/frugal/ - Wohnungen Edition

[Anonymous No.3576866]

Ok we need a frugal thread that actually matters.

How do some of you guys manage to skimp on rent and living room?
It's the largest single expense for most, so it would seem to be the most logical one to downsize.

z.B. Anyone here living in a storage unit like this guy?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPVCTLPNUzo

[Anonymous No.3576991]

Also other frugal discussion and tips welcome;
selfbump.

[Anonymous No.3576997]

>>3576866
Learn to cook, and cook well! Do the incredibly lame thing of pre-cooking meals and putting them in the fridge at the beginning of the week.

Because you make stuff in bulk (you can still mix it up so Monday's dinner is very different pasta sauce to Tuesday's) you'll spend less on groceries, and you'll be less tempted to order out.

Put your electronic devices on one of those vacation timers, all that shit on standby adds up.

WARM PAJAMAS AND BLANKETS. Save money on heating. (not applicable if you have a fuckbuddy).

[Anonymous No.3577124]

>>3576997
I can attest to this.
Since I don't much care for strongly seasoned foods, or even much more than bland foods, I can easily justify the cost of a Costco membership for getting all my food once a month (sometimes less) in massive bulk quantities.
I can manage most months to spend about $45 on food on average (including the cost of membership to a wholesale place)
Also farmers markets are great for finding India-level prices on great heaps of fresh foods

[Anonymous No.3577165]

>>3576997
>Save money on heating

That's really good advice until your pipes burst

[Anonymous No.3577205]

>>3577165
>Pipes don't drain when not in use and/or can't withstand the cold of winter

What would happen to your house if you were to leave in the winter then? Or if your heating system broke?

[Anonymous No.3577265]

great thread, funny video, great photo.

here's everything i've done to be /frugal/:

1. live out of my car. this is very uncomfortable, especially if you do it during hot weather and there are mosquitos. cold weather not so bad, kind of nice actually. this saves a lot when you work in an expensive city, or if you are on a tight budget when going on a road trip.

2. live with parents. this only works if you have one or two living parents and they are doing ok enough to let you crash at their place for a while.

3. never eat out ever. restaurants charge high markup on everything including drinks, we all know this by now but it is worth repeating.

4. never go out to to bars for drinking anymore. i used to but it was costing me around 30-50 fiat each time in major cities. fucking stupid. i just enjoy drinking at home now, lightly.

5. buy filtered water instead of bottled water.

6. use baking soda instead of laundry detergent, because baking soda costs like $1 a box but laundry detergent costs a lot more and doesn't last long.

7. in the usa there are many dollar stores. i shop only at the dollar stores now, even for food sometimes but if i want higher quality groceries i don't get them at the dollar store. but many basic necessities can be found at the dollar store.

8. cold showers save on heating bill. you are less likely to waste time in a shower if it is a fucking cold one.

9. save electricity by never using lights during the day. use daylight only. this is how the green hippie people do it. i also don't like bright lights so i keep my living spaces dark even at night.

10. grow your own veggies. lots of good threads over at /out/.

11. do not sleep on a mattress, because it has an initial cost of $100-200 and it breaks down quickly especially if you fuck often or jump around on it, it will get soft. i sleep on the floor in a sleeping bag. and i can wash the sleeping bag to keep it clean. you cannot wash a mattress so over time it will accumulate dust mites.

[Anonymous No.3577325]

Have a system for grocery shopping instead of trying to set a hard limit on your grocery expenses, i.e. don't buy anything that's over ~5€/kg or whatever you think is reasonably cheap for your country. This helps to circumvent alot of the jewry that is modern retail, since you automatically filter out anything artifically expensive (eye-level shelfed brand products for example).

[Anonymous No.3577363]

If you want to get cheapass rent and can afford to uproot yourself, move to Midwest.

There you can live with rents of about $600 for a very decent place, that's typically rent for a good full house, even with two bedrooms usually, and not in a bad neighborhood either; therefore it's even less if you get a one bedroom shithole or studio apartment.

I am much into watching those tiny apartment videos or even seeing tiny homes and how they allocate room so efficiently, but often when I hear the price tag on some of them I'm immediately turned off on the matter since most of them are located in big cities or even just other states where the rent is too damn high.
Here in beautiful Ohio you can just get a fuckin house for what they charge for a closet in New York, and thus there's just not much of a market for tiny housing.
A great shame too, as I love the aesthetic.

[Anonymous No.3577509]

sell your desktop and buy lenovo laptop
saving up to ten times of electricity costs

[Anonymous No.3577725]

>>3576997
Or get a crock pot, have hot meals ready days later!

[Anonymous No.3577947]

>>3577165
I'm not from a snowy climate so I don't think that's a problem here.

>>3577725
haha! Great idea.