Saving money can be tricky, and there are many ways to do it wrong. For example, you could save money in an ineffective way, such as putting it in a low-interest savings account. Or, you could save money in an unhealthy way, such as by becoming obsessed with saving and neglecting other aspects of your life. A user asked on the forum, what are some tips to save money that are not worth the hype?
The answers he got are brilliant.
BEING MISERABLE TO SAVE MONEY
“You can’t buy back time. You can’t buy back the joy you missed out on. Balancing saving with enjoying life is critical to your mental health and well-being for the long run.”
NOT VALUING TIME OVER MONEY
“Time is the most precious resource any human being has. Why be miserable and drive 40 minutes to the US border only to buy a $20 cheaper cooler? (Yeah, I know people that do that). The secret is establishing a price for one hour of your life, and then you reason what is worth it.”
BUYING THE CHEAPEST OF ANYTHING
“There’s a price value relationship that is maximized around the low-mid to mid-tier quality of items. Ex. A Walmart bike will cost you 300 bucks but will maybe last one year before you need to repair it and start sinking even more money into it. But a nice brand name bike from a bike shop may cost 700 or 800 bucks but will last you easily ten years.”
DIY CULTURE
“I’m not saying it’s never worth investing in tools and learning skills that you’ll use repeatedly, especially if you genuinely enjoy doing it. The problem is people conflating not paying someone with saving money.
For example, many people seem to think that a tradesperson or artisan is trying to rip them off for wanting $2000 for a job/item that needs $1000 of materials and takes a day to complete because a few YouTube videos tell you how easy it is. It takes a day because the tradesperson/artisan already has $5000 worth of tools and years of experience.”
SWITCHING OFF ELECTRICITY WHEN GOING AWAY FOR A WEEK
“Switching off your electricity when going away for a week and accidentally switching off the fridge as well and causing $400 in food wastage.”
BUYING THINGS BECAUSE THEY ARE ON SALE
“If you buy something you didn’t need just because it was on sale, that isn’t saving you money because you spent money you wouldn’t have otherwise.”
BUYING CHEAP PRODUCE
“Cheap produce is a waste. I used to shop at the discount big box store, and within a couple of days, my fridge would be full of limp, rotting produce. Now I shop at a more expensive grocery, and my fruits and veggies last an additional week or two.”
DOING RENOVATION YOURSELF
“Doing everything yourself does not necessarily mean it’s the best idea. For example, sure, you can do a renovation much slower than a contractor, and it may be questionable in quality. But are you accounting for your time as a cost? People should not consider their time as free money. In theory, you could do something else to make more money in that time, or heaven forbid, do something you enjoy. Of course, this only makes sense if you have enough income. If you make minimum wage, it’s probably less true.”
ALWAYS BUYING NO-BRAND FOOD ITEMS
“There are certain items where it doesn’t matter, but I will always go for the brand names for others, like peanut butter and honey. It tastes different, and the few bucks I’m saving isn’t worth settling.”
LINING UP AT COSTCO FOR CHEAP GAS
“Yes, lining up at Costco to save money on gas. I’d rather skip a meal twice a month.”
BUYING CHEAP CARS
“People go on about buying cheap used Corollas, Mazda, etc. but don’t consider brake replacements, transmission work, new tires, etc. Rarely if ever, will you find a good deal where all of those things are just replaced, and most people aren’t going to know what an excellent used car looks like.
Most people would be better off buying a new vehicle at a reasonable price, with a 4-year warranty. In addition, crash safety is hugely improved, and if you’re a nervous/unskilled driver, the new assistance features in many vehicles are probably worth it just for the safety aspect.”
DRIVING TO DIFFERENT GROCERY STORES TO GET DEALS
“Driving to 3 or 4 different grocery stores to shop around. It’s not worth the small amount of money saved or time wasted.”
BEING AGGRESSIVE ABOUT TURNING OFF LIGHTS
“Turning off the lights when it comes to family members being aggressive about it. In winter, when you are heating, it has virtually no significant effect on your energy consumption, and even in the summer, it is negligible since we use mostly LEDs.”
GETTING REWARDS CARDS OR MEMBERSHIPS AT STORES
“Those exist for a reason: to make you a stickier customer. I try to opt out of these as much as possible.”
BROWSING FOR RED FLAG DEALS
“Constantly browsing red flag deals looking for good deals on things you otherwise wouldn’t spend any money on. Not me; I don’t do this at all.”
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Anika Jindal
Anika is a CPA and founder of What Anika Says. She shares simple and actionable frugal living, money management and money-saving tips to live a debt-free financially independent life. She has been featured on popular websites like Bankrate, Forbes, Mint ,and Authority Magazine. Byline: MSN