You pick up a bottle of laundry detergent and it looks the same as last month’s. But the cap is a slightly different shape, the label has been freshened up, and the price hasn’t moved. What has moved is the number of ounces inside. Welcome to how grocery money disappears quietly, one small package at […] The post 15 things frugal people always check before buying anything appeared first on Wealthysinglemommy.com.

The topic of frugal living is vast, and you can almost always learn something new from other frugal lifestylers. We might be talking about grocery hacks, DIY tricks, or simple lifestyle shifts, but the best tips often come from people who are already living them. Here are some of the best picks on the topic. Switch to Reusables One of the most impactful changes anyone can make is ditching disposable household items and switching to reusables wherever possible: dishcloths, dish scrubbers, cloth napkins, hankies, dryer balls, water bottles, rags, cotton rounds, menstrual products, real plates and forks, reusable zip-lock bags and containers, washable Swiffer pads, and dusters. It’s amazing how much money you can save by making the switch. As a bonus, going reusable is also one of the best ways to show some love to the environment. Surround Yourself With Like-Minded People Having frugal friends will go a long way in helping you save money. People who share similar financial values are more likely to look for cheaper alternatives together, like dining options and travel costs. Many who’ve found success this way describe a circle where friends were perfectly happy either dining at each other’s homes or hosting at theirs, with dining out treated as a special occasion rather than the default. At gatherings, everyone brought a dish and drinks. Movie nights, music, and good company replaced expensive outings, and parents could bring their kids along, cutting out babysitting fees entirely. Choose Your Partner and Social Circle Wisely You can’t pick your blood family, but you can pick the rest… and those choices matter enormously for your financial life. A life partner should have fairly similar goals and habits, because this person will make or break you for the rest of your life. The same goes for social circles: habits seep into your subconscious over time. Rolling with “keep up with the Joneses” types will have a negative effect on your finances, often without you even realizing it. Invest in Good Quality The old adage “buy once, cry once” holds even today. Buying good quality, whether new or used, will ultimately save you more money than repeatedly replacing cheap, poor-quality items. Great quality items can be found at thrift stores, used appliance retailers, and estate sales, where older generations who understood the value of quality goods often left behind well-made items at a fraction of their original cost. Know the Difference Between Wants and Needs Just because something is on sale doesn’t make it a need. A useful approach is to buy a cheaper version of something and use it until you’ve saved up for the version that will truly last. On the flip side, more expensive doesn’t automatically mean better quality. Another principle that pairs well with this: never replace anything that isn’t broken and continues to function as intended. This comes up most often with cars, cell phones, and televisions, categories where the pressure to upgrade is constant but rarely justified. Buy Second-Hand Buying second-hand is one