Frugal

This isn't about how to find a cheap flight, but if you have a ultra basic no-frills essentials-only bottom-dollar economy ticket, and need to figure out how to pack and make the most of it. I'm most experienced with Flair Airlines and flying in Canada but I expect many airline procedures to be similar, ymmv. In the past you could often get away without measuring the bag but they have been getting a little stricter about it recently.

• Think beforehand what you actually will bring and what you plan to bring back. Will you pack food that will be gone before you return? An empty bottle? How many days of clothes do you need? How much in souvenirs will you get (if any?) Toiletries and extras, are there small things you will be able to pick up at minimal cost (such as soap bars that you get at a hotel)? Keep in mind that anything that you forgot to bring and end up buying at your destination will amount to more luggage on the return trip.
• Wear multiple layers of clothes to serve as next days changes. If you are going from a cold to warm climate, wearing several layers will save you from bringing the jacket you won't need the whole trip. Warm to cold, stay in air conditioning, avoid overheating yourself, only wear it when baggage is being sized, either at the check in counter or the gate.
• Have your outermost layer be one with many pockets to put any extra stuff. Just don't forget to take pocketed items out for scanning to have an easier time through security.
• A bottled drink at the airport is very expensive but if you are short on space you can use that instead of bringing an empty. (Important: Buy drinks after security!) Or pack one of those fillable water pouches which are very space efficient when empty.
• If you bring a bag that is slightly bigger than the size limits, make sure you can fold in or squeeze any parts that would stick out. A 30L backpack can fit when squeezed. Avoid packing your stuff too tightly and keep delicate stuff that might break when squished hard in your pockets until the bag is sized.
• Remember that once your bag is sized and you have a valid tag affixed, there will be less scrutiny to the actual size, so you'll be able to pack more in your bag after validation. If you are near the back of the line when boarding, there is often even less scrutiny. Don't go overboard with it, as the bag will still need to fit below the seat if overhead bin space is limited.
• If you have multiple people in your party not getting checked in at the same time, or someone you know well is dropping you off at the airport, place a lot of the contents you plan to bring in a separate plastic bag or whatever and leave it with your buddy, have your bag sized in the holder easily. Get the validation tag, then away from the counter, place the other contents back in the bag. This won't work if you travel alone or in one group who are all checking in together, you don't want to be marked as suspicious by leaving stuff unattended at the airport. Leaving stuff temporarily in your car at the airport parking, or in a nearby rental locker are alternative options, but give yourself extra time and research ahead.
• Once on the plane, if space permits you might be able to place your jacket and personal item in the overhead bins. Please be respectful to your flight attendants and fellow passengers, if you are asked to place your items under your seat you need to do that.

cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/26917080

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If you have a friend with a costco membership, you can ask them to buy you some $25 Costco Shopcards, which you can use at the entrance to get into the store and at checkout to verify you can make a purchase. Anything you have over $25, they'll allow you to use an alternative method of payment to pay for it.

They make you turn in the card at checkout, so it's certainly not worth it if you go more than a handful of times a year, but for those who go less, it's a good way of avoiding the membership fee.

Stolen from Reddit

https://www.reddit.com/r/dataisbeautiful/comments/1ftmkwt/oc_foods_cost_vs_caloric_density/

But I loved it. Also this has Shrimp removed, because it was on the OG chart due to an error and this is an updated version.

EDIT: Here is one for protein! https://www.reddit.com/r/budgetfood/comments/1fp2ytb/foods_cost_per_gram_of_protein_vs_protein_density/#lightbox

Mine--don't laugh--is random fruit from fruit trees hanging over walls and over the sidewalk.

Although, I once tried to take a plum from a wasp who was sitting on the fruit, and she turned and looked at me, and I quickly let go and let her have it.

$40

I recently moved to a new city and don’t know anybody here yet.

I want to try out some things and meet new people and avoid sitting at home all day (but sometimes is ok)

My ideas are hiking, volunteering and reading. What would you recommend? Any good ideas?

It's been a week since I posted the last one...right?

I'm afraid I haven't been very frugal this week. Got some things mildly on sale, but still too much, so I don't think they count and won't post them.

I know someone would immediately jump in with water if I didn't caveat that, haha. Tap water is the most frugal drink, yes I know, but for me plain ol' water more of a basic survival thing. And I like to be happy too, not stuck permanently in survival mode, even if I'm also being frugal.

So.

One of my "vices", if you can call it that, is fancy tea.

I'm American and we're not really a tea-drinking culture, so I was taken by surprise when I got into drinking tea and learned you can get surprisingly nice quality loose leaf tea online that blows grocery store tea bags out of the water, and it's not a terribly expensive habit. Grocery store tea in tea bags is basically 'tea dust' left over from processing better teas, and basically almost any loose leaf tea is a better quality than bagged tea dust, so you don't have to break the bank to see immediate improvement in your tea quality.

And that surprised the heck out of me!

I eventually realized that's because tea is a dry good and cheap to ship--it's light, dry, packs small, ships well. Much easier to get your hands on than, say, alcohol or liquid drinks that are heavy or distributed in glass bottles.

So yeah. It's not as frugal as water, but I found I can usually still have some nice tea around even if I'm pinching every penny, and it can help tide me through tough spots without the downsides of other vices (like drinking, smoking, etc.)

What are your guys' favorite frugal drinks?

I was just thinking in the back of my head about how cheap LEDs have made types of lighting that would've cost way too much (both to install, and in electricity usage) no longer stupidly expensive.

For example, I noticed on Amazon some cheap furniture that has LEDs/power outlets sort of integrated right into them. Looks pretty cyberpunk-ish to my eyes. And I know years ago that sort of thing would've been marked up to high heavens.

Fancy lighting in general has changed drastically in price/design.

So...what are some things, due to changes in demand or changes in tech or changes in anything...that would've been really expensive back in the day, but which no longer seem to be, making them more frugal than they used to be?

Just curious what you guys have been able to score recently.

I don't have anything really good to share, been spending too much. Let me live vicariously (and frugally!) through you!

So each clothes dryer appliance has an exit port. You connect a hose to it to vent the damp air to the outside.

I want all dryers to have an intake port so that I can use cold air from the outside for drying. This will keep me from using (expensive) warm air from the inside of my house.

I suspect this will also make the dryer more efficient because the cold incoming air could contain less humidity.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boots_theory

The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money. Take boots, for example. ... A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his feet dry in ten years' time, while a poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet.

That's a quote from Terry Pratchett's Discworld books.

Anyway--I'm gonna need some work boots probably in the near future. And I'd rather buy boots as decent as I can on a frugal budget.

Do any of you have recs? Particularly for someone with very small (for an adult) feet that get cold easily? I'm looking for winter boots that will actually keep my feet warm for 8-10 hours outside in the winter. But I also need to be able to afford them...which is why I'm posting here and not in a buy it for life sub.

...I know the title sounds like some clickbait crap, but I'm honestly looking for some ideas that I might not have thought about myself.

Do you have any genuine tricks for keeping/maintaining a car that are frugal?

Could be anything from getting a deal on a car wash, or keeping the interior nice, or keeping the engine or tires or anything really in good order.

Also, are there any things you used to be able to do frugally with your car which has changed to be more expensive--maybe due to auto manufacturers changing how cars are designed?

(I'm asking this so if something used to be frugal but isn't now, people speak up about it.)

I own a Vitamix, a Zojirushi rice cooker, and a Zojirushi Home Bakery Supreme. I also own the instant pot max, and an air fryer by Sur la table. Between these appliances they help me make 90% of my food at home. The food is relatively easy, especially once you get the hang of the recipes, and they taste incredible!

Now for full disclosure up front: I sell Vitamix machines for a living. But that's not the reason or focus for this post. Heck, I would recommend y'all get a used one or refurbished over buying one from me. I just love them too death and use it way more than most people or even other employees lol.

So anyway, aside from obvious things like air frying frozen foods, what do I make with these kitchen tools? You name it.

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1: Indian curries and masalas over perfect basmati rice. (Instant pot and rice cooker)

Even though the rice cooker is not made for basmati, it can make it! Just add more water than for Japanese rice and it's incredible. Curry is also tasty with Japanese sticky rice.

Butter chicken curry (Instant pot): https://littlesunnykitchen.com/instant-pot-butter-chicken/#wprm-recipe-container-19632

Photo of curry made as meal prep: https://photos.app.goo.gl/ub6wETH8VuHv2zJv5

Paneer masala (stovetop or instant pot, and Vitamix): https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/paneer-butter-masala-restaurant-style/

Basmati rice in the rice cooker: https://www.teaforturmeric.com/perfect-basmati-rice-in-a-rice-cooker/

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2: Homemade mixed no-filter nut milk (Vitamix).

I've been making this so much lately. It's my own recipe I developed and it's amazing. I use 40 grams of nuts/seeds and 40 grams of sweetener blended with water and ice for 2 min on high speed for a qt/liter of finished delicious nut milk. It's so smooth I don't bother filtering it! You can even make it extra dense and just mix with water afterwards! Even better if the nuts are soaked overnight but that's optional. Literally tastes better than any other milk beverage to me. Animal or plant based. It's heavenly. I really like a mix of hemp/cashews/walnuts/almonds with honey and monk fruit sweetener. You can change the ratios to your preference if you want unsweetened or extra sweet. And nuts store in the cupboard for months so you have virtually unlimited milk ready to enjoy without needing to run to the store!

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3: Homemade bread (bread maker).

Now it's been a while since I've had any bread maker at all. I didn't enjoy the bread my Mom made with hers when I was a kid. So I was turned off of getting one. But someone here recommended one to me and so I did some research and ordered a used Zojirushi bread machine off eBay for about $120. Less than half the price of new! Works great! I was blown away by how homemade fresh bread tastes an hour after baking when it's cooled but still warm. It's like a cloud. So chewy and soft with a crunchy crust. Best thing ever! I enjoy the 10-grain multigrain recipe the most. Incredible toast (air fryer). Incredible PB&J sandwiches. I even grind my own whole wheat flour in my Vitamix. Though it's optional of course, but a big advantage of that is whole wheat berries (that's what the whole seeds are called) last way longer in the pantry than ground flour does. So the bread is fresher every time you make it.

I spent some personal free time combining the zojirushi cookbooks into a single document that gives deduced amounts for 1, 1.5, or 2 lb loafs. Fair warning though, I haven't tested all of these and one time I made a "1.5 lb loaf" and it was over 2lbs lol. But overall the recipes work well otherwise.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MPlgoXD-uhJgIgdFiOeyBR9B5XQRa-nH/view?usp=drivesdk

Photo of bread: https://photos.app.goo.gl/RRsq4CCP6SZSx96n8

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4: Japanese sushi style poke bowls (rice cooker/air fryer).

Okay guys. I love sushi rolls. But they're expensive. Making sushi style poke bowls gives almost all the flavor of sushi for a fraction of the price! I love California rolls and crunchy rolls (basically California rolls with fried shrimp added). So I just buy a sheet of imitation crab (like 2lbs for 10 bucks), portion it out and freeze it in ziplock bags in 8oz portions. When I want a poke bowl I cook Japanese rice in the rice cooker, thaw a fish portion in the microwave, chop some ripe avocado/cucumber, air fry and chop up some fried shrimp (I get mine from Costco) and layer them all together before drizzling Japanese mayo, Sriracha (you can premix the mayo with the Sriracha but that's optional), and hoisin sauce on top. Delicious! Easy! Economical! Decently healthy! Especially healthy if you use quinoa or brown rice instead of white!

Here's a picture of one I made without the shrimp: https://photos.app.goo.gl/KNVnYKbAKnzp6gbCA

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5: Homemade probiotic cultured dairy products (instant pot).

Let's face it. Store bought yogurt sucks for many reasons. It's expensive when it's well made, and it sucks when it's not. So why not make your own? Think it's too hard? It's freaking easy! The instant pot with the yogurt function makes it easier than ever! Get 4 wide mouth pint mason jars and leak proof plastic lids. Wash and sanitize them and a spoon in the instant pot on high pressure for 1 min. Pull them out while hot with tongs. Let them cool. Open a new plain 6oz yogurt with live cultures (I like fage), put a single spoonful of yogurt in each jar and fill just a little with a freshly opened bottle of UHT dairy (milk, half and half, heavy cream) and stir to make a sauce like texture before adding the rest of the dairy. Put the lids on and place the jars in the instant pot. Fill the pot with water at least halfway up the jars before putting on a lid. Turn on yogurt mode for at 8 - 12 hours and come back to yogurt that lasts MONTHS in the fridge unopened. About 2 weeks once opened. Use in smoothies, on top of pancakes (especially the cultured heavy cream), you name it! Delicious!

Here's pictures of what mine looked like when I made it last year. 7.5% milk fat because I mixed whole milk with cream. It is solid enough to hold upside down! 😄

https://photos.app.goo.gl/bf6o2DHnuXoZRUY49

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6: Pasta dishes (instant pot).

The instant pot makes one pot pasta dishes easier than ever! I like making a lasagna flavored dish with regular short cut noodles. I'll saute and drain the ground beef and empty it into a bowl. Then add a can of tomato sauce, spices, frozen (thawed) veggies, add the meat back, dry noodles, and enough water for the noodles to absorb it all. Place the lid on top and let it rip! Hi pressure for about 5 - 8 min is usually enough. Then open it and give it a stir, add in any cream or cheeses now or layer them in a dish for presentation. Either way is delicious! The veggies on bottom are important though as they help prevent burning.

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7: Breakfast smoothies/juices (Vitamix).

I grew up with a cheap blender and a juice extractor. It was alright. I didn't really care all that much about the texture so the cheap blender was okay. I hated the juicer though as it was so much work to make it (so slow), and to wash it. And it was so wasteful with all the pulp!

These days I care a whole lot more about having perfect texture in everything and the Vitamix does that for me for smoothies. Frozen or fresh ingredients, with or without liquid, large or small pieces, seeds or seedless, doesn't matter. And juices are so much easier. Instead of 30 min to an hour juicing/cleaning and throwing away so much of the produce as wasted pulp, I can throw in 20 oz of fruit with a few oz of greens, some seeds, lemon/jalapeno/ginger, and a ton of ice and water. Blend that for 90+ seconds and it's so light and tasty and smooth. Feels great to eat healthy and not be wasting food or my time making it.

My favorite recipes:

Coconut pineapple banana smoothie: https://joyfoodsunshine.com/pineapple-smoothie/

Blueberry Grape smoothie: https://www.worldofvegan.com/grape-smoothie/

Spicy green juice: https://lifeisnoyoke.com/green-juice/

Ginger delight smoothie: https://makeitperfectly.com/blend/recipes/0610ec25-4470-11e6-9451-737e7b3299f1

Blueberry apple vanilla smoothie: https://makeitperfectly.com/blend/recipes/052c4872-4470-11e6-9451-aba68ee12963

Blueberry ginger smoothie (I prefer it with almond butter and plain water): https://makeitperfectly.com/blend/recipes/0610ec11-4470-11e6-9451-4358a187685f

Mighty mango imitation (personal recipe): https://makeitperfectly.com/blend/recipes/17cf02cc-592f-11e8-8aca-0f9073a3583b

Watermelon juice: No link. Just watermelon!!! Freeze about 8oz of watermelon and blend with 24 oz of cold fresh watermelon for 1 min on high speed. Increase the ratio of frozen to fresh watermelon for a more icy texture!

Photo: https://photos.app.goo.gl/ASxnYG4cTVMFPbqN8

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8: Soups (air fryer/Vitamix).

I don't really need to say much here. Roast the veggies in the air fryer. Blend them with water, cheese, milk and flavorings for 6 min until hot. Optionally instead of waiting for the Vitamix to heat it, you can use a kettle to quickly boil water and add that with dry milk for the same thing but much quicker, done in 1 min. Then optionally add more roasted veggies and cheese and pulse to give it a nice texture.

Broccoli cheddar soup: https://www.vitamix.com/us/en_us/recipes/broccoli-cheese-soup (Remember to roast the broccoli and add extra after for texture. Also try mixing different fancy cheese's, or more than one type of veggie!)

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9: Seasoned rice (rice cooker).

Rice cookers aren't just amazon for plain rice. Make a seasoned rice recipe, optionally with some frozen veggies/meat mixed in!

This can be a meal on its own and it's SO GOOD.

https://www.africanbites.com/seasoned-rice/

Literally just toss every ingredient into the rice cooker with or without adding veggies or chicken and press start. It's almost TOO easy!

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10: (continued in a comment below)

How do you manage to stick it out long term with budgeting? I use YNAB in periods for my economy. And every such period, they usually last 3 months to 1,5 year or so, my economy is in amazing condition.

Then I forget about if for a while, sometimes I find it a bit cumbersome and lose track. Suddenly I stop using it, and at that point I start splurging on stuff I really shouldn’t.

So then I start budgeting again.. rinse and repeat. It’s a stupid cycle I’d like to get out of. Any tips and ideas, how do budget pros in here keep at it?

What’s your top BIFL purchase, that might not in itself has been all to frugal, but long term, will be?

After having 5-6 different office chairs over the last 10 years, none of which I liked. I went and bought a Herman Miller Aeron chair. It’s ridiculously expensive, but I’m so pleased with it and hope to keep it for well over 15-20 years. If that actually succeed, I will have spent less money one chairs than if I hadn’t bought it.

What similar items (cheap or expensive) do you feel the same about?

I've noticed sometimes that there's some half-baked videos or blogs or whatever that purport this or that frugal trick, but if you look at the time or math, it's not actually frugal for you.

What are some examples of that you've come across? The things that "aren't worth it"?

For me it's couponing. (Although I haven't heard people talk about it recently--has it fallen out of "style", or have businesses caught up to the loopholes folks used to exploit?)

Walmart (Canada) has started offering subscriptions for "free" shipping for under $10 a month. The cost of gas to go there a few times a month would be more than the subscription fee.

Since I normally bike to get groceries, this isn't really a factor, but the idea of getting groceries shipped over the winter seems like a nice idea.

Does anyone here use these grocery store shipping subscriptions? Is it worth strategically getting it for a few months out of the year?