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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Growing your own food. The only way to make that shit pay is to groom a cult to do it for you, large-scale.

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1 point

The only thing I’ve successfully grown is tomatoes. And they tasted weird.

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Eh, it really depends. I assume you don’t mean all your food needs here. It’s pretty easy in a lot of climates and situations to supplement nutrition and/or flavor by growing even one or two plants. Source: grew peppers, spinach, etc. on my tiny tokyo apartment’s balcony and would gift friends whole plants to put on their balconies/windowsills for the same and now do small-scale farming in rural north Japan.

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Not sure if this counts, per se, but Solar Panels. Specifically, via a loan.

My electric bill is insane, thanks to the powers of capitalism and monopoly. So I figured installing solar panels would be a good investment. Sure it takes ten years to break even, but I’d rather be paying my way through that than paying my electric utility.

Well, the problem I ran into was that the interest on a loan would effectively negate any headway I was hoping to make per month.

I still plan on doing solar, but not before either interest rates at least quarter themselves or I save up enough to practically pay for it up front.

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2 points

For myself I got them when rates were low. It actually saved me money instantly, swapping from a $300/mo bill to a $140/mo solar loan repayment.

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Cloth nappies/diapers. Cleaning them is a black hole for personal time.

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The manufacture of 2.5 years of disposable diapers has a lower carbon footprint than the energy usage to launder cloth diapers over the same time period.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/291130/scho0808boir-e-e.pdf

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So it’s still a win if the energy source is renewable itself.

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What about the difference in waste as well? Talk about cherry-picking outcomes to make your product/position look good. It’s like soft drinks advertising that they’re fat-free or chips/crisps saying they’re sugar-free

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Businesses have caught up and fixed the exploits.

For me, it’s dried beans. Beans are an excellent source of protein and fiber, and it doesn’t get much cheaper per serving than bulk dried beans.

But rinsing, soaking over night, and then boiling, only to end up with way more beans than we will consume, and canned beans are almost as good and almost as cheap.

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Soaking and cooking too many beans? That’s just like opening a big can of beans when a small one would suffice.

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We use a pressure cooker for our dried beans. 20-40 minutes depending on the bean. You don’t have to soak them overnight when using a pressure cooker. I ensure that each batch we make is consumed within five days.

Canned beans are considerably more expensive based on the amount we eat.

If you only eat a can here and there, it’s probably not worth making them from dry.

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I’ve found pressure cookers are the only way I can get beans tender. (I’m not a great cook.)

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Do you have hard water? That can make beans not get soft if you’re boiling them.

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2 points

You don’t need to soak beans lol why do people always say this? Never have I ever soaked beans before boiling them.

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1 point

Searching for the cheapest gas station. Too much time and gas.

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In Australia there are apps that show cheapest prices near you, so at least there’s not too much time and effort involved.

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Ah good. Sorry. I’m traumatized by parents driving obsessively around for hours looking for best prices on things…obviously there are better ways now.

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Just ask around, there’s some that are consistently cheap. Then do the math. Where I live, the local station charges 2.40 a litre, and one 15 minutes away charges 1.60 a litre.

That’s an easy one.

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