Posted 3 November 2023

What common frugal tips are actually often not worthwhile?

What are some tips that seem very good at first glance, but are actually not *that* useful or are even a waste of time?

I spotted this discussion on r/UKFrugal (reddit.com/r/U…ly/ ) and thought the HUKD community might have some interesting answers too
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  1. mikehunter's avatar
    Buying clothes which are on sale in a weird colour which you don't like and will only wear a few times.
    Ouzoherb's avatar
    they last longer though
  2. Willy_Wonka's avatar
    Picking free mushrooms from the woods to save money baking a beef wellington
    AMaky's avatar
    stick to blackberries
  3. Timbonagasaki's avatar
    Someone halfwit was on our local radio saying that he boils water in the morning and puts it in a flask for later.
    TristanDeCoonha's avatar
    As soon as I have used the boiled water in the kettle then I immediately top up to half a litre and use the residual heat so save some energy later. It also stops me accidentally boiling a dry kettle.
    I also place a bottle of water on top of the slow cooker when in use to have preheated water for the coffee machine etc
  4. sm9690's avatar
    Joining HUKD you end up spending more and more money
    Renoir64's avatar
    My wife could have literally written this about me.
  5. Ouzoherb's avatar
    Apparently if you have led bulbs turning lights off and virtually sitting in the dark hardly saves anything as the bulb is so efficient.
    aLV426's avatar
    There was even an argument for leaving the older incandescent bulbs on to save the wear on the filament!
    A 5w LED costs about £0.002/hour (depending on your electricity supplier) there's about 8760 hours in a year, so 8760x0.002 = £17.52 per bulb per year, if it's left on 24/7...
  6. AMaky's avatar
    Buying cheap food.
    You are what you eat, eating ultra processed rubbish, unfortunately it's not great for you.
    I bake bread, not to save monies, but not to eat plastic stuff.
    Cooking from scratch, in a lot of instances, costs more. E.g fish fingers and chips & beans vs baked cod loin and mid potatoes with salad.
    Cheap_as_Chimps's avatar
    Kinda related to this, i'd say cookware. The cheapo stuff always wears out in no time. Much better off spending more on good quality that lasts.
  7. RealOldMonk's avatar
    Buying low quality cheap cloths
  8. aLV426's avatar
    My favourite - using smart plugs to turn off devices. You need to factor in the power consumption of the smart plug - taking into consideration that it needs to powered 24/7 along with the associated network appliances. Sometimes it works out cheaper to let the device go to standby or the less convenient powering it off option!
    rev6's avatar
    Smart plugs aren't just used for power consumption though but convience. You don't want a lamp on 24/7, and it's easier to setup a schedule for auto on/off. I need to check the power consumption of mine though. (edited)
  9. TristanDeCoonha's avatar
    Use the Vimes guide to buying boots
    Ferris's avatar
    It's not a guide though. It's a theory of socioeconomic unfairness.
  10. Timbonagasaki's avatar
    Cheap cheese- It's tasteless, so you have to use more.
    Pájaro's avatar
    Yes, but expensive cheese is tasty, so you have to eat more of that too.
  11. slimy31's avatar
    My favourite has to be hunting round petrol stations for the cheapest stuff. On a 50 litre tank, a penny cheaper is just 50p, and you'd probably use that much fuel getting to the cheaper petrol station.

    Changing your driving habits gives a much better saving on fuel.
    Pájaro's avatar
    On a related note, part-fills. The logic was supposed to be that a part-fill means carrying less weight which meant making more efficient use of your fuel, but the difference in mass (say, 30KG) is trivial relative to the weight of a car (typically circa 1200KG), and while there is a small amount to be saved from carrying less weight, it's typically negated by the cost of driving to the petrol station more often. It's probably one of those tips which date back to the 70s, or which have been misappropriated from f1 or somesuch.
  12. wayners's avatar
    Washing up in cold water

    Using newspaper when on the toilet

    Using a tea bag more than once

    Buying duty free booze. I just can't see the point in carrying it. To save what?
    Cheapskate66's avatar
    When we were in the EU I used to come back from France with maybe 60 or 70 bottles in the boot, and French prices were such that you could experiment with unfamiliar wines.

    Duty free allowance is still not too shabby, came back from Boulogne with my 18 litres of wine.

    But these were both holidays, wouldn't do as a day trip.
  13. TristanDeCoonha's avatar
    Peeing in the sink to avoid wasting water.
    Great idea, but it turns out that McDonald's don't share the motive
  14. Deedie's avatar
    The heat system on here. Only there to be ignored
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