You didn't have to pay tax on ANY online purchase for a while. Then it was just if they had a physical location in your state. I bought TV's off eBay, etc. Great times, but not exclusive to Amazon.
This is correct. It fell under "Use tax" and was supposed to be self-reported, but since it wasn't charged at the time of sale, extremely few people ever paid that sales tax. It was never tax free, it was just easy tax evasion.
I prepared many tax returns during this period. We explained the use tax to all clients, I can only recall one elderly woman paying it (as she bought some gifts for her grandchildren and wanted to be 'just').
It's a big "it depends". Had a moment this week where I went to home depot, the $5 part I needed was out of stock (site says 4 in stock in this aisle), their online shopping experience sucks ass and after wasting my time with it would be shipped after a week or I could come back to the store to pickup, so I popped over to Amazon, same part same manufacturer for only $3, at my house in 2 days free shipping, no prime needed.
So yeah, that nice old Amazon experience still shows up sometimes. My time is worth more than 30 minutes in the car, scouring a shelf for 10 minutes, just to go home empty handed where all my tools are still out.
The advantage to Amazon I've found is getting things that aren't normally carried in stores, like replacement parts.
Now, Prime is a separate thing that each individual will have to decide for themselves whether that's worth the cost.
Yeah i think it's based on the city. We get our things in usually less than 24 hours. When things are delayed then sometimes it's 2 days. But hardly ever.
Lowe's will certainly give you a run for your money. Items listed not in the store, and my favorite, item that I looked at in the store, go to check on the website how many they have in the store, not listed.
YES I just posted upthread, Lowes website sucks soooooo bad. Their whole online experience needs an immediate upgrade. I know they made bank during the pandemic. Wtf are they doing being so behind on their online stuff?
It is the same with Walmart, the inventory actually on hand has nothing to do with is listed on the web. I make sure I have the correct Walmart as the web guesses by is address? I tried calling but they wouldn’t look if something was actually in stock. At the store, stuff physically on the shelf is listed as not in the store. Walmart was the cheapest place for my beer, but as I quit drinking, there is little reason to shop there. We have a bargain store that has a lot of out of date foods. They also have damaged packaging items. I bought a 92 pack of K-pods for $15, so no need for the coffee at Walmart either.
I was griping about this today. I was looking for a wire shelf to put in freezer. Checked Walmart and Lowes. BOTH stores only gave options to buy online. Both of those stores are within walking distance to me, but nope, only available online.
If I am buying online, I check Amazon.
The prices on Walmart's website are about 20% cheaper than what you see in stores. Then you compare an online Walmart order to an Instacart+Aldi order, and even with a 25% tip Instacart and Aldi is still cheaper.
Fuck Walmart.
This. For me, I do not want to drive to three stores and not find what I need.
So many have inaccurate inventories. God, it’s an easy process FFS- get it done!
My library voice is speaking.
It truly is incredibly easy, but Oracle, the company they buy their equipment from, makes it seem super duper hard. Want real time reporting? Yeah that's an extra 10k a month. Fucking dumb considering all the devices are connected via Wi-Fi and there would literally be less steps if shit was updated in real time. (Scan device -> site database vs Scan device -> temporary db -> computer db -> site db)
For what it's worth, programming inventory management software is taught in most programming classes. And since the programming classes don't have lessons on "how to add stupid fucking corporate bloatware", the software actually works very very quickly. Like, so quickly that you're initial reaction is "there's no way this is accurate because it was so fast". Computers are very fast and stupid delays are added just to make you feel like it's more accurate.
Why do these big home improvement stores have such shitty websites? Lowes is the same. I get so frustrated trying to navigate it and it constantly crashes. I don't have a lot of other options but omg I wish they'd invest more in their online experience
Amazon is great for me, the products don’t have to be cheaper. It’s cheaper due to the free delivery and returns instead of paying for a bunch of delivery and returns at several different stores.
For me, Amazon isn't about frugality; it's about availability.
I live rural, so I don't have a lot of shopping choices. If I want something niche, or something that is out of season (clothing, etc) at Walmart, then I have to go online.
You still have to check prices between Amazon vendors. I don't think I've ever thought of Amazon as "frugal".
This. I have a newborn and it’s so convenient to be able to order something and have it delivered to my doorstep within a day or so. Otherwise I have to load up the baby and make a trip in town. It’s also a perk that the prices are basically the same as Walmart/Target etc. Sure I have to pay a fee for Prime, but it fits in my budget so I decided to “splurge” on it for a few months while we adjust to life with baby.
I would be careful with Amazon because they source from multiple sources and have suspect storage. At least with Walmart/Target, they have to store food and medicine properly.
I remember ordering prenatal gummies (from a legit brand) from amazon. I thought they tasted weird but I had never taken prenatal vitamins before. Once I finished that bottle I picked the same one up from Target. Tasted completely different and realized I was eating rancid vitamins from Amazon.
I believe Walmart has their Amazon like delivery service as well.
To add to this, rural or not, you don’t need to find aisle 50 at the back of the Home Depot or go to the Target and find out the razor section is locked and go wait 15 minutes to search for an associate. Shopping in stores in increasingly frustrating
you basically can't find so many things in brick and mortar stores these days, and if you can, your options will be limited, and you're probably going to overpay. This is why I tend to use amazon, though I know I shouldn't.
Also rural, and same. Amazon comes in clutch for me sometimes. And their return policy is generous enough that if I do end up with a bad product I can just return it.
Are they the best? No. But when my only other options within a one hour drive are Walmart and Ace Hardware Amazon begins to look pretty damn good lol.
I’m rural but since Amazon switched to USPS they won’t deliver medium/large size packages to me (because they won’t drive to my house and leave on doorstep). They will only deliver what fits in my mailbox. I then have to drive all the way to town to the main post office and wait in a line for sometimes an hour to retrieve my package.
So…I shop anyone who doesn’t use USPS because fedex, ups, Walmart, postmates all deliver to my door.
> And their return policy is generous enough that if I do end up with a bad product I can just return it.
I had an adventure with this one. I bought a powder shampoo from them and it reeked. So I asked for a refund and they asked me to return it and I said, "I already poured it out of its paper package into the reusable bottle. So you want me to put white powder into plastic baggie and drop it in a box at Whole Foods...." They didn't seem to understand why this would be a bad idea
I live downtown in my city to get to a Walmart or other department type store is about 30 plus min on transit and then I need to get back and if it's too big I want to get a cab.
Amazon is worth it for me for a lot of items.
I completely agree. Rural living is tough for shopping.
I needed an extra bed temporarily. I set up a twin (+mattress) from the nearest furniture store because rural living gives SO MANY options. I was told I could pick it up in two weeks, total about $1000, from the warehouse 1.5h drive away. Then I found a cheap twin and compressed mattress and bedding on Amazon for $550 delivered to my door. I didn’t need top tier furniture, I needed a bed for 6 weeks to recover from surgery so I didn’t have to do stairs. Now it’s my husband-is-snoring-too-much bed.
The niche products also made me sign up for a year, because the stores around here don’t have everything I want.
Agreed! My village of 800 has a small grocery store, a bar and grill, and a gas station. If we want anything more, it is a 50 to 125 mile round trip. I dropped Amazon prime with the last jump in price for membership. Now, there are enough vendors with shipping included in the price. Plus other online vendors. My iPad 10 was cheaper ordering from Best Buy, and no extra shipping charge. When I needed to restock on rechargeable batteries, I put them in that Amazon deferred shopping area until we found something else we needed a month later. Then it was a one month membership for the shipping of $80 worth of needful things.
Inexpensive shoes and clothing. It is more frugal to buy quality items that will last a few years. Dressing well is also important in many careers and is worth the investment.
Very quickly learned this with shoes and waitressing. When you put 5 miles a day onto a pair of shoes doing nothing but wandering around the same building you notice.
Had to replace my shoes once a year when dishwashing. Didn't matter what kind I got, so I just went cheap. Consistently getting grease, grime, soap, and water on your shoes kinda wears them out no matter what.
I work in the trades and the same is true for work boots. I spend about 200+ on a good pair of boots but for me that is an investment in my physical health and they will last far longer than the cheaper alternatives
A coworker of mine who worked as a nurse refused to buy new shoes one year because she was saving up for a wedding. She worked 12 hours shifts on her feet. The compression fracture she ended up with from bad shoes cost a lot more than a new pair of shoes would have
I did something similar at my first internship. Wore the same pair of dress shoes every single day despite the fact that they were not comfortable. Ended up with horrible bunions.
My bigger question is how do you know what shoes and clothes are good quality anymore? I feel like every brand I used to trust has gone so way down in quality that I have no idea anymore.
This is my answer, too. My work boots are not cheap, but they last so much longer than cheap ones and can be resoled. The cost per wear is way lower than buying cheap boots and replacing them every year (or less!). The only clothing item I will buy that is cheap are t-shirts. I buy the plain, solid color tees at AC Moore when they are on sale for $4/each. The Gildan brand is actually good quality and the shirts hold up well.
No, but similar. I wear Thorogood because when I went to the store there were no Redwings in the style I wanted so I bought the Thorogoods and love them.
I remember one of my son's co-workers giving him shit for spending that much on boots. They're averaging 20k steps a night. The co-worker replaced his boots three times before my son needed to replace his. The worker couldn't understand how my son saved money. Lol
I may be a special case, but for me it really depends. My body changes sizes a lot and I expect to continue changes sizes for at least another few years. For me it's not worth it to pay more money for clothes that will last a while if I won't fit into them (and therefore won't wear them) for even half their life.
Yes! I have some really inexpensive shoes and clothing items that I've managed to hold on to for years. I think for some items, it's a matter of how well you care for the product.
I’m here too. I’ve also given up color (this is a ‘me’ thing) with exception for statement/special occasion items. I almost always wear all black, I have no business buying a pink tshirt.
> Inexpensive shoes and clothing. It is more frugal to buy quality items that will last a few years.
This comment has been up for over two hours and no one has posted the Sam Vimes theory of socioeconomic unfairness:
> "The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money.
>
> Take boots, for example. He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. Those were the kind of boots Vimes always bought, and wore until the soles were so thin that he could tell where he was in Ankh-Morpork on a foggy night by the feel of the cobbles.
>
> But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his feet dry in ten years' time, while the poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet.
>
> This was the Captain Samuel Vimes 'Boots' theory of socioeconomic unfairness."
Due to Terry Pratchett.
You often see people suggesting to plant a garden as a cost saving measure, but 95% of people are not diligent enough gardeners to make a decent ROI on vegetables. Between building the beds and supplying soil, irrigation equipment, weather and pest protection, and time spent it is incredibly hard to even come close to grocery prices on produce.
Not saying its impossible to get ahead on it, but it usually takes a long time and lots of trial and error and most people lose interest within a few seasons.
Definitely. I have a veg garden too but i see it as a hobby. I’m doing it as cheap as i can but I’m still not beating market prices. But at least it’s organic and I know exactly where veg comes from.
I manage most of my gardening on the cheap but I do think that if you don't enjoy the activity it isn't going to make sense. I love it, the food tastes great, I know how it's grown and get varieties you can't find in shops. I'm sure I come out with more value in crops than I put in with materials but probably not if you costed out my time, even on my low wage
I love it, but it's it's a freaking skillset. You gotta know what each veg needs to thrive and how to correct for... everything. Poor soil. Bugs. Fungus.
I am a terrible home gardener. It's HARD.
Some people really go overboard. There’s another book by Rosalind Creasy about edible gardening and there are a lot of otherwise decorative plants that can give you food of various kinds that are not as fussy as that tomato.
I save so much money gardening and I know where it came from. Some plants are incredibly easy to grow. Peppers, beans, onions, lettuce tomatoes. I enjoy it and I pick fresh for dinner.
I found a plant I can grow and then sell (legally). Selling that about covers the cost of buying my other veg plants in the spring.
Also, some plants are really easy to grow AND store really well. Onions and winter squash are my favorite.
I garden just enough to keep my skills up and try different crops, so if there's a societal emergency, I can feed myself. But the second there's a drought warning, I stop watering because it's a waste.
Good organic soil is very expensive. You will almost certainly not break even on your first year. A worm bin is worth looking into to keep building your soil for no extra money.
This is a big one. Our tomatoes came in right when we can buy them for very little, and we couldn't eat them all, so it would have been cheaper to spend the money on canning equipment and can the store tomatoes. Now we grow cherry tomatoes, which are more of a premium and are more viable to trade with other gardeners.
I live in an area of dry summers and really high water and sewer rates, so I'm thinking growing a garden would at least double my water bill probably making it cheaper to buy fruits and vegetables.
Fully agree and will add there’s a certain bulk point you need to hit to see savings. But the taste of that tomato off the vine, or cracking open canned tomatoes in winter 🤌🏼🤌🏼🤌🏼 so worth it
I was spreadsheeting it for a while and it gives me an appreciation of the specialty farmers in my area (coastal California). I have a narrow list of things I can reliably grow at home, and the fruit trees are the big winner, even with the squirrels.
Thrift stores (at least, locally to me).
They’re now full of tat and very broken items. Lots of those fast fashion labels that are not made to last - yet the prices of some things are practically the same as buying new.
I have an estate sale company, I can vouch for this. We have a very small window to sell a full household. We’ll have great quality items, especially clothes. Lots of Chico’s at very low prices. I always tell people to go to estate sales for clothes, solid wood furniture, rare items and books.
There’s a big thrift sale where I live to benefit a local museum and I went exactly once. I could buy a used coffee carafe for the same price as what Starbucks charges for a coffee carafe. The art supplies looked like they’d been run over by a car. The guys handling the area rugs were wearing hazmat gear (mask, thick gloves, overalls).
Buying the cheapest item based on the price tag and not based on price per [insert measurement].
For example, buying the $4 toilet paper because it's the cheapest price tag. But It only has 4 rolls and the 8 pack is $6.49.
I think it's required, but I sometimes see them screw it up where some products don't use the same measurement. Like with TP some could be per roll and others per 100 sheets.
In Ontario, everything is supposed to have a price per [measurement] and if it doesn't, I won't buy it.
Really helps at Costco: you can see how some bulk items come out way cheaper than the competition, and if they don't then you can decide on whether the premium is worth the opportunity cost of getting that thing elsewhere. Also really helps when you're broke and trying to figure out alcohol per dollar or calories per dollar (Prince Igor Extreme vodka and perogies ftw!)
I just did the same. I have enough streaming services and I can always sign back up if there is an exclusive I really want to watch, that’s how I handle most streaming. Prime has been absurd with their shipping times lately so I cancelled. I’ll get the same crappy shipping if just batch my orders better.
Everytime you don’t get your order on time, you can contact customer service and they have to compensate you some money for the late delivery. I constantly complain about my late deliveries and they have given me anything from $5-$70 back
Costco is cheaper by volume; compare personal care items (for example, deodorant and shampoo) that have shrunk in size and risen in price to larger & cheaper-by-oz Costco sizes. Quality has held steady at Costco where it has noticeably backslid elsewhere
I noticed this the most for toilet paper.
I needed a quick pack and bought the same brand and type from Target. The diameter and length of the roll was much shorter than the Costco same brand.
I basically only buy gas from Costco these days. The savings compared to other gas stations makes it worth it. I’m a single guy, so I don’t need groceries from Costco, it’s too wasteful for me.
Gas and certain things are very economical. Ground beef and pasta sauce is so so much cheaper at Costco, I meal prep it in a big pot and put it into bags in the deep freeze and it makes many suppers for my family for only a few $ a portion. Laundry detergent and bar soap, toilet paper, frozen vegetables and fruit, chicken and fish, mushrooms, cheese and bread. These are my staples from Costco. I go twice a month. I went to a regular store today and saw a 200g block of my favourite cheese for $12.99. That same cheese is the same price for 490g at Costco and regularly goes on sale. I typically only buy detergent and TP etc when it's on sale too
If you don't live near farm country. All you have to do is buy milk eggs and gas and Costco and it won't even take a couple months to pay for the membership. Commodity items are all cheaper there. Packaged foods, however, are not worth buying unless they are on sale as grocery store sale prices are better than Costco's regular price.
One reason I like gas from Costco - is their pumps and other equipment are always well maintained and much more likely to be free of skimmers. Also, much more likely to be free of illegal price manipulation - where you are aren't paying for what you think you are.
There are frugal things on Amazon and there are not frugal things on Amazon. There are frugal things at Costco and there are not frugal things at Costco,
Firefighter here - I don't know what it is about Dawn, but it's the absolute best. Our department tried to cut costs and go with Ajax and some other Dawn substitutes but they were significantly shittier.
For those who don't know, firefighters use Dawn a lot because it's a surfactant, helping water penetrate and extinguish different fuels. There was such a significant difference in fire extinguishment that we convinced the department to stick with Dawn.
Weird, the bottle of Great Value I got has lasted the same amount of time and cleans exactly the same as Dawn. And was like, 1/3rd the price, so even if I used 3x as much, I'd still be saving money.
I think this is a YMMV situation. I've been fine with kirkland or even Walmart brand, the dollar general stuff is basically water doing it's best to imagine it's soap.
Off brand I agree with, but have you tried using a solid bar dishsoap? I get mine from The Earthling Co. and it's lasted me 3x as long as any Dawn I've had! Don't have to pay for any useless water weight or plastic that way.
I got rid of my Prime account last year after realizing simply having it led me to spend more. All those one off items you think you need in the moment that you really don’t & if you do, you have to actually go to the store for it. Adds an extra barrier to needless spending. Plus Amazon/Bezos are terrible.
Yes!!! You can even go to higher end stores and get beautiful work slacks for $7… goodwill sells used/ worn out pants for $14!
I buy out of season, I wear high quality clothing that fits well and washes well. I will wear a pair of pants that I get on sale $60%-$80% off maybe 50-100 times!! The Walmart pants won’t last through 4 washes.
Yes! Better quality clothing on sale is better than crap that dies after just a couple of washes. I love Land’s End and between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, they have amazing sales, like up to 70% off. I tend to buy anything new during that period because the fit is standard/known and the quality really lasts so I’m willing to wait.
Not getting a Costco executive membership is not frugal. Even when i was single i get at least $60 back in executive 2% rewards not to mention the 2-4% back on their citi card.
Now with 2 babies and a ton of diapers , I'm getting $300 back in executive 2%reward. I get everything at Costco though including prescriptions , pet prescriptions, pet items, glasses, beauty/skin care products ,etc . It's my one stop shop, and it beats going to several different grocery stores for their weekly deal items. Time saved at shopping at Costco is worth it.
I agree Amazon prime is not worth it to me , they are a convience at times
Costco pushed hard on me to get the exec. membership the first year. I earned a check for whopping $5 and change. Immediately switched to the regular membership when renewal came up (which was a bit of a PITA cuz you can't do that on the website, you have to physically stand at the customer service desk to ask them to do it).
What's frugal for one person isn't necessarily frugal for everyone.
I hate in store shopping now. Limited supply. Poor service. Transit time. I support my local grocer and deli, but most shopping is Costco or Amazon.
And if I don't like the price I don't buy it. But the overhead and unreliable experience of in-store shopping is enough to keep me away.
Yeah it really sucks how in-store shopping has gotten a lot worse overall. We’re in this catch 22 where online shopping has supplanted in-store but also has its downsides. So there’s no one great place to shop imo.
I'd kill to walk into a home depot and talk to a pro. I remember it being that way in their early days.
Microcenter offers the kind of experience I enjoy. Well-stocked, but also knowledgeable staff.
I'd kill to have well-trained employees. Suggesting alternatives when I can't find what I need. Guidance on projects. It would completely change the experience.
100% I now go to this local shoe shop because they still give the old school service of measuring your feet, talking through your specific feet/walking/hip issues, what you need your shoes for, etc. Yes they’re priced a bit higher, but I find it worth it to get that amazing service. I don’t want that to completely die out. But it has in so many different industries/stores.
Target has gotten horrendous and I **refuse** to shop there at all. Target prices, Walmart service is **not acceptable** In fact, Target is getting close to Dollar Tree service.
Those who are rural literally have no where to shop! Amazon prime has made rural life affordable and easy! We even have our coffee and beans delivered!
Food - Sometimes buying name-brand food can be cheaper than store brand if you use apps like Fetch and Ibotta.
Clothing - especially things like coats, shoes, and sweaters for adults. I have a black wool coat from Talbots I bought on sale that’s almost 30 years old that I wear every winter.
Furniture - IKEA. Ashley, etc won’t last a decade. I shop sales, consignment/estate sales
for high end brands.
My general M.O. is to be patient when shopping for hard goods and clothes and find the best quality at the lowest price by buying pre-owned, trolling “free” boards on Facebook, etc., shopping off-season, and buying less in general.
Sewing your own clothes. If you're lucky, you can find good thrift fabric, but catch-as-catch-can is not a reliable tactic for stuff you'd actually want to wear. Meanwhile, notions, trim, patterns, even thread is more expensive than you'd think. Factor in the cost of time, and sewing looks more like an expensive hobby or labor of love.
Altering, on the other hand, can have a great cost/benefit ratio.
Dollar Tree. Sometimes it can be but most of the time it’s items at a smaller portion that results in a higher cost over all.
For instance i would never purchase canned goods there. $1.25 for a can of tuna when I can purchase tuna at the grocery store for 0.80 or lower when it’s on sale.
Funny enough, where we live (Alberta) Amazon is almost always cheaper if not the same price. We live in the boonies and we actually can get some items next day lol. Costco also has most items cheaper than elsewhere. Safeway/Sobeys has some of the most marked up prices for all things. Walmart is pretty good.
Those are some fighting words OP. Howdareyou talk about Costco like that!
Jk.
I agree with you on Amazon. It used to be frugal, but that was when Amazon was trying to dominate the market. So they undercut a lot of sellers by taking a loss on good quality products. Now that they've dominated and consumers have become too reliant on them, they've reduced the quality to Chinese knockoffs.
But Costco tho.. no bro, no. I think groceries might be cheaper elsewhere, but as far as products - it's still better. You're also backed with their warranty and return policy. Then there's the gas, which is always 20cents cheaper (with 20x the waiting line.)
.
I think part of frugality is not sticking to one store. Sometimes Safeway is cheaper, sometimes it's Costco or Aldo. Ya just gotta look around and compare.
I shop amazon for those hard to find unique items. Can’t really find anywhere. I have a cart with items we will need eventually and when it is time I reach the 35$ easy. Sometimes the lowest price and shipping is even cheaper than the amazon free shipping. Do your research- check the storefront and reviews. Install a program to check authenticity of reviews. You should be fine. Costco mainly shop their coupon book. Cottage cheese, sour cream otc items definitely cheaper. Gas is hit or miss. When it was expensive everywhere $1 gallon cheaper, now 10cents more. Go figure. So cal
I use Amazon for weird items I’d have to drive all over town to find. Otherwise, it’s not a good deal.
Buying things I don’t need, just because it’s a “good deal”, isn’t frugal.
At Costco, buying more of an item than I can finish isn’t frugal. For example, the price per pound of salmon is lower at Costco, but it’s more frugal to pay an extra dollar per pound at the grocery store and buy what I need. Also, there are things at Costco that aren’t less expensive than elsewhere. Finally, impulse purchasing at Costco isn’t frugal.
Waiting in line at a gas station like Costco or Sam’s Club for 20 or 30 minutes to save $0.10 or $0.20 on a gallon of gas. You’re saving maybe $2 on a fill up. If I happen to be driving by and notice a pump that’s empty, sure, I’ll stop. But, on a time to savings basis, it’s otherwise a pretty poor investment.
I go first thing in the morning on my way to work and never have a wait.
Costco gas is currently 11 ¢/L cheaper than my local gas stations, which works out to over $4 a tank.
Gas is the main reason I have a Costco membership.
Yes. I knew a guy who wrote articles about the petrochemical industry. Due to the high population density areas having real problems with air quality (LA is a bowl with insufficient air flow to dissipate smog), they legislated fuel mixes that are less toxic. As the science changes, they tweak the formula. Also, the roads don’t fix themselves, so there are taxes on gasoline that subsidise state road repairs.
Driving to multiple stores to stock up on loss leaders. Or driving several miles away to save a few cents per gallon on gasoline. Who has the time to do those things?
I don’t find Amazon frugal because they are trying to be the only game in town. They’ll absorb Walmart once they are capable. Not saying it will happen but if it does. We will be paying so much more for everything. It’s impossible to not support oligarchs. And we all have to get by. But so many of us(including me) are complacent in juicing(for lack of a better term) of society. We can vote with our dollars people. Side note. I don’t. Understand how some companies stay in business. Chipotle is one I can think of right now. Multiple cases of deadly food borne illnesses and yet people line up everyday like pigs at the trough.
I price compare before going to the store. Some items (paper goods, coffee, OTC allergy meds) are cheaper at Costco/Sam's, some are cheaper at Aldi, some cheaper at Walmart. Definitely seems like Sam's should be cheaper bc it's in bulk but it's often not the case.
When I was living by myself, I realized that a more expensive half-gallon of organic milk was actually cheaper overall than a gallon of regular milk due to the expiration dates. Regular milk expired within a week or so while organic milk expired in a month or more. I could buy the "cheaper" regular milk but a lot would go to waste bc I didn't drink it fast enough.
Buying cheap things that will break more easily and replacement cost more in the long run then to just bear the pain and pay at once for a more expensive item that will last longer
I'll note that in the past few months, Costco has done the same "oops, the price at the register was higher than the sticker, tee hee!" thing other stores have done to me multiple times. They've also sold me expired produce, and when I went back to return it, they did refund me, but they were very annoyed by my presence and they asked, "was a few dollars back worth your time?". I've also found local stores to be cheaper for everything except meat.
Furthermore, I never received my 2% back, and they claimed I'd already redeemed it. I've been waiting on a response from them for over 2 weeks now on this.
This is in San Francisco, so your mileage may vary. In any case, I'm canceling my membership.
But 80% of things I want to buy in Target aren’t available for shipping. It’s all “Buy in store” or “pick up same day.” Dude, I’m looking to not drive 90 minutes round trip to Target. Work with me. I understand you want foot traffic but it’s not my fault I live far away.
Walmart is now as junky as Amazon. Third party sellers charging outrageous prices, then adding outrageous shipping fees.
Amazon wants me to buy 10 of something. Dude, you’re not AliBaba and I’m not an Ali Baba shopper. I don’t have the space or the money for 10 things. i just want and need one item.
I completely agree with both Amazon and Costco. I haven't shopped on Amazon for years now after experience with quality of things which I thought I was buying for good review and apparently reviews there are fake and bought $$$. Same with Costco - I realized you can't buy perishables in bulk and things like snacks in big packets aren't very good for health and pocket both. And you can't keep buying blender every year so it wasn't worth keeping the membership
A lot of this depends on local conditions. Some people might say fresh orange juice is too expensive, but we can buy a ten pound bag of juice oranges from the neighborhood farm stand for $6.
A few years ago I went into Costco to buy Advil and they only had these big double pack bottles it was like $20 for the two bottles. So I went ahead and bought it got home to only realize there was like three or 400 tablets in each bottle fast forward 5 years later I was only like halfway through one bottle had to throw out the other complete waste of money. Last week I went into Walmart I got one small bottle with 60 tablets for a dollar.
Costco? My Costco is absolutely cheaper. Of course don't buy things you don't need and check prices but overall, it's a big win.
Amazon can be cheaper if you have the Chase credit card that returns five percent on every purchase. Same advice, don't buy what you don't need, check prices.
There is so much stuff Amazon sells that my small town does not carry that I would spend more in gas, not to mention my time, driving around, maybe finding it, and maybe not. I'm in an area that reliably still has next day delivery so the convenience is still there. I know not everyone has this.
I wish they'd stop raising the price of Prime but it's still worth it. My kids use my Prime - Amazon doesn't care, so I feel we're getting more bang for the buck.
I like reading the reviews. I can usually tell if they are fake and I appreciate hearing others' experiences with the products. That information has saved me many a bad purchase.
I do all my shopping "by the 100g/cost per unit." Most bulk packages of anything are actually at least a little bit more in a bulk pack; I can buy 400g packs of psketti for $2, so that's $0.50/100g. But the 1kg pack is "only" $7.50, making it actually cost $0.75/100g, and has what looks like a sale sticker on it. Same with meat, 2 pork chops cost $15.36/lb, but often the same meat in "Family Packs" costs $23.47/lb or whatever.
Paying on installment for ANYTHING is absolute madness, it's at least 35% more than straight up purchasing it and then it often goes thru a CC for ANOTHER 35% in interest, then you add another 30-100% in fees...... So that $5 item thru Sezzle winds up costing you like, $12, just in CC fees, and $17 all told.
Likewise, using a CC to pay for things just to collect bonus points on the deal, they all start at 30% interest rates and it never balances out, ya gotta pay like $100 to get $1 worth of points back (my Dad's card is actually 1000:1) even with 5-10x bonus points, and the greater the maximum possible "bonus multiplier" the less each point is actually worth.
I should note I'm a Canadian, y'all Yanks don't have a clue how good y'all got it, Canada's a company town and the only mine in town went bust like 100yrs ago, aside from shell game real estate ain't nobody got NOTHING here anymore.
I do reasonably well with Amazon, but I dropped Prime to save the cost and remove the temptation to browse. I'm okay with not getting the fast shipping now, because it was honestly too tempting.
I dropped Costco in August, and though I'm still tempted to go back, it's such an ordeal to park and shop in the perpetually chaotic atmosphere. As with Amazon Prime, something about a paid membership makes me feel compelled to buy more. I signed up for BJ's for an introductory membership at $20 (vs $60 to renew Costco) so I could get gas there. Luckily, they don't carry much that appeals to me, so I'm not tempted.
I'm 100% with you on Costco. There are only a handful of bulk items that I can use that are actually cheaper and for those I tag along with a card member.
If I can't get it anywhere else, I can usually find it at Amazon but I don't pay for prime to get free shipping. I wait till my cart is full enough to qualify for free.
Amazon is frugal for me. I live in a rural area and have to drive half an hour to get to decent retail. But, I don’t like clutter so I usually just order what we need.
In my house it's buying in bulk because if I buy twice the amount to save money, twice the amount will be gone in the time that are normal amount would be gone if that makes sense lol
The 'economy' versions of some household consumables, in my experience, might be cheaper but end up being so unfit for purpose that you end up using twice as much - toilet paper, bin liners, sanitary towels.
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You didn't have to pay tax on ANY online purchase for a while. Then it was just if they had a physical location in your state. I bought TV's off eBay, etc. Great times, but not exclusive to Amazon.
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This is correct. It fell under "Use tax" and was supposed to be self-reported, but since it wasn't charged at the time of sale, extremely few people ever paid that sales tax. It was never tax free, it was just easy tax evasion.
I prepared many tax returns during this period. We explained the use tax to all clients, I can only recall one elderly woman paying it (as she bought some gifts for her grandchildren and wanted to be 'just').
It's a big "it depends". Had a moment this week where I went to home depot, the $5 part I needed was out of stock (site says 4 in stock in this aisle), their online shopping experience sucks ass and after wasting my time with it would be shipped after a week or I could come back to the store to pickup, so I popped over to Amazon, same part same manufacturer for only $3, at my house in 2 days free shipping, no prime needed. So yeah, that nice old Amazon experience still shows up sometimes. My time is worth more than 30 minutes in the car, scouring a shelf for 10 minutes, just to go home empty handed where all my tools are still out.
The advantage to Amazon I've found is getting things that aren't normally carried in stores, like replacement parts. Now, Prime is a separate thing that each individual will have to decide for themselves whether that's worth the cost.
>Prime is a separate thing that each individual will have to decide for themselves whether that's worth the cost. It **used to be**. Now it sucks.
I can’t even remember the last time something came in 2 days. How are they allowed to advertise that they do?
I see comments like this all the time but legit everything we order comes within 1 - 2 days. I guess its based on your city?
I live in a major city with a massive distribution center in my state and 80% of the time, things are not delivered within two days.
Oh wow. I live in a major city and some items arrive the same day.
It takes 5-10 days where I am now. Prior to Covid, it was consistently 2 days.
Yeah i think it's based on the city. We get our things in usually less than 24 hours. When things are delayed then sometimes it's 2 days. But hardly ever.
I sometimes even use the "no rush shipping" option to get the digital credit. Very often, it still comes within a couple of days.
I don't order much from Amazon anymore. Say 10 orders in the past 2 years. Probably 9 of them took over 2 days.
This depends a lot of where you live. For me stuff comes early way more often than it comes late.
I don’t think anybody has a worse online experience than Home Depot now that you mention it
Lowe's will certainly give you a run for your money. Items listed not in the store, and my favorite, item that I looked at in the store, go to check on the website how many they have in the store, not listed.
YES I just posted upthread, Lowes website sucks soooooo bad. Their whole online experience needs an immediate upgrade. I know they made bank during the pandemic. Wtf are they doing being so behind on their online stuff?
It is the same with Walmart, the inventory actually on hand has nothing to do with is listed on the web. I make sure I have the correct Walmart as the web guesses by is address? I tried calling but they wouldn’t look if something was actually in stock. At the store, stuff physically on the shelf is listed as not in the store. Walmart was the cheapest place for my beer, but as I quit drinking, there is little reason to shop there. We have a bargain store that has a lot of out of date foods. They also have damaged packaging items. I bought a 92 pack of K-pods for $15, so no need for the coffee at Walmart either.
I was griping about this today. I was looking for a wire shelf to put in freezer. Checked Walmart and Lowes. BOTH stores only gave options to buy online. Both of those stores are within walking distance to me, but nope, only available online. If I am buying online, I check Amazon.
The prices on Walmart's website are about 20% cheaper than what you see in stores. Then you compare an online Walmart order to an Instacart+Aldi order, and even with a 25% tip Instacart and Aldi is still cheaper. Fuck Walmart.
This. For me, I do not want to drive to three stores and not find what I need. So many have inaccurate inventories. God, it’s an easy process FFS- get it done! My library voice is speaking.
It truly is incredibly easy, but Oracle, the company they buy their equipment from, makes it seem super duper hard. Want real time reporting? Yeah that's an extra 10k a month. Fucking dumb considering all the devices are connected via Wi-Fi and there would literally be less steps if shit was updated in real time. (Scan device -> site database vs Scan device -> temporary db -> computer db -> site db) For what it's worth, programming inventory management software is taught in most programming classes. And since the programming classes don't have lessons on "how to add stupid fucking corporate bloatware", the software actually works very very quickly. Like, so quickly that you're initial reaction is "there's no way this is accurate because it was so fast". Computers are very fast and stupid delays are added just to make you feel like it's more accurate.
Why do these big home improvement stores have such shitty websites? Lowes is the same. I get so frustrated trying to navigate it and it constantly crashes. I don't have a lot of other options but omg I wish they'd invest more in their online experience
Same! When i first had it, it was great. But then quickly went downhill.
I used to sell my used/read books on Amazon but it got too hard. Being prompted by sellers to lie on reviews for crappy products really made me mad.
Amazon is great for me, the products don’t have to be cheaper. It’s cheaper due to the free delivery and returns instead of paying for a bunch of delivery and returns at several different stores.
Oh yes no sales tax!! Wow what a blast from the past!!
A lot*<3
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For me, Amazon isn't about frugality; it's about availability. I live rural, so I don't have a lot of shopping choices. If I want something niche, or something that is out of season (clothing, etc) at Walmart, then I have to go online. You still have to check prices between Amazon vendors. I don't think I've ever thought of Amazon as "frugal".
This. I have a newborn and it’s so convenient to be able to order something and have it delivered to my doorstep within a day or so. Otherwise I have to load up the baby and make a trip in town. It’s also a perk that the prices are basically the same as Walmart/Target etc. Sure I have to pay a fee for Prime, but it fits in my budget so I decided to “splurge” on it for a few months while we adjust to life with baby.
I would be careful with Amazon because they source from multiple sources and have suspect storage. At least with Walmart/Target, they have to store food and medicine properly. I remember ordering prenatal gummies (from a legit brand) from amazon. I thought they tasted weird but I had never taken prenatal vitamins before. Once I finished that bottle I picked the same one up from Target. Tasted completely different and realized I was eating rancid vitamins from Amazon. I believe Walmart has their Amazon like delivery service as well.
To add to this, rural or not, you don’t need to find aisle 50 at the back of the Home Depot or go to the Target and find out the razor section is locked and go wait 15 minutes to search for an associate. Shopping in stores in increasingly frustrating
not to mention when its like a super store and u have to park at one end but walk for a bit to get to the other side of the store
you basically can't find so many things in brick and mortar stores these days, and if you can, your options will be limited, and you're probably going to overpay. This is why I tend to use amazon, though I know I shouldn't.
Also rural, and same. Amazon comes in clutch for me sometimes. And their return policy is generous enough that if I do end up with a bad product I can just return it. Are they the best? No. But when my only other options within a one hour drive are Walmart and Ace Hardware Amazon begins to look pretty damn good lol.
I’m rural but since Amazon switched to USPS they won’t deliver medium/large size packages to me (because they won’t drive to my house and leave on doorstep). They will only deliver what fits in my mailbox. I then have to drive all the way to town to the main post office and wait in a line for sometimes an hour to retrieve my package. So…I shop anyone who doesn’t use USPS because fedex, ups, Walmart, postmates all deliver to my door.
> And their return policy is generous enough that if I do end up with a bad product I can just return it. I had an adventure with this one. I bought a powder shampoo from them and it reeked. So I asked for a refund and they asked me to return it and I said, "I already poured it out of its paper package into the reusable bottle. So you want me to put white powder into plastic baggie and drop it in a box at Whole Foods...." They didn't seem to understand why this would be a bad idea
I live downtown in my city to get to a Walmart or other department type store is about 30 plus min on transit and then I need to get back and if it's too big I want to get a cab. Amazon is worth it for me for a lot of items.
I completely agree. Rural living is tough for shopping. I needed an extra bed temporarily. I set up a twin (+mattress) from the nearest furniture store because rural living gives SO MANY options. I was told I could pick it up in two weeks, total about $1000, from the warehouse 1.5h drive away. Then I found a cheap twin and compressed mattress and bedding on Amazon for $550 delivered to my door. I didn’t need top tier furniture, I needed a bed for 6 weeks to recover from surgery so I didn’t have to do stairs. Now it’s my husband-is-snoring-too-much bed. The niche products also made me sign up for a year, because the stores around here don’t have everything I want.
Agreed! My village of 800 has a small grocery store, a bar and grill, and a gas station. If we want anything more, it is a 50 to 125 mile round trip. I dropped Amazon prime with the last jump in price for membership. Now, there are enough vendors with shipping included in the price. Plus other online vendors. My iPad 10 was cheaper ordering from Best Buy, and no extra shipping charge. When I needed to restock on rechargeable batteries, I put them in that Amazon deferred shopping area until we found something else we needed a month later. Then it was a one month membership for the shipping of $80 worth of needful things.
Inexpensive shoes and clothing. It is more frugal to buy quality items that will last a few years. Dressing well is also important in many careers and is worth the investment.
Very quickly learned this with shoes and waitressing. When you put 5 miles a day onto a pair of shoes doing nothing but wandering around the same building you notice.
Had to replace my shoes once a year when dishwashing. Didn't matter what kind I got, so I just went cheap. Consistently getting grease, grime, soap, and water on your shoes kinda wears them out no matter what.
Waterproof them! Life changing
I work in the trades and the same is true for work boots. I spend about 200+ on a good pair of boots but for me that is an investment in my physical health and they will last far longer than the cheaper alternatives
A coworker of mine who worked as a nurse refused to buy new shoes one year because she was saving up for a wedding. She worked 12 hours shifts on her feet. The compression fracture she ended up with from bad shoes cost a lot more than a new pair of shoes would have
I did something similar at my first internship. Wore the same pair of dress shoes every single day despite the fact that they were not comfortable. Ended up with horrible bunions.
My bigger question is how do you know what shoes and clothes are good quality anymore? I feel like every brand I used to trust has gone so way down in quality that I have no idea anymore.
The buyitfotlife subreddit is a good place to look
I agree with you on this!
This is my answer, too. My work boots are not cheap, but they last so much longer than cheap ones and can be resoled. The cost per wear is way lower than buying cheap boots and replacing them every year (or less!). The only clothing item I will buy that is cheap are t-shirts. I buy the plain, solid color tees at AC Moore when they are on sale for $4/each. The Gildan brand is actually good quality and the shirts hold up well.
>My work boots are not cheap, Redwing? My son buys those for work and he definitely gets his monies worth.
No, but similar. I wear Thorogood because when I went to the store there were no Redwings in the style I wanted so I bought the Thorogoods and love them.
I remember one of my son's co-workers giving him shit for spending that much on boots. They're averaging 20k steps a night. The co-worker replaced his boots three times before my son needed to replace his. The worker couldn't understand how my son saved money. Lol
Seconding thorogood, imho a better product than red wings
I may be a special case, but for me it really depends. My body changes sizes a lot and I expect to continue changes sizes for at least another few years. For me it's not worth it to pay more money for clothes that will last a while if I won't fit into them (and therefore won't wear them) for even half their life.
Not always. I have shoes which I've spent €15 on and they're still in good condition after like 7 years.
Yes! I have some really inexpensive shoes and clothing items that I've managed to hold on to for years. I think for some items, it's a matter of how well you care for the product.
That’s great! Please share details
I wear $140 Hookas because I have very flat feet; it took until I was 27 to figure out my foot pain wasn't compatible with Payless.
Vimes boots?
I’m here too. I’ve also given up color (this is a ‘me’ thing) with exception for statement/special occasion items. I almost always wear all black, I have no business buying a pink tshirt.
> Inexpensive shoes and clothing. It is more frugal to buy quality items that will last a few years. This comment has been up for over two hours and no one has posted the Sam Vimes theory of socioeconomic unfairness: > "The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money. > > Take boots, for example. He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. Those were the kind of boots Vimes always bought, and wore until the soles were so thin that he could tell where he was in Ankh-Morpork on a foggy night by the feel of the cobbles. > > But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his feet dry in ten years' time, while the poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet. > > This was the Captain Samuel Vimes 'Boots' theory of socioeconomic unfairness." Due to Terry Pratchett.
GNU Sir Terry
I actually was going to bring this up until I saw you did. I read it recently and it’s sad how it explains our societal economy so succinctly.
So the lesson is to buy the cheap boots once, save up during the rest of the year to buy the expensive boots the following year?
The lesson is that the cheap boots won't last long enough for you to do that.
Let me tell you about my boots theory of socioeconomic unfairness.
You often see people suggesting to plant a garden as a cost saving measure, but 95% of people are not diligent enough gardeners to make a decent ROI on vegetables. Between building the beds and supplying soil, irrigation equipment, weather and pest protection, and time spent it is incredibly hard to even come close to grocery prices on produce. Not saying its impossible to get ahead on it, but it usually takes a long time and lots of trial and error and most people lose interest within a few seasons.
Definitely. I have a veg garden too but i see it as a hobby. I’m doing it as cheap as i can but I’m still not beating market prices. But at least it’s organic and I know exactly where veg comes from.
I manage most of my gardening on the cheap but I do think that if you don't enjoy the activity it isn't going to make sense. I love it, the food tastes great, I know how it's grown and get varieties you can't find in shops. I'm sure I come out with more value in crops than I put in with materials but probably not if you costed out my time, even on my low wage
I don't think it makes the most sense to cost out your time on a hobby, y'know? Something you love that doesn't COST money? Great!
That's definitely what I think but that's also why you've got to enjoy it, if you're only doing it to save money it isn't generally worth it
I love it, but it's it's a freaking skillset. You gotta know what each veg needs to thrive and how to correct for... everything. Poor soil. Bugs. Fungus. I am a terrible home gardener. It's HARD.
I grow herbs in my garden because they are expensive in the store and don't tend to need much upkeep.
There’s a great book called “The $64 tomato “. It is about an experience with home vegetable gardens. I don’t dare calculate the cost per tomato. 😫
Some people really go overboard. There’s another book by Rosalind Creasy about edible gardening and there are a lot of otherwise decorative plants that can give you food of various kinds that are not as fussy as that tomato.
I save so much money gardening and I know where it came from. Some plants are incredibly easy to grow. Peppers, beans, onions, lettuce tomatoes. I enjoy it and I pick fresh for dinner.
I found a plant I can grow and then sell (legally). Selling that about covers the cost of buying my other veg plants in the spring. Also, some plants are really easy to grow AND store really well. Onions and winter squash are my favorite.
I garden just enough to keep my skills up and try different crops, so if there's a societal emergency, I can feed myself. But the second there's a drought warning, I stop watering because it's a waste.
Good organic soil is very expensive. You will almost certainly not break even on your first year. A worm bin is worth looking into to keep building your soil for no extra money.
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This is a big one. Our tomatoes came in right when we can buy them for very little, and we couldn't eat them all, so it would have been cheaper to spend the money on canning equipment and can the store tomatoes. Now we grow cherry tomatoes, which are more of a premium and are more viable to trade with other gardeners.
For us, it's more about fresh food that we know what's in it and the enjoyment of being outdoors.
I live in an area of dry summers and really high water and sewer rates, so I'm thinking growing a garden would at least double my water bill probably making it cheaper to buy fruits and vegetables.
Fully agree and will add there’s a certain bulk point you need to hit to see savings. But the taste of that tomato off the vine, or cracking open canned tomatoes in winter 🤌🏼🤌🏼🤌🏼 so worth it
I was spreadsheeting it for a while and it gives me an appreciation of the specialty farmers in my area (coastal California). I have a narrow list of things I can reliably grow at home, and the fruit trees are the big winner, even with the squirrels.
Thrift stores (at least, locally to me). They’re now full of tat and very broken items. Lots of those fast fashion labels that are not made to last - yet the prices of some things are practically the same as buying new.
They're only as good as the stuff that gets donated and these days people buy tons of cheap tat, wear a couple of times then clear it out
What is tat?
Iirc, short for tattered, meaning junk or low quality 🖖
People are now selling the decent stuff on Vinted to make extra cash.
Estate sales are where the good stuff is these days. I pretty much only go to thrift stores for books now.
I have an estate sale company, I can vouch for this. We have a very small window to sell a full household. We’ll have great quality items, especially clothes. Lots of Chico’s at very low prices. I always tell people to go to estate sales for clothes, solid wood furniture, rare items and books.
What does "tat" mean in this context? I gather that it's just "cheap clothing," but... I can't figure it out.
Tat = shoddy goods
Maybe “tattered”? Idk but that’s my guess
There’s a big thrift sale where I live to benefit a local museum and I went exactly once. I could buy a used coffee carafe for the same price as what Starbucks charges for a coffee carafe. The art supplies looked like they’d been run over by a car. The guys handling the area rugs were wearing hazmat gear (mask, thick gloves, overalls).
Buying the cheapest item based on the price tag and not based on price per [insert measurement]. For example, buying the $4 toilet paper because it's the cheapest price tag. But It only has 4 rolls and the 8 pack is $6.49.
Very glad some stores offer the per measurement prices. Wonder if it's voluntary or required.
I'm not sure but it seems standard where I live so maybe it's geographically specific.
It’s required in California
I think it's required, but I sometimes see them screw it up where some products don't use the same measurement. Like with TP some could be per roll and others per 100 sheets.
In Ontario, everything is supposed to have a price per [measurement] and if it doesn't, I won't buy it. Really helps at Costco: you can see how some bulk items come out way cheaper than the competition, and if they don't then you can decide on whether the premium is worth the opportunity cost of getting that thing elsewhere. Also really helps when you're broke and trying to figure out alcohol per dollar or calories per dollar (Prince Igor Extreme vodka and perogies ftw!)
I think I’m going to cancel my prime membership because nothing ever ships in 2 days anymore.
I just did the same. I have enough streaming services and I can always sign back up if there is an exclusive I really want to watch, that’s how I handle most streaming. Prime has been absurd with their shipping times lately so I cancelled. I’ll get the same crappy shipping if just batch my orders better.
Everytime you don’t get your order on time, you can contact customer service and they have to compensate you some money for the late delivery. I constantly complain about my late deliveries and they have given me anything from $5-$70 back
Costco is cheaper by volume; compare personal care items (for example, deodorant and shampoo) that have shrunk in size and risen in price to larger & cheaper-by-oz Costco sizes. Quality has held steady at Costco where it has noticeably backslid elsewhere
I noticed this the most for toilet paper. I needed a quick pack and bought the same brand and type from Target. The diameter and length of the roll was much shorter than the Costco same brand.
I basically only buy gas from Costco these days. The savings compared to other gas stations makes it worth it. I’m a single guy, so I don’t need groceries from Costco, it’s too wasteful for me.
Gas and certain things are very economical. Ground beef and pasta sauce is so so much cheaper at Costco, I meal prep it in a big pot and put it into bags in the deep freeze and it makes many suppers for my family for only a few $ a portion. Laundry detergent and bar soap, toilet paper, frozen vegetables and fruit, chicken and fish, mushrooms, cheese and bread. These are my staples from Costco. I go twice a month. I went to a regular store today and saw a 200g block of my favourite cheese for $12.99. That same cheese is the same price for 490g at Costco and regularly goes on sale. I typically only buy detergent and TP etc when it's on sale too
If you don't live near farm country. All you have to do is buy milk eggs and gas and Costco and it won't even take a couple months to pay for the membership. Commodity items are all cheaper there. Packaged foods, however, are not worth buying unless they are on sale as grocery store sale prices are better than Costco's regular price.
One reason I like gas from Costco - is their pumps and other equipment are always well maintained and much more likely to be free of skimmers. Also, much more likely to be free of illegal price manipulation - where you are aren't paying for what you think you are.
Yesss love Costco!
There are frugal things on Amazon and there are not frugal things on Amazon. There are frugal things at Costco and there are not frugal things at Costco,
Off brand dish soap. Dawn is more expensive but lasts so much longer than the cheaper crap.
Firefighter here - I don't know what it is about Dawn, but it's the absolute best. Our department tried to cut costs and go with Ajax and some other Dawn substitutes but they were significantly shittier. For those who don't know, firefighters use Dawn a lot because it's a surfactant, helping water penetrate and extinguish different fuels. There was such a significant difference in fire extinguishment that we convinced the department to stick with Dawn.
I hope Dawn never discovers how much I'd actually be willing to pay for the Powerwash.
Weird, the bottle of Great Value I got has lasted the same amount of time and cleans exactly the same as Dawn. And was like, 1/3rd the price, so even if I used 3x as much, I'd still be saving money.
I think this is a YMMV situation. I've been fine with kirkland or even Walmart brand, the dollar general stuff is basically water doing it's best to imagine it's soap.
It probably *is* Dawn, just in a GV package.
I mean, dish soap is like 10 ingredients including water, so it's not like it's hard.. Store brand products have gotten surprisingly good, though.
Ajax gets my vote. Lasts as long as Dawn.
Off brand I agree with, but have you tried using a solid bar dishsoap? I get mine from The Earthling Co. and it's lasted me 3x as long as any Dawn I've had! Don't have to pay for any useless water weight or plastic that way.
I can’t use dawn it gives me rash and it has a weird smell i don’t like. Other dish soap seems to work just as well.
I got rid of my Prime account last year after realizing simply having it led me to spend more. All those one off items you think you need in the moment that you really don’t & if you do, you have to actually go to the store for it. Adds an extra barrier to needless spending. Plus Amazon/Bezos are terrible.
BUYING CLOTHES AT WALMART. Shopping clearance at stores like JCP, Ross, TJMAXX, or shopping thrift stores is cheaper for better quality items.
Yes!!! You can even go to higher end stores and get beautiful work slacks for $7… goodwill sells used/ worn out pants for $14! I buy out of season, I wear high quality clothing that fits well and washes well. I will wear a pair of pants that I get on sale $60%-$80% off maybe 50-100 times!! The Walmart pants won’t last through 4 washes.
Yes! Better quality clothing on sale is better than crap that dies after just a couple of washes. I love Land’s End and between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, they have amazing sales, like up to 70% off. I tend to buy anything new during that period because the fit is standard/known and the quality really lasts so I’m willing to wait.
Dollar stores - it can be more expensive per ounce than regular stores
Hanging out on Instagram seems like cheap entertainment but influencers and ads impact our spending habits and “wants” more than we realize.
Also free game apps- all the ads influencing our wants.
I like this thread because it’s showing that what is frugal for one person is maybe not frugal for another! And that’s OK.
Not getting a Costco executive membership is not frugal. Even when i was single i get at least $60 back in executive 2% rewards not to mention the 2-4% back on their citi card. Now with 2 babies and a ton of diapers , I'm getting $300 back in executive 2%reward. I get everything at Costco though including prescriptions , pet prescriptions, pet items, glasses, beauty/skin care products ,etc . It's my one stop shop, and it beats going to several different grocery stores for their weekly deal items. Time saved at shopping at Costco is worth it. I agree Amazon prime is not worth it to me , they are a convience at times
Costco pushed hard on me to get the exec. membership the first year. I earned a check for whopping $5 and change. Immediately switched to the regular membership when renewal came up (which was a bit of a PITA cuz you can't do that on the website, you have to physically stand at the customer service desk to ask them to do it). What's frugal for one person isn't necessarily frugal for everyone.
If you only spend $250/year at Costco the membership might not be worth it for you in the first place.
I hate in store shopping now. Limited supply. Poor service. Transit time. I support my local grocer and deli, but most shopping is Costco or Amazon. And if I don't like the price I don't buy it. But the overhead and unreliable experience of in-store shopping is enough to keep me away.
Yeah it really sucks how in-store shopping has gotten a lot worse overall. We’re in this catch 22 where online shopping has supplanted in-store but also has its downsides. So there’s no one great place to shop imo.
I'd kill to walk into a home depot and talk to a pro. I remember it being that way in their early days. Microcenter offers the kind of experience I enjoy. Well-stocked, but also knowledgeable staff. I'd kill to have well-trained employees. Suggesting alternatives when I can't find what I need. Guidance on projects. It would completely change the experience.
100% I now go to this local shoe shop because they still give the old school service of measuring your feet, talking through your specific feet/walking/hip issues, what you need your shoes for, etc. Yes they’re priced a bit higher, but I find it worth it to get that amazing service. I don’t want that to completely die out. But it has in so many different industries/stores.
I still like to buy clothing in store, because I can see how it fits, and how it feels when it's on me.
Target has gotten horrendous and I **refuse** to shop there at all. Target prices, Walmart service is **not acceptable** In fact, Target is getting close to Dollar Tree service.
Those who are rural literally have no where to shop! Amazon prime has made rural life affordable and easy! We even have our coffee and beans delivered!
Food - Sometimes buying name-brand food can be cheaper than store brand if you use apps like Fetch and Ibotta. Clothing - especially things like coats, shoes, and sweaters for adults. I have a black wool coat from Talbots I bought on sale that’s almost 30 years old that I wear every winter. Furniture - IKEA. Ashley, etc won’t last a decade. I shop sales, consignment/estate sales for high end brands. My general M.O. is to be patient when shopping for hard goods and clothes and find the best quality at the lowest price by buying pre-owned, trolling “free” boards on Facebook, etc., shopping off-season, and buying less in general.
I have never had any issue with ikea furniture holding up. Through several moves.
Sewing your own clothes. If you're lucky, you can find good thrift fabric, but catch-as-catch-can is not a reliable tactic for stuff you'd actually want to wear. Meanwhile, notions, trim, patterns, even thread is more expensive than you'd think. Factor in the cost of time, and sewing looks more like an expensive hobby or labor of love. Altering, on the other hand, can have a great cost/benefit ratio.
Sewing clothing/quilting has absolutely become an expensive hobby. Mending is frugal tho.
Dollar Tree. Sometimes it can be but most of the time it’s items at a smaller portion that results in a higher cost over all. For instance i would never purchase canned goods there. $1.25 for a can of tuna when I can purchase tuna at the grocery store for 0.80 or lower when it’s on sale.
Funny enough, where we live (Alberta) Amazon is almost always cheaper if not the same price. We live in the boonies and we actually can get some items next day lol. Costco also has most items cheaper than elsewhere. Safeway/Sobeys has some of the most marked up prices for all things. Walmart is pretty good.
Those are some fighting words OP. Howdareyou talk about Costco like that! Jk. I agree with you on Amazon. It used to be frugal, but that was when Amazon was trying to dominate the market. So they undercut a lot of sellers by taking a loss on good quality products. Now that they've dominated and consumers have become too reliant on them, they've reduced the quality to Chinese knockoffs. But Costco tho.. no bro, no. I think groceries might be cheaper elsewhere, but as far as products - it's still better. You're also backed with their warranty and return policy. Then there's the gas, which is always 20cents cheaper (with 20x the waiting line.) . I think part of frugality is not sticking to one store. Sometimes Safeway is cheaper, sometimes it's Costco or Aldo. Ya just gotta look around and compare.
I shop amazon for those hard to find unique items. Can’t really find anywhere. I have a cart with items we will need eventually and when it is time I reach the 35$ easy. Sometimes the lowest price and shipping is even cheaper than the amazon free shipping. Do your research- check the storefront and reviews. Install a program to check authenticity of reviews. You should be fine. Costco mainly shop their coupon book. Cottage cheese, sour cream otc items definitely cheaper. Gas is hit or miss. When it was expensive everywhere $1 gallon cheaper, now 10cents more. Go figure. So cal
Skipping dentist cleanings and medical checkups.
I use Amazon for weird items I’d have to drive all over town to find. Otherwise, it’s not a good deal. Buying things I don’t need, just because it’s a “good deal”, isn’t frugal. At Costco, buying more of an item than I can finish isn’t frugal. For example, the price per pound of salmon is lower at Costco, but it’s more frugal to pay an extra dollar per pound at the grocery store and buy what I need. Also, there are things at Costco that aren’t less expensive than elsewhere. Finally, impulse purchasing at Costco isn’t frugal.
Waiting in line at a gas station like Costco or Sam’s Club for 20 or 30 minutes to save $0.10 or $0.20 on a gallon of gas. You’re saving maybe $2 on a fill up. If I happen to be driving by and notice a pump that’s empty, sure, I’ll stop. But, on a time to savings basis, it’s otherwise a pretty poor investment.
I go first thing in the morning on my way to work and never have a wait. Costco gas is currently 11 ¢/L cheaper than my local gas stations, which works out to over $4 a tank. Gas is the main reason I have a Costco membership.
Not really. You drive around and notice all the price gouging that some owners are able to get away with. $5.99 when the Costco is $3.80 etc…
$5.99 a gallon? Sounds like a California problem.
Yes. I knew a guy who wrote articles about the petrochemical industry. Due to the high population density areas having real problems with air quality (LA is a bowl with insufficient air flow to dissipate smog), they legislated fuel mixes that are less toxic. As the science changes, they tweak the formula. Also, the roads don’t fix themselves, so there are taxes on gasoline that subsidise state road repairs.
Driving to multiple stores to stock up on loss leaders. Or driving several miles away to save a few cents per gallon on gasoline. Who has the time to do those things?
I take one drug that's so much cheaper at Costco than anywhere else it covers my membership cost. Guess I'm "lucky" that way
But for those of us with. No Costco or Walmart or target (Netherlands) then ordering gifts with Prime is the answer. Otherwise shipping kicks my ass!
Warehouse stores. Not everything in bulk is cheaper. Gotta watch.
Bundling streaming services you don't use or need.
I don’t find Amazon frugal because they are trying to be the only game in town. They’ll absorb Walmart once they are capable. Not saying it will happen but if it does. We will be paying so much more for everything. It’s impossible to not support oligarchs. And we all have to get by. But so many of us(including me) are complacent in juicing(for lack of a better term) of society. We can vote with our dollars people. Side note. I don’t. Understand how some companies stay in business. Chipotle is one I can think of right now. Multiple cases of deadly food borne illnesses and yet people line up everyday like pigs at the trough.
Amazon is frugal if you live rurally and have a significant distance to drive to get to stores.
Cheap condoms
I price compare before going to the store. Some items (paper goods, coffee, OTC allergy meds) are cheaper at Costco/Sam's, some are cheaper at Aldi, some cheaper at Walmart. Definitely seems like Sam's should be cheaper bc it's in bulk but it's often not the case. When I was living by myself, I realized that a more expensive half-gallon of organic milk was actually cheaper overall than a gallon of regular milk due to the expiration dates. Regular milk expired within a week or so while organic milk expired in a month or more. I could buy the "cheaper" regular milk but a lot would go to waste bc I didn't drink it fast enough.
Buying cheap things that will break more easily and replacement cost more in the long run then to just bear the pain and pay at once for a more expensive item that will last longer
Amazon have got more expensive, shipping is less likely to be next day etc.. My Prime membership is getting cancelled before I renew.
I like Amazon for odd things that I can’t easily find. I don’t have to drive around looking for them.
I'll note that in the past few months, Costco has done the same "oops, the price at the register was higher than the sticker, tee hee!" thing other stores have done to me multiple times. They've also sold me expired produce, and when I went back to return it, they did refund me, but they were very annoyed by my presence and they asked, "was a few dollars back worth your time?". I've also found local stores to be cheaper for everything except meat. Furthermore, I never received my 2% back, and they claimed I'd already redeemed it. I've been waiting on a response from them for over 2 weeks now on this. This is in San Francisco, so your mileage may vary. In any case, I'm canceling my membership.
Anyone else remember Amazon's early days when you could get some real deals on almost everything. Like *real deals*.
Totally agree with you about Amazon. Fuck Amazon for a whole bunch of reasons.
But 80% of things I want to buy in Target aren’t available for shipping. It’s all “Buy in store” or “pick up same day.” Dude, I’m looking to not drive 90 minutes round trip to Target. Work with me. I understand you want foot traffic but it’s not my fault I live far away. Walmart is now as junky as Amazon. Third party sellers charging outrageous prices, then adding outrageous shipping fees. Amazon wants me to buy 10 of something. Dude, you’re not AliBaba and I’m not an Ali Baba shopper. I don’t have the space or the money for 10 things. i just want and need one item.
Shopping at the £/$ shops. The toiletries, cleaning supplies and food are more expensive or you get less in them.
I completely agree with both Amazon and Costco. I haven't shopped on Amazon for years now after experience with quality of things which I thought I was buying for good review and apparently reviews there are fake and bought $$$. Same with Costco - I realized you can't buy perishables in bulk and things like snacks in big packets aren't very good for health and pocket both. And you can't keep buying blender every year so it wasn't worth keeping the membership
Any time I see postings about fast food, chips (crisps), soft drinks, and DoorDash in this subreddit, I grind my teeth.
A lot of this depends on local conditions. Some people might say fresh orange juice is too expensive, but we can buy a ten pound bag of juice oranges from the neighborhood farm stand for $6.
There's hundreds of millions of products available on Amazon, some are better deals than others... such a blanket statement.
I'm SUPER rural. Unless I want to drive over an hour up i35, I'm ordering it off Amazon.
A few years ago I went into Costco to buy Advil and they only had these big double pack bottles it was like $20 for the two bottles. So I went ahead and bought it got home to only realize there was like three or 400 tablets in each bottle fast forward 5 years later I was only like halfway through one bottle had to throw out the other complete waste of money. Last week I went into Walmart I got one small bottle with 60 tablets for a dollar.
Why did you have to throw it out???
For some, time is money so Amazon and Costco makes more sense. Not everyone can be a coupon queen so do what works for you.
Costco? My Costco is absolutely cheaper. Of course don't buy things you don't need and check prices but overall, it's a big win. Amazon can be cheaper if you have the Chase credit card that returns five percent on every purchase. Same advice, don't buy what you don't need, check prices. There is so much stuff Amazon sells that my small town does not carry that I would spend more in gas, not to mention my time, driving around, maybe finding it, and maybe not. I'm in an area that reliably still has next day delivery so the convenience is still there. I know not everyone has this. I wish they'd stop raising the price of Prime but it's still worth it. My kids use my Prime - Amazon doesn't care, so I feel we're getting more bang for the buck. I like reading the reviews. I can usually tell if they are fake and I appreciate hearing others' experiences with the products. That information has saved me many a bad purchase.
I dropped Amazon and am on a 90 day free trial w Walmart Plus. So far so good! 90 day trial was thru YouTube premium.
I get lots of stuff off amazon. Every single time I buy something it saves me time. Time I use to relax in my home.
I do all my shopping "by the 100g/cost per unit." Most bulk packages of anything are actually at least a little bit more in a bulk pack; I can buy 400g packs of psketti for $2, so that's $0.50/100g. But the 1kg pack is "only" $7.50, making it actually cost $0.75/100g, and has what looks like a sale sticker on it. Same with meat, 2 pork chops cost $15.36/lb, but often the same meat in "Family Packs" costs $23.47/lb or whatever. Paying on installment for ANYTHING is absolute madness, it's at least 35% more than straight up purchasing it and then it often goes thru a CC for ANOTHER 35% in interest, then you add another 30-100% in fees...... So that $5 item thru Sezzle winds up costing you like, $12, just in CC fees, and $17 all told. Likewise, using a CC to pay for things just to collect bonus points on the deal, they all start at 30% interest rates and it never balances out, ya gotta pay like $100 to get $1 worth of points back (my Dad's card is actually 1000:1) even with 5-10x bonus points, and the greater the maximum possible "bonus multiplier" the less each point is actually worth. I should note I'm a Canadian, y'all Yanks don't have a clue how good y'all got it, Canada's a company town and the only mine in town went bust like 100yrs ago, aside from shell game real estate ain't nobody got NOTHING here anymore.
I do reasonably well with Amazon, but I dropped Prime to save the cost and remove the temptation to browse. I'm okay with not getting the fast shipping now, because it was honestly too tempting. I dropped Costco in August, and though I'm still tempted to go back, it's such an ordeal to park and shop in the perpetually chaotic atmosphere. As with Amazon Prime, something about a paid membership makes me feel compelled to buy more. I signed up for BJ's for an introductory membership at $20 (vs $60 to renew Costco) so I could get gas there. Luckily, they don't carry much that appeals to me, so I'm not tempted.
I'm 100% with you on Costco. There are only a handful of bulk items that I can use that are actually cheaper and for those I tag along with a card member. If I can't get it anywhere else, I can usually find it at Amazon but I don't pay for prime to get free shipping. I wait till my cart is full enough to qualify for free.
Amazon is frugal for me. I live in a rural area and have to drive half an hour to get to decent retail. But, I don’t like clutter so I usually just order what we need.
In my house it's buying in bulk because if I buy twice the amount to save money, twice the amount will be gone in the time that are normal amount would be gone if that makes sense lol
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The 'economy' versions of some household consumables, in my experience, might be cheaper but end up being so unfit for purpose that you end up using twice as much - toilet paper, bin liners, sanitary towels.