Curious what things other people do that make them frugal?
Some things I do include saving and freezing veggie scraps (mainly onion and garlic skins and carrot peel) to boil for veggie broth and saving chicken and beef bones to roast and boil for meat broth. I also tend to wear white undershirts most days around the house or running errands because they are cheap. I WFH so haven’t needed to use my closet full of work clothes since 2020.
This also means I drive less than 4k mi per year so I spend maybe $500 on fuel a year.
That said until recently I had two cars (a 2013 CRV and a 2002 BMW 325i wagon) but recently totaled my CRV so I am investing the $13k I got from the insurance and going with only the BMW for transportation. We’ll see how that goes!
I buy most groceries from my local discount grocery store which has overstock and nearing expirations items. I have averaged $130/month for groceries (excludes alcohol and grooming products just food) for the past 10 years.
I recently decided to quit all alcohol for a variety of reasons one is because it was costing me $50-100 a month (let alone the long term health costs).
I am a single 46 yo man living in Phoenix, AZ, USA for reference.
What things do you do because you are frugal?
EDIT: Other things I do I remembered while replying to comments.
Wash plastic bags and reuse.
Melt soap slivers back into a new bar.
Wash aluminum foil and reuse.
Save Saran Wrap and reuse.
Limit showers to 3x a week (except after exercise or yard work).
Turn off water heater at fuse box when not needed for showers (I found that alone saves about 10% energy per month).
Keep AC at 78 at home or 85 when away from home (using a nest).