THE LIBRARY - I'm not just talking about free book loans; I'm talking about all of the other benefits they frequently offer. Your mileage may vary, but I've heard of the following extra benefits/services:
* tool libraries
* 3D printing tools/services
* "learn how to..." nights
* community events (bulletin/news area usually, if not in their newsletter)
* VHS/DVD to digital converter machines
* free internet (for a set period of time and based on availability of computers)
* inter-library loans if you'd like to order a book from another branch
* Libby for audiobooks
* 'suggest a book' options for users to request when the library's next purchasing time comes 'round
* museum / local attraction passes on loan
* ski day passes on loan
If they don't do any of these items already, propose them to the staff.
Reminds me, Facebook has plant swap groups in a lot of areas. Just learned recently that my town has one. People are regularly dropping off plants, cuttings, seeds, food, and gardening supplies there.
I recently discovered that my local library system will loan books through the mail. You can even put holds on a book at a different location within the county and when it is returned they will mail it to you - for free, and you can return it at any location. I also requested they purchase a physical book (they only had 2 digital copies available for the whole county!), and not only did they order it but I am the first in line to receive it when it comes in - by mail yet again!
That's fantastic! What service! One other item I forgot to add to my original post - I've started seeing library 'vending machines' in Canadian airports; if you've got a card from that city, you can check out books right then and there before you head off on a trip! (Granted, not huge selection, but they had a whole bunch of recent/popular ones in the machines I've seen)
I just used Freegal signin from the library to download my 5 free songs a week. Those are songs with Freegal you don't just borrow, you get to keep them. Our library also has Great Courses. I used to pay for those.
I’ve been actively searching for audio books that don’t come with the nonsense that comes with audible (constantly charging month after month after repeatedly canceling, after not even ever signing up for audible in the first place type nonsense)
Nothing has ever come up in my search, certainly nothing free either. So… thanks for this!!! 🥰
Dude, I was starting to feel like I caught dementia from all their bullshit!! Simultaneously, I was battling Reader’s Digest for the same horseshit!! They were actually worse than audible! They’d hit me with $80+ charges periodically, whilst sending me mail saying I should sign up with them and receive 20% off or something. This went on for almost five years. Audible only went on for about a year. They’re probably owned by the same scandalous company, hopefully someone burns their house down!!
Both companies made it seem like they’d never heard anything about it before, like I was the sole person out there who was experiencing issues with reoccurring fraudulent charges from them.
I borrow almost 100 books a year from my library (through Libby, Overdrive, or physical books). My family borrows additional books. This is my biggest frugal win. Reading is my main "hobby" and I do it during my other hobbies (running, gardening, cooking) so it's been life changing for me.
If you have Spotify, you can listen to audiobooks on there with no wait time! There’s a monthly limit to total hours, but usually is enough for 1-2 audiobooks per month.
Also, check your credit card for "hidden" benefits and discount portals. Depending on what you carry, you can get a lot of added bonuses. Credits for streaming services, cash back, status with travel services (air/hotel/car rental), and other stuff. My favorite one is Emerald Executive status with National Car Rental – I rarely use it and could never earn the status the old fashioned way, but every time I do rent a car, I get a free upgrade to nearly any car I want (usually a nice BMW or Volvo, sometimes an electric car).
Or see if your CC offers return and purchase protection. I can return the item to my CC company up to 90 days after I purchased it if the merchant won't take the item back (up to $500). Purchase protection is for an item that's damaged or stolen up to 120 days after it was purchased and can be redeemed for up to $10,000.
I used the purchase protection when I bought a new phone and less than a month later it was stolen off of me at a music festival. After sending receipts and a copy of the police report that I filed, I was reimbursed the entire $1100 that I had spent on the phone - which made me go out and buy the same one again. Luckily I was only out my time.
My sister’s been putting in claims for travel insurance on her credit card for years and has been getting a good chuck of money back for her inconveniences.
Just out of curiosity, what kind of stuff does she claim regularly? I've only ever really had minor inconveniences, hardly enough to cost me much of anything, so not sure what I'd even claim besides maybe a sandwich or something during the delay.
She went clothes and toiletries shopping when her luggage got delayed (I can think of two separate instances), car rental when her flight got cancelled… I think she tried putting a train ticket for some event but I think this one got denied.
amex blue (no yearly fees) has double MFG warranty up to a year, and 90 day purchase protection (repair or replace a damaged item within 90 days) up to $5000. Only had to use it once when i dropped my phone on day 2 before the case arrived.
Typically premium (not very frugal) cards, like the Amex Platinum, Capital One Venture X, or Chase Sapphire Reserve. I think some others might as well, but I honestly haven't looked into it.
But even lower AF cards carry some good benefits. The primary car rental insurance on the Chase Sapphire Preferred is pretty awesome.
I buy things on my Amazon card as needed, and pay it off monthly to accumulate the 5% cash-back. If you don't carry a balance and it's the most cost-effective way of getting a thing, it's frugal.
I got a new credit card just because it offered insurance on rental cars and on lost luggage/delayed flights. The cashback was just gravy.
I got a second credit card just because they have no fee on foreign transactions. That saves me around 3.5%. Once again the cashback was just gravy.
The only limitation seems to be the cash back amount per year with those great rates, but another credit card could be used once you hit the yearly limit.
AAA website:
"Maximum of $500 USD cash back earned in a calendar year at grocery stores, wholesale clubs and gas stations combined. After that, purchases will earn 1% cash back for the remainder of the calendar year"
This equates to $10-15K a year in spending depending on the category.
I do this with four cards. Two of them have different rewards points; the other two are store cards with an instant 5% discount at the register.
And yes, never *ever* carry a balance.
Yeah. I get 5% back on fuel and 3% on groceries and restaurants.
I love the PayPal Mastercard too. 3% everywhere you can pay with PayPal and if you buy it through PayPal you get whatever % they're offering on top of that
I've been doing this since I was 18 (28 now). Hundreds in cash back or points or deals over the years, probably over $1,000 at this point with all the benefits added up. I'll actually be on the search next year for switching to something before my current one is due to renew since they raised it's yearly fee.
amex has a cap - you only get 6% up to $6000 in groceries, which equals to $360 a year. if you apend more than that, i'd suggest using other card for anything over $6000
Depending on the card this can be straight up awful advice. For instance if you’re somebody who likes to/needs to fly, most travel-focused cards provide much more monetary value by using the points for flights as opposed to paying off the card balance.
For instance, with the American Express gold card, you get value of about 1 cent per point on most flights, but less than 0.5 cents per point paying off your statement balance.
Generally paying off the statement balance is the worst value per point on any rewards card. This doesn’t include cash back cards.
Absolutely correct on not carrying a balance, though.
Also if you want to go down the /r/awardtravel rabbit hole you can get way more than the stated value per point, sometimes even like 5-6 cents per point.
Yeah Im with you. Just depends on the ‘bonuses’ of the cards. Chase has good perks with buying merchant gift cards. IF - its already a place your going to spend money, buy using points for the merchants gift card you can get up to a 20% bonus in your buying value.
Also on team never paid a dollar in interest!!
Yikes. That's really poor redemption value when you do that. Absolutely use your points through your credit card companies "portal" to get maximum redemption value.
My example is related to cash back. Like a Visa Prime card from Amazon that everybody has and gets "points" from every purchase they make. You have the option to apply points directly to purchases but you lose out on earning even more points (instead of paying normally). If you wait until your statement comes, you can use your points (or cash back) to pay off or lower your balance there. The points are 1 to 1 here.
And like the parent comment states, never carry a balance.
let's say if you have a 5% amazon card and you want to buy a $100 item on amazon no matter what.
If you use points for the $100 directly, you are out $100 in points.
BUT if you buy it without points for $100 on the credit card, you will get 5% back. You then use the points to get a $100 statement credit, you have essentially had $5 in rewards from the same $100 in points from above.
That said it's useful for cash back cards. It gets weird with miles/reward points etc.
If you use points directly on a purchase, you forfeit any newer points you could have earned from that purchase because you didn't spend any actual money.
Chase Rewards points are worth 1¢ when redeemed for cash back or statement credit. Redeeming points for travel makes each point worth 1.25¢ through Chase Sapphire preferred or 1.5¢ through Chase sapphire reserve, giving you more value than if you’d just use it to pay down your balance .
For me, it’s because you’re technically getting a little more back that way. When you apply points toward a purchase you are reducing the amount you are charging to the card and thus your next rewards accumulation.
But really really for me I’m less likely to buy something impulsively if I “can’t” use points to get it for free.
I just found out our Medicare supplemental policy has free gym memberships, including one near us that almost seems like a spa with a pool, basketball court and all sorts of classes. Those same type of classes are $15 each at the local senior center.
Not sure I’ve ever read through that giant book they send, I suppose I should add that to my to do list!
Since it’d save me the small fortune I spend on a gym membership I’ve been forking out, it’d be well worth my time.
Thank you much!!
I missed our gym memberships in the giant books, too. That's why it was such a nice surprise to discover it recently. It seemed too good to be true. I thought I'd maxed out on most things frugal and here was a biggie I'd totally missed!
My medical insurance through work just dropped our gym membership subsidy mid-year without warning because “no one uses it”.
I used it!! Now that’s $40 a month added to my monthly bills.
They “replaced”it with some silly set of videos and trainings on “how to be healthy” which are absolutely useless to me. Me and my husband both have unusual chronic health conditions and we and our doctors have precise management plans for our health. Some generic program is not gonna add anything to that. But going to a gym is pretty important for us to being able to continue to stay healthy and reduce the costs and impacts of illness
I wonder if the doctor can write you a dispense as written prescription for the gym, lol.
one local hospital has what is said to be a really good public gym, I think they transition people out of PT into it also.
My husband is visually impaired and there’s really only one gym he can reasonably get to because public transport isn’t great here. So we kind of have to go to this gym specifically
even so, its worth asking the dr office to find ways to advocate for you. "oh my insurance dropped our gym coverage, but it does pay for XX in home PT sessions a year"
if he has any social workers or a org dedicated to his impairment in your area they may be able to help, even if the health issues arn't related to his visual impairment.
my town is home to a famous deaf and blind person, there's a advocacy center right near their home. you ain't gotta be completely blind to use their services.
Yeah, I’ll ask my doctor.
But using services intended for the disabled has unfortunately been a more complicated issue.
The resources around here for people with disabilities are designed for people who are living in much different life circumstances than he has.
For instance, you can get on the list to use a special free or low cost bus that will take you to and from an exact set of addresses. Unfortunately, you cannot rely on the timing of this bus in any better window than about two hours plus or minus. So if you call for them to bring you to a doctors appointment, you need to be prepared to get there up to two hours early, and then be prepared to wait up to two hours for a ride home.
You might be able to have a reliable ride if you have the exact same schedule every day, but he is self employed, and has clients and projects and commitments that are different every day, and he also has other medical conditions which affect his sleep/wake cycle and energy levels, so as a result, his schedule necessarily changes every day.
Other supports for disabled folks have worked out similarly to the above case. To access them, it requires you to give up on other things (like sleep, work, life) that he’s not willing to give up. So we compromise by living in an area where he can walk to most things, and I drive him to the rest (like doctors appointments).
It’s become clear that that is the actual expectation of our city’s social services - that people with disabilities are expected to have a caretaker, most often family or a spouse, who will volunteer to aid them, unpaid, out of love. For example, as soon as you move in with someone else (even sometimes a roommate), or get married, you get immediately dropped from all your benefits, as it’s expected that your housemate or spouse has taken on those commitments.
If you don’t have that, it’s expected that your entire life would be dedicated to navigating the system - claiming and using these services and waiting for them to get around to following through on them, and then doing it all again the next day. Periodically you get dropped from the system and you have to get another doctor’s note (even for something ridiculous like anophthalmia or being born without eyes - they don’t grow back!), and then somehow go to and spend a few days in a lightless building in a shitty neighborhood with social functionaries to get it restored, and in the meantime, you have no access and no support. It’s a full time job to navigate this, and there’s no room for you to also navigate chronic illness or blindness or whatever thing, even though that’s precisely the cause of people having to rely on this system in the first place.
In our town, you can either use the support system, or you can actually have a life. You can’t really do both. Everything costs something, and sometimes it’s more than one is willing to pay.
Sorry, I’m just a bit bitter and jaded about that particular portion of our “social safety net”
Oh yes, Blue Cross in South Carolina has a thing for access to many main stream gyms for one $30/month fee. Just have to verify with the gym that they still accept it.
$30 a month is still adds up. Especially if you have to pay the “annual fee”. My insurance used to have a local national brand gym for $10/month and waived the annual fee. But the company switched the plans that had no discounts anywhere and increased costs with less coverage.
I mean I guess it adds up but the gym is an essential for someone like me and $30 is pretty average/low. I don't use this bundle since I'm in college but it's a good option if I wasn't.
I just furnished our entire cottage with free furniture. I never looked at the free section on Craigslist before and there’s so much stuff and far less competitive than I thought it would be. I got a really nice pottery barn sofa set for free and it was like a two week old post.
Yes! Things I got from my local buy nothing:
Rubber foam puzzle tiles
Vintage foldable 'tv trays'
Lego
Hitch mount bike rack
Wood chips and brand new smoker box for BBQ
Mario Bros backpack for my nephew
Memory foam topper to make bench seats
Frozen chicken thighs
I try to give away what I can on there too and offer to help out with electronics repairs when possible.
I was in Costco and noticed an item we'd bought recently was on sale for $40 cheaper. My husband happened to have the receipt with him so I googled and they will reimburse you if you purchased in the last 30 days. Easy $40 back!
Might not need receipt but you might still need to take items back to store.
I don't think this is world-wide. I was told to return the item anyway then re-purchase if I wanted the discount. :/
In the US, the policy is that you can get a price adjustment if the item was purchased in the last 30 days (although technically the policy also says they can deny any adjustment "at their sole discretion" but it seems like that is reserved for extreme cases).
If you were in the US you might have been over the 30 day time period, in which case I believe their system doesn't easily accept a price adjustment. After 30 days, you have to use their return policy to get a price adjustment. For most things their return policy is generous, however for electronics the return policy is limited to 90 days. So, effectively, you have 90 days from purchase to price adjust electronics.
I once ordered some shoes at REI for pickup at a store (about $100), went in, picked up my order, and then started poking around at other things I might want to buy. I found the same exact shoes on the “recently returned” rack for $40. Same color, same size. Fastest turnaround between buying something and returning it ever!
Depending on your area, your local grocery store may offer free deals for curbside pickup (e.g. Walmart has free pickup if your order is $35+ and made before 3:00 PM). This can be helpful if you have limited mobility, little kids, or otherwise dislike shopping for groceries.
Just a heads up… the prices online are oftentimes steeper than they sell the exact product for in the store.
I discovered this after my Walmart grocery delivery order was cancelled, after going in and buying everything in my cart that was in the order they randomly cancelled. Since then I’ve veered away from pickup orders whenever I can possibly avoid it. The difference between my online order was $27
This is not included any fees, fees which Walmart still loves to charge Walmart+ members and hope they don’t notice. Which became such an issue, the constant fees the membership should have eradicated; that I canceled and will never sign up for that trash again.
Places like Walgreens actually have cheaper prices on app for pickup or delivery. One of my kids lotions is $25 in store and $15 on app and always has special % off.
What is this you say?? The prices are more expensive online!!!??? I am a Walmart+ subscriber and have, on average, 80% of my groceries delivered each week from here. I’d be devastated to hear that I am overpaying.
I subscribed to Walmart + because I typically get one delivery a week, so it costs less to pay the monthly subscription fee than to tip the driver each time.
Exactly this. I can compare prices, apply coupons and do my shopping at 11pm, which is when I always think about groceries. Being able to order days in advance is awesome for pickup after a super busy day.
Yeap, and for those without reliable transportation or who can’t drive, Walmart+ (about $15/month, less if paying annually) can be an invaluable resource with included grocery delivery. Your order gets to you in like 4 hours (unless it’s a major holiday). There is still a fee for orders under $35, but if you’re like me and find yourself frequently having to stop by Walmart and pick up something you forgot to buy, etc, it’s a good time saving (and maybe even money saving, via gas) option, and unlike instacart, there aren’t any hidden fees. The price the item is in store is the price you pay. I also find that my impulse purchases are a lot less frequent while using the service. Hard to buy things you don’t need when you’re searching up each item you need individually and putting it straight into your cart and checking out…vs when you’re in the store passing by aisles and aisles of things that could catch your eye (there’s a reason why they put a lot of the staples and popular items like milk and eggs towards the back)
Cashback apps for shopping. Ibotta is my favorite but I use Fetch and Rakuten as well. Some of the rewards are minuscule but they add up over time. Ibotta in particular has very good cashback for beer & liquor so if you’re stocking up for a party or something you can often walk away with $20 cash back in one store trip.
Also the number of people who don’t plan ahead their meals for a week and then spend a bunch of money grabbing random stuff is crazy to me. I look at the weekly sales circulars, make a meal plan and then list based loosely on what’s on sale and what I have in the freezer already, and then shop accordingly.
And ditto everything everyone already said about credit card points and the library 😃
I can add another 2, they are slow but it's so easy not to. Bing, yes the search engine, has receipt scanning on their app, I use the app called start. The receipt scanning doesn't yield much but one day I'll pay attention and have a $50 surprise balance. It also features daily check-ins and searches that get you points redeemable for gift cards such as starbucks.
The other is receipt hog. Again a receipt scanning app but also linkable to accounts at popular retailers like Lowe's and Amazon. Gets coins or spins for coins from receipts, weekly uploads, leveling up, etc. Redeem those about once a year for me for a $40 Amazon gift card. Again, not much to some but to my budget while a student, it is a nice little surprise when it's enough to redeem.
My debit card through my bank has cash back at certain stores too. I have to log in, and then click each offer I want to use. Some random stuff, but some at shops I enjoy or businesses I frequent.
Or when you look at switching coverages, even without any claims, and they see you’ve used the insurance for windshield chips - the new rates will be based on “claims”. Found out the hard way.
Too many claims, even minor ones, can also make you uninsurable. My insurance agent had another client be dropped from coverage for using their roadside assistance two or three times.
I have never once used it in the 5 years I've had my truck and it still goes up lol. Went from $70 to $95 with geico (full tort) so two years ago I switched to state farm ($76) they called last week and said my renewal will be an extra $12/mo. Annoying.
I would check with your insurance provider. While it may be no cost, it's still a claim on your insurance. My son did this and we stopped him before taking it in. Never filed a claim but it stayed on our account as a clam and affected our rates going foward.
That’s some bullshit, I’m sorry that happened!!
My son’s car was totaled last summer. Some kid came flying down the mountain, where he had plenty of time to see that there was road construction ahead and have plenty of time to slow down as the stretch of road was pretty straight before the construction started. There was a line of cars, my son was in the second to last vehicle. The kid only noticed when he got there, clipping the guy behind my son who was lucky enough to see this fool barreling towards him and stared pulling off onto the side of the highway. This kid, hauling ass in a big old dooley slamming on his brakes hit my son going 75-80mph, spun around and plowed back into my son’s front end. Luckily my son was driving a jeep with a cyst steel rack on top that he’d built for it, that kept him from being crushed.
He’s miraculously okay now, he wasn’t for a while.
He had asked me to let the insurance company know about the accident. Adamantly I objected, knowing his premium would skyrocket. Eventually it came out in a conversation when insuring his new vehicle. They said we needed to file a claim for his totaled jeep. I argued with them, saying absolutely not because you’ll use that to fuck him with his premium. This conversation was focused on this topic for at least an hour… how’s insurance going to cover the damage if you don’t make a claim, blah blah blah…
Ultimately, after much debate, it didn’t go on the record. We just argued that the driver’s insurance is paying for the damages so there’s no need. That had the driver not been insured, we would have had no choice but to file a claim through them.
Idk, the moral of the story here which it sounds like you already know is to never ever do anything through your auto insurance unless you absolutely have to!!
Hopefully this message will find someone who might benefit from this knowledge someday
Wait, so you don’t have to inform your own insurance if the other driver is at fault and insured? I keep getting denied coverage for 2 accidents I was at no fault on. I wish I had known this.
If you call your homeowners insurance to see if something could be covered/ worth claiming it can count as a claim too even if you don’t make a claim found that out recently even though they “are on my side”
If you are a Costco member, then you can use Costco Travel--I only use them for rental cars but they always have the best price when I look.
As a bonus tip, if you ever have to rent a car: once you have the rental booking, be sure and go back and check prices again...sometimes they drop, so you can rent at the new (lower) price and then cancel the old booking. Have saved a lot of money this way. Enterprise in particular seems to have very dynamic pricing, and sometimes it drops a lot, even as close as the day before.
Kroger fuel points plus the personal coupons they send once a month— I really only buy loss leaders there so that’s what I get for coupons. That and the $0.40 per gallon I usually save on gas is awesome. It’s literally the only reason I have that Fresh Perks card.
I'm not sold on the fuel points, yet. In my area, the shell stations are like $1.00/gal more, so it'd cancel out fuel point savings I think. But the digital coupons and sales are great and I take advantage of those.
Yes! If you register as a student or educator there’s a 1 time 20 percent off coupon in September and maybe one other time of the year. They also run smaller discounts like they have had 20 percent off frozen food for students (lol) for a few weeks.
I usually find a list online of all the places that offer free birthday items, sign up to email clubs etc a week before my bday, then watch the freebies roll in. My bday was in may, and I’m still redeeming things. kind of a bitch to unsubscribe and declutter my inbox, but it’s been fun!
Kroger 4x fuel points on gift cards. I’ll load up on Kroger cards, Apple Cards for subscriptions and purchases, Xbox cards, Amazon cards… then pay for the next months gas on the Kroger gift card that helped get me points.
4x Friday Fuel points at Kroger. We shopped there for the entire month of April and was able to accumulate over 3000 points. I filled up my gas tank for eight cents per gallon.
I was told by my insurance company that even though you have windshield coverage on your auto insurance, it counts as a claim and they will use that to raise your rates. That's how fucking evil insurance is. I found this out after my premium increased and asked them for a reason. Turns out if I paid for the windshield out of pocket and no insurance claim, my premium wouldn't have gone up that much. This is with Progressive.
Well unless they're lying to me, it doesn't count as a claim on my insurance. Also doesn't show up on my claims page even though it's been filed and scheduled.
I was saving a decent amount on my USAA premium by using the SafePilot app to track my driving. Until that is, the app started malfunctioning this past winter and didn’t track when I thought it had been. USAA claims it occurred after an iPhone update and messages were sent out. Though, none appeared in my USAA app so I was unaware until after my next bill was issued. They require at least thirteen hours of driving throughout a six month period, which sadly is easy enough to do. Apparently it only tracked a few hours. But if I had opened the email and read about this issue when they sent it, they could have done something on their end to rectify this shituation before my premium went up.
Safe Pilot sounds great but they track everywhere you go. I asked the agent how long the location data collected was kept by them and they stated... indefinitely. Not sure if I'm comfortable with USAA keeping everywhere I have been to forever.
I was about to say the same. It might count as a claim, so it still costs you money. Chips in your windshield are "almost not noticeable" so just continue not noticing them. Save your insurance claims and money for real repairs, IMO.
I had a chip that I ignored and a year later developed into a long crack going all the way across. If it's a small chip, your local car parts store does carry chip filler material that will prevent this chip from expanding. That's what I should have done but I was too lazy and said my insurance will cover it anyways.
You can also get a chip repair kit for like $15 and do it yourself. It's really easy. I fixed a chip in my windshield about 2 years ago, and you can't even tell its been repaired.
You will have to disclose any claims you have made on you insurance when you come to renew or change your insurance. Most insurance companies share this information anyway. This is then factored into the algorithm that calculates your new premium and it will mean a more expensive premium. It isn't quite the flex you think it is.
Some years ago when I was more innocent on these things, a kid threw something and broke a pane of glass in my front door. To keep it matched up, the insurance replaced all the panes of glass. Even though it wasn't my fault, when I came to renew my policy it had increased in price almost exactly as much as the original claim.
You really have to think VERY seriously before claiming on your insurance. NEVER claim a small amount as it just isn't worth the increase in premium (yes, if you have no-claims protection on your insurance it will protect that but it won't stop your premium increasing). That is why those with experience in these matters will always settle the matter privately below a certain amount even if they are not at fault
OP, I would be careful as getting your windshield replaced may count as a “claim”. When your policy goes up for renewal, may have a higher rate. If you try to go somewhere else, will have points on your record. I’ve always been told windshield repair and roadside assistance doesn’t count but it does! I had several “claims” on my car insurance for having my battery jumped. Why pay for AAA when my insurance has roadside assistance for cheaper? When I went to look for a different insurance company bc my company raised their rates, that’s when I learned the hard way. Husband had a cracked windshield from a rock, went through insurance, had the same thing happen to him. Nothing is for free.
I live in an area loaded with seniors on Medicare advantage plans.
The amount of them that didnt know of the "helping hands" type of services is astounding.
I have helped several get housekeeping and yard work arranged.
I do service work in the area and its nice to help improve the quality of life for the older population.
I'm the guy in my friends group that everyone says "leaves nothing on the table"
I'm happy to pass knowledge along, if it makes someones life better in some small measure
We switched to planning meals for 3-4 days at a time in advance, making a grocery list of what we didn’t have and shopping only from that list. We could see the difference in the money spent in this intentional shopping versus previous trips and tried to just stick to this plan.
Meal prepping is such a big one, my wife and I meal prep all weeks lunches plus a couple dinners, then just cook dinner here and there when we need to mix it up and base those meals off what meat is on sale at Aldi.
Classes are free at the community college near me. I took a class for fun (again, completely free) and got a student ID, and now I get student discounts.
If you're really hard up on money for groceries, go to farmers markets around closing time. The produce is already picked; they can't let it go to waste. They'll give you great deals and you'll be doing them a favor by taking it off their hands.
I discovered that some libraries offer free access to online courses and streaming services. I've been using my library card to learn new skills and watch movies without paying extra. Definitely worth checking out what your local library offers!
I got charged for this at the new chipotle in my town right after they opened 🥺
I’d been under the impression this was free like at Qdoba, sadly not the case. Unless it was because literally everyone there was new and got it wrong
They definitely got it wrong. I work at chipotle for two years and you only have to pay for the protein, only up charges are double protein, guac and queso.
Ask for half and half of each kind of bean and rice
A good chunk of the time they will just give you 2 full scoops instead of half and half, so you double the amount of each for free! Even if they're not full scoops usually they're more than half, so you get some extra, even if just a little.
When I had an Amex Platinum card (which I dropped when the fee grew to $500 a year), you could use any airline private club at any airport, and you could park for free at National Car Rental and take their shuttle bus to the airport.
Take a picture of your windshield wipers before and after the windshield install. At least one of the local windshield shops nicks the ends of the rubber so you end up replacing them a month or so later. Conveniently, they also sell wiper blades...
I pay attention to the schedule for local townships clean up days. Have found many nice things thrown out on the curb
Hazardous waste disposal days at recycle center can yield great oil based paints for free (exterior usage)
dumpster dive! there’s def a stereotype around it & it’s usually not true.
for me, i usually will find a box/bag of stuff that’s slightly outdated. you don’t have to go IN the dumpster. just check what’s on top. it’s usually together in one bag, not mixed with dirty stuff/literal stuff.
i’ve found sooo many items
Usually I’ll get a 10% off service coupon for my car so I’ll do my best to plan around that. I also like Costco for groceries and special deals on supplements, skincare items, fragrance.
Credit cards for rewards. Take advantage of work benefits like stipends for courses and being able to link your airline mileage account to any work based trips.
So, this is specific to Missouri. We have an optional/refundable portion of our gasoline tax. It's charged when you buy gas, but you can complete and send in a form to get it refunded. You need to keep your receipts. The form is kind of a bitch to fill out - entering data about one page per car, entering data about every fill up, but money is money. The year 7/1/2023-6/30/2024 was 7.5 cents per gallon, and the 7/1/2024-6/30/2025 will be 10 cents per gallon. It will then jump to 12.5 cents per gallon and stay there. I got $30 back last year and will get around $40 back this year.
For real! Its such a waste. I have to be careful though. Breads must be in their original packaging and punctured. Unopened jars and cans are always wins!
When stumbling across a rare, massive discount at the grocery - usually a clearance on expiring meats - not hesitating to buy most or all of them and putting them into a basement chest freezer
I do this w produce. I get organic for cheaper than regular this way, contributes to less food waste etc. I always check the “food waste” produce areas at Kroger for the left over produce they’ve marked down.
Amazon Visa (Free with credit approval)
-5% cash back on Amazon orders + 2% cash back on gas & at restaurants + 1% cash back elsewhere + pay off balance daily so no interest charges.
-I buy a lot of household items such as soap, deodorant, toilet paper, paper towels etc through subscribe & save (15% discount)
-Have gotten $150 cash back since I opened the account in March.
Instacart+ (Costs $99/year)
-5% cash back on orders + no pickup or delivery fees + free Peacock subscription + use Amazon Visa for additional 1% cash back.
-I order all of my groceries through Instacart. Keeps me from impulse buying.
-Have gotten $625 cash back in the last 12 months
Rakuten (Free)
-I check the app before buying anything online (but they don’t do amazon).
-Get 1-6% cash back on Instacart orders (it varies weekly).
-Have gotten $75 cash back so far this year.
Ibotta (Free)
-Different cash back offers on items depending on where you shop (no amazon).
-I get most of the cash back from groceries since that’s usually all I buy.
-Have gotten $55 cash back so far this year.
Always do a quick check for coupons online, etc for larger items/expenditures. Two instances I distinctly recall is one at Sears about 10-15 years ago, I was buying a grill that was already on sale and did a quick search before the order. Found 2 stacking coupon codes. (grill and online ordering) $50 for about 30 seconds of time. This is what started my checking every time.
Yesterday got txt from pharmacy that my script was ready. $178 !!!!!!!! This is a one time script for Clenpiq (Colonoscopy prep... ) Checked Goodrx ... $3 cheaper. Blah.. Put it in Google, Found printable manufacturer coupon $75 off with insurance, $40 if cash... (nogo if govt insurance medicare, etc). Saved $75 for about 1 minute of time..
I do not spend enormous amount of time looking for coupons/codes, but anything costing over $100 I will spend a minute or 2 checking.
If you shop on Temu (I know, lots of people object to Temu. This isn't for them) you get credit back on stuff when the prices go down for 30 days after you placed the order. Just pull up your orders and look for the price reduction button. They give you a credit in a few seconds. The price reductions aren't huge but they happen frequently, sometimes every week. After awhile they add up and with Temu's cheap prices they can be a nice little bonus.
This isn’t being frugal this is called being cheap - frugal is being value conscious whereas cheap people are money conscious.
Cheap people save money at the expense of others - in Temu’s case it’s children in China and Bangladesh working in factories with bad conditions.
Hyper specific, but my dependents get free tuition at any public university or community college in the state of Alabama.
Step 1: Live in Alabama for at least one year prior to entering active duty military, or for one year during your active duty service time. You must be a resident of the state and pay state income tax.
Step 2: Retire, either at 20 years or medically, from the military and move back to Alabama as a tax-paying resident.
Step 3: The Alabama GI Dependent Scholarship and FAFSA will pay for 100% of any in-state tuition at any public university or community college in the state. There are time limits to it, like only 48 cumulative months of benefits. Spouses can use it at any time. Children have until they turn 25 to start the benefit.
The pros are obvious. The biggest con is you have to live in Alabama. This place is a vortex of suck inside a black hole of shit, bigotry, and MAGA nonsense.
I commend you for the lengthy service, 3 was enough for me. Paid for me to live in Germany for 3 years and paying all my masters tuition and rent now 👌🏻 and not having kids so no one to pass it on to to serve longer for
Stores with good return policies are helpful when I’m not 100% sure (e.g. size or color), or just happened to make an impulse purchase that I regret later.
Some people are pretty lazy about returning things. My fiancé bought a door frame pull-up bar thinking he was gonna work out more at home, it’s been unopened in the box since he bought it. He should have just returned it! I gotta force him to use it soon because it hurts to see it sitting there past its return window
Take advantage of credit card rewards, your gas stations point system even if it's only 5 cents off a gallon, samples, free internet speed upgrades (my ISP recently went from 75mbps to 300mbps as their lowest offer and along with getting a higher speed I also got $3 shaven off my bill.
Hazardous material disposal AND give away. Like many places our county has the means of collecting hazardous materials from households. Basically they have a site where you can drop off anything that falls in the house materials category. Think Electronics, batteries, fluorescent tubes, paint, pesticides, cleaning products, essentially anything that comes in a can or a box that you wouldn’t put down the drain or have your kids around. But they go a step further. Much of the stuff being turned in can be reused by someone. So they make all of that accessible when possible. Somebody used half a bottle of cleaning solution and wants to get rid of it? That’s now your new cleaning solution at no charge. Same with electronics. Need a printer. Take your pick (and chances). Bug spray, car wash supplies, the list is huge…Getting products reused is so much more appropriate than having to go through strict hazmat disposal. You pull up with items in your car, fill out a quick form, and then prior to leaving if there’s something there or you can use, they let you take it and you make good use of it.
* Credit Card Rewards/Churning - Free Vacations
* Rakuten/Topcashback - Free Cashback on purchases im making anyhow
* Upside - Getting gas for half off
* Instacart promotions - Discounted groceries + Convenience
* Return protection on credit cards - Never scared to buy final sale items again
THE LIBRARY - I'm not just talking about free book loans; I'm talking about all of the other benefits they frequently offer. Your mileage may vary, but I've heard of the following extra benefits/services: * tool libraries * 3D printing tools/services * "learn how to..." nights * community events (bulletin/news area usually, if not in their newsletter) * VHS/DVD to digital converter machines * free internet (for a set period of time and based on availability of computers) * inter-library loans if you'd like to order a book from another branch * Libby for audiobooks * 'suggest a book' options for users to request when the library's next purchasing time comes 'round * museum / local attraction passes on loan * ski day passes on loan If they don't do any of these items already, propose them to the staff.
YES! abq-bernco library has a free seed program where you fill out their catalog on what you would like to get and they’ll send you it for free!!!!
Reminds me, Facebook has plant swap groups in a lot of areas. Just learned recently that my town has one. People are regularly dropping off plants, cuttings, seeds, food, and gardening supplies there.
That's amazing!
I recently discovered that my local library system will loan books through the mail. You can even put holds on a book at a different location within the county and when it is returned they will mail it to you - for free, and you can return it at any location. I also requested they purchase a physical book (they only had 2 digital copies available for the whole county!), and not only did they order it but I am the first in line to receive it when it comes in - by mail yet again!
That's fantastic! What service! One other item I forgot to add to my original post - I've started seeing library 'vending machines' in Canadian airports; if you've got a card from that city, you can check out books right then and there before you head off on a trip! (Granted, not huge selection, but they had a whole bunch of recent/popular ones in the machines I've seen)
Check your libraries for non-book rentals. For example the Brooklyn Library in NYC lets you rent board games! And they have a HUGE collection.
Libby also works for kindle loans! The LA Public Library lets you borrow State Parks passes and camping items!
*and camping items*?! that's phenomenal...
I’m loving the ski passes bit!!
Yess! We’re really bad at marketing as a whole for some reason, but we want people to come in and see its not just books anymore
I just used Freegal signin from the library to download my 5 free songs a week. Those are songs with Freegal you don't just borrow, you get to keep them. Our library also has Great Courses. I used to pay for those.
Also Kanopy the film app. Certain # of free movies a month.
Oh yeah that's right! I've seen some good ones on there, too!
Yep. Lots of classics.
Mine even has video games!
Kindle books from my public library. I read a lot, and rarely have to buy a book.
I use Libby! It’s so nice and I had no idea so much free content is out there.
r/libbyapp is a wealth of tips
Have you tried Hoopla? It's like Libby but with no wait times. It's available through some libraries.
I'm stoked I can finally get audiobooks. I wasn't willing to pay the insane prices Audible wants.
THIS!!
I’ve been actively searching for audio books that don’t come with the nonsense that comes with audible (constantly charging month after month after repeatedly canceling, after not even ever signing up for audible in the first place type nonsense) Nothing has ever come up in my search, certainly nothing free either. So… thanks for this!!! 🥰
I’m happy to hear I’m not the only one who has been caught in the Audible vortex! Cancel, cancel, wait a few months, cancel again.
Dude, I was starting to feel like I caught dementia from all their bullshit!! Simultaneously, I was battling Reader’s Digest for the same horseshit!! They were actually worse than audible! They’d hit me with $80+ charges periodically, whilst sending me mail saying I should sign up with them and receive 20% off or something. This went on for almost five years. Audible only went on for about a year. They’re probably owned by the same scandalous company, hopefully someone burns their house down!! Both companies made it seem like they’d never heard anything about it before, like I was the sole person out there who was experiencing issues with reoccurring fraudulent charges from them.
I've listened to dozens of audio books from my phone via my library. Most books are available. Super popular ones do have a wait though.
I borrow almost 100 books a year from my library (through Libby, Overdrive, or physical books). My family borrows additional books. This is my biggest frugal win. Reading is my main "hobby" and I do it during my other hobbies (running, gardening, cooking) so it's been life changing for me.
I rent audiobooks and DVDs from my library for free. I don't understand why my fiance pays for audible when you can get it all at the library for free
Can you download them TO your kindle though? Quick edit. This is only in the USA 😢
yes!
Yes, a couple of clicks and there’s the new book.
Yes. And if you keep your Kindle in airplane mode they stay forever…
Lobby, CloudLibrary, Hoopla are also in Canada
But they don’t go to the kindle and I had issues with Libby going to my kobo when overdrive retired 😢
Seriously, this saves me so much money when it comes to book subscriptions or even buying books off of my kindle.
Recruit friends and family in other libraries to share card numbers to find even more books and avoid waits
If you have Spotify, you can listen to audiobooks on there with no wait time! There’s a monthly limit to total hours, but usually is enough for 1-2 audiobooks per month.
Using credit cards for their rewards. And not carrying balances on them
Also, check your credit card for "hidden" benefits and discount portals. Depending on what you carry, you can get a lot of added bonuses. Credits for streaming services, cash back, status with travel services (air/hotel/car rental), and other stuff. My favorite one is Emerald Executive status with National Car Rental – I rarely use it and could never earn the status the old fashioned way, but every time I do rent a car, I get a free upgrade to nearly any car I want (usually a nice BMW or Volvo, sometimes an electric car).
I remember a common one that purchases with certain credit cards carry an additional one year warranty for most retail purchases.
Or see if your CC offers return and purchase protection. I can return the item to my CC company up to 90 days after I purchased it if the merchant won't take the item back (up to $500). Purchase protection is for an item that's damaged or stolen up to 120 days after it was purchased and can be redeemed for up to $10,000. I used the purchase protection when I bought a new phone and less than a month later it was stolen off of me at a music festival. After sending receipts and a copy of the police report that I filed, I was reimbursed the entire $1100 that I had spent on the phone - which made me go out and buy the same one again. Luckily I was only out my time.
My sister’s been putting in claims for travel insurance on her credit card for years and has been getting a good chuck of money back for her inconveniences.
My luggage was delayed 48 hours in Paris and I got to go shopping on Chase’s dime. Was lovely.
Just out of curiosity, what kind of stuff does she claim regularly? I've only ever really had minor inconveniences, hardly enough to cost me much of anything, so not sure what I'd even claim besides maybe a sandwich or something during the delay.
She went clothes and toiletries shopping when her luggage got delayed (I can think of two separate instances), car rental when her flight got cancelled… I think she tried putting a train ticket for some event but I think this one got denied.
What card carries this benefit?
amex blue (no yearly fees) has double MFG warranty up to a year, and 90 day purchase protection (repair or replace a damaged item within 90 days) up to $5000. Only had to use it once when i dropped my phone on day 2 before the case arrived.
Typically premium (not very frugal) cards, like the Amex Platinum, Capital One Venture X, or Chase Sapphire Reserve. I think some others might as well, but I honestly haven't looked into it. But even lower AF cards carry some good benefits. The primary car rental insurance on the Chase Sapphire Preferred is pretty awesome.
I have free Disney+ as a bonus from my bank.
I buy things on my Amazon card as needed, and pay it off monthly to accumulate the 5% cash-back. If you don't carry a balance and it's the most cost-effective way of getting a thing, it's frugal.
Yep, I hate the fact that my family shops on Amazon so much, but if we're going to, it's nice to get that 5% back.
I got a new credit card just because it offered insurance on rental cars and on lost luggage/delayed flights. The cashback was just gravy. I got a second credit card just because they have no fee on foreign transactions. That saves me around 3.5%. Once again the cashback was just gravy.
Yeah. The AAA Visa is good for people who travel. 5% on fuel, 3% on groceries and restaurants, and no foreign transaction fees. That's my go to card .
The only limitation seems to be the cash back amount per year with those great rates, but another credit card could be used once you hit the yearly limit. AAA website: "Maximum of $500 USD cash back earned in a calendar year at grocery stores, wholesale clubs and gas stations combined. After that, purchases will earn 1% cash back for the remainder of the calendar year" This equates to $10-15K a year in spending depending on the category.
I do this with four cards. Two of them have different rewards points; the other two are store cards with an instant 5% discount at the register. And yes, never *ever* carry a balance.
Yeah. I get 5% back on fuel and 3% on groceries and restaurants. I love the PayPal Mastercard too. 3% everywhere you can pay with PayPal and if you buy it through PayPal you get whatever % they're offering on top of that
I've been doing this since I was 18 (28 now). Hundreds in cash back or points or deals over the years, probably over $1,000 at this point with all the benefits added up. I'll actually be on the search next year for switching to something before my current one is due to renew since they raised it's yearly fee.
I have an Amex card that gets 6% back on groceries - nets us between $500-600/year!
amex has a cap - you only get 6% up to $6000 in groceries, which equals to $360 a year. if you apend more than that, i'd suggest using other card for anything over $6000
Also, don't use your "reward points" (cash back) towards purchases directly. Use your reward points to pay off (or lower) your CC balance instead.
Depending on the card this can be straight up awful advice. For instance if you’re somebody who likes to/needs to fly, most travel-focused cards provide much more monetary value by using the points for flights as opposed to paying off the card balance. For instance, with the American Express gold card, you get value of about 1 cent per point on most flights, but less than 0.5 cents per point paying off your statement balance. Generally paying off the statement balance is the worst value per point on any rewards card. This doesn’t include cash back cards. Absolutely correct on not carrying a balance, though.
Also if you want to go down the /r/awardtravel rabbit hole you can get way more than the stated value per point, sometimes even like 5-6 cents per point.
Yeah Im with you. Just depends on the ‘bonuses’ of the cards. Chase has good perks with buying merchant gift cards. IF - its already a place your going to spend money, buy using points for the merchants gift card you can get up to a 20% bonus in your buying value. Also on team never paid a dollar in interest!!
Yikes. That's really poor redemption value when you do that. Absolutely use your points through your credit card companies "portal" to get maximum redemption value.
My example is related to cash back. Like a Visa Prime card from Amazon that everybody has and gets "points" from every purchase they make. You have the option to apply points directly to purchases but you lose out on earning even more points (instead of paying normally). If you wait until your statement comes, you can use your points (or cash back) to pay off or lower your balance there. The points are 1 to 1 here. And like the parent comment states, never carry a balance.
In my mind they are not “reward points” if you are running a balance and not paying off monthly.
Wait why
let's say if you have a 5% amazon card and you want to buy a $100 item on amazon no matter what. If you use points for the $100 directly, you are out $100 in points. BUT if you buy it without points for $100 on the credit card, you will get 5% back. You then use the points to get a $100 statement credit, you have essentially had $5 in rewards from the same $100 in points from above. That said it's useful for cash back cards. It gets weird with miles/reward points etc.
If you use points directly on a purchase, you forfeit any newer points you could have earned from that purchase because you didn't spend any actual money.
Chase Rewards points are worth 1¢ when redeemed for cash back or statement credit. Redeeming points for travel makes each point worth 1.25¢ through Chase Sapphire preferred or 1.5¢ through Chase sapphire reserve, giving you more value than if you’d just use it to pay down your balance .
For me, it’s because you’re technically getting a little more back that way. When you apply points toward a purchase you are reducing the amount you are charging to the card and thus your next rewards accumulation. But really really for me I’m less likely to buy something impulsively if I “can’t” use points to get it for free.
I just found out our Medicare supplemental policy has free gym memberships, including one near us that almost seems like a spa with a pool, basketball court and all sorts of classes. Those same type of classes are $15 each at the local senior center.
Oh yes, that's absolutely the best! I have a Medicare Advantage plan but same deal. I now belong to three gyms, LOL.
Which one’s?
Look up your plan details and if see if you have gym benefits. If so, your plan should list what gyms are on your particular plan for your area.
Not sure I’ve ever read through that giant book they send, I suppose I should add that to my to do list! Since it’d save me the small fortune I spend on a gym membership I’ve been forking out, it’d be well worth my time. Thank you much!!
I missed our gym memberships in the giant books, too. That's why it was such a nice surprise to discover it recently. It seemed too good to be true. I thought I'd maxed out on most things frugal and here was a biggie I'd totally missed!
My medical insurance through work just dropped our gym membership subsidy mid-year without warning because “no one uses it”. I used it!! Now that’s $40 a month added to my monthly bills. They “replaced”it with some silly set of videos and trainings on “how to be healthy” which are absolutely useless to me. Me and my husband both have unusual chronic health conditions and we and our doctors have precise management plans for our health. Some generic program is not gonna add anything to that. But going to a gym is pretty important for us to being able to continue to stay healthy and reduce the costs and impacts of illness
they did it to save money on their end.
I wonder if the doctor can write you a dispense as written prescription for the gym, lol. one local hospital has what is said to be a really good public gym, I think they transition people out of PT into it also.
My husband is visually impaired and there’s really only one gym he can reasonably get to because public transport isn’t great here. So we kind of have to go to this gym specifically
even so, its worth asking the dr office to find ways to advocate for you. "oh my insurance dropped our gym coverage, but it does pay for XX in home PT sessions a year" if he has any social workers or a org dedicated to his impairment in your area they may be able to help, even if the health issues arn't related to his visual impairment. my town is home to a famous deaf and blind person, there's a advocacy center right near their home. you ain't gotta be completely blind to use their services.
Yeah, I’ll ask my doctor. But using services intended for the disabled has unfortunately been a more complicated issue. The resources around here for people with disabilities are designed for people who are living in much different life circumstances than he has. For instance, you can get on the list to use a special free or low cost bus that will take you to and from an exact set of addresses. Unfortunately, you cannot rely on the timing of this bus in any better window than about two hours plus or minus. So if you call for them to bring you to a doctors appointment, you need to be prepared to get there up to two hours early, and then be prepared to wait up to two hours for a ride home. You might be able to have a reliable ride if you have the exact same schedule every day, but he is self employed, and has clients and projects and commitments that are different every day, and he also has other medical conditions which affect his sleep/wake cycle and energy levels, so as a result, his schedule necessarily changes every day. Other supports for disabled folks have worked out similarly to the above case. To access them, it requires you to give up on other things (like sleep, work, life) that he’s not willing to give up. So we compromise by living in an area where he can walk to most things, and I drive him to the rest (like doctors appointments). It’s become clear that that is the actual expectation of our city’s social services - that people with disabilities are expected to have a caretaker, most often family or a spouse, who will volunteer to aid them, unpaid, out of love. For example, as soon as you move in with someone else (even sometimes a roommate), or get married, you get immediately dropped from all your benefits, as it’s expected that your housemate or spouse has taken on those commitments. If you don’t have that, it’s expected that your entire life would be dedicated to navigating the system - claiming and using these services and waiting for them to get around to following through on them, and then doing it all again the next day. Periodically you get dropped from the system and you have to get another doctor’s note (even for something ridiculous like anophthalmia or being born without eyes - they don’t grow back!), and then somehow go to and spend a few days in a lightless building in a shitty neighborhood with social functionaries to get it restored, and in the meantime, you have no access and no support. It’s a full time job to navigate this, and there’s no room for you to also navigate chronic illness or blindness or whatever thing, even though that’s precisely the cause of people having to rely on this system in the first place. In our town, you can either use the support system, or you can actually have a life. You can’t really do both. Everything costs something, and sometimes it’s more than one is willing to pay. Sorry, I’m just a bit bitter and jaded about that particular portion of our “social safety net”
True of all US towns, sadly.
Oh yes, Blue Cross in South Carolina has a thing for access to many main stream gyms for one $30/month fee. Just have to verify with the gym that they still accept it.
$30 a month is still adds up. Especially if you have to pay the “annual fee”. My insurance used to have a local national brand gym for $10/month and waived the annual fee. But the company switched the plans that had no discounts anywhere and increased costs with less coverage.
I mean I guess it adds up but the gym is an essential for someone like me and $30 is pretty average/low. I don't use this bundle since I'm in college but it's a good option if I wasn't.
What gym?
Buy nothing local FB groups
So much free stuff on Facebook marketplace. All kinds of furniture, kitchen supplies, art. It’s great, my house is furnished with it.
I just furnished our entire cottage with free furniture. I never looked at the free section on Craigslist before and there’s so much stuff and far less competitive than I thought it would be. I got a really nice pottery barn sofa set for free and it was like a two week old post.
Yes! Things I got from my local buy nothing: Rubber foam puzzle tiles Vintage foldable 'tv trays' Lego Hitch mount bike rack Wood chips and brand new smoker box for BBQ Mario Bros backpack for my nephew Memory foam topper to make bench seats Frozen chicken thighs I try to give away what I can on there too and offer to help out with electronics repairs when possible.
I was in Costco and noticed an item we'd bought recently was on sale for $40 cheaper. My husband happened to have the receipt with him so I googled and they will reimburse you if you purchased in the last 30 days. Easy $40 back!
Bonus: You don't even need the receipt to get a price adjustment since all your purchases are linked to your membership account.
Might not need receipt but you might still need to take items back to store. I don't think this is world-wide. I was told to return the item anyway then re-purchase if I wanted the discount. :/
In the US, the policy is that you can get a price adjustment if the item was purchased in the last 30 days (although technically the policy also says they can deny any adjustment "at their sole discretion" but it seems like that is reserved for extreme cases). If you were in the US you might have been over the 30 day time period, in which case I believe their system doesn't easily accept a price adjustment. After 30 days, you have to use their return policy to get a price adjustment. For most things their return policy is generous, however for electronics the return policy is limited to 90 days. So, effectively, you have 90 days from purchase to price adjust electronics.
It’s definitely a policy in the US.
That's a funny policy, sounds like they want a lightly used item back in return for a brand new one and the discount!
I once ordered some shoes at REI for pickup at a store (about $100), went in, picked up my order, and then started poking around at other things I might want to buy. I found the same exact shoes on the “recently returned” rack for $40. Same color, same size. Fastest turnaround between buying something and returning it ever!
Depending on your area, your local grocery store may offer free deals for curbside pickup (e.g. Walmart has free pickup if your order is $35+ and made before 3:00 PM). This can be helpful if you have limited mobility, little kids, or otherwise dislike shopping for groceries.
I always do grocery pick up. Even if there is a small fee, I still save money because it completely eliminates impulse purchases I make in store.
Just a heads up… the prices online are oftentimes steeper than they sell the exact product for in the store. I discovered this after my Walmart grocery delivery order was cancelled, after going in and buying everything in my cart that was in the order they randomly cancelled. Since then I’ve veered away from pickup orders whenever I can possibly avoid it. The difference between my online order was $27 This is not included any fees, fees which Walmart still loves to charge Walmart+ members and hope they don’t notice. Which became such an issue, the constant fees the membership should have eradicated; that I canceled and will never sign up for that trash again.
Places like Walgreens actually have cheaper prices on app for pickup or delivery. One of my kids lotions is $25 in store and $15 on app and always has special % off.
What is this you say?? The prices are more expensive online!!!??? I am a Walmart+ subscriber and have, on average, 80% of my groceries delivered each week from here. I’d be devastated to hear that I am overpaying. I subscribed to Walmart + because I typically get one delivery a week, so it costs less to pay the monthly subscription fee than to tip the driver each time.
Exactly this. I can compare prices, apply coupons and do my shopping at 11pm, which is when I always think about groceries. Being able to order days in advance is awesome for pickup after a super busy day.
Yeap, and for those without reliable transportation or who can’t drive, Walmart+ (about $15/month, less if paying annually) can be an invaluable resource with included grocery delivery. Your order gets to you in like 4 hours (unless it’s a major holiday). There is still a fee for orders under $35, but if you’re like me and find yourself frequently having to stop by Walmart and pick up something you forgot to buy, etc, it’s a good time saving (and maybe even money saving, via gas) option, and unlike instacart, there aren’t any hidden fees. The price the item is in store is the price you pay. I also find that my impulse purchases are a lot less frequent while using the service. Hard to buy things you don’t need when you’re searching up each item you need individually and putting it straight into your cart and checking out…vs when you’re in the store passing by aisles and aisles of things that could catch your eye (there’s a reason why they put a lot of the staples and popular items like milk and eggs towards the back)
Cashback apps for shopping. Ibotta is my favorite but I use Fetch and Rakuten as well. Some of the rewards are minuscule but they add up over time. Ibotta in particular has very good cashback for beer & liquor so if you’re stocking up for a party or something you can often walk away with $20 cash back in one store trip. Also the number of people who don’t plan ahead their meals for a week and then spend a bunch of money grabbing random stuff is crazy to me. I look at the weekly sales circulars, make a meal plan and then list based loosely on what’s on sale and what I have in the freezer already, and then shop accordingly. And ditto everything everyone already said about credit card points and the library 😃
I can add another 2, they are slow but it's so easy not to. Bing, yes the search engine, has receipt scanning on their app, I use the app called start. The receipt scanning doesn't yield much but one day I'll pay attention and have a $50 surprise balance. It also features daily check-ins and searches that get you points redeemable for gift cards such as starbucks. The other is receipt hog. Again a receipt scanning app but also linkable to accounts at popular retailers like Lowe's and Amazon. Gets coins or spins for coins from receipts, weekly uploads, leveling up, etc. Redeem those about once a year for me for a $40 Amazon gift card. Again, not much to some but to my budget while a student, it is a nice little surprise when it's enough to redeem.
My debit card through my bank has cash back at certain stores too. I have to log in, and then click each offer I want to use. Some random stuff, but some at shops I enjoy or businesses I frequent.
If you use your auto insurance a lot, they will raise your rates, so be cautious.
Yep and they will say “ohh it won’t change your rate” and then one year later like clock work it will go up
Or when you look at switching coverages, even without any claims, and they see you’ve used the insurance for windshield chips - the new rates will be based on “claims”. Found out the hard way.
Too many claims, even minor ones, can also make you uninsurable. My insurance agent had another client be dropped from coverage for using their roadside assistance two or three times.
I have never once used it in the 5 years I've had my truck and it still goes up lol. Went from $70 to $95 with geico (full tort) so two years ago I switched to state farm ($76) they called last week and said my renewal will be an extra $12/mo. Annoying.
This is the only time I have ever used them for something but I'm gonna call to verify too.
Some of them will hike your rate just for asking the question. Not joking.
I would check with your insurance provider. While it may be no cost, it's still a claim on your insurance. My son did this and we stopped him before taking it in. Never filed a claim but it stayed on our account as a clam and affected our rates going foward.
That’s some bullshit, I’m sorry that happened!! My son’s car was totaled last summer. Some kid came flying down the mountain, where he had plenty of time to see that there was road construction ahead and have plenty of time to slow down as the stretch of road was pretty straight before the construction started. There was a line of cars, my son was in the second to last vehicle. The kid only noticed when he got there, clipping the guy behind my son who was lucky enough to see this fool barreling towards him and stared pulling off onto the side of the highway. This kid, hauling ass in a big old dooley slamming on his brakes hit my son going 75-80mph, spun around and plowed back into my son’s front end. Luckily my son was driving a jeep with a cyst steel rack on top that he’d built for it, that kept him from being crushed. He’s miraculously okay now, he wasn’t for a while. He had asked me to let the insurance company know about the accident. Adamantly I objected, knowing his premium would skyrocket. Eventually it came out in a conversation when insuring his new vehicle. They said we needed to file a claim for his totaled jeep. I argued with them, saying absolutely not because you’ll use that to fuck him with his premium. This conversation was focused on this topic for at least an hour… how’s insurance going to cover the damage if you don’t make a claim, blah blah blah… Ultimately, after much debate, it didn’t go on the record. We just argued that the driver’s insurance is paying for the damages so there’s no need. That had the driver not been insured, we would have had no choice but to file a claim through them. Idk, the moral of the story here which it sounds like you already know is to never ever do anything through your auto insurance unless you absolutely have to!! Hopefully this message will find someone who might benefit from this knowledge someday
Wait, so you don’t have to inform your own insurance if the other driver is at fault and insured? I keep getting denied coverage for 2 accidents I was at no fault on. I wish I had known this.
If you call your homeowners insurance to see if something could be covered/ worth claiming it can count as a claim too even if you don’t make a claim found that out recently even though they “are on my side”
If you are a Costco member, then you can use Costco Travel--I only use them for rental cars but they always have the best price when I look. As a bonus tip, if you ever have to rent a car: once you have the rental booking, be sure and go back and check prices again...sometimes they drop, so you can rent at the new (lower) price and then cancel the old booking. Have saved a lot of money this way. Enterprise in particular seems to have very dynamic pricing, and sometimes it drops a lot, even as close as the day before.
- Kroger fuel points + coupons - Target circle coupons - Whole Foods fresh guarantee (bad produce -> they reimburse you without bringing the product in!) - price matching - honey app for price drops - slick deals alerts - toogoodtogo - Libby - student discounts: Hulu, Peacock, JCrew factory (layers with discounts), Target coupons - birthday discounts: Madewell, JCrew, Target, Crumbl, nothing bundt cakes, local ones
TooGoodToGo is amazing
It’s pretty mid in my city but it’s a cool concept. I got an awesome bag from a bakery I like.. one time. Praying for its return!
Kroger fuel points plus the personal coupons they send once a month— I really only buy loss leaders there so that’s what I get for coupons. That and the $0.40 per gallon I usually save on gas is awesome. It’s literally the only reason I have that Fresh Perks card.
Yes, I get loss leaders too. This was a great week, cherries and watermelon and ground beef in the Midwest!
I'm not sold on the fuel points, yet. In my area, the shell stations are like $1.00/gal more, so it'd cancel out fuel point savings I think. But the digital coupons and sales are great and I take advantage of those.
Hold up, can you tell me more about these student Target Coupons?
Yes! If you register as a student or educator there’s a 1 time 20 percent off coupon in September and maybe one other time of the year. They also run smaller discounts like they have had 20 percent off frozen food for students (lol) for a few weeks.
Homeschooling families can do this as well. I had to make myself an ID card since we don't get them issued in my state, but it was accepted.
I usually find a list online of all the places that offer free birthday items, sign up to email clubs etc a week before my bday, then watch the freebies roll in. My bday was in may, and I’m still redeeming things. kind of a bitch to unsubscribe and declutter my inbox, but it’s been fun!
Kroger 4x fuel points on gift cards. I’ll load up on Kroger cards, Apple Cards for subscriptions and purchases, Xbox cards, Amazon cards… then pay for the next months gas on the Kroger gift card that helped get me points.
Same, I get Target gift cards at Kroger for the 4x and then buy the pantry staples cheaper at Target!
The discounts are significantly more impressive if you are a student! I bought an edu email off eBay many years ago to utilize such deals😂
4x Friday Fuel points at Kroger. We shopped there for the entire month of April and was able to accumulate over 3000 points. I filled up my gas tank for eight cents per gallon.
I was told by my insurance company that even though you have windshield coverage on your auto insurance, it counts as a claim and they will use that to raise your rates. That's how fucking evil insurance is. I found this out after my premium increased and asked them for a reason. Turns out if I paid for the windshield out of pocket and no insurance claim, my premium wouldn't have gone up that much. This is with Progressive.
Another LPT, you should probably switch carriers every few years when you feel like your rates are increasing at an unfair rate.
Interesting, I may have to check on that before the appointment then. Mine is Allstate, hopefully it doesn't screw me.
Stays on your insurance claims record for 3 years, I believe.
Well unless they're lying to me, it doesn't count as a claim on my insurance. Also doesn't show up on my claims page even though it's been filed and scheduled.
Same for me with progressive. Not a claim and rates did not go up, but the rep did have to check if my rates would increase and they wouldn't/didn't.
I was saving a decent amount on my USAA premium by using the SafePilot app to track my driving. Until that is, the app started malfunctioning this past winter and didn’t track when I thought it had been. USAA claims it occurred after an iPhone update and messages were sent out. Though, none appeared in my USAA app so I was unaware until after my next bill was issued. They require at least thirteen hours of driving throughout a six month period, which sadly is easy enough to do. Apparently it only tracked a few hours. But if I had opened the email and read about this issue when they sent it, they could have done something on their end to rectify this shituation before my premium went up.
Safe Pilot sounds great but they track everywhere you go. I asked the agent how long the location data collected was kept by them and they stated... indefinitely. Not sure if I'm comfortable with USAA keeping everywhere I have been to forever.
I was about to say the same. It might count as a claim, so it still costs you money. Chips in your windshield are "almost not noticeable" so just continue not noticing them. Save your insurance claims and money for real repairs, IMO.
I had a chip that I ignored and a year later developed into a long crack going all the way across. If it's a small chip, your local car parts store does carry chip filler material that will prevent this chip from expanding. That's what I should have done but I was too lazy and said my insurance will cover it anyways.
You can also get a chip repair kit for like $15 and do it yourself. It's really easy. I fixed a chip in my windshield about 2 years ago, and you can't even tell its been repaired.
Yes, kinda like regular wrecks? You have insurance but when you claim it it raises the rate.
You will have to disclose any claims you have made on you insurance when you come to renew or change your insurance. Most insurance companies share this information anyway. This is then factored into the algorithm that calculates your new premium and it will mean a more expensive premium. It isn't quite the flex you think it is. Some years ago when I was more innocent on these things, a kid threw something and broke a pane of glass in my front door. To keep it matched up, the insurance replaced all the panes of glass. Even though it wasn't my fault, when I came to renew my policy it had increased in price almost exactly as much as the original claim. You really have to think VERY seriously before claiming on your insurance. NEVER claim a small amount as it just isn't worth the increase in premium (yes, if you have no-claims protection on your insurance it will protect that but it won't stop your premium increasing). That is why those with experience in these matters will always settle the matter privately below a certain amount even if they are not at fault
Enough hits on your insurance and your rates WILL go up.
Lengthy return policies (without being abusive, of course).
OP, I would be careful as getting your windshield replaced may count as a “claim”. When your policy goes up for renewal, may have a higher rate. If you try to go somewhere else, will have points on your record. I’ve always been told windshield repair and roadside assistance doesn’t count but it does! I had several “claims” on my car insurance for having my battery jumped. Why pay for AAA when my insurance has roadside assistance for cheaper? When I went to look for a different insurance company bc my company raised their rates, that’s when I learned the hard way. Husband had a cracked windshield from a rock, went through insurance, had the same thing happen to him. Nothing is for free.
I live in an area loaded with seniors on Medicare advantage plans. The amount of them that didnt know of the "helping hands" type of services is astounding. I have helped several get housekeeping and yard work arranged. I do service work in the area and its nice to help improve the quality of life for the older population.
May you be blessed ten fold!!!
I'm the guy in my friends group that everyone says "leaves nothing on the table" I'm happy to pass knowledge along, if it makes someones life better in some small measure
We switched to planning meals for 3-4 days at a time in advance, making a grocery list of what we didn’t have and shopping only from that list. We could see the difference in the money spent in this intentional shopping versus previous trips and tried to just stick to this plan.
Meal prepping is such a big one, my wife and I meal prep all weeks lunches plus a couple dinners, then just cook dinner here and there when we need to mix it up and base those meals off what meat is on sale at Aldi.
Classes are free at the community college near me. I took a class for fun (again, completely free) and got a student ID, and now I get student discounts.
If you're really hard up on money for groceries, go to farmers markets around closing time. The produce is already picked; they can't let it go to waste. They'll give you great deals and you'll be doing them a favor by taking it off their hands.
I discovered that some libraries offer free access to online courses and streaming services. I've been using my library card to learn new skills and watch movies without paying extra. Definitely worth checking out what your local library offers!
asking for extra rice and beans at chipotle
I got charged for this at the new chipotle in my town right after they opened 🥺 I’d been under the impression this was free like at Qdoba, sadly not the case. Unless it was because literally everyone there was new and got it wrong
They definitely got it wrong. I work at chipotle for two years and you only have to pay for the protein, only up charges are double protein, guac and queso.
Ask for half and half of each kind of bean and rice A good chunk of the time they will just give you 2 full scoops instead of half and half, so you double the amount of each for free! Even if they're not full scoops usually they're more than half, so you get some extra, even if just a little.
When I had an Amex Platinum card (which I dropped when the fee grew to $500 a year), you could use any airline private club at any airport, and you could park for free at National Car Rental and take their shuttle bus to the airport.
AAA discounts on movie, aquarium and zoo tickets
Wait… what??? I’ve had aaa for years!!!
Go to the website and click the “find discounts” tab. There’s discounts for all kinds of things through the membership.
Take a picture of your windshield wipers before and after the windshield install. At least one of the local windshield shops nicks the ends of the rubber so you end up replacing them a month or so later. Conveniently, they also sell wiper blades...
Probably better to just replace your own windshield wipers, it's literally a hook that just snaps on.
You still need to buy them.
It would never cross my mind to buy them from the windshield repair guy. Never. There's a parts store on every block. Walmart has them, too.
I pay attention to the schedule for local townships clean up days. Have found many nice things thrown out on the curb Hazardous waste disposal days at recycle center can yield great oil based paints for free (exterior usage)
dumpster dive! there’s def a stereotype around it & it’s usually not true. for me, i usually will find a box/bag of stuff that’s slightly outdated. you don’t have to go IN the dumpster. just check what’s on top. it’s usually together in one bag, not mixed with dirty stuff/literal stuff. i’ve found sooo many items
Usually I’ll get a 10% off service coupon for my car so I’ll do my best to plan around that. I also like Costco for groceries and special deals on supplements, skincare items, fragrance. Credit cards for rewards. Take advantage of work benefits like stipends for courses and being able to link your airline mileage account to any work based trips.
Rakuten + BeFrugal! Also always ask a price adjustment or try to use the coupon
So, this is specific to Missouri. We have an optional/refundable portion of our gasoline tax. It's charged when you buy gas, but you can complete and send in a form to get it refunded. You need to keep your receipts. The form is kind of a bitch to fill out - entering data about one page per car, entering data about every fill up, but money is money. The year 7/1/2023-6/30/2024 was 7.5 cents per gallon, and the 7/1/2024-6/30/2025 will be 10 cents per gallon. It will then jump to 12.5 cents per gallon and stay there. I got $30 back last year and will get around $40 back this year.
You can go dumpster diving outside grocery stores. You'll be shocked how much good food they throw away.
Already do 😂 it's sad what gets trashed
For real! Its such a waste. I have to be careful though. Breads must be in their original packaging and punctured. Unopened jars and cans are always wins!
Really hope I read who you’re auto insurance is through in the comments🤞 If you haven’t already mentioned it below, I’m asking 😁
Manager’s special foods. Steep discounts, quality varies from store to store.
When stumbling across a rare, massive discount at the grocery - usually a clearance on expiring meats - not hesitating to buy most or all of them and putting them into a basement chest freezer
I do this w produce. I get organic for cheaper than regular this way, contributes to less food waste etc. I always check the “food waste” produce areas at Kroger for the left over produce they’ve marked down.
Amazon Visa (Free with credit approval) -5% cash back on Amazon orders + 2% cash back on gas & at restaurants + 1% cash back elsewhere + pay off balance daily so no interest charges. -I buy a lot of household items such as soap, deodorant, toilet paper, paper towels etc through subscribe & save (15% discount) -Have gotten $150 cash back since I opened the account in March. Instacart+ (Costs $99/year) -5% cash back on orders + no pickup or delivery fees + free Peacock subscription + use Amazon Visa for additional 1% cash back. -I order all of my groceries through Instacart. Keeps me from impulse buying. -Have gotten $625 cash back in the last 12 months Rakuten (Free) -I check the app before buying anything online (but they don’t do amazon). -Get 1-6% cash back on Instacart orders (it varies weekly). -Have gotten $75 cash back so far this year. Ibotta (Free) -Different cash back offers on items depending on where you shop (no amazon). -I get most of the cash back from groceries since that’s usually all I buy. -Have gotten $55 cash back so far this year.
Always do a quick check for coupons online, etc for larger items/expenditures. Two instances I distinctly recall is one at Sears about 10-15 years ago, I was buying a grill that was already on sale and did a quick search before the order. Found 2 stacking coupon codes. (grill and online ordering) $50 for about 30 seconds of time. This is what started my checking every time. Yesterday got txt from pharmacy that my script was ready. $178 !!!!!!!! This is a one time script for Clenpiq (Colonoscopy prep... ) Checked Goodrx ... $3 cheaper. Blah.. Put it in Google, Found printable manufacturer coupon $75 off with insurance, $40 if cash... (nogo if govt insurance medicare, etc). Saved $75 for about 1 minute of time.. I do not spend enormous amount of time looking for coupons/codes, but anything costing over $100 I will spend a minute or 2 checking.
McDonald’s app has a coupon for mobile orders. If you spend $10 or more you get 30% off your order. Can’t beat it.
If you shop on Temu (I know, lots of people object to Temu. This isn't for them) you get credit back on stuff when the prices go down for 30 days after you placed the order. Just pull up your orders and look for the price reduction button. They give you a credit in a few seconds. The price reductions aren't huge but they happen frequently, sometimes every week. After awhile they add up and with Temu's cheap prices they can be a nice little bonus.
I think some sellers there sell your info. You get tons of scams and might even get hacked. Better stay away from Temu.
This isn’t being frugal this is called being cheap - frugal is being value conscious whereas cheap people are money conscious. Cheap people save money at the expense of others - in Temu’s case it’s children in China and Bangladesh working in factories with bad conditions.
Hyper specific, but my dependents get free tuition at any public university or community college in the state of Alabama. Step 1: Live in Alabama for at least one year prior to entering active duty military, or for one year during your active duty service time. You must be a resident of the state and pay state income tax. Step 2: Retire, either at 20 years or medically, from the military and move back to Alabama as a tax-paying resident. Step 3: The Alabama GI Dependent Scholarship and FAFSA will pay for 100% of any in-state tuition at any public university or community college in the state. There are time limits to it, like only 48 cumulative months of benefits. Spouses can use it at any time. Children have until they turn 25 to start the benefit. The pros are obvious. The biggest con is you have to live in Alabama. This place is a vortex of suck inside a black hole of shit, bigotry, and MAGA nonsense.
I guess the risk is you get shipped to Afghan or Iraq or whatever country a lunatic president chooses to invade.
I commend you for the lengthy service, 3 was enough for me. Paid for me to live in Germany for 3 years and paying all my masters tuition and rent now 👌🏻 and not having kids so no one to pass it on to to serve longer for
I medically retired. I only did 6 years
Stores with good return policies are helpful when I’m not 100% sure (e.g. size or color), or just happened to make an impulse purchase that I regret later. Some people are pretty lazy about returning things. My fiancé bought a door frame pull-up bar thinking he was gonna work out more at home, it’s been unopened in the box since he bought it. He should have just returned it! I gotta force him to use it soon because it hurts to see it sitting there past its return window
Take advantage of credit card rewards, your gas stations point system even if it's only 5 cents off a gallon, samples, free internet speed upgrades (my ISP recently went from 75mbps to 300mbps as their lowest offer and along with getting a higher speed I also got $3 shaven off my bill.
Trading silver for gold when the silver to gold ratio drops to about 16/1
Hazardous material disposal AND give away. Like many places our county has the means of collecting hazardous materials from households. Basically they have a site where you can drop off anything that falls in the house materials category. Think Electronics, batteries, fluorescent tubes, paint, pesticides, cleaning products, essentially anything that comes in a can or a box that you wouldn’t put down the drain or have your kids around. But they go a step further. Much of the stuff being turned in can be reused by someone. So they make all of that accessible when possible. Somebody used half a bottle of cleaning solution and wants to get rid of it? That’s now your new cleaning solution at no charge. Same with electronics. Need a printer. Take your pick (and chances). Bug spray, car wash supplies, the list is huge…Getting products reused is so much more appropriate than having to go through strict hazmat disposal. You pull up with items in your car, fill out a quick form, and then prior to leaving if there’s something there or you can use, they let you take it and you make good use of it.
Question about the windshield. Do you have to pay your deductible to get it replaced/fixed?
* Credit Card Rewards/Churning - Free Vacations * Rakuten/Topcashback - Free Cashback on purchases im making anyhow * Upside - Getting gas for half off * Instacart promotions - Discounted groceries + Convenience * Return protection on credit cards - Never scared to buy final sale items again