Frugal

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Discuss how to save money.

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What "frugal" tricks have you found to just not be worth it, either in time or money? (self.frugal)

submitted 1 year ago by IonAddis to c/frugal

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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?)

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[–] chaples55 23 points 1 year ago (12 children)

I feel this way about cooking. I hate cooking. It takes a lot of time. And lots of cleanup time. And time spent planning and shopping. Plus the tools, ingredients, and power/gas/water used all cost money. With all that in mind, a $9 bowl of chipotle is significantly cheaper by my estimation than cooking an equivalent myself.

[–] bemenaker 7 points 1 year ago (9 children)

Then you need to learn how to cook properly, or get more experience. By the time you have driven to and from chipotle, and factor in that time, the cost of gas, the wear and tear on your car. Cooking is significantly cheaper. We only cook from scratch at home, and it rarely takes more than 15 mins to whip up a good meal that tastes better than most things you can buy, even sit down restaurants. When I cook, I clean as I go normally, so clean up aftewards is fast. If you clean up immediately after, clean up is fast. Time spent eating doesn't count. 20 minutes, McDonalds drive thru takes 20 mins.

[–] dragonflyteaparty 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Honestly, to me, that would be incredibly fast prep or your meals are pretty simple. Even easy meals I've made a million times take me half an hour. Most take one hour to cook and I still feel like I'm rushing around.

[–] bemenaker 2 points 1 year ago

Or just used to cooking. My wife makes mostly Indian inspired dishes, which are surprisingly fast to throw together. We do a lot of Asian cooking also. When I regularly make it, I can do pad-thai in 15-20 mins. And some meals are simple but still taste better than take out.

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