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FreshLight, (edited ) in What are your "poor person" money life hacks?

Shampoos and shower gels are scams imo. I order a 10 litre container of the cheap pink soap you get when using public restrooms. It cleans just as well and is significantly cheaper. I use an empty bottle with a pump on top and refill it with the container every other month or so.

Edit: If you got sensitive skin that needs special care then this isn’t for you, though.

Sheeple,
@Sheeple@lemmy.world avatar

That’s only if you got short hair. If you got long hair that sadly doesn’t work

Swedneck,
@Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de avatar

i have long hair and don’t even use shampoo, it’s perfectly fine so long as you’re not habitually rubbing shit on your head.

darkmatterstyx,

That soap makes my hand crack and bleed. The though of using that on my whole body is painful.

Alborlin,

Same for me , and if I use these soaps, I get Very dry skin no matter what. Liquid soaps are only ones that won’t do that.

Merwyn,

Just buy blocks of basic hard soap. Better for your skin and your plumbing. I don’t know if it’s cheaper compared to your 10L bottle, but it’s definitely cheaper compared to normal liquid soap bottles.

FreshLight,

I did that for two years but I just went through a block too quick. And some soap lumps clogged the drain every now and then

RBWells,

If you don’t have hard water, maybe. Not here. Soap scum on the tub, soap doesn’t remove dirt, just sort of locks it on. Which does not matter as much on skin but is disastrous for hair. I have known a couple people who had to cut their hair off after trying to wash it with soap.

If I was to the point where I could only afford one, I’d get shampoo. If that was impossible for awhile, water only is the way I would go. It works ok, most stuff rinses off.

Chetzemoka,

I use Dawn-style dish soap for everything except shampoo. I go with the conditioner-only strategy for hair cleaning. Shampoo really isn’t necessary.

zkikiz,

Even then, a basic soap like Dr Bronners or your favorite “hand soap” does well for most of your body. People ask my wife how her hair is so amazing, she just washes it every couple days instead of every day and sometimes has some light argan oil or something to reduce frizz. Washing hair (especially long hair) every day damages it no matter what you’re doing. The most important thing is to scrub your scalp really good.

theKalash, in What are your "poor person" money life hacks?

Go to Germany to get groceries cheaper and VAT free.

plistig, (edited )

The “ermäßigter Mehrwertsteuersatz” (reduced VAT rate) you pay for staple food in Germany is 7%. That might be less than what you pay in surrounding countries, but 7% is remarkably bigger than 0%.

Norgur,

Oh, you pay VAT. Difference is that you ain't getting the shit that VAT money buys.

theKalash,

Nope, when you shop under the limit of CHF 300 you can go to the toll post and get the VAT back.

Norgur,

Only if the vendor decided to pass the tax credit they get for selling to a.foreigner on to you.

Sagar, in What are your "poor person" money life hacks?

I’m not poor but this always helps everyone. Wait for a while before you buy the thing off your shopping list. Wait for a week and reconsider whether you indeed need it.

If the answer is still yes, buy it. It is a must do for expensive things. Never break this rule for any massive purchase like a car or something!

turkelton,

That’s not a bad idea

BestBouclettes,

Also, there’s a big difference between being able to pay for something and being able to afford something.

Empricorn,

Thank you! Wish my last girlfriend understood this.

I could pay for her, but I couldn’t afford her…

M500,

If you add an item to your cart but don’t buy it right away, you will sometimes see a discount that it meant to encourage you to buy it.

waz,

To add a light structure to this approach I always liked the “wait $100 a day” approach. Want to buy something that costs $300. Wait three days after you have decided you want it. Want to buy something over $1000, think about it for a couple weeks. A $50 impulsive purchase, maybe think about it over lunch.

Bizarroland,
@Bizarroland@kbin.social avatar

Be right back, waiting 10,000 days before I buy that house

PP_BOY_,
@PP_BOY_@lemmy.world avatar

With no offense intended, I don’t think you’re as poor as you think you are

TheSaus,

Yea for me every extra hundred is at least a couple days, even a $20 item usually sits in the cart until i make a decision on if i actually need/want it enough to warrant it

waz, (edited )

You are not wrong. I’ve been pretty fortunate in my adult life and I’ve adjusted the threshold as I go. Really the point is to slow down your decision making and reduce impulsive purchases.

…also, thank you for calling me out. I grew up pretty poor, and didn’t ever make much more than minimum wage until I was over 30. I think I internalized the frugal lifestyle as part of my identity during that time, and I often forget that is not my situation anymore. I appreciate the occasional reminder to be more grateful of my current privilege.

garbagebagel,

Interesting I guess this is why my partner does this. Kind of drives me nuts though because then we’ll have something on the list for months and he keeps putting it off until I finally just go on my own to buy it because I actually need it. Obviously not for big purchases but for stuff we don’t use often like flour or jam or something.

Growing up my parents sheltered me a lot more from the financial instability we faced, his did not and he’s still stuck in survival mode even though we are past it, so we have very different spending habits.

fruitycoder,

I try to never buy something the same day I learn of it. I’ll take someone’s business card, look it up online, comeback later, etc. that way it’s only if I really care about it and not just feeling pressured or spending money for fun (buying stuff feels like an accomplishment, but the feeling never lasts).

Sagar,

My suggestion is only for things, not people.

fruitycoder,

I’m not sure what you mean here. I can only think the confusion is on business cards, where I am from it common for little shops and individual vendors to have business cards to look them up later. Sales people for big things too like cars, and houses.

Sagar,

Ok. I thought you meant some other thing. Nvm

fruitycoder,

No worries!

LetterboxPancake,

I was looking for a new car (leasing) and kept checking different for some weeks until I stumbled upon one offer that was 100€ less than any other while being essentially the same (power, space, etc). That was nice and I don’t really care about brands as long as they are somewhat reliable.

poszod, in What are your "poor person" money life hacks?

Buy the whole damn chicken, it’s always cheaper, protein for 4 meals.

Sheeple,
@Sheeple@lemmy.world avatar

Where do you live where you can afford chicken to begin with? I’m semi vegetarian just because of absurd meat prices.

diffcalculus,

Costco rotisserie chicken

Sheeple,
@Sheeple@lemmy.world avatar

Unfortunately we don’t have those in my country

RememberTheApollo,

But you gotta pay the membership fee. Only worth it if you spend enough to cover that fee in rebates and savings; and then shopping at Costco isn’t what I would call “poor”, but maybe it works out?

There are other grocery stores that have hot food bars and sell the rotisserie chicken, too.

Nollij,

Depending on details, the $5 / month can be well worth it for what options open up. The rotisserie chicken is $5 and significantly larger than the $8-10 chickens anywhere else. If you just get 2 of those per month you could come out ahead.

The challenge with Costco is that the options aren’t always so similar. Sure, their price on Charmin is better than anywhere else, but is it cheaper than the Aldi brand? What about their organic vs cheap produce elsewhere? When I got a Costco membership, I did not save any money, but I have been getting better quality stuff. That said, I am not on a tight budget, so my shopping habits are different

poszod,

In Portugal a whole raw chicken is around 3.5€, about 0.45% of a minimum wage.

NewNewAccount,

Minimum wage per what? Month?

khannie,
@khannie@lemmy.world avatar

Apparently so. €760 per month is the minimum monthly wage in Portugal. Works out at less than €5 per hour if you assume 160 hours per month which seems very low. For reference, Ireland is €11.30. While cost of living is higher here you can still pick up a full uncooked chicken for around €5 depending on the shop.

Local supermarket here does 4 chicken legs for €2.55.

SilverFlame,

A whole chicken in the US costs between 12-16 dollars depending in weight. The price literally doubled over the last couple years

khannie,
@khannie@lemmy.world avatar

GOOD GOD!

How big is a chicken there though?

SilverFlame, (edited )

About 5-6 pounds. Bigger ones get close to 7 pounds. So like 2-3.5 kg

Before Covid they were 99 cents a pound, now it’s about 2.50/lb

khannie,
@khannie@lemmy.world avatar

Thanks. Yeah that is a big assed chicken for Ireland tbh but it’s still more expensive overall.

I feel like you guys have been badly burned by price gouging. I remember seeing a thing on Reddit about egg prices skyrocketing and they had barely budged here so I found it odd.

SilverFlame,

The price of most groceries have at least doubled. I can still get store brand eggs for about $1.50 a dozen but other brands are easily 3+ dollars now. Meanwhile supermarkets are posting record profits.

poszod,

This is correct.

The kg of raw chicken here is currently at 2.34€ at the two biggest supermarket chains, a whole chicken is usually 1.5kg.

Swedneck,
@Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de avatar

whole chicken is a lot cheaper than separate parts because there’s little processing involved

31337,

Back when I used to eat meat (6 or so years ago), my grocery store would always have huge bags of chicken thighs which were cheaper than a whole chicken. May not be the case anymore.

einfach_orangensaft, in What are your "poor person" money life hacks?

Pasta with cheese.

And beeing born in a wellfare state kinda helps ngl

sciencesebi,

Ew. Why not pasta with… Any kind of fat or sauce?

Lord_Wunderfrog,

You can’t tell me pasta with butter and parmesan isn’t delicious

sciencesebi,

Butter is fat. In any case, cheese sauces are made with pasta water and are part of the cooking process. You don’t just melt cheese.

Bizarroland,
@Bizarroland@kbin.social avatar

Cheese has fat in it, it is basically congealed milk fat after all.

sciencesebi,

No shit. But it’s digusting with pasta

Rebels_Droppin,
@Rebels_Droppin@lemmy.world avatar

You ever heard of Mac and Cheese?

azulavoir,

or tortellini or ravioli for that matter

sciencesebi,

That’s cooked with the pasta not melted over

sciencesebi,

Yes. Fuck that yank shit

NewNewAccount,

You sure? I can think of half a dozen cheese-heavy pasta dishes that are delicious.

sciencesebi,

Having cheese as an ingredient is not the same as melting cheese.

Find an italian pasta dish where they just boil the pasta and then fucking melt cheese on it. Barf

NewNewAccount,

Macaroni and cheese? Fettuccini Alfredo?

sciencesebi,

I T A L I A N. Those are america trash

NewNewAccount,

🇮🇹🇮🇹🇮🇹

Reminder: you’re the one who mentioned Italian.

ThrowawayPermanente,

This is heresy, brother

sciencesebi,

To Murica maybe

Honytawk,

Cause cheese is tasty

ryathal,

Alfredo is basically liquid cheese.

sciencesebi,

It’s butter and cream. It’s liquid cheese in the same sense soup is if you grate some parm over it.

Fucking burgers

ryathal,

It equal parts parmesan and cream/butter. That’s basically enough fluid to make parmesan liquid.

sciencesebi,

And pasta water.

davidgro, in Which items/products were you once able to get from local shops on a whim that you now more or less have to order online?

Jeans that fit me.

I’m not even that unusual of a size - just taller than most, and with weight gain I have actually entered easier to find sizes. (Used to joke that I could find lots of them that would fit if I could wear them rotated 90 degrees - switching the waist and inseam numbers)

So I used to be able to go to a department store and with a lot of searching, find some pairs and try them on to confirm that they fit.

Then it started getting scarce. On the final offline jeans shopping trip, I went to JC Penny and bought literally every pair of jeans they had in stock that fit me - about 10 pairs.

Now I would just have to buy online if I want any new ones (not counting specially shops)

danileonis, in What are some strange and interesting websites you have found?
@danileonis@lemmy.ml avatar

AOTY - One of the best site to discover/evaluate music.

Pdb - Personality database about fiction and real characters.

ᕦ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)ᕤ - Copypastable text emoticons.

A_Random_Idiot, in Which items/products were you once able to get from local shops on a whim that you now more or less have to order online?

appliance parts.

Used to be so many stores that sold parts for self repair. Most of them have disappeared (at least around me), and the few that remain are either a ridiculous drive away, or ridiculously expensive. Like, sure, I could drive 3 hours to your store, buy the part I need for 70 bucks, and drive 3 hours back home.

Or I can go online and order the part and have it in a day or two for less than quarter of the price.

altima_neo,
@altima_neo@lemmy.zip avatar

Im lucky theres a dude nearby selling parts out of a small shop. Hes a wizard at appliances, too, so even though the parts a lot more expensive (because he sells OEM stuff and not Chinese knock offs), hes got a lot of knowledge you can glean from him.

A_Random_Idiot,

Oh yeah, I only get OEM stuff.

I dont get the knockoffs. I don’t want to do the job 5 times in a week, be out the money, and go get the OEM part anyway.

Devi, in Which items/products were you once able to get from local shops on a whim that you now more or less have to order online?

All the little doohickeys that you don't need all the time, like plug converters, extension leads, puncture repair kits, a good range of screws.

Local shops might have something, but never the one you want because it's just not economical to keep a good range in stock.

altima_neo,
@altima_neo@lemmy.zip avatar

That was my first thought. All the little adapters from Radioshack you used to be able to grab on a whim. Need to connect some RCA jacks to your headphone plugs? Or need a universal ac adapter with an assortment of dc plugs?

Cant really get that stuff anywhere but online now.

Bitrot, (edited )
@Bitrot@lemmy.sdf.org avatar

A surprising number of those things have ended up being at my local Best Buy (including both of your examples), but lower level components like resistors are impossible to find. Even at hobby shops there are only components specifically related to rc vehicles, nothing miscellaneous.

Edit: I guess this was a common opinion. You’d think interest had picked up with so many electronics “maker” things popping up with Arduino or the Pi.

perviouslyiner, (edited )
Devi,

I feel like Wilko had the odd bit, but if I was like, I need a lightening to audio wire, or a USB to USBC adapter then I'd struggle. You have to order those. I guess I notice because I'm in a ridiculous job where sometimes you need those things immediately and it's a nightmare.

perviouslyiner,

I’m in a ridiculous job where sometimes you need those things immediately

There was a great story about why Jamie Hyneman had so much stuff in his workshop, and it sounds exactly as you describe: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sn6_TE9i5r8

Devi,

Yeah, like "we need a pack of black half inch nails", "cool, when for?", "like half hour?"

Fucks sake.

PlantDadManGuy, in What is your favorite hobby?

Bonsai

Mr_Mope,

I’ve started watching how to videos about bonsai lately. I’ve alway been curious but the time to grow and keeping the trees alive always seems intimidating.

Plus the folks who do this professionally seem to repot semi regularly and cut away a ton of roots. Everytime I’ve tried to repot something, I’ve killed it.

PlantDadManGuy,

Bonsai is a wonderful hobby and it can be as easy or as difficult as you want to make it. Check out the subreddit for helpful beginner info. Don’t get discouraged, 99% of people kill their first two or three trees. I’ve posted here but the community is non-existent. Look for a local gardening club to point you in the right direction. Chinese elms are probably the best beginner tree hands down.

LemmyKnowsBest, (edited ) in Which items/products were you once able to get from local shops on a whim that you now more or less have to order online?

bed bath & beyond has risen from the dead, but they’re only online now.

i used to spend hours browsing through those magnificent real-life stores.

NorthWestWind, in What is your favorite hobby?
@NorthWestWind@lemmy.world avatar

Making vector art, sometimes animation

shinigamiookamiryuu, in Why is *all* of Lemmy filled with Anti Israel content?

Most really just dislike “the West” for its own misdeeds and interpret that as a cue to say “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”. This is a false way of going about themselves, especially considering the revelations about Palestine lately revolving crimes of mass violation, which are similar to what the perpetrators of the Nanjing Massacre did.

There is no shame in being deceived, but considering how I was treated for it all, I’ll be taking great relative pride in saying to everyone “I told you so”, just like I can do for Ukraine. Still don’t understood how anyone can say they’re pro-LGBT and not have at least a little respect for Israel or its people.

It also makes it misleading many of the people doing this siding identify as misanthropes when they like a whole faction of humanity enough to side unconditionally with them. A true misanthrope, by definition, sides with nobody. Take it from me. I have my reasons.

gandalf_der_12te, in Can anyone else feel sensations in their brain?

Yes, happens a lot. I would be very surprised if the brain had no nerve endings at all, given that almost all human tissue has nerve endings in it (except hair maybe).

I guess what you feel is a complicated mixture of:

  • blood and fluid pressure
  • electric discharges in your brain, kinda tingling
  • placebo
CaptObvious, in Which items/products were you once able to get from local shops on a whim that you now more or less have to order online?

Fountain pens. I used to buy them at the local office supply store, but they’ve been gone for 25 years. For that matter, my town doesn’t even have a big box office supply anymore.

And books. I really miss a proper local bookstore.

perviouslyiner,

Unfortunately that’s gotten worse even since 2021

altima_neo,
@altima_neo@lemmy.zip avatar

I feel lucky weve got Powell’s Books downtown. Its fun going in there to browse, even if I’m not picking anything up.

wjrii, (edited )
@wjrii@kbin.social avatar

On the flip side, the variety and market segments that are open to fountain pen people are as good as they've ever been (since ballpoints became a mature technology), both for ink and pens. Sure, the Sheaffer School pens and Waterman Phileases and Cross Whatevers aren't hiding in Office Depot anymore, but you can still find a Varsity or a wick-feed Zebra pretty easily, and the Internet is so much faster than it used to be. I guess I'll never pop into the cigar shop by the office to pick up a spare Lamy Safari though.

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