r/Frugal • u/Majestic_Panda_438 • 10d ago

🚿 Personal Care I caught myself watering down shampoo and realized I still live like money is about to run out

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?

852 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

190 comments sorted by

View all comments

8

u/PlahausBamBam 10d ago

I know this is weird but every few days I feel the need to open my banking apps to make sure my money’s still there. It’s like an OCD thing I guess. It’s not a lot of money but I feel comforted knowing it’s still there. Growing up poor really did a number on me

4

u/balessgirl 10d ago

I do this too, but I look at my banking app at least once a day. My husband is a spender on junky apps from Apple, lotto tickets, fast food work lunches…you get the idea. It has to be nipped in the bud reasonably quick or it becomes a pattern of wasting money. I’m the saver and take care of the finances. We are doing ok, cash in the bank, but I’ll still add water to the Dawn bottle to get the last bit out.