What's the most frugal thing you do?

[Valley of Plenty]

I house hack a triplex which brings in rental income equal to approximately 4x the mortgage cost.

My vehicle is 10 years old (and paid off, naturally), and I only go through a tank of gas about every other month due to close proximity to work and carpooling with a coworker.

I recently started cutting my own hair at home, and was pleasantly surprised with how well it turned out.

[Gremlin]

I dug up 2 butterfly bushes out of someone's garden, so I could take them for free and plant them in my own garden.

People do this sort of thing in our neighbourhood, but usually at night . . . and without permission.  :P

Mrs G came back from a run early one morning last year to find a couple snipping the last of about thirty roses off our rosebushes in order to make themselves a bouquet.  She was not very happy to say the least. 

In a separate incident, we have a particularly spectacular tree in our back garden.  Earlier this year I caught a lady, probably in her seventies, in our backyard hacking off a large branch so that she could propagate it (it's a variety that does so).  If she'd asked, I wouldn't have hesitated to give her an off-cut, but instead she's hacked off a bit that completely changes the shape and shade cover that the tree provides.

Back on topic, we use the local 'buy nothing' group as our first stop whenever we are looking for anything beyond 'staples'. 

[Gremlin]

In the grand scheme of things, probably being a DIYer and being able to fix and improve our home over the last few years has saved me the most $$$... doesn't feel like it when you are still spending money on tools and materials down at the DIY store though!

Ugh…you were doing great then you ruined it with your attitude!

I DIY for most things, except serious plumbing and electrical and I don’t get on the roof anymore. I remember when I bought my first gas chain saw. A tree died and the guy wanted $350. No thank you. DW asks what’d spend on that? I said I made us $220 on it.

The right tool, good-to-better quality, is not a waste of money.

Not sure about your local areas, but our Buy Nothing Group is full of requests to borrow specific tools/equipment for short-term use.  I've borrowed all manner of high quality tools (and lent out my own meagre supply) to enable me to do jobs without lining the pockets of the DIY stores in the process.  Much cheaper than having a shed full of quite specific tools that have each only been used sparingly.

[Zikoris]

Not drinking alcohol. I didn’t think this was much, but a friend and I went away together and she commented on how much less my bills were than hers.

I eventually realized this is probably the sole reason my trips are substantially cheaper than most other people, despite that I always get hosed on flights. I think a lot of people on vacation drink some amount of alcohol literally every single day of the trip. Not necessarily getting sloshed, but just a steady thing.

You probably also go easy on the souvenirs?


I come from a culture where it's expected that, if you went out of town, and especially overseas, you would bring home souvenirs for family, friends and even coworkers. Not doing that is an incredible faux pas, almost like you weren't raised properly. I was glad to leave that custom behind.

Oh yes, I forgot about shopping. We don't generally do that either due mostly to space constraints, since we travel VERY light. But one thing that's kind of cool is that when we do buy stuff, it's totally practical and useful, so we actually have a fair bit of cool stuff kicking around that we use. For example, I have some pretty hair pins/clips I bought in Asia, and I wear them constantly. We also rock the elephant pants every summer, though our collection of those is getting pretty sparse these days.

[onecoolcat]

I started working 100% remotely when my office changed their policy and makes us pay for parking.  I do mystery shops of restaurants when I want eat out.

[Treedream]

In the last year (april 2022-2023) I used 570 kWh. That is less than half the average use for a single persons household according to my provider.

[2sk22]

Overall, I'm probably not frugal by the standards of this forum but some aspects of our lives remain so:
- We almost never eat out. Wife still packs her lunch for work
- We basically don't buy alcohol except a couple times a year
- Keep our cars for a long time, typically about 12-14 years
- Lived in the same house for over 25 years (not sure if that counts though)

[Freedomin5]

1. We took advantage of geographic arbitrage and became expats.

That gave us free housing walking/biking distance to work/school, and access to a lower cost of living country that ended up lowering the cost of food, transportation, phone, utilities, etc. Being expats also gave us the use of free laptops through work and DH gets free lunch at work.

We also don’t buy alcohol and eat most of our meals at home (except for free lunch at work). We don’t own a car.

[Money Badger]

Some real gems in this thread...   Still chuckling about the comments about the butterfly bushes from several... 

So in hopes confession is good for the soul, here it is... dinner napkins!  I have a thing about "creatively acquiring" them from the fast casual places we're going to more now with an empty nest.   There's nothing like sitting down for a meal at home later with a mix of Subway and Chipotle branded finery.   And when we go to our once a week sit down dinner at our favorite Mexican place with the soft plushy ones, the napkin bandit strikes again!

[Metalcat]

Oh! I thought of more food related things:

One of our favourite "restaurants" is actually a Hari Krishna temple down the street. You make a small donation, usually $5 (hasn't changed in 20+ years since I've been going there), and they serve you a really delicious vegetarian meal.

This is usually the place I bring people I want to test out becoming friends with. It's sets the tone for what hanging out with me is like and gives me a read on them.

If DH and I feel like having restaurant take out, which I have frequently these past few months due to being stuck in bed, we have an app that we can reserve discounted meals from a nearby hotel restaurant. We never know what we'll get, it's usually remaining specials from that night, but it's always good. So we can get the equivalent of $30-40 per person meals for ~$7 each.

There are other restaurants and stores on the App, called "Too Good To Go" but the hotel restaurant is the most reliable and closest to us.

[getsorted]

There are other restaurants and stores on the App, called "Too Good To Go" but the hotel restaurant is the most reliable and closest to us.

I used to use an app like that to get free leftover Pret a Manger sandwiches on the way home from my class. It was like magic! I keep looking for one like it locally.

[getsorted]

Some real gems in this thread...   Still chuckling about the comments about the butterfly bushes from several... 

My mom keeps raiding my flowerbeds for cuttings and roots. But she also spontaneously leaves cuttings and roots, so maybe it evens out?

[deborah]

It’s amazing how plants multiply if you’re prepared to wait a few years. Get one or two of what you want, then use the seeds or cuttings to get more until you have a yard covered with the plant, and it only takes a few years.

[GuitarStv]

It’s amazing how plants multiply if you’re prepared to wait a few years. Get one or two of what you want, then use the seeds or cuttings to get more until you have a yard covered with the plant, and it only takes a few years.

My mom has a bunch of hostas in her yard . . . and every few years they get overgrown and all need to be split.  So mom digs them out, but then has all these hostas to transplant and nowhere to put them.  So originally she tried giving them away for free on craigslist, but nobody would take her up on the offer.  So last year she tried charging 5$ each for them . . . and made about 200$ and sold them all.

People are so weird.

[getsorted]

It’s amazing how plants multiply if you’re prepared to wait a few years. Get one or two of what you want, then use the seeds or cuttings to get more until you have a yard covered with the plant, and it only takes a few years.

My mom has a bunch of hostas in her yard . . . and every few years they get overgrown and all need to be split.  So mom digs them out, but then has all these hostas to transplant and nowhere to put them.  So originally she tried giving them away for free on craigslist, but nobody would take her up on the offer.  So last year she tried charging 5$ each for them . . . and made about 200$ and sold them all.

People are so weird.

I should tell my mom to try this with surprise lilies. She's been trying to eliminate them from one spot in her front yard for 20 years. All that has happened is that she still has surprise lilies there, and also everywhere else, and she keeps leaving sacks of the bulbs on my porch because she can't get anyone to take them.

[Treedream]

haha, the butterfly bushes were a gift from my BFF's parents, in return of digging them out their garden. I didn't have a lot of money and a decent patch of empty land to put plants in. It was a good start of the garden.

No stealing bushes here :P

[GuitarStv]

I dug up 2 butterfly bushes out of someone's garden, so I could take them for free and plant them in my own garden.

People do this sort of thing in our neighbourhood, but usually at night . . . and without permission.  :P

Mrs G came back from a run early one morning last year to find a couple snipping the last of about thirty roses off our rosebushes in order to make themselves a bouquet.  She was not very happy to say the least.

What did she do?  I'm hoping that it involved a 'THIS IS SPARTA' style kick into the thorniest parts of the bushes.

[Cassie]

I live in a small condo, drive a small 15 year old car, don’t drink, use cloth potty pads for my 2 tiny dogs, only eat out once or twice a month, much of my entertainment is free such as walks and having my friends and family over for dinner and games.

[TomTX]

We do a lot of home improvement, maintenance, and repairs ourselves.

We keep cars forever (14 yo and 9 yo with no plans for replacement any time soon).

I was gonna say "14 years is kinda getting old with all the safety improvements in cars these days..."

Then I realized both our cars are 2009 models....

[Metalcat]

We do a lot of home improvement, maintenance, and repairs ourselves.

We keep cars forever (14 yo and 9 yo with no plans for replacement any time soon).

I was gonna say "14 years is kinda getting old with all the safety improvements in cars these days..."

Then I realized both our cars are 2009 models....

Lol, in my mind the 90s are always "10 years ago"

[ATtiny85]

This is sort of a difficult question, but a great one. I mean, we keep vehicles for 10+ years and some of those things, but that's only frugal compared to weird people who churn through vehicles every couple years. But a car in general is extravagant compared to a bunch of people.

But, I think I can answer the question with a simple one: I squeeze a lot of use out of my personal items, from razors to shoes to shirts to tools to electronics.

A more complex one would be: I am playing the long game and staying in shape, expecting to live a decently long life, but also hoping to maintain my $0 per year healthcare costs for at least another decade when I will be in my 60s. Oops, sorry, $5 a year copay for vision. Probably jinxing myself there...

[LD_TAndK]

I reuse pieces of dental floss until they fray. Usually four times

[cupcakery]

Here are a few:

1.  I read a lot, but read for free with the library.
2.  I don't drink alcohol, soda, etc. 
3.  We have a small house and do as much DIY as we can.
4.  I cook a lot and bring lunch from home.  I don't eat out often.
5.  State schools
6.  When I buy stuff I keep it until it wears out.
7.  When we travel we look for deals first, location second.
8.  I don't buy things we don't need and that aren't useful.
9.  We try to buy quality, so that we aren't wearing things out and having to replace them as often.
10.  I try not to use too many disposable items.

[Captain Pierogi]

I plan the heck out of meals in an effort to have near-zero food waste.  The little that we can't avoid ends up in the compost.  Better for the wallet and the environment.

[Metalcat]

I plan the heck out of meals in an effort to have near-zero food waste.  The little that we can't avoid ends up in the compost.  Better for the wallet and the environment.

I lost an avocado a few years ago and I'm still a little upset about it. Lol

[Serendip]

I plan the heck out of meals in an effort to have near-zero food waste.  The little that we can't avoid ends up in the compost.  Better for the wallet and the environment.

I lost an avocado a few years ago and I'm still a little upset about it. Lol

My library just brought in the book The Evelasting Meal: Leftovers A-Z by Tamar Adler , it is a funny and strange cookbook that I recommend for entertainment purposes even if you already are a boss with leftovers.

[Josiecat22222]

I plan the heck out of meals in an effort to have near-zero food waste.  The little that we can't avoid ends up in the compost.  Better for the wallet and the environment.

I lost an avocado a few years ago and I'm still a little upset about it. Lol

I feel this so hard.  Yesterday I was at a friend's house who was lamenting that her bananas were brown and needed to be thrown away.  I nearly tripped over myself telling her to make banana bread or freeze them for smoothies.  Then she told me she just buys frozen fruit for smoothies......cue facepalm.

[jeninco]

I plan the heck out of meals in an effort to have near-zero food waste.  The little that we can't avoid ends up in the compost.  Better for the wallet and the environment.

I lost an avocado a few years ago and I'm still a little upset about it. Lol

My library just brought in the book The Evelasting Meal: Leftovers A-Z by Tamar Adler , it is a funny and strange cookbook that I recommend for entertainment purposes even if you already are a boss with leftovers.

I love this book so much that I BOUGHT a copy and it lives with the frequently-used cookbooks. In fact, I just finished the last of the "Peruvian sweet potato salad" she discusses around page 47. (It was a little onion-y, to be honest.)

[MaybeBabyMustache]

I haven't personally owned any tech (phone, laptop) since the late 90s, when I got my first cell phone. Since then, all tech is covered by work. I, am, however, FIREing soon, so just bought my own laptop, and need to find a phone (used).

We own an electric car, but have never paid for car charging. We have an office that provides it, so even during the COVID lockdowns & the two years we WFH, we dropped the car off overnight to charge, and biked home.

We've never paid interest on a credit card, which I suppose is standard in this group, but overall an outlier.

[fuzzy math]

I've made it known I accept hand me downs (phones, clothes etc) and have ended up with multiple free phones for my kids. Almost all of my clothes are free, either hand me downs from family or from the free store (where I take all my donations). Goodwill outlet is also my friend, clothing is about $1.50 /lb. If work or a community event is offering a free shirt, that becomes my new workout or sleep shirt. I'll also keep something beyond when others would get rid of it.

Purchasing discounted/ short dated foods, taking leftovers from work functions, dumpster diving and using the heck out of every single item in my kitchen / garden is also a biggie. I save condiment packets from restaurants. I'll eat super weird food combos too. Scraps go to our chickens.

[YttriumNitrate]

The most frugal thing I do is live in housing far less expensive than I can afford. The number two thing would be driving far less expensive of a car than I can afford. I'd guess these are probably #1 and #2 for most people here.

[getsorted]

Upon reflection, I think the most frugal thing I do might be just letting shit be broken.

I have so many things that need a fix. The car door locks don't work right and require a work-around. The paint is peeling off of some Bondo on the front grille. The kitchen floor has been missing a bit of flooring for over a year. The screen door doesn't latch. The patio window is clouded over and needs replacing. Only one of my three interior doors actually closes properly (thankfully, it's the bathroom!). My TV's backlight is out; everything looks a bit bluer than it should. The living room bookshelf is missing bits of veneer. The deck steps are broken. I can't type the number 8 or the exclamation point on my laptop keyboard. The shed has a big hole in the wall. Half my windows don't open. All my trousers need to be taken in, and I'm just safety pinning them along the seam every morning.

Don't get me wrong; over time, all this stuff needs to be tended to and the overall trend is that things are moving forward. But if I fixed everything that needed fixing today, I'd be broke and in debt. Letting the small things ride until I have the time, money, and energy to address them (or can source free materials, or learn what I need to know to address them) is a big part of why I have an emergency fund at all.

[ChickenStash]

The most frugal, for me, is probably my house - smallish and inexpensive, by modern standards. Lower property taxes for the area.

A close second is car purchases. While I do have some expensive habits in this area, I'm a buy-n-hold enthusiast so I only buy things I really like, maintain the heck out of them, then only get rid of them when they are no longer repairable.

Farther back is cutting the cord so no cable/sat subscriptions, very few streaming services, cheap cell phone plan, and buy-n-hold on the phone, itself. I also DIY just about everything I reasonably can on the house, cars, tech, etc. I'll draw the line at major structural work or things that would require machining, but anything else is fair game.

[windytrail]

1. Living in America car-free. Biking, walking, trains, and buses. We'll rent a car for the day every 1-2 months to get to the trailhead where no other options are available. With the average yearly cost of car ownership now exceeding $10,000, this is HUGE. It's also important to live your values and set an example for others.

2. Cooking most of our meals. In HCOL areas, it now costs $15-20 to get a lunch at a restaurant, while you can still bring a lunch for $3. For dinner, the Instant Pot has become a life saver: dry beans cooked in 1 hour; mason jar yogurt; broth made from veggie scraps; rice; etc. We've embraced Indian vegetarian cooking, which makes incredibly tasty meals using very cheap ingredients. I love fermenting veggies and making our own condiments such as mustard and hot sauce (happy to share recipes) which is 5-10x cheaper.

3. Home & body care: soap bars instead of liquid soap; cotton napkins instead of paper; cleaning with vinegar & baking soda; single-ply toilet paper. Tooth powder instead of paste. Making your own hand salve with beeswax, cocoa butter, & olive oil. Cutting your own hair.

4. Prioritizing your health now to avoid expensive medical treatment later on. Maintaining a healthy weight which means eating right, getting lots of exercise, and a full night's sleep. OTOH, my vice is probably too much alcohol, but don't yet feel any long-term effects from that...

For housing, we are still paying about $2400/mo to rent in a walkable area (super rare in the US) and live in an apartment with sufficient lighting & air circulation. As millennials, we weren't lucky enough to enter adulthood at a time when buying a home in the City was affordable. Our housing policy is broken, but we are organizing others in our community to change that.

[rockeTree]

Very cheap house by the standards of our friends and colleagues. No makeup (not to be cheap, I just don't like it, but many people spend an amount that is shocking to be on the stuff). Very little travel (we like our small cheap house and enjoy spending time there).

I do a lot of little penny pinching things too, and spend some money a lot of y'all would not, but those are the ones people seem to find more out of step with norms.

[SpareChange]

Nothing too outrageous for this group:). I have a bit of a minimalist streak, so that can help.

I live in a 500sqft studio apt. I got rid of my bed several years ago...it was taking up so much of that space. Like GuitarStv, I never really felt the "need" for a mattress, having spent many a year sleeping on the floor. I bought a Toggle couch from Coddle on cyber Mon...a nice futon. Ironically, the packing foam it came in is perfect for sleeping on, so I'll use it when relatives visit.

Car is an '07 Focus hatch. I do as much of the maintenance and repair as I think I can. No comp/collision.

Tech...a 50in TV powered by a several year old celeron chromebox. Still snappy. Use a Logitech wireless keyboard from the couch or the kitchen bar. And a Pixel 5a on Red Pocket's 10/mon plan.

Restaurants...rarely. No pets. Electricity for the year avg about 20/mon. High deductible health insurance plan at work. Use library when I can for books. Rarely buy clothes. Most consumer products just don't seem to be able to justify their existence to me. Those that can I will absolutely entertain buying.

[Captain Pierogi]

I plan the heck out of meals in an effort to have near-zero food waste.  The little that we can't avoid ends up in the compost.  Better for the wallet and the environment.

I lost an avocado a few years ago and I'm still a little upset about it. Lol

My library just brought in the book The Evelasting Meal: Leftovers A-Z by Tamar Adler , it is a funny and strange cookbook that I recommend for entertainment purposes even if you already are a boss with leftovers.

I love this book so much that I BOUGHT a copy and it lives with the frequently-used cookbooks. In fact, I just finished the last of the "Peruvian sweet potato salad" she discusses around page 47. (It was a little onion-y, to be honest.)

Just got on the Hold list for this book at the library. Thanks!  I'd be willing to buy it if it's great, but I need to give it a test run.  My veggie garden is just starting to be productive for the season, and that's always a fun challenge when you have odd amounts.  Like one 4" fairytale eggplant or 10 early green beans.  Because heaven forbid I mix a veggie I grew with the same thing from the grocery store!

[ATtiny85]

Keeping the NK in DINK seems to qualify. Frugal for us now, good the world later.

Upon reflection, I think the most frugal thing I do might be just letting shit be broken.

I have so many things that need a fix. The car door locks don't work right and require a work-around.

Being super tolerant of work-arounds or broken features is a gift! Love it.

[Gremlin]

Upon reflection, I think the most frugal thing I do might be just letting shit be broken.

I have so many things that need a fix. The car door locks don't work right and require a work-around.

Being super tolerant of work-arounds or broken features is a gift! Love it.

Mrs G is like this... roughly half the time.

As in, "This broke today and I've built this crazy Rube-Goldberg machine so that we don't have to get it repaired.  If you're looking for the spare salt shaker, I've used it to get the washing machine going again" versus "This broke so I've immediately ordered a new part or (if it's beyond our capabilities) booked the expert to fix it later this week."

After twenty-something years of marriage I still don't understand what falls into each category and why.

[Dicey]

The most frugal thing I do is live in housing far less expensive than I can afford. The number two thing would be driving far less expensive of a car than I can afford. I'd guess these are probably #1 and #2 for most people here.

Holy crap! Our house is mortgage-free, but our property taxes are about $1050/month - gah!

We also drive old-ish cars. DH's is a 2002 with only 111k miles on it. Mine is the "new" car. It's a 2014 and has 77k miles. No plans to replace either.

[pdxvandal]

Gotta be cars, a 2008 hatchback and 2009 mid-size SUV. The cars are worth way more to us than they would be to anyone else and would have very low resale value.

Probably going to splurge at some point, but hard to pull the trigger psychologically since the most expensive vehicle I bought was a Tacoma 2WD pickup for $12k in 2002, sold in 2005.

I also save ice cubes that may fall on the floor by putting them in plant pots or tossing them in my recirculating pond. I prefer that over the kitchen sink.

[nancy33]

Reading through these posts and I would like to know 1. The secret to growing large amounts of raspberries 2. How to make my neighborhood freecycle friendly 3. Can I do the no shampoo method if I swim 4 days a week? Would it work to just rinse my hair in the shower after swimming?
Some of my frugal habits include always checking free piles, learning to identify edible plants and finding out which “weeds” are actually edible and letting them grow in my yard or planting them so I have lots of greens. As a rule of thumb everything I plant is edible. I attend free art classes at the senior center, i shower at the city pool 4 days a week after swimming, I attend free birdwalks for entertainment.  I make my own yogurt and eat a lot of soups. At restaurants I usually order soup and a water to drink. I make my own tea from herbs I grow. This year I started all of my own vegetable plants from seed. I only grow heirloom so I can collect the seed for next year.

[Josiecat22222]

I don't think the things I do are going to raise any eyebrows on this board, but here goes:

-downsized our home by half

-eat only vegetarian, always eat my leftovers, seldom throw away food and always compost scraps

-reuse ziploc bags, bread bags any produce bags etc until no longer usable

-do not run HVAC until it is unbearable-- leave windows open and go outside during heat of day to minimize use of central air

-DH and I share car, batch errands to use as little as possible

-line dry clothes, no dryer

-have a well stocked pantry and faculty with cooking, so can make meals from seemingly nothing and am not hostage to any one ingredient-- can substitute to make recipes work

-do yoga/pilates/HIIT workouts by following YouTube videos, no joining a gym or studio

-I'm sure there are others, but these seem to do be the majority of things that influence our budget

[Serendip]

I plan the heck out of meals in an effort to have near-zero food waste.  The little that we can't avoid ends up in the compost.  Better for the wallet and the environment.

I lost an avocado a few years ago and I'm still a little upset about it. Lol

My library just brought in the book The Evelasting Meal: Leftovers A-Z by Tamar Adler , it is a funny and strange cookbook that I recommend for entertainment purposes even if you already are a boss with leftovers.

I love this book so much that I BOUGHT a copy and it lives with the frequently-used cookbooks. In fact, I just finished the last of the "Peruvian sweet potato salad" she discusses around page 47. (It was a little onion-y, to be honest.)

Last night, I made her asparagus 'soup' with the bottom pieces that you crack off the asparagus. Mindblown. I'm drinking it more as a fortified cold tea but this made me very (frugally) happy.

[StarBright]

I have found my frugal strategies definitely change with seasons of my life. For instance, I used to be a champ thrift store shopper - now I can't find time to go to a thrift store and sort through things. That would be a real luxury for me.

I also don't have time to shop several stores for the best deals but I manage to keep my grocery spending remarkably low for a family of 4 (not APowers low, but pretty low). 

The biggest change in the last few years has been twofold:

• We purchased a small chest freezer. It was around $70 new at Costco in in 2019. And we used our $20 of Annual Costco Cash for it so paid $50.
• We basically stop at two places for food. Once a year we buy part of a cow and part of a pig and that is 75% of the meat we eat. Otherwise I use online ordering and pick up at our Kroger. While Kroger is more expensive than Aldi, they almost always have everything I need. And online ordering lets me see the bill tallying up as I add to it over the course of the week. When I go to check out, it shows me my total, and almost every week I end up removing a few items from my cart because I don't really need them.

These two things have kept my grocery spending between 4-600 a month for the last several years.

[FINate]

We save the most by driving very little. The gas savings are nice, but the main savings come from low wear and tear on our vehicles. They are 12 and 14 years old and have 100k or fewer miles on the odo.

Also, keeping in mind that frugal != cheap, we save a ton buying 1/4 cow and 1/2 pig from a local rancher, which lasts about a year for our family of 4. There's a ton of BLM grassland in southern Idaho and eastern Oregon for grazing, and the way they rotate the herds is good for the soil and native grasses. Grass fed pastured raised beef is leaner and higher in omega-3, and I prefer the taste over grain fed. The pigs are also pasture raised, free range with lots of rooting for grubs and whatnot, though their diet is supplemented with grain. Buying same quality of meat in the grocery store would be a lot more expensive, and I like that we have a relationship with the rancher and that the animals are raised and butchered within a 50 mile radius via a small operation.

[Duke03]

I travel nonstop for work.  Think 1–3-day trips 8-10 times a month.  For the past 5 years I've made it a habit to bring all my own food.  When I cook at home, I just make extra protein and then vacuum seal and freeze.  When it's time to go to work I always have a great variety and then I just need to make a fresh vegetable.  The hotels I stay at always have a free breakfast and some even have a free light dinner depending on what day of the week it is.  So far this year I've only spent $12.87 on food while out of town.  During this time, I've pocketed thousands in per diem as it's automatically added to my paycheck, and I don't have to show any receipts!!  Of course, coworker's think I'm weird but I don't care.  It saves me thousands of dollars and is much healthier than eating at restaurants 6 days a week...

[seemsright]

I have found my frugal strategies definitely change with seasons of my life. For instance, I used to be a champ thrift store shopper - now I can't find time to go to a thrift store and sort through things. That would be a real luxury for me.

I also don't have time to shop several stores for the best deals but I manage to keep my grocery spending remarkably low for a family of 4 (not APowers low, but pretty low). 

The biggest change in the last few years has been twofold:

• We purchased a small chest freezer. It was around $70 new at Costco in in 2019. And we used our $20 of Annual Costco Cash for it so paid $50.
• We basically stop at two places for food. Once a year we buy part of a cow and part of a pig and that is 75% of the meat we eat. Otherwise I use online ordering and pick up at our Kroger. While Kroger is more expensive than Aldi, they almost always have everything I need. And online ordering lets me see the bill tallying up as I add to it over the course of the week. When I go to check out, it shows me my total, and almost every week I end up removing a few items from my cart because I don't really need them.

These two things have kept my grocery spending between 4-600 a month for the last several years.

My preteen thinks thrifting is the coolest thing on earth. We went yesterday, and found amazing things. I found a 100% wool shawl and entire summer wardrobe for myself for about $50 and DD found a unicorn onesie that she lives in...this one is cool mom. And DH found a graphing calculator for $5. The time suck was there...it took 3 hours. I am using it as time with the preteen that is cheap and she loves it. I plan on taking her a lot this summer and she can thrift her entire High School clothing needs.

[ATtiny85]

I travel nonstop for work.  Think 1–3-day trips 8-10 times a month.  For the past 5 years I've made it a habit to bring all my own food.  When I cook at home, I just make extra protein and then vacuum seal and freeze.  When it's time to go to work I always have a great variety and then I just need to make a fresh vegetable.  The hotels I stay at always have a free breakfast and some even have a free light dinner depending on what day of the week it is.  So far this year I've only spent $12.87 on food while out of town.  During this time, I've pocketed thousands in per diem as it's automatically added to my paycheck, and I don't have to show any receipts!!  Of course, coworker's think I'm weird but I don't care.  It saves me thousands of dollars and is much healthier than eating at restaurants 6 days a week...

Nicely done. I used to work for a company that did per diem, I pocketed several hundred bucks each year. It was all international travel, so not as easy to take my own food, but I could still things cheap. The last 13 years has been the more typical US system of reimbursement. Not a lot I can do within the rules now.

[Gerard]

Is "not buying anything" too vague?

I/we generally don't buy/own a house (instead, cheap rent apartment in good neighbourhood), car (bike/transit), resto food (cook at home), beef (pork/chicken/veg), soap and shampoo (big Muji brush), expensive clothes (thrift stores, costco), posh groceries (No Frills, Chinatown), haircuts (DIY), financial advisors (DIY, Questrade), books and recorded music (library), expensive plane tix (discount airlines, aeroplan points, train and bus) and hotel rooms (airbnb, points), new musical equipment (Kijiji), or cosmetics (DIY, do without, need less once you stop drenching yourself with soaps and shampoos!).

We do sometimes make up for this with lots of trips and the occasional holy crap expensive meal and drinks out...