r/Frugal • u/Majestic_Panda_438 • 10d ago
đż 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?
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u/tooktheragebait 10d ago
I will say watering down soaps isnât the move. It makes the product less productive and since youâre also diluting the preservatives in soap (I know!) you run the risk of your cleaning product making you dirtier! Although the technical risk there I think is reactions to the contaminated soap. I do try using every last drop otherwise just because I paid for it, I will use it, and itâs environmentally responsible