoes for driving to work in the morning and wearing out of bed

Edit: she is unable to sue hand warmers, water bottles, heating blankets, hot water bottles, or anything that produces heat per her endocrinologist. People with diabetes (even well controlled) can have sensitivity to different temperature and not feel when temperatures are too extreme and causing harm to extremities especially feet.

The main reason she needs assistance in this is that when she is driving to work and not moving her feet as they are in the foot well, and the car is heating up, her feet are very cold and she is then having a hard time warming them up when she gets to work as she works near the front door and the cold air blows in

I got my laptop for free in early 2022. it was used and someone gave it to me for free. this person bought it in 2017.

I just realized I use this laptop for many things everyday. I use it on my CNC machine, Fusion 360 "CAM". stock market trading and many other things.

I once had a problem with the fan and I had to open and clean it, battery last for 45 minutes. I may replace it for $35 in a few years ;)

I'm looking for advice on cutting down my monthly pet costs. I have three cats (one is stupid big like xxl) and one large dog (senior and allergic/sensitive to chicken and chicken byproducts). I'm not opposed to DIY things by any means.

Here's what I'm typically spending:

($34.84) Purina ONE Natural Cat Food for Hairball Control, +PLUS Hairball Formula - 16 Pound Bag

($23.98) Purina Tidy Cats Clumping Cat Litter, 24/7 Performance Multi Cat Litter - 40 Pound Box

($58.99) Taste of the Wild® Ancient Stream® with Smoked Salmon Dry Dog Food, 28 Pounds

($6.28) Redford Naturals Salmon Recipe Soft & Chewy Sticks Dog Treat, 6 Ounces

Re: the litter box situation, I'm leaning toward pine pellets w/ a sifting stainless steel litter box. I've had a hard time finding anything big enough for my fat, massive, chonky boi cat, though. (To any concerned parties, the vet says he is "a little overweight" but "pretty proportional" due to his sheer length. He's okay. :)

​

My husband and I have three kids, and lately I've been trying to figure out how we can make our money go further without feeling like we're constantly struggling.

We used to live in northern Sweden, where we had our own house and a pretty peaceful life. After some difficult things happened, we moved back to Poland. We've had a lot to deal with over the last few years, and we're still trying to get back to a more stable place.

Right now we're renting an apartment with a dampness problem, and we'd really like to buy a modest home of our own. We also have a house in Sweden that we're trying to sell, but it's taking a while, so we can't count on that money yet.

I've converted the amounts below to US dollars.

Our monthly numbers are roughly:

Household income: $2,300

Extra income: $50–$250

Monthly expenses: around $2,050

Savings: around $19,000

We usually have about $250 left at the end of the month, with a bit more when the extra income comes in. With three kids, unexpected expenses seem to pop up all the time, so saving consistently isn't always easy.

I'm not looking to cut every little pleasure out of our lives. I just want to be smarter with our money and make sure we're actually moving forward instead of standing still.

For those of you who have a family and manage to live frugally, what has genuinely made the biggest difference?

I'm especially interested in things that save a meaningful amount over time, whether it's groceries, household bills, kids' clothes, buying secondhand, or changing everyday habits. What turned out to be worth the effort, and what wasn't worth worrying about?

I'd love to hear your real-life tips, especially the ones you wish you'd started using years ago.

https://www.npr.org/2026/09/29/nx-s1-5983457/4-ways-to-avoid-getting-ripped-off-according-to-a-pricing-expert

The NPR story above tells you how sites use your data and IP address to decide how to charge you for goods and services and what you can do about that.

Two shops for a week and a half's worth of food from a local gas station Tescos and a Lidl, including treats like the pear and plum water and some small strawberry cheesecakes and sushi. I decided to celebrate a little because I'm finally well enough to start searching for a job :D

Any ideas beyond cutting out the sushi (which I will do don't worry this was just to celebrate) to make things last further? Vegetarian suggestions ideal but not required.

I'm going to buy some dehydrated vegetables to pair with the ramen I have at home. Or frozen vegetables. Whichevers cheapest.

After our third outage this year I sat down with a spreadsheet and compared the total cost of ownership for different backup power options.

My assumptions: 5 outages per year averaging 12 hours, essential loads only (fridge, lights, router, coffee maker), about 250W continuous baseline, roughly 3-4kWh per outage.

Option 1: Whole-home standby generator

Upfront: $13,500 average installed. Ongoing: $275/yr maintenance + ~$15/outage fuel. 10-year total: ~$16,700. Works great but massive upfront for something used 60 hours a year.

Option 2: Portable gas generator

Upfront: ~$1,100. Ongoing: ~$80/yr fuel and oil, probable replacement at year 5-6. 10-year total: ~$3,100. Cheapest option but factor in time cost of maintenance, fuel rotation, and 2am startups.

Option 3: 5kWh portable battery

Upfront: $2,500-3,500 (varies by brand). Ongoing: ~$30/yr electricity. 10-year total: ~$2,800-3,800. No maintenance, no fuel, no noise. LFP batteries rated 10,000 cycles so no replacement needed.

The per-outage cost at year 10: Generac ~$334, gas generator ~$62, battery ~$56-76.

Battery and gas generator are neck and neck on cost. The difference is one requires zero ongoing effort and the other requires seasonal maintenance, fuel management, and middle-of-the-night startups.

Break-even point where battery beats gas generator is around year 3-4, mostly because the gas generator will likely need repair or replacement by then.

I've always just shopped at Aldi and the W store to get the best bargains on our food. However, I just started using the app for the major grocery store that's just down the street and the past three visits...buying only food we would normally get...I've saved over 50% on each shopping trip! This particular chain's app has a Deals tab and you can clip coupons on everything you might possibly buy and have those coupons automatically applied at the register. I was also able to stack deals because I could get frozen pizza on sale for $2 off AND also get $10 off a $25 purchase AND get $3 off a total purchase of frozen food. What a game changer this has been! Plus my family is a little happier that we're getting a bigger variety of our normal food too!

I don't know if every grocery store offers a service similar to this but shopping loss leaders like someone suggested recently has saved us a lot!

Edit* as for the post title.. I'm aware of the contradiction.

this sub has a title character limit and I added the sometimes after the fact
I was thinking > some products in particular, like lotion, are rarely empty when the pump stops pumping

I have a spatula I call the penny pincher 😄

I cut open my lotion bottle which was no longer pumping and got like 2 more weeks of product out of it.

yes, lotion is cheap and there are certainly bigger fish to fry, but it literally took me like 2 minutes and these corpos would rather you toss out a bottle with 10% usable product still inside.

my spatula was a bit expensive, I bought it at a restaurant supply store. but it gets used for so much - peanut butter, honey, mayo that I bet it has long since paid for itself

I’m not going to specify where because I don’t want to come across as a shill, but Google “bulk saltwater taffy” and you’ll find it. Based on the serving size math, there are about 300 pieces total.

As I’m sure you all have noticed, candy prices are out of control, and i live in a particularly high traffic area so I was pretty relieved to find this and wanted to pass it along to anyone else panicking about the costs this year! Not the best taffy in the world, but certainly not the worst. And it’s kinda nice to have something a little different from the more standard Halloween candies.

Happy Halloween!

Just spent $22.46 on Fresco y Mas in Florida. I had some unexpected guests coming over and had to run out to buy a few things. Unfortunately, this was the only store still open. How is it possible for a place like this to sell food at such ridiculously high prices and still make a profit? Seriously, who is actually shopping here? The prices are insane, and the only reason I can imagine people buying anything is because they have no other options available at the time.

I think one of the least talked about and most underrated frugal living hacks is living somewhere where nobody “keeps up with the Joneses.”

I live in a more rural area just outside of the main town where I work. The town itself is a midsize city, and not a trendy one.

I like makeup and fashion well enough. I work in a business casual dress code environment. But living somewhere where honestly nobody cares what car you drive or whether your clothes are brand name or not is amazing, especially if you are transitioning to a frugal mindset with your money.

I spent some time living in a nearby major metropolis and the weird background social pressure I felt to look a certain way, even on the weekends, was palpable. I was treated differently out and about if I wasn’t “put together” or “styled.” Out here, people care about whether you’re being a good neighbour far more than what’s in your driveway. Not to mention the cost of living out here is far less. We picked up gardening as a hobby, so we grow lots of our own vegetables now too in a pretty small space. Life feels slower, but in a good way. In a life-extending way. So many wins.

So if you’re in a position to change locations, consider a sleepier town or the outskirts where you can. It’s been a huge frugality win for us.

Caffeine is amazing but I'm too cheap to buy monster or bang. At the same time, I actually want something that tastes great. Starbucks coffee is ridiculously expensive though. So... I mean, if I make my own coffee will I end up spending less than what I would spend if my primary caffeine source was energy drinks?

And is there such a thing as "budget coffee" or are all coffee brands that you buy considered a budget item? Since Starbucks and Dutch Brothers are options...

My senior dog takes multiple medications and supplements that add to his quality of life. Pill pockets are so easy, especially bc I’m in the throes of having young children, but wow they’re expensive. Has anyone a clever idea to replace them? The idea is to easily pull from something easily to give a pill or two- I’m not looking for advice that includes scrambling my dog an egg multiple times a day 😇 hope that makes sense. Thanks!!