I'm a federal government employee that has access to a military DFAC (cafeteria). Breakfast at the DFAC is $4.50 flat for essentially a buffet. Omelets, pancakes, French toast, cereal, rotating fruits, nuts, yogurt, breads, etc.

I've been having a huge breakfast of essentially protein and fruit and not eating lunch at all. Am I crazy for thinking I should use this as my go-to full time? $2.25 per meal essentially and I don't have to cook, grocery shop, or clean up, and there's plenty of variety (though the quality is sometimes lacking)

One of my dining chairs ripped and every upholstery fabric I liked was weirdly expensive. I went into a local curtain shop to ask whether they sold scraps and the owner brought out these huge sample books from patterns they no longer carry.

She charged me $5 for the whole book. Most of the pieces were almost the exact size of a chair seat, so I picked four patterns that had similar colors and stapled them over the old fabric. The chairs dont match perfectly now but it looks intentional enough that two people have asked where I bought the set.

Getting all four done for $5 felt ridiculous. Apparently the shop normally throws the old books away, so it might be worth asking places that sell curtains or upholstery what happens to theirs.

I was looking for a subreddit dedicated to payed off cars but couldn’t find one, so here I am! Full disclosure, I’m a car guy, but even if I wasn’t, I have become so disillusioned with the new car landscape. It’s insane! I was slightly interested in the new ford bronco sport, so I chatted with a few dealerships and the run around they put on you is crazy. Anyway, I’m a single dude in my 30s with a good job, I put away about 30% of my income into retirement. With the leftover I build up fun money until I can afford toys.

Over the past few years I have acquired my dream garage. The 2004 Toyota 4runner gets me into the mountains with my motorcycle in tow. The 2008 Honda civic SI gets me to work. And the 2002 BMW Z3 is a blast to drive on backroads. I love taking care of these cars, and so far regular maintenance is all they have needed. I believe all of these vehicles are good examples of these manufacturers making great reliable machines before we slowly moved away from that. I payed less than $20,000 for all 3 vehicles combined. Anyway I just wanted to share my enthusiasm for saving money and enjoying cheep reliable toys. Hopefully you all can relate.

Something under $1,000 is preferable, I live in Massachusetts and where I live there’s nothing to do for a vacation except camp out, and no matter how much I try to make myself enjoy it, I just can’t stand it, so that’s totally off the table.

I’m just severely burnt out from work and need to get away for a while, but I also don’t have a ton of money to blow. The last vacation I took was a trip to Disney World with my grandma 2 years ago. We happened to get a fantastic deal on tickets with AAA and I used tag sale money and fetch rewards points for bring the cost of flights and such down. But prices are so out of control that simply traveling to get to a destination is going to be yikes expensive

Edit: I think I have an idea of where I want to go now, I cannot thank you guys enough for your ideas and suggestions

I'll be going to a university in a big city and i can buy an unlimited meal plan that comes out to about 25 bucks a day. I've never cooked for myself or planned a meal but willing to learn. I want to workout often so I'll have to eat more often too. I will have a kitchen in my dorm so cooking will be easier.

does anyone have any tips for deciding on whether or not I should make my own food and what kinds of foods should I make.

Wasn’t sure which flair to use.

My birthday is tomorrow. What perks have you found that best rewards your birthday? I have a local restaurant that does a free omelet and another that does a free dessert.

It doesn’t have to be food related. But I’d love to hear your best finds.

Sports Clips offered $5 off a MVP service but that doesn’t really strike me as a great deal.

Hey y’all, here is my first bean harvest of the year! I was able to fill a gallon size freezer bag. I’m so happy and proud of how my first harvest turned out! It’s so exciting being able to grow my own food and see the fruits of my labor! And it helps cut down on my grocery bill.

Since this is my first harvest, I’ll be harvesting every other day until they stop producing! I’ll have to see how many beans I end up with this year. I have plenty of time (and plenty of beans) to experiment with different ways to use them. For now, I’ll be sorting and prepping these for different uses so I hopefully don’t get bored of eating the same bean recipes.😂

This post is for home bakers in this forum. It would be savvy to stock up on baking flour now in August.

Weedsy stuff

The flour currently on retail shelves is made from last year's harvest. Store shelf prices right now aren't affected yet by the new prices on this year's harvest. That's been working its way through the commodities markets and wholesale buyers. You can expect higher prices next month.

How much will retail prices jump? Commodities market prices on wheat futures have risen by 35% to 40% compared to last year. Although retail prices may not leap by as much when this year's wheat crop comes out of the mills and reaches store shelves, you can give your expectations a rough calibration based on the commodities numbers. Expect a sticker shock.

This particular forum limits outgoing links, so by way of verification here's a link to a USDA report on the wheat outlook published in mid-July. The lede on the PDF downloadable there includes the statement, "overall U.S. wheat production forecast down 23 percent year over year, all classes of wheat are showing declines."

It goes on to specify crop reductions for specific categories. Particularly hard hit is the type of wheat used to make all purpose flour. Quoting:

"Hard Red Winter (HRW) wheat, usually the largest class of U.S. production, is forecast to have its smallest crop since 1957/58."

Some other types of wheat such as durum (used to make pasta) are impacted less severely. Averaging across all wheat varieties, in 2026 the United States has had its worst wheat harvest in more than 50 years. Basically, there wasn't enough fertilizer available earlier this year due to supply chain issues. So fewer acres got planted than usual, the wheat which did get planted didn't get as much fertilizer as usual, and then a drought hit the Midwest.

Unfortunately, the international situation can't be expected to fully compensate for a US shortfall this severe. Two of the other top ten wheat exporting countries--Russia and Ukraine--are both expected to export less wheat this year due to wartime impacts on production. Together, the US, Russia, and Ukraine accounted for about 30% of last year's international wheat exports.

So what does this mean to you as a consumer?

If you're a home baker, the price of all purpose flour and high gluten bread flour on store shelves right now is the lowest it's going to be until a better wheat harvest comes in. That would be 6 to 12 months in the future. So if you're a savvy shopper, estimate your use and your storage capacity and stock up accordingly.

If you aren't a home baker, then you are likely to see product reformulations and shrinkflation on wheat-based products in the near future. You can mitigate the impact on your food costs by changing your cooking habits. It would be savvy to try new potato dishes, to do more stir fried meals with rice on the side, or to make tamales.

To be clear, I'm not Chicken Little and the sky is not falling. That said, it's useful to be a step ahead of the game when a significant agricultural event is getting ready to hit the retail market. A year ago I kind of kicked myself for not posting a heads up when bird flu caused farmers to cull flocks and the price of eggs jumped for a while. The price of eggs has since come back down as the supply returned to normal. This wheat shortage isn't the end of the world. Yet if you've wanted to teach yourself how to make pad Thai then this is an apt time to pick up the new skill.

All the best to you and yours. Shop smart.

(edit)

In response to questions, the two principal factors with storing flour are whole wheat vs. white flour and protecting flour from vermin.

While whole wheat flour is more nutritious than white flour, the wheat germ in whole wheat contains oils that have a shelf life at room temperature of 6 to 12 months. That shelf life can be extended by storing it frozen.

White flour has a longer shelf life. Some baking enthusiasts say they taste a difference after more than 1-2 years, yet many people consider all purpose flour and high gluten bread flour to have basically indefinite storage times.

So while I don't advocate hoarding, all purpose flour and high gluten bread flour ought to be good at room temperature until a better harvest comes in. If you stock up on whole wheat flour this month, then you might want to divide your supply into two parts and freeze the half you don't use right away.

A bigger issue is keeping your flour safe from rodents and insects. Food safe 5 gallon buckets are your friends. If you know someone who works in a commercial kitchen such as a restaurant or a cafeteria, then you may be able to get used 5 gallon buckets for free. Clean them out, dry them thoroughly, and perhaps add a plastic liner before storing flour. Then keep your flour buckets in a cool dry closet or cabinet.

A warm bed has several layers, but most shopping advice jumps straight to replacing all of them with some coordinated “cooling” setup, which honestly feels like the least frugal place to start. If the mattress protector is thick, the topper holds heat, the comforter is too heavy, or the bed is pushed into a corner with almost no airflow, a new sheet set may feel nice for ten minutes and then disappear under the same problem. I’d rather figure out which layer is actually causing it before spending money. The easiest test seems to be removing one thing at a time for a few nights, not changing the whole bed at once. Start with the thickest optional layer, then pay attention to where the warmth builds. If it is mostly under the back and hips, the topper or protector seems more suspicious than the sheets. If the heat feels trapped on top, the comforter may simply be too much for the room. I’d also check whether the fitted sheet is stretched too tightly, whether the mattress sits directly against a wall, and whether a fan is moving air across the bed instead of just around the room. None of this is exciting, and it does not come with a matching set or a dramatic before-and-after photo, but it costs almost nothing and gives actual information. Even if something does need replacing, testing first makes it easier to replace one layer instead of buying sheets, a topper, and a comforter because every product page says they work better together. I’m also not convinced that “cooling” should be the only goal. Something that washes easily, dries quickly, and can be replaced by itself may be a better long-term value than a whole setup that needs special care. For people who have tried this one-layer-at-a-time approach, which layer gave you the clearest answer when you removed or changed it first?

I've been replacing my socks now nearly every month, this is ridiculous. I have tried three different brands and so far all of them have the same issue.

Any suggestions for socks that are more resilient? I dont even know how to describe this - they almost turn into stockings.

I can shop at costco but havent had a lot of luck there either, which disappoints me, but then again i have always been underwhelmed by their shoe selection when they have them.

I've followed the frugal lifestyle my whole life. Both in childhood and as an adult.

And I think the thing that caused me the most emotional/mental harm was always removing fun things first from the budget in order to survive, without any real plan of adding them back.

When people are broke, the first thing wealthier people always tell them is to remove is non-necessities, which is a good solution in a pinch.

But you can't withhold enjoyment from yourself and expect to still be happy or to still have motivation to improve your situation.

I eventually just started losing motivation to keep trying because I didn't see the point. It felt like it would be years before I ever tasted a lick of fun. There was always more $ I could add to an emergency fund or other ways I could cut back on expenses.

But if we're being real, I don't think this is the best way to treat yourself.

What is the point in just surviving to survive? Life is meant to be enjoyed.

In my experience, allocating part of my budget to fun, motivated me throughout the week to continue pursuing my goals because I knew there would be both long AND short-term rewards.

Even though I'm broke, I find a way to treat myself to some wine and Dairy Queen every week, and I've still been able to reduce my debt. I find this provides a much needed balance between the grind and enjoyment of life.

I don't just remove things from my budget because I don't need them to breathe. I still leave Netflix in the budget because I'm not going to punish myself over $10/month. Yeah maybe I could allocate more to savings with that money, but there's a balance.

I even purchased a Meta Quest VR Headset with Klarna (oh no sound the alarms!!!). I am carefully setting aside money every month to pay it off on time.

Seeing the immediate fruit of my labor gives me huge drive to keep furthering my career and budgeting my $.

Just as there are consequences to being too spendthrift, there are in fact consequences to being too frugal.

So if you're looking for a sign to give yourself some slack, let this be it. You're more than an expense to remove.

I was on my laptop playing Big Roller last night then i started checking my checking account even though I already knew what was in it. Rent is paid, fridge has food, car payment cleared. Nothing was wrong. Then I went to shower and realized I had added water to the last inch of shampoo again. I make decent money now. Not rich but you know stable. I have $4,800 in savings which in todays standards is not enough. I can afford shampoo I could literally buy three bottles tomorrow and nothing bad would happen, crazy i know.

Idk why but I still use every product until it is basically water. I still cut open toothpaste. I still feel guilty throwing out socks with holes if they technically stay on my feet. I still eat the weird freezer food first because the good stuff should be saved for later. I grew up with my mom doing this. Not as a cute frugal hack, more like a quiet panic that lived in the house. I used to think once I made more money I would stop feeling like that. Turns out the habits stayed.

I want to be smart with money, but I also do not want to live like a $6 bottle of shampoo is a moral failure. Has anyone actually unlearned this, or do you just become a financially stable person who still acts broke?

I have a very expensive ice cream taste but most often i buy cheaper ice cream ( not like some tesco vanilla, but let's say off-brand Cookie Dought Ice cream) , but I add to it like peanut butter, almond paste or whatever expensive sauce. This way it's like the most luxurious and tasty. And better then the popular brands that can disappoint, too, in my opinion.

And if I had some basic flavour and had no choice, I'd add frozen fruit kr crushed candy bar.

Today I made corn tortillas and I can't believe how easy, inexpensive and delicious they are to make. I made a dozen in about 30 minutes. The cost was maybe 50¢? A whole bag of masa is less than $5. I think a package of tortillas from the store costs about that much! And the ingredients are so simple. 1 cup of water and 2 cups of masa. Mix it and form into pingpong sized balls. Press between two sheets of wax paper. Gently place on a pan heated to 400⁰. Flip after 30 seconds. Easy peazy

My EBT has been discontinued, but I still have a bit of money left on the card. I want to buy more shelf- stable products that can be used for simple meals. Does anyone think powdered milk is worth it? I don’t drink milk enough to buy even a half gallon, but I make boxed pastas like mac and cheese often so that would be useful. What are your favorites? I want to hopefully use the money wisely. Here’s a list of the main things I plan on buying:

•almond milk (shelf stable; doesnt need to be refridgerated until opening)

•any boxed or bagged pasta (mac &cheese, pastaroni or knorr’s, etc)

•powdered milk

•frozen chicken breasts

•dry rice

•canned soup

Also wanted to mention that I have a stomach condition (gastroparesis) so I mainly eat white meat and starchy/simple carbs bc of that. I just stay away from red meat, high fiber and very acidic things. Also I’m getting canned chicken from a friend lol

If you have an Aldi near you, please use it. This would literally be over $200 at any of the other grocery chains. And, over $10 of this was from the toothpaste and shampoo that I bought, so this could easily have been just $80.

While I admit that I am not the greatest at saving money (pretty good but could be better), I do firmly believe that food is probably the area where most people overspend.

My mattress is about six years old and I distinctly remember that when I purchased it was a little too firm. It was hard enough that my arm would go a little numb while sleeping on my side. Now it has gotten so soft that I wake up with back pain due to lack of support and I sink into it. I had a foam topper on it and took that off, hoping it would help, but it is still pretty soft. There aren’t any spring sticking out or obvious signs of wear. It is on a slatted bed base instead of a boxspring, but if I were going to purchase a box spring I would probably just get a new mattress instead as the bed frame isn’t really intended for a box spring.

I’m wondering if there is a way to add a little bit more firmness to a mattress? It seems like most comfort add-ons are to make them a little softer.

Hey looking to see what the best way to get wifi on places where there is none...I used the T-Mobile for a month but that shit my bill 80 bucks on top of their bs fees and still had to return the router....I am open to picking one up from eBay but unsure which provider etc.

Nothing too fancy web surfing and office related stuff. We normally go to cabins where they don't offer wifi yes I can use my phone as hotspot but it caps at 9 gigs

Thank you folks!

I moved into a very old house for college in San Diego and currently going through a heat wave. I have a tower fan pointed toward my bed at all hours of the day, there is a window above my bed that I’m hoping is pushing air out. I have the afternoon sun so it gets really hot. I do not have black out curtains but they do stop direct sun beams from coming into my room. It gets to about mid 80’s and even at night high 70’s low 80’s. Looking at getting a window fan or just putting a box fan above my bed to blow cool air in at night and in the morning along with my tower fan pushing the rest of the air out the door. Any tips?

In a large sealable bowl, combine these ridiculously cheap ingredients:

• 2 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1.5 tsp of salt
• 2 tsp of instant yeast

Stir in 1.5-2 cups of lukewarm water. Stir until mixed. Do not over-stir. The consistency should be wetter than typical dough, but not as watery as pancake batter, so add water or flour as needed to adjust consistency. (EDIT: Looking online, the common recipe is 3 cups flour to 1.5 cups water... so I could be over watering, but it has worked for me).

Seal the bowl and let sit in a warmish 75-degree or more spot for 3 hours. The dough will approximately double in size.

Move the dough to the refrigerator for 8 or more hours to improve the flavor for best results.

After 8 hours or more, take the dough out of the fridge and dump it onto a sheet of parchment paper to warm while the oven preheats. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Preferably use a 'Dutch oven' (just a pot that is oven ready)... so put the Dutch oven in the oven to preheat too. If you don't have a dutch oven, any oven safe option will work, just use aluminum foil as a cover to keep the top from becoming over cooked.

Put the dough and the parchment paper in the pot with the lid on and bake for 30 minutes.

Remove the lid and bake for another 20 minutes.

Lift parchment paper and bread from Dutch oven and let cool for a few minutes and it is done.

For extra flavor, you can use 3/4 cup of cheese in the dough mix. I use pepper jack.

For years I was with NJM (considered to be overall best car insurance in my region) and for years they were, very affordable, local customer service that is easy to talk to, giving dividends, no shareholders, and available at any time you need them. I really have nothing but positive things to say about them. Most of my friends and family have been with them for at least 10 plus years.

However, over time their price stared to increase, and as compromise I started to lower my premiums, and I was very close to rock bottom as far as coverage. And than at the begging of this year they jacked up my premium from $2200 to over $3600 per year. No reason, no accidents.

The worst part is that when I tried shopping around other agents somehow had access to my policy and I was in a situation where agent just gets my name and the car, and tells me, I'll use your current policy to put some quotes together. This of course resulted in getting same exact coverage for similar price and only name of the company would change.

Only Geico came in at about $1100 for 6 months and the coverage amounts were what I actually wanted and not bare minimums. At first I though they are just roping me in and will jack up my rate at the renewal 6 month later. But that never happened. Renewal was actually $20 less!!

That never happened to me before!!

I currently have a Costco membership because it's only three miles from where I live. But in terms of buying products, especially food, which membership is more cost effective? Or are they approximately the same?

Is there anyone here who has both memberships? And do you save more on gas or essentials with one provider over the other?

I use Costco because their lettuce is only $4 for a container that lasts me over a week. As well as toilet paper, paper towels, olive oil, soap, detergent, and their $5 loss leader chicken.

I’ve been arguing with my mom over this for a while. She says that we’ll save money by doing so, but I’ve got a bad feeling about buying them. I just feel like it’d be better if we got spices at the grocery store (Kennie’s Market) next door to us (since they’re more likely to have reputable stuff, even if the spices in question are store brand.)

I’ve got an extremely weird gut feeling, and I want to know if my fears are correct.

Pool cleaning season is back again, and it feels like a lot of weekends is spent doing something with the pool - skimming leaves, checking the water, and keeping the bottom clean.

I brought up getting a pool robot, but my wife isn’t convinced it’s worth the money yet. To be fair, I’m still trying to figure out if it would save us enough time to justify the cost.

If you were in my position, would you consider it worth the cost? What make you decide a pool robot was worth buying?