frugal women

Living a frugal lifestyle means making decisions that will save you the most money.

Over on a Reddit subforum of women over 30, member u/hauteburrrito posed the question: "What's your frugal girl hack/flex?" She went on to share, "I cut open all my toothpaste, lotion, etc., bottles after I can't squeeze anything out anymore, and then use a scraping tool to transfer the (usually substantial) remnants into a travel-sized Muji container."

She also shared a hack she adopted from a friend: "I have a friend who not only reuses her plastic Ziploc bags, but actually runs the grodier ones through the dishwasher. (I also reuse my plastic Ziploc bags, but alas, my few attempts at putting them through the dishwasher have mostly just resulted in semi-mangled Ziplocs.)," she added.

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She concluded her post with a call-out to fellow money-saving females: "Anyway, I'd love to hear from all my frugal girlies here (even if you're, like me, only part-time frugal) - what's your frugal, let-me-milk-every-last-bit-of-value-outta-this-thing hack/flex?"

In response, frugal ladies over 30 had a bevy of money-saving tips to share, and then some. These are 25 of the best 'frugal girl hacks' that have saved women major money.

"Most frugal is doing a no spend month, pulling out every stitch of clothing - hanging them up and committing to one outfit per day in public. I got rid of so much crap, love everything that remains, and broke my obsession shopping - I am content with watch reels online to get my shopping fix." —Rough_Commercial4240

"I regularly we-have-mcdonalds-at-home myself, aka talking myself out of purchases because dang it, I do have something at home that is just the slightly less efficient or less easy version of the thing that I'm thinking about getting. A recent one was one of those quick heating heat pens to neutralize mosquito bite itches. I've already had 20+ bites this season (please send help) so this seemed like a godsend due to how easy it would be to treat the itch on the spot. But ehhhhhh... microwaving some water in a cup and heating a spoon in the resulting hot water and then pressing it on the bite does the same thing. Blasting the bite with a hair dryer also does the same, and I already own all of these things." —caramelpupcorn

"Have you tried the massage gun trick on heavy duty lotion bottles that you can't cut?" —Catty_Lib

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"Put money in savings the day you get paid. Not the end of the month after the bills are paid. I rarely eat out, cut my own hair and bought supplies to do my own manicures. Ditch the serums and expensive beauty products… drug store basics or making my own works just fine. Probably most impactful and easiest one to implement: If I get the urge to buy a thing (that I didn’t plan for, just want), I have a waiting rule - I have to wait 1 days for every $10 the item costs. So if something costs $70, I have to wait a week before I allow myself to buy it (some flexibility if it’s a really good sale or time limited or whatever). If I still want the thing, I buy it. More often than not, I forget or change my mind before the waiting period is over… this has done wonders for removing compulsive spending and random splurging." —rjwyonch

"I only buy natural fiber clothing. It can be repaired, wash by hand, dries quickly. Online i get designer silk and cashmere for less than I'd pay for a tank top at target-- which wont survive a single wash-- just by allowing myself to take my time looking and hunting through piles of listings." —babycrow

"I find adding things to the cart and just leaving it really helps. 90% of the time I start coming up with excuses to wait longer or just forget about it." —User Unknown

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"This is slightly unethical, but I travel a lot for work. When I get my per-diems, instead of eating out on my trips, I go grocery shopping and eat microwavable foods while also stocking up on essentials I will use but won't fully use on my trip such as oatmeal, canned beans, apples, bananas, cheese, etc. I have a really nice cooler so even if I'm travelling far, I can just shove all the perishables into the cooler and they'll be fine for the 3-10 hour drive home. My per-diem usage is still less than my colleagues because I don't eat out for every meal so no one bats an eye at my spending. My other hack is kind of silly, but living in the country. There's no door dash, very few restaurants, and hardly any shopping so there's very little temptation to spend frivolously. There are only thrift stores, so if you need things like a t-shirt or mixing bowls, unless you're willing to drive 30-60 miles away, thrift stores are where you're going to. In addition, people still do labor trades up here. My boyfriend fixed the heater of the guy who patched our roof. Roof guy was happy his heater will run during the winter and we're happy our roof won't leak and everyone is happy to just throw cash for supplies and not charge or pay for labor. Lastly, the cabin I'm in doesn't have any heating system, so you just have to start a fire and bundle up, which is fine and we're not tempted to run a costly heater because we simply don't have one. I can imagine we'll be a little miffed come the dead of winter, but we both grew up in homes with no central heating so it's not something we're unaccustomed to. Last hack- do activities that you already have access to and make your own fun. Restart an old hobby, go for a walk, read a book, draw, bake, etc. There are a lot of things you can do that don't involve spending a ton of money. Maybe this seems obvious but I feel like I know several people who seem to only be able to 'have fun and relax' doing activities that are costly such as going bar hopping, having a spa day, taking a weekend trip. Not that any of these are bad, per se, but it can really dip into your wallet. Inviting friends over for a small potluck can be just as lovely as a time as going out for a really expensive dinner." —skinsnax

"Use the library. They rent out all kinds of stuff. Also get the Libby app." —Pinklady777

"My best frugal life hack has been improving my cooking skills. It took a few years, but I now cook most of my meals from scratch at home, saving hundreds per month. I even started baking my own bread this year. Another powerful hack has been tracking every single penny that I spend through a budgeting app. My preferred app is You Need a Budget (YNAB). I find it worth the high subscription fee, though there are also cheaper options if $100ish/year seems too much." —ConcentrateTrue

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"I lost my job back in July. I've been a lot more frugal since then and am currently about breaking even on my spending/expenses and 'income' (unemployment and some side gig money). One thing I did regarding food was used up all the food I had in my kitchen that I was kind of ignoring for awhile. I had maple syrup I never used, so I bought a box of frozen waffles. So maybe it was a boxed dinner that was expired by two years, or just a condiment I didn't use often. I used everything up. And then I mostly eliminated the impulse shopping, as someone else mentioned. I collect Pokemon cards, so I was regularly making $50+ orders on eBay. Alas, I am not even browsing them at the moment." —DarmokTheNinja

"I'm in NYC, and mostly, it's having a roommate (not where I thought I'd be over 30, but saves so much money) and living in a rent stabilized apartment (super old, no amenities, and has its issues). Also, I only eat out socially, not for convenience. Focusing on saving hundreds a month on the big things (e.g., rent) allows me to not have to focus on cutting out a few bucks here and there for the small luxuries. Other than that, it's mostly that I started saving money in my retirement accounts early (definitely make sure you take advantage of any employer matches!), and am relying on compound interest to make it so that I can hopefully actually retire. $10k saved in your 20s ends up giving you SO much more than $10k saved in your 50s. Plus, I can live more frugally when younger than when I'm older and less active." —MerelyMisha

"One of my fav upgrades is just.. CLOTH napkins. Can use for a few days gently. Much nicer experience. Throw in wash. If they start to be sad over many years they become cleaning rags. Soooo much less expensive than buying wasteful paper towels! We have one roll of paper towels for really gross random stuff that we have had for like 5 years cause we so infrequently need them."
—more_pepper_plz

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"This is a fun one that I enjoy. I decided not to buy any luxury items on my salary. When I want to buy something, I invest money and try to make the price of the item in profits(post taxes of course). Sometimes it is quick and sometimes it takes a while. This gives me time and prevents an impulse buy. By the time I have the money in hand, I have either changed my mind about the purchase or I go for it. Either way, I ain’t losing money(maybe girl math) 🙈 My salary or funds are only for necessary expenses that cannot wait." —calm_momentum38

"This is probably not weird to you but it is where I live - we don't have a car (I haven't owned one since 2011, and my partner sold his in 2020). In addition to all the obvious ways we're saving money - this also limits impulse shopping for me (do I really want to carry this home?)." —Hold_Effective

"Put a few drops of eye drops in your drying out mascara. Works amazing every time." —kimberleeeee_

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"I'm not sure if it's more frugal or just convenient, but when I cook, I save extra portions and freeze them in my preferred serving sizes. I don't like leftovers once they've been in the fridge more than a day or two, so this method has really reduced my food waste and also has kind of turned my freezer into a pantry. Helps to keep me from eating out too! If anyone is curious I use silicon Souper Cubes to freeze and then store in freezer ziplocs or Stasher bags." —SuitcaseOfSparks

"Facebook marketplace/ buy/sell or free groups. Most of my stuff in my apartment is gently used/thrifted/have me down/gifted. Kids grow quick and usually their clothes can be passed along, sports equipment second hand, kitchen appliances, furniture. I rarely buy new, mostly because I'm poor but I can't justify the cost of buying certain things new when it's fine gently used and much cheaper." —ladybug11314