5 Relatably Scrappy Things People Do To Save a Buck

If you’ve ever found yourself in a financial rut, truly struggling to make ends meet, then you’ll likely be unfortunately intimate with the levels of anxiety and overriding despair that can follow you around until you finally regain some financial stability. During those tough times, you can find yourself with unprecedented levels of petty-inspired creativity to save yourself the extra money.

It’s honestly kind of impressive what the brain can figure out when it comes to absolutely having to save money. Maybe these people’s petty stunts that were pulled to save themselves extra money will leave you feeling better and/or inspired about any of your own frugal petty stunts that you’ve successfully pulled off to save money.

1. Cutting open a nearly empty toothpaste tube

This one is a golden money-saving life hack, to be sure. Redditor u/agitpropgremlin writes, “Recently cut open a travel size toothpaste tube to see how much extra was left after I couldn’t squeeze it anymore, and there was enough for six whole days (12 brushings). I now cut open all my tubes/bottles when they’re empty.”

2. Using old clothing as dish rags

This makes complete sense. Instead of simply tossing out an old and beat up shirt that serves you no more, you could just as easily convert it into a useful, albeit not entirely aesthetically pleasing dish towel Dish towels from certain brands simply aren’t worth the upfront costs anyways. Redditor u/KeyTrouble writes, “When I’m done with shirts or clothing they get turned into slippers, kitchen rags, napkins, etc. Edit. I also repair clothing very cutely and often. My favorite it sewing up holes and embroidering a flower on top. Nobody notices and when they do it’s only to tell me how cute the flowers are.”

3. Using the dehumidifier runoff to water plants

This is pretty ingenious. Redditor u/p38-lightning writes, “We run a dehumidifier in the basement and we haul the water upstairs for the houseplants rather than use tap water.” Apparently it might actually end up being even better for the plants as it is.

4. Cutting up mesh onion bags to use to scrub the dishes

As we’ve been saying from the get-go, the impressive levels of ingenuity that can ensue when someone is hard-pressed to drum up the necessary financial resources to invest in store-bought cleaning products is something else. Really, it’s art. In this case, Redditor u/5bi5 writes, “I cut up mesh onion bags to use to scrub dishes. When I do need a scrubby pad I cut them into 1 inch squares to make them last as long as possible (cuz I don’t want to reuse anything caked in food/grease). My husband doesn’t know where the paper towels are so he can’t waste them.” They’re winning the game. Absolutely.

5. Washing and reusing Ziploc bags

While this might initially not sound like the most sanitary approach to storing various items in Ziploc bags, if you’re truly thoroughly washing those Ziploc bags as you’ll need to, then not only are you going to cut down the costs otherwise associated with buying more Ziploc bags, but you’re helping the environment out just a bit in the process.