Frugal people share the 20 money-saving habits they picked up by accident

Frugal people are experts at saving money. They know how to spend less when shopping for groceries, making yummy (but filling) meals, and even on date night. Plus, they are masters of bargain shopping.

But even the most thrifty people can stumble upon new and unexpected ways to save big bucks. In a discussion on Reddit, frugal people shared the most surprising ways they've been able to spend money that they learned unintentionally.

These are 20 of their best money-saving habits that they came upon by accident.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

"Mine was starting to save veggie scraps to make broth. It started as a 'let’s try this' and now it’s automatic. I keep a bag in the freezer for onion skins, celery ends, carrot tops, etc. Every couple of weeks, I boil it all down and end up with a rich, flavorful broth that tastes way better than the boxed kind. It tastes better than store-bought and saves me at least $20 a month, with an added bonus of making me feel like i know fancy techniques." - ThrowRAhyBug7080

"Old jars become new containers. My husband drinks instant coffee. We buy multiples when it's on sale, and I now have matching glass jars with screw on lids. Lots of dried goods in those, and they are uniform." - ButterscotchBubbly13

"I swapped out cleaning with paper towels for a bag of rags I got at Costco to be more environmentally friendly. I put them in a plastic bag until I have enough to wash in the laundry. Now I only use paper towels if I’m doing stuff like patting chicken dry, so I’ve saved a lot of money buying them less frequently." - User Unknown

"When I really WANT something: ANYTHING, I go to whatever website (am waiting for surgery and on crutches so...) and put whatever I want (everything) in 'the cart' but 99% of the time I don't end up actually buying it. Somehow just the sense of searching, finding, envisioning having it, and selecting it to go in 'the cart' satisfies something that makes me feel less - hmm, searching for words... - deprived? If the item (items) stay in the carts (IOW if they are not sold) then, when there is extra $, I may select one and it is such a huge affirmation of my POWER TO CHOSE. I also do this with groceries that I want, but know that I don't need (or should not have), and, as someone with a history of severe eating disorder, this also satisfies whatever in me needs to feel bigger than my circumstances. IOW I can have whatever I 'want' by just putting it in "the cart". Does that make sense to anyone else?" - Madame_Arcati

"I open the dishwasher door instead of using the 'heat dry' option. I did it at first because I didn’t like the heat on hot days, but I’ve noticed that it dries the dishes faster, so now I do it every time and it saves me whole dollars every year probably." - dave493333

- YouTube www.youtube.com

"Silly but I got instant coffee packets as part of an end of the year gift... turns out instant coffee is perfect for making iced coffee at home when the urge strikes! No need to chill anything beforehand! So now I always keep a tin and it lasts forever." - Fluidfondant916

"Installed a bidet and use a 1/4 of the toilet paper." - JBirdale77

"If I'm doing chicken, I'm doing 2. Then I have enough bones to be worth getting those saved vegetable bits out of the freezer to make a rich chicken stock in my largest pot. Plus the collagen is so good for me and my old knees. I started this because I found out my nearest grocery puts unsold rotisserie chickens in a cooler and sells them for half price the next day. Don't know if it was new or I'd just missed it because the rest of the things in the cooler are high end expensive deli products. Whatever the case there were 2 there the first time I noticed it and I decided to snag both. I went home and removed all the meat, then couldn't bring myself to toss the remaining carcasses without at least trying to make my own stock. Now I grab two at least once a month. I freeze any excess I can't use up in three days. I make all my soups, casseroles, and even chicken salads from this. The whole cooked rotisserie chickens are only $4.50 each this way so it often costs the same or less vs buying chicken I have to cook. Plus it has helped me be better about cooking instead of eating out so it has easily been saving me $30-50 a month." - RelativelyRidiculous

"Cut magic erasers into strips before using. A strip cleans almost as much as a whole sponge so you get exponential value." - ramblingamblinamblin

"I'm a teacher. Over the summer, I go to estate sales to get school supplies for my classroom. Most people who shop at these sales are looking for art or antiques. The office supplies like paper, pens, pencils or art materials are super cheap. Also, I look for older staplers and pencil sharpeners. They are built to last, unlike modern plastic sh*t." - tiffy68

"I never buy books or magazines. I use the public library's free Libby app to check out and read books and magazines electronically. More convenient doing it from home with no car trips to the library." - 71stMB

"Checking local buy nothing group and free section of craigslist religiously. Got paint, home goods, oils and vinegars, frozen foods, etc. Gave away clothing, extra comforters, plants, etc." - tessie33

- YouTube www.youtube.com

"I have a couple. Growing herbs: Once I branched out with cooking, I couldn’t believe the price of those little clamshells of herbs. Thyme, rosemary, oregano, sage and chives grow year round here, and I grow cilantro, dill, and Basil seasonally. Basil and cilantro do not dehydrate well (flavor is way different) from what I’ve found. If I don’t have it, I buy cilantro fresh and I keep a jar of freeze dried basil (which is cheaper and lasts WAY longer than fresh). Garlic is my second. I’m anti-jarlic, and came across a ton of garlic for cheap once. I sliced it and dehydrated it because I had so much. It holds flavor well, you have slices readily available, if you need minced just crush a couple of the slices. I’ve found recently the little pre-peeled bags are cheaper than bulbs, but they go bad quickly. So I also have a bag of cloves in the freezer. Set them on the counter during prep and they thaw quickly." - JDuBLock

"I bought the 10lb bag of oats from Costco for $10 last March. It’s now July and I just ran out. Majorly cheap breakfast." - Standard_Seaweed4134

"After using the oven in winter, I always crack it open to let the heat into the kitchen." - patchy_22

"Old t-shirts become rags." - Ok-Champion5065

"Eat before you leave the house and bring a water bottle with you." - NotAtThesePricesBaby

"I make 3-4 PBJ sandwiches at a time and toss them in the freezer. Takes like 20-25 minutes to thaw. No more fast food on days I’m on the go." - RiotGrrrlNY

"Fabric mâché. It's similar to papier mâché except with scrap fabric. It's stronger and it's good for certain types of repairs. The husband knows I repurpose cotton rags into cleaning cloths, but he doesn't know which types of cotton rags are ideal for cleaning. So when his cotton clothes wore out he had been putting them there and not always mentioning it. So in addition to an ample supply of rags we were getting a backlog. Then when it was time to repair a cat tree, I found out fabric mâché is a thing. The cat tree construction was really cheap (part of it was cardboard) and needed reinforcement. Removed the old worn-out fabric, built up the cardboard verticals with fabric mâché, and then measured and cut carpet remainders to cover over the repairs. The carpet remainders we got for free from the local Buy Nothing group. So instead of replacing a cat tree, repaired the old one for the cost of a little flour and salt and a few heavy duty staples, plus some worn-out clothes which would have gone into the trash. This became a thing as our other cat trees needed maintenance. Fabric mâché has saved us $250 just on this one purpose." - doublestitch

"Changing my own oil. With YouTube videos it’s relatively straight forward even on never vehicles." - TookTheLongCut