Sun, June 28, 2026 at 3:31 PM UTC
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In r/Frugal, someone asked, “What ‘frugal’ habit did you stop doing once you did the math?” The question opened up a discussion about how, sometimes, when you think you’re cutting corners and saving $$$, you might not be. People wrote in on the not-so-worth-it lessons they learned on saving money AND time. Two pretty valuable life lessons. Here’s what people said:1. “I used to feel guilty donating or throwing away perfectly good things I barely used, thinking, ‘What if I need it someday?’ Now I see it as paying to store it somewhere else while making my daily space calmer and easier to live in.”2. “I started buying exactly what I need and no more. I live alone in a tiny studio apartment. I do not need a complete set of dishes or pots and pans. It all turns into clutter.”
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3. “Still working on stopping this, but keeping and wearing items of clothing that I don’t like just because they still fit me.”
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4. “The washing machine broke. I hit up a laundromat to manage for a while, but my ‘I’m going to sit on large expenses for a bit’ ultimately made it worse than just biting the bullet immediately and getting a new washing machine. Doing laundry at home is a real time-saver.”
5. “Buying in bulk just because it’s a better value per unit. That doesn’t matter if half of the whatever gets trashed because we didn’t use it in time!”
6. “Bulk for shelf-stable staples. Buy exactly what you need for one meal (or as many as you have the skill to plan for) for things that expire. It’s a tough balance to learn, and I still screw it up, but I’m getting better at it.”
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7. “Buying generic everything without checking unit prices. Sometimes the name brand is literally cheaper per oz, especially when it’s on sale, and the store brand isn’t. I used to default to whatever had the cheapest sticker price and was low-key wasting money for years.”
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8. “I don’t get driving outside of your immediate area for gas. Saving that five cents a gallon doesn’t make much sense when you use gas to get to that further station. I’ll look at the local 2-3 gas stations that I’d go to anyway and call it a day.”
9. “Selling clothes at a consignment shop. I spent two days sorting, washing, and ironing, and after two trips driving across town, netted $28.”
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10. “Gardening. It costs more than I expected, and we don’t exactly live in an area that’s good for growing. All the plants died from weather conditions since our weather patterns are getting more and more unpredictable and wilder. We now have snow in May when you need to start planting, etc. Not to mention it was way too time-consuming, and seasonal produce is cheap if you go to the right places.”
11. “This just happened. I bought a SodaStream a few months ago. I got sick of having to replace the little CO2 cannisters, so I got my own for $125, and it only costs $45 to refill, but it will last 10 times longer than the little cannisters. I then decided to make my own soda syrup to save even more money. SodaStream syrup is around $5 to $9 dollars per bottle of syrup and makes around 6-8 liters of soda, or around 24 cans. Making it myself only costs around $2. I like Mountain Dew, so I bought the ingredients based on a recipe I found online. I followed it to a T. Worst tasting sh— I have ever had in my life. I don’t care how much I’m saving, it’s not worth it.”
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12. “Buying salad ingredients to wash and chop in the phases when I’m burnt out from work. It always results in the salad ingredients going bad and me buying takeout because I’m not chopping a salad while I collapse from exhaustion. The pre-washed, ready bag is way cheaper than takeout. So basically, recognizing when paying the convenience fee would actually be the cheaper alternative and paying it as opposed to making a commitment that I can’t stick to.”
13. “I stopped feeling guilty about grocery delivery. I will happily pay for the service and the tip. Previously, I would go to a packed store, with kids in tow, go up and down each aisle to locate items, ultimately forgetting pertinent items, load everything onto the conveyor belt, pay, bag all the groceries, load them into the car, carry them all up the stairs, and then put them all away, all by myself. So much of the labor has been placed on the consumer now. It’s exhausting.”
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14. “My girlfriend and I used to not use the dishwasher and just use it as a dish rack, but I’m pretty sure we were costing ourselves more in water bills and time.”
15. “Buying cheaper stuff for the kitchen, like cooking utensils and appliances. Now that I’m in a better position financially, I try to buy the highest quality items my budget allows for. Buy once, cry once, etc.”
16. “Coupons. 30 years ago, you could get 25 or 50 cents off something. $1.00 off was cause for celebrate. Well, now you still can only get 25 cents, 50 cents, or occasionally $1.00 off, generally speaking. The amount of money you save is no longer a benefit given the amount you have to spend, and is mostly for overly processed snacks that I shouldn’t be buying anyway.”
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17. “Combating the illusion of cheap vs. free is a huge one. Back in college, when Denny’s announced the free Grand Slam Breakfast, I had friends getting $20-$30 cab rides and standing in two-hour lines to get the ‘free’ $6 breakfast.”
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18. “I look at time spent vs. dollar saved. Really helped me re-frame what was important to outsource. Sometimes it’s worth the extra $5 if I get a bonus hour of playtime with the kid.”
19. “Sometimes it’s worth it just to have a contractor come out for a couple of hundred bucks to fix something that would take you all day. Pro-tip: We used to get 0% interest for X months’ worth of letters in the mail if we spent so much at Home Depot. We would buy a $1,000 gift card or a $1,500 gift card and use it for random things to fix around the house vs. having the money at that moment, or trying to spend it all in one shot. This can be used for contractor work at Home Depot as well. I know it’s Home Depot and they might not be your cup of tea, but spacing out a a $2,000 DIY repair or new appliance over 18 months is a lifesaver.”
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20. “Not exactly because it ended up being more expensive, but buying the cheapest things possible, no matter what. I was buying really cheap coffee until I realized that my stomach would hurt less if I spent a couple more dollars on coffee that wouldn’t hurt my stomach. I had to learn the difference between frugal and cheap.”
Have you ever realized some frugal tips are not worth it? Let us know in the comments! Or, if you prefer to stay anonymous, you can fill out the form below!
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