For me I generally pirate most books I read, although if there is a book I really enjoyed I will buy the physical copy.
I also generally tend to avoid having takeaways because they are just so expensive in this day and age with inflation and tend to opt for cheap meals like pasta or rice etc.
Also I don’t pay for any streaming services, but borrow a VPN service from a friend to pirate the movies I watch.
Curious to hear of some ways that you people here save money.
I have very debilitating anxiety that traps me in my apartment the vast majority of the time, so I save a lot of money from not having to pay tram/bus fees and stuff like that…
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
sometimes i pirate groceries at self-checkout
- pirate media: shows, books
- bulk buying toiletries / cleaning supplies when there’s a good deal somewhere
- use contraption for toothpaste and other toiletries
- skip lunch often
- take care of appliances by fully cleaning them often
- do dishes and laundry at night
- YouTube the hell out of things that break to figure out a way to fix it myself
- use a heated blanket during the day to keep the heater on 16 C°
- cut my own hair with the help of YouTube
Just a money tip for others: you can use a side of your benchtop (or any other hard right-angle) to squeeze your toothpaste, no contraption required.
Cutting down on alcohol. Due to Australian tax, it’s actually pretty expensive (except cheap wine). Beers at lunch add up.
Pirating media
Buying a large set of 500 mL plastic takeaway boxes with lids (Chinese takeout boxes). They’re more useful than just poverty Tupperware, you can use them for storing lots of things, as small mixing bowls, etc.
Buying spices in bulk. There’s a store here where you bring your own jars and stuff, all the cumin is loose and you just pay for product weight (which is way cheaper than mainstream supermarkets).
Asian grocers. Everything is generally cheaper, and they sell these large jars of minced garlic with big chunks of garlic (rather than the puree from woolworths).
Generally, the more interesting yet low effort you can make your cooking, the less you’ll feel the need to eat out or splurge on “reward” meals. Asian food can be very good for that (east asian, south asian, middle east), and you’ll impress your white friends.
Canned and frozen versions of vegetables, instead of fresh. If you’re making a stew or curry, it doesn’t really matter. Also, frozen broccoli is more floret (the tree bits you pretend to be a dinosaur at) by weight.
Just steal stuff. Do it irregularly, and always be a polite smiling face to service staff. Bring your own bags and hide your stolen produce under the bags. Leave the bags in the trolley and fill up stuff you buy on top of them.
Service what debts you can.
Really, the biggest costs tend to be emergency vehicle servicing, hospitalisations, and rent. Any way to reduce those (sharehousing, having friends that can do those sorts of work, spreading the work out amongst the community) will go way further than a lot of things I’ve just listed. Community is hard to find though
I like to buy things that save money in the long run. Cooking, biking, cheap Steam games over expensive console games. I offer VPN or other subscriptions to family if I can.
