6 ‘Classic’ Frugal Tips That No Longer Have Value

woman shopping in thrift store

Thrifting, washing dishes by hand and clipping coupons were always considered a great way to cut costs and save money. But today, these “classic” money-saving tips don’t save you as much as they used to.

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On Reddit, u/Maximum-Gas-3491 asked r/Frugal what “classic” frugal tips don’t apply anymore. Here’s what commenters had to say.

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Making Your Own Clothes

Sewing your own clothes used to be a lot cheaper than buying new ones. But the price of fabric has made this the more expensive option. Plus, fabric stores are few and far between, and they don’t always have the best selection.

“Fabric is pretty expensive compared to the past but the biggest deal is, it’s not made that great half the time. Very frustrating,” u/HatchlingChibi wrote. “It used to be a frugal hobby and life hack. Not so much anymore.”

Couponing

Shows like “Extreme Couponing” made couponing seem almost like a sport. According to Coupons in the News, things have changed in the decade since the show aired, including restrictive coupon policies and the rise of digital coupons and rebate apps.

Reddit user u/Informal_Control8378 commented that coupons are now worthless, and no stores double coupons in their area or allow multiple coupon stacking on the same item. In most cases, you can buy store brand cheaper than name brand with a coupon.

Washing Dishes by Hand

If you’re trying to save water by washing the dishes by hand, that won’t work anymore. Studies show that modern dishwashers are much more efficient than washing by hand, USA Today reported. When you wash dishes by hand, you’re actually using 3.5 times as much water as a dishwasher uses. This isn’t counting the energy used to heat the water, or the time you could spend doing something else.

Buy a Beater

According to u/months_beatle on Reddit, a common frugal tip was to buy a beater car for $500 and ride it into the ground. But today, you’ll only find that 500-dollar car in the scrap heap. You won’t find older used cars for that cheap anymore, and what you do find will need more work than what it’s worth.

Thrifting

Thanks to inflation and social media, shopping secondhand has become a global phenomenon over the past several years. According to ThredUp’s Annual Resale Report, the global secondhand market is expected to nearly double by 2027, reaching $350 billion. During the pandemic, thrifting became the newest fashion trend thanks to TikTok, Her Agenda reported.

Reddit commenters said they prefer to purchase clothes on sale at Costco, Target, Old Navy or Marshall’s. “At a thrift store I might have gotten preworn shorts a little cheaper, but the difference has shrunk to the point that it doesn’t make sense to me to buy preworn,” wrote u/Bucksandreds.

Don’t Spend More Than One-Third of Income on Housing

A common rule of thumb was to spend no more than 30%, or one-third of your after-tax income, on housing. In 2022, real median household income was $74,580, the Census Bureau reported. This means households make $6,215 per month before taxes are taken out, and about $2,040 or less should go towards housing.

For a $400,000 home with a 20% down payment, which is a little above the national median sales price of an existing home of around $379,000, the mortgage payment would be $2,116, according to data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

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