Money Saving Tips - Discuss how you save money and spend less

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Want Girl Scout cookies but don’t want to spend $7 on a tiny ass box (or you hanker for Thin Mints in June)? Most of the popular ones are available off season as Keebler or generic Aldi brands. I don’t know the current prices, but last I looked they were significantly cheaper and more delicious imo. The Aldi Tagalongs/Peanut Butter Patties and Thin Mints were particularly scrumptious.
 
Turn off your freezer at night and back on again in the morning. It'll remain cold enough to keep your goods mostly frozen so you save 8 hours of freezer energy.

A relative of mine does clean ups for houses of people who have died and you'd actually be surprised at how many people do this. Opening a freezer that has been turned off for three weeks is... something.
 
Don't have friends. I save so much money by not having friends, so I don't have to spend money on going out, driving everywhere, expensive bars and restaurants, fancy clothes to impress other people, and so on.

Yep, living the dream...
 
Some more things I've thought of, some American Specific.
  • Buy ammo during the good times, and standardize that shit so you can have a horde. Pistols: 9mm is great for sharing but usually runs dry in bad times. I'd recommend having a 9mm, and something a bit less common but still somewhat cheap, like .38 special or 40 S&W. Possibly throw in a oddball that never sells, like 32 ACP. You should be fairly immune to shortages at that point, regardless of current ammo costs. Also learn to reload. Then you've really insulated yourself.
  • Welding. Yes, I'm gonna say it! Learn to weld. Trade school is cheap, especially if you do research. It's never too late to learn. I want you to learn MIG and Flux Core Self Shielding, and if you find you got the touch with TIG, fuckin figure it out, especially Aluminum, that unlocks aircraft. Get certified in 3G (vertical). Great, now you know how to weld any bit of structural steel on the planet, and aluminum if you learned TIG. This should take 18 months-2 years depending on your progress. Practicing on your own isn't out of reach if you have at least $1000 bucks at your disposal, buy a welder that's from or is at least owned buy these three brands: Miller, Lincoln Electric, ESAB. More is on the Welding General thread (just search and read, it's only 4 pages rn)
 
Car Won't Crank dijo:
Harbor Freight tools aren't actually that bad. I can't speak for the power tools but the basics are solid.
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The more moving parts in a tool, the worse an idea it is to buy it from Harbor Freight, so never get power tools there. Very basic tools are a decent buy there since it's very hard to fuck up a Philips head screwdriver.
WelperHelper99 dijo:
Yes there is good stuff at Harbor Freight, like their 3 ton jacks,
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Jesus Christ, I would never trust Harbor Freight with keeping a car off my chest.
 
Chuck 'n Geck dijo:
Related question about saving money in the longer run: how exactly do I know if a thing I'm gonna buy/consoom will serve me for years, if not decades? Is doing so always gonna be a shot in the dark?
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It's not always a crapshot. For some things like cars, there's an established history of a certain model or engine's problems and fixes and some real life endurance testing. Stuff like computers it's really up to you on how often you want or feel the need to upgrade. I tend to use my setup for as long as possible.
 
WelperHelper99 dijo:
  • Welding. Yes, I'm gonna say it! Learn to weld. Trade school is cheap, especially if you do research. It's never too late to learn. I want you to learn MIG and Flux Core Self Shielding, and if you find you got the touch with TIG, fuckin figure it out, especially Aluminum, that unlocks aircraft. Get certified in 3G (vertical). Great, now you know how to weld any bit of structural steel on the planet, and aluminum if you learned TIG. This should take 18 months-2 years depending on your progress. Practicing on your own isn't out of reach if you have at least $1000 bucks at your disposal, buy a welder that's from or is at least owned buy these three brands: Miller, Lincoln Electric, ESAB. More is on the Welding General thread (just search and read, it's only 4 pages rn)
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Learn metalworking in general, I'd say. If your gun breaks, you can repair it. If you run out of ammo, you can make more from scrap lying around. If needs be, you can build a gun from scratch, though this is obviously a last-ditch move.
 
Sexy Senior Citizen dijo:
Learn metalworking in general, I'd say. If your gun breaks, you can repair it. If you run out of ammo, you can make more from scrap lying around. If needs be, you can build a gun from scratch, though this is obviously a last-ditch move.
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Be careful welding on guns, you can mess with their hardness, bur generally yes. Now if you know how to use a Lathe and Mill, or CNC machine, now you're cooking. Knowing how to source lead and cast bullets is going to make you just as independent as our 1700 era counterparts. And also just building guns out of scrap. Won't go too deep, not gonna fedpost, but if you know how one goes together, making a crude firearm isn't out of the question, luty style
 
Car Won't Crank dijo:
It's not always a crapshot. For some things like cars, there's an established history of a certain model or engine's problems and fixes and some real life endurance testing. Stuff like computers it's really up to you on how often you want or feel the need to upgrade. I tend to use my setup for as long as possible.
Presiona para expandir...
Not sure if I'll ever commit to getting a driver's license. Tech I definitely understand and can agree on, but what about the accessories? I've been having a hard time trying to find a good Bluetooth mouse, for example, because my recent ones had a history of getting their wheels broken (some of them rarely scroll in the direction I roll them in). and my current workhorses (all laptops) show this miserable trend of having as little USB ports as possible. Like, come on.

This might deserve a separate thread, but general advice on looking for durable things is appreciated.
 
Chuck 'n Geck dijo:
Not sure if I'll ever commit to getting a driver's license. Tech I definitely understand and can agree on, but what about the accessories? I've been having a hard time trying to find a good Bluetooth mouse, for example, because my recent ones had a history of getting their wheels broken (some of them rarely scroll in the direction I roll them in). and my current workhorses (all laptops) show this miserable trend of having as little USB ports as possible. Like, come on.

This might deserve a separate thread, but general advice on looking for durable things is appreciated.
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The problem of computer accessories and peripherals breaking seems to be a current trend. Scratch that it's a trend in many industries. I recently had to get a new logitech trackball mouse because my old one's buttons would register half the time. Such a shame I only had it for a couple years. Planned obsolescence, right to repair blah blah probably lot of overlap with that.
 
Carefully prune your friends tree so that it no longer contains parasites of any variety, and the mentally ill that refuse to get help and instead subject you to their bizarre behaviours and expensive demands.

Having done this I am no longer getting weakly calls begging for money, for me to drive across the city in the middle of the night to deal with other people's 'emergencies', for me to spend hours on the phone trying to convince the person on the other side that the latest heinous crime I allegedly committed against them never remotely happened and that yes, I do believe them when they rant for hours on end about the global covid vaccine conspiracy...

On the downside I no longer have any friends. On the upside I'm no longer paying a fortune in tolls, petrol, phone bills, loans, and miscellaneous gifts, or freaking the fuck out whenever my mobile rings because my nerves are paper thin from dealing with incessant batshittery, attention seeking, active attempts to sabotage any endeavour that diverts my attention away from them, or "muh trauma and CPTSD".
 
Última edición:
Car Won't Crank dijo:
The problem of computer accessories and peripherals breaking seems to be a current trend. Scratch that it's a trend in many industries. I recently had to get a new logitech trackball mouse because my old one's buttons would register half the time. Such a shame I only had it for a couple years. Planned obsolescence, right to repair blah blah probably lot of overlap with that.
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Welp, guess I'm saving a metric fuckton of money to buy military-grade mice and keebs.
 
Car Won't Crank dijo:
The problem of computer accessories and peripherals breaking seems to be a current trend. Scratch that it's a trend in many industries. I recently had to get a new logitech trackball mouse because my old one's buttons would register half the time. Such a shame I only had it for a couple years. Planned obsolescence, right to repair blah blah probably lot of overlap with that.
Presiona para expandir...
I just got a Logitech trackball mouse lol; don't use it terribly often because its on my laptop, but that's good to know. I guess to add on to this, don't be picky with your mice, if it has 2 buttons and a scroll wheel, it's good enough for everyday use as long as you aren't turbo gaming.
Chuck 'n Geck dijo:
Welp, guess I'm saving a metric fuckton of money to buy military-grade mice and keebs.
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Brother, that's what good will and flea markets are for. Have a nice one in storage, but have a bunch of spares you got for a buck
 
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