Living frugally without hardship: let's share actionable suggestions

[jason745]

@Shandril

As far as suggestions to leave frugally, one that consistently save us thousands per year is to cook food yourself.

I’m lucky that my husband cooks well so burden is not all on me. But the savings are significant when you know that the restaurant industry markup is usually 300%. Packing lunch (it’s healthier too) for 5 means spending about $10-15 vs $25-30. And time to cook/shop is not all that bad vs. driving to dinner, waiting to order/be served, driving back. Especially if you could larger quantities during the weekend and freeze portions. And you can do some fancy stuff too. You just end up splurging on ingredients vs. on labor.

InstantPot FTW. We just bought one a month or two ago and it’s changed the way we cook.