That there are so many things that you can do|be|have for free outside. There are surprisingly lot of places run by the government/city that can be used at little to no charge.

sidenote: You can borrow DVDs from the library and rip them for free. Real nice.

Eating out isn't exactly frugal but if you are going to get fast food and they have an app I'd recommend using it cause you can get some pretty good deals. I often get half off a meal which makes those rare times I decide to eat out that much cheaper.

My local power company is a price gouger… but my state has mandated that we can select our source provider with zero penalties for switching… even between other sources.

It’s not a ton… since the ‘delivery’ fees are straight up highway robbery and not under the control of the outside provider… but it’s still something.

Currently doing research on solar and how much I need to save to afford the up front costs.

Make my own brown sugar oatmeal. The big tubes of plain instant oats are cheap. I add a spoonful of brown sugar and a dash of cinnamon. Saves about 50% off the packets. Not much, but it adds up if 2 people have oatmeal every morning.

Still cooking my own beans in a pressure cooker, and making bread in a bread maker. Those two things have saved a ton of money.

If only I can convince my family to use a bidet, then we'd probably save $40 a month on toilet paper!

Pretty basic

Buy in bulk and freeze what you don't need immediately.

I bought one of those giant Costco ground beef packs. I think it was like 10 lbs or something for $30.

I packed it into patties and seasoned it immediately. I stacked them with parchment paper and threw them into the freezer. They turned out great.

I'm a sushi lover, and discovered that even regular grocery store salmon is flash frozen to kill any parasites.

despite the science I was a little apprehensive at first, but it's great.

do a little salt/sugar cure and it's great.

Save bones and scraps for stock/broth. I keep 2 large freezer-safe containers in my freezer where I will dump all usable scraps for later. Once they start to get full I’ll plan out a stock or broth with what I’ve accumulated. I’ve been doing it for years and it works great. Soups & stews are a great way to eat frugal to begin with and this help make it even more cost effective

I need to try the tortilla idea. The in laws bought the air fryer so I didn't get a say in it. They use plastic baking sheets to reduce clean up. Creating so much waste. I try to cook in the bottom and then clean it. I might give the wrap idea a go.

Maybe a bit pricey considering how often we use the fryer.

Citric acid as fabric softener.

Edit: Do NOT use with bleach!

Talking about clothes....

I like to dress up a bit. More formal than others. So the opposite of fabric softener (I use 25% acidity white vinegar for that): potato starch for crisp shirts.

If you are courageous enough: yes, you can wash suit jackets. Cold, very little detergent, wool cycle, slow spinning. But jackets hardly need that anyway. A good brush gets you a long way. And a spray bottle of Vodka, to freshen up the lining every once in a while (no, you won't smell like a drunkard).

And of course: second hand clothes. Especially the more formal stuff because (way too) few people walk around in suit and tie and only buy them to wear once for some formal occasion and resell them afterwards for ridiculously cheap.

Foraging. Mushrooms be nom.