Could be debated, but when buying for myself I take notes of what I like while on vacation, then come home and search on secondhand markets. Examples: Toured a beautiful leather company while in Italy. I could have spent over $150 on something right then. Instead purchased a nearly new bag in the states for $15 online. Went to Ireland and touched so many amazing wool creations, with amazing prices. Again, came home and bought one for $23 from the internet. Later, a Claddagh Celtic ring. Says Made In Ireland inside and everything! I also shop at secondhand stores while on vacation. Picked up a very cool Alamo coffee mug in Wyoming once.

It seems that freeze drying is a good preservation method allowing food to retain nutrients and have a longer shelf life. The current machines are priced very high. What would be a justifiable purchase price?

Hope this does not break the rules.....but What exactly does an Air Fryer do and do I need one? I have read about them during the last prime day sales of which many had huge mark downs.

Do they save money? We have an *old fashion* oil fryer we use to fry fish, onion rings, chicken once in awhile.

Would be nice to use for cheese sticks, French fries, fish sticks so as not to get takeout but am I going to eat these more at home if they are easier to make?

But do I need another appliance?

My mom has swallowing problems and needs only pureed foods. It is costing a fortune to buy ice cream (because she will eat it). I tried the freezer ice cream and never stir it to make it turn from an ice cube into ice cream.

Does anyone know of an modern ice cream maker that you can use your own recipes to make small quantities? I need to know what to look for used.

I am currently staying in this rental with an Electrolux refrigerator whose freezer drawers have all cracked up.

In my country, it’s the landlords responsibility to fix or replace all appliances, if it’s due to normal wear and tear. But I am finding it difficult to prove that.

I might have to pay for the new parts.

How do I get my hands on second hand or cheaper spare freezer drawers, to replace the ones I have?

I am not planning to leave this rental so would rather prefer something durable but cheaper. The price for the original is also 60 Euros, which is wayy too much than what I could afford.

I have a bunch of random food that I've bought in the past, a lot of pantry staples, frozen meat from when it went on sale, salmon that i caught and froze. fruits that I picked and froze I am trying to utilize this food instead of wasting it and leaving it in my cupboards/freezer. I would like to not go buy anything from the store, unless its a veggie or something that I don't have to make a recipe. I am looking to see if anyone knows of a website or something that I can put ingredients in and can figure out a meal(s) to make. I am very uncreative when it comes to cooking. I am a college student and a FT employee. Cooking food, making 3 meals a day and/or prepping for the week and cleaning it all is daunting and quite a task for me. But I don't want to waste this food, nor my money. I have pantry staples. I don't have a microwave, but a lot of other kitchen supplies. If anyone has any ideas on a website or app, something that can help me be creative and utilize the food that I have on hand, perfect. It would also be great if its bulk meals, so that way I can just grab and go for lunch to work. Or come home and just heat it up without a microwave.

I don't know if this is the correct sub. Thanks in advance

Update. Wow wow wow. You guys are incredibly helpful and have made it easier already for me to not have to think about what to cook. I appreciate any and all of the ideas. I'm going to write them down on my fridge.

This rack has lasted forever but the plastic on the top has been cracking and breaking off for a while now - with the (somewhat rusty) metal left exposed. I worry about staining my clothing. Any thoughts or ideas for repair or mitigation? I would really prefer not to have to buy a new one. Any thoughts appreciated.Thanks!

Common wisdom says bone-in meat is less expensive than boned meat, you are not paying for the labor, lower cost meat if you do the work yourself. At least that's what I was taught. I'm looking at pork roasts, bone-in at $1.97 a pound vs boned at $3.99 a pound. Seems obvious, but I am wondering with a large h bone taking up a great deal of real estate, if that is really a better value. Anyone know for sure? Is this the exception to the rule?

Just moved from the west coast to a northern state that salts the streets heavily in the winter to help with ice on the road. I've seen the rust effects on cars up here and a lot of people wash/spray down their car when they get hone to help with it. I'm in an apartment however, so I wonder what my options are since I don't have a garden hose to use.

I could get a monthly membership at a car wash nearby but I'd still have to drive the car home after, which would get salt on the undercarriage of the car.

Wondering what my frugal apartment-dwelling peeps do?

Strawberries and tomatoes last for almost a month. YMMV

Currently living with roommates and my boyfriend helped move the new refrigerator in from rent a ctr and the delivery guys I guess couldn’t do it themselves. Now the main resident here who bought the fridge wants him to move the old one out. My BF does live here but he doesn’t want to hurt his back anymore and has helped out a lot already. There are two other guys here, one injured his knee recently and the other is her son who is just lazy and dangerous when he’s forced to help lift stuff. It needs to be moved down a small hallway and up a landing of stairs. How many ppl should that take? What would be an easy way to get someone to do it cheap or free?

G

My kids laughed at me for using one half of a Costco croissant container for my paint roller. Just get all the crumbs out.

The tittle says it all, i just want to fix the fading without damaging the embroidery. It is 100% cotton

Recommended by my doctor to use an irrigator as prior oral care plan and I'm kinda stuck on brand picking. Are there any brands that are capable of highly customizing and can function water flossing and brushing synchronously?

Like the title says, won the grand prize in a raffle. It’s a beautiful 6 person hot tub, and I would love to own one someday, the thought of snowboarding all day and coming home to a hot tub soak sounds amazing.

I do have a backyard that has room for it, but I would need to get electrical outlets added, would need to flatten the ground for a concrete pad, possibly get plumbing, then there’s the delivery, accessories and upkeep.

Are there any frugal hot tub owners out there, what is upkeep like, do you really use it often enough to justify the cost? I’m not afraid to do the hard work necessary to install it, but wondering if in the long run am I wasting all this money to upkeep costs?

My wife keeps suggesting that we sell it and use it for a trip. What do you think r/frugal?

I suck at making big decisions both generally and financially.

An example of the past: before I bought my ebike ive been wondering for TWO YEARS whether I should or not. That is insane, 2 years of overthinking and not enjoying the thing I needed. Now that I have the ebike and think back of it, I had absolutely no reason to wait with the purchase.

An example of right now: I want to get my drivers license but thats very expensive to do in my country. Lessons from a driving school are the only legal way to practise on the road and these cost on average a total of €2500. But even assuming that I'm very well prepared and can spend much less on lessons, lets say a total of €1000, there is still €500 of other costs that I have no influence on. So its gonna be €1500 minimum... And yes, I've been wondering this for 2 years also.

And countless of other moments where I want something but can get stuck in an infinite loop of overthinking because of the price.

All that is a little silly because I can afford all these things without having to borrow money, I'm just afraid of wasting my money when I could instead use that same money on something better in the future.

I think its due to the fact that while money has objective value, things it can buy do not. If I buy food, how will I know whether the value of the taste and nutrients are worth the money? There is no way to know, but for small purchases I can still decide.

Spending is my big anxiety and I feel that its reducing my life quality significantly.

Exterminator here, here's what you need to do

1. Find where they’re getting in. Check around the foundation, siding, windows, doors, and where utilities enter your home. Torn weatherstripping on garage doors is a common entry point. You need to block these gaps; otherwise, no matter what you do, they’ll keep coming in. Use steel wool to fill small gaps, and expanding foam works well too—just be aware that mice can chew through it.
2. Trap them. Please don’t use glue boards—they’re incredibly inhumane, and mice will eventually learn to avoid them. Instead, consider using bucket mouse traps, which are highly effective and much safer for homes with pets. They caught a significant number of mice for me in just a day. If you prefer snap traps, bait them with peanut butter or red Jube Jubes crushed onto the plate—just make sure the bait is stuck down so the mice can’t easily grab it. Check traps daily.
3. Block off holes inside the house. This reduces their movement within your home. You can leave specific access points open to guide them through trap setups.
4. Clean thoroughly. Mice follow scent trails, so cleaning with bleach can disrupt these trails. A black light can also help find high-activity areas.

The key is to be diligent in finding entry points and patient with the process. Mice can be smarter than you think

I am tired of mascara. Inflation doubled the price of my favourite one. But it is not even good anymore. I can't find one that I like. But my eyes and makeup look a bit add without it. Fake lashes do not work on me. I looked into transparant mascara but can't find a safe looking one. I tried lash serum and that made it even worse, apparently these serums like grandelash cause eye disease and sunken eyes.

So i was thinking of using a spare lash brush with some aloe vera gel maybe? I just need something to get healthy shiney lashes.

My wife keeps finding these things to do around the house that are "regular maintenance " and either require a professional, tool rental or replacement and wondering what's really worth it.

Hi, With mobile phones having 5g speeds nowadays, i was thinking about canceling my home internet (60 euros per month) and just use my phone as a hotspot for my smart tv and pc.

My phone has an unlimited data plan for 30 euros per month. I mostly surf in the internet and watch youtube or netflix (1080p). Maybe twice a year i download a game on steam, but thats about it.

Would that actually work out? I could save a ton of money by doing so...

Update: Thanks for all the messages. I have read them all and came to the conclusion that it's not advisable in most scenarios.

I

I am noob in mattresses. Looking to replace my years old mattress. Which is best mattress material should I go for ?Where should I buy, online or offline ? Those who have good knowledge in mattresses, please suggest me the best mattress material for great sleep

Every now and then I DoorDash Indian food to my house. Usually a Saturday, usually every other week. This week I got chicken tikka masala, lamb curry, 1order basmati, 2mango lassis, and an appetizer plate and garlic naan. With delivery, tax and tip it was 70$. I had 3 plates of it last night and my mum 1. I’ve had one plate of lamb curry today. And still have about 8 single meals left between the leftovers. Thats 12 actual meals for 70$. Far beyond my spice cabinet and regular way of cooking. For what I got I don’t feel ripped off at all. What are your views?

today a coworker was telling me how she’s struggling to buy a house with her boyfriend because they run out of money every month. her boyfriend is a doctor and earns £8000 a month after tax which is so much money to me

obviously i was confused and asked her what she’s talking about, her boyfriend must earn plenty as a doctor. she causally told me that almost 100k a year isn’t a lot and they struggled to have money at the end of the month. bearing in mind we live in a LOCL city

i asked her about her lifestyle and she told me that they switch their mercedes for the newest model every year, as well as their iphones and other tech. they order takeout for dinner every night and breakfast a lot of the time. they have a daily cleaner, wear only designer clothing and pay someone money just to come and feed their dog every night because they always go on these expensive tourist boat ride things.

this was so crazy to hear. i couldn’t even imagine having the money to live like this and calling 100k a year ‘not a lot of money’. what even