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Paying off your mortgage eliminates principal and interest, but property taxes and homeowners insurance remain. Keeping a monthly “self-escrow” fund can prevent large bills from disrupting your retirement budget. TommyStockProject/Shutterstock Making your final mortgage payment can feel like getting an enormous raise. If you’ve been sending the lender $1,800 every month, seeing that obligation disappear may immediately have you imagining what else you could do with the money. But part of that old payment may […]
Being frugal isn’t about depriving yourself or being cheap on every single purchase. It’s about spending intentionally and finding creative ways to cut out waste without cutting out the things that actually matter to you. With that in mind, there are certain purchases that frugal people tend to avoid altogether, not because they can’t afford them, but because they’ve done the math and decided they’re simply not worth it. Here are 14 things frugal people consistently skip, and why they’d rather put that money somewhere else. Bottled Water Buying cases of bottled water adds up to hundreds of dollars a year for something you can get almost for free. Frugal people invest once in a water filtration system and a few quality reusable bottles, then never think about it again. It’s better for your wallet and cuts down on a lot of unnecessary plastic waste too. Pre-Cut Produce When you buy fruits and vegetables that are already washed, peeled, and chopped, you’re paying extra for someone else’s labor and for the packaging that comes with it. Frugal shoppers buy whole produce and spend a few minutes prepping it themselves. It takes a little more time, but the savings show up every time you shop. Bottled Coffee Drinks Grabbing a bottled iced coffee or a specialty drink from the store might feel harmless, but those prices add up fast when you do it regularly. Most of these drinks are loaded with additives anyway. Frugal people tend to make their coffee at home and save the store-bought version for an occasional treat. Frozen Dinners Frozen meals are convenient, but you’re paying a premium for someone else to do the cooking and packaging for you. They’re also not great nutritionally for what you get. Frugal households would rather batch cook meals from scratch and freeze their own portions for the same convenience at a fraction of the price. Pre-Packaged Snacks Individually wrapped snack packs are marked up significantly compared to buying in bulk. Frugal people buy the family-size bag and portion it out themselves into reusable containers. It’s a small habit, but it can cut your snack budget down considerably over a month. Store-Bought Salad Dressing Most bottled dressings are mostly preservatives, added sugar, and artificial flavoring, and they cost more than the few ingredients needed to make your own. A simple mix of oil, vinegar, and herbs takes minutes and tastes fresher anyway. Frugal people see this as an easy, near-instant way to save without sacrificing flavor. New Tech on Release Day Brand-new phones, gadgets, and electronics almost always come with a premium price tag and, often, unresolved bugs. Frugal people are comfortable waiting a few months for the price to drop and the kinks to get worked out. Resisting the urge to upgrade the moment something new comes out is one of the most effective money-saving habits there is. Designer Labels There’s a real difference between paying for quality and paying for a logo. Frugal people are often willing to spend
Tomatoes, peppers, beans, cucumbers, zucchini, Swiss chard, kale, and basil can continue producing into fall when gardeners keep harvesting and protect tender plants from early frost – Shutterstock Summer may be packing its bags, but the garden does not always get the memo. Tomatoes can keep setting fruit, peppers can continue coloring up, and a well-established bean plant may still have plenty of pods hiding beneath its leaves when cooler mornings arrive. That makes late […]
A smiling woman holds a brown paper bag filled with fresh vegetables and bread while looking down at a long grocery receipt against a solid background. Analyzing your itemized purchases provides a clear breakdown of household spending habits and highlights areas to tighten your budget. Shutterstock. Tossing your grocery receipt straight into the trash or letting it vanish at the bottom of a shopping bag feels like standard routine. Most people only check the total […]
A simple layer of shredded leaves or finished compost can protect raised-bed soil through winter while adding organic matter without a costly garden makeover – Shutterstock A raised bed does not need a glamorous autumn makeover. In fact, the most useful fall preparation often involves things already sitting around the yard, a few inexpensive materials, and resisting the urge to buy every shiny garden product within arm’s reach. Fall prep matters because what happens in […]
Planning for a century of life can change retirement decisions around withdrawals, investments, healthcare, housing, Social Security, and estate planning – Shutterstock A retirement plan built for a long life looks very different from one built around a short retirement. If someone knew with absolute certainty that they would reach 100, suddenly every early-retirement splurge, oversized house, aggressive withdrawal, and “deal with it later” financial decision would deserve another look. That thought experiment can expose […]
Fifty years ago today (August 31, 1976), Jack Bogle and Vanguard launched the first index mutual fund: First Index Investment Trust, which tracked the S&P 500 index (and which is now known as the Vanguard 500 Index Fund). It’s hard to overstate the significance of that event, in terms of its impact on individual investors. Today, using low-cost, index-tracking funds is largely the default way to invest. The success of Vanguard’s index-tracking funds — and […]
California drivers already face the highest gasoline taxes and vehicle fees in the nation, but legislative moves to institute a state Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) tax have touched off intense public backlash. Coupled with aggressive California Air Resources Board (CARB) fuel regulations and upcoming tire efficiency mandates, compounding driving expenses are adding momentum to the state’s cost-of-living crisis. Read the rest
Labor Day is a category sale, not a general one. Appliances and mattresses genuinely bottom out this weekend, and the haul-away bundled with an appliance is worth $50 to $150 on its own. Write down the model you want and its price now, before the sale hands you a number to compare against. Source
My Sweet Retirement Financial Planning Progress for August 2026 Financial planning continues to guide the way I build long-term stability. August 2026 has been another meaningful chapter in my Financial Planning Progress for August 2026. This month, my total financial assets increased slightly by … Financial Planning Progress for August 2026 My Sweet Retirement
Are you overpaying for electricity in Singapore? Discover how to easily switch from the default SP Group tariff to the best fixed, discount-off-tariff, and time-of-use retail plans to save hundreds annually. The post Best Electricity Plans In Singapore (August 2026) appeared first on Turtle Investor.
All retirees and near retirees need to run the numbers. They need to create an optimized retirement cash flow plan. A cash flow plan will show you the optimal time to take CPP and OAS, and then how to create income from your RRSP/ RRIF/LIFs, TFSAs, Taxable accounts, pensions and other sources of income. You’ll discover the most durable and tax-efficient approach for your retirement. A successful retirement cash flow plan often ‘finds’ tens to […]
Share to Facebook Burnley has been named the cheapest place to buy a house in the UK, with an average price of just £117,636. That is less than half the UK average of £268,132, according to HM Land Registry data pulled together by the HomeOwners Alliance. Burnley tops a list dominated by former industrial towns in the north of England and Scotland, where property prices have never caught up with the rest of the country. […]