People Reveal The 'Poor Person Hacks' They Picked Up That They Still Use Today

I've been poor several times.

There are ways to make poor work for you, though.

I've learned to make many a dollar stretch.

Sometimes, new clothes aren't an option; you can make those socks last another six months if you have to.

There are money-saving ways that would shock people.

They aren't always obvious.

Redditor AmaraMehdi wanted to discuss the non-obvious ways to work around struggling finances, so they asked:

"What is a 'poor person hack' you picked up during a hard time that you still use today, even if you don't have to?"

Acts of Service

"Help out your neighbors, without asking for payment, when they're in need and when you are able."

"I've been showered with free food, things, and acts of service from grateful neighbors."

- Automatic_Stage1163

Regular Season Love GIF by NBA Giphy

Stock Up

"A 20-50 pound bag of rice in your pantry will pick up a lot of slack in your diet when you’re poor… I’m not poor anymore, but I always have a ton of rice at home."

"Rice and rice, rice and eggs, rice and ground meat, rice and a can of chili, etc. I wasn’t always eating well, but I was never hungry."

- daytodaze

"When I was a kid, my mother always seemed to cook more rice than we needed, but we loved it because we'd have rice in milk with sugar on top for desert, when I cook anything with rice, I always make a little extra and have it as desert, it's cheap and has an extra nostalgia value. :) "

"BTW: My guess is she cooked extra so she didn't have to buy ice cream, milk, and sugar, which were very cheap where we lived back in those days, and it was fresh dairy milk delivered by Graham the milkman on his horse and cart."

- Sugar_Fuelled_God

Right Before

"Drink a glass of water a minute before you eat."

"Liquid after you eat squashes the food down and can leave you feeling "unfull" even if you aren't hungry. A glass of water before will take up room, and not squish the food down."

"You can start pairing your meals down to size like this. For added benefit, get smaller plates. Big plates make you think there isn't the same amount of food. The brain is easily fooled. Smaller plates make it look heaped up, so your brain thinks it's a lot and will convince you you're full."

- NerinNZ

It's Just Better

"Peanut butter is, in general, a great value item. Get the natural stuff, even if stirring sucks. It's much better tasting and for you.

"In fact, look at the price of peanut oil, and you'll appreciate just how much worse value the more processed peanut butter is, as they replace the valuable natural oils with cheap hydrogenated canola and soybean oil."

- Xatsman

"In college, I wound up losing like 40 lbs in a year. People kept asking me my secret. The secret was that I was poor and was eating Peanut Butter and Oatmeal twice a day and then chugging water."

- FranklynTheTanklyn

Get Grocked

"Learning to love my crock pot and eating the same meal for an entire week. An amazing money saver, and I still do it because it was an ingrained habit for years."

- BarberryBaba

"Work on storage techniques (generally, freezing, and in portions) and reheating, and you can even rotate meals so you don't get stuck eating the same thing for an entire week."

- johnnybiggles

"I do this! 2 dinners, maybe a lunch from the crock pot, freeze the rest. Then I do a little shopping in my freezer and still get to eat based on mood. Or a surprise because I am a bad labeler."

Outside Fun

"Parks and trails are free entertainment that make you healthier and less depressed the more you use them."

- Illustrious_Sun8192

"I live up against a huge park/mountain in the city, and when I get bored I make myself climb it lmao."

- lennsden

outside GIF Giphy

So Many Options

"Library library library! My kids ravage through books. We easily save thousands a year using the library."

- swtcharity

"And learn about all the other services your library offers! Ours has tools, baking supplies, and all sorts of random things also available to loan. I was able to sign up for online classes at my local community college for free through my library account. Wanted to use an expensive software for one personal project, but was able to use it on a library computer specifically set up for that kind of project. It’s really astounding how many things they have that most people have no idea about!"

- thankyoufive

Have Extra

"Keep old things as a backup pair. Shoes, glasses, etc. Often, I wouldn't have money for new things if something broke, so if a pair of shoes fell apart, I would at least have a crappy pair until I could afford some new ones."

- free_billstickers

"I'm surprised this isn't a given with glasses. You break your glasses once as a kid, and you understand why you keep the last pair around."

"And I end up with a backup pair of shoes because whenever I get a new pair, the last pair tends to get retired to lawn duty."

- fcocyclone

Beware the Fees

"If you are absolutely, for sure, going to overdraw and there’s nothing you can do to prevent it, go buy a grocery store gift card before the overdraw hits."

"Now you have access to food and gas without having to get dinged for multiple overdraft fees before your next paycheck comes in."

"Just make sure that the total overdraft (including the big bill plus the gift card) doesn’t exceed your maximum overdraft."

"Better still is to not overdraft in the first place, but when you’re po’, s**t happens."

- thndrchld

Thanks Costco

"I'm not poor, relatively speaking, but the Costco chicken is one of the many reasons I'm not. When I do a Costco haul, I buy like 6 of them. My wife breaks them down and stores them; the entire thing is a blank protein canvas. Unless you're making something very specific, I have no idea why you'd buy chicken in Costco in any other configuration. It's more work for more money and less chicken. Pound for pound, dollar for dollar."

- _CHEEFQUEEF

DIY

"Google the fix for something that is broken, and if you think you can do it, try; the amount of crooks in appliance repair is insane."

- IloveponiesbutnotMLP

"There’s a YouTube video for diagnosing and repairing just about every appliance in your home. I’ve replaced my freezer’s icemaker, my dryer’s motherboard, my washer’s intake valve, to name a few."

- wetsprockit

Diy Fail GIF by Megan Batoon Giphy

Keep it Close

"Put all my pocket items in my hat when I go to sleep. Source: I used to sleep on many couches."

- ogpandabear

"For a short bit, I lived in a place we called the hostile hostel. Pay by the week bedrooms in some guy’s dilapidated house. You learned to sleep with everything of value in the bed with you. And you take it to work when you leave in the morning. None of the bedrooms were locked, and those of us who were fortunate enough to have jobs would come home to tossed bedrooms all the time."

- No-Picture4119

Covered for Days

"Soup, spaghetti, chicken, and vegetable rice. Make enough for three days."

- No_Nectarine6942

"Yeah, I learned how to stretch food, too. Nobody wants the ends of a loaf of bread? Chop it up and put it into meatballs. Cut ends of vegetables? Freezer bag, make stock when full. rotisserie chicken? Shred for tacos, another meal, and bones/skin go into stock. Skimmed beef fat goes really nicely as a fat for bread. Extra bacon grease goes in your bacon grease container. Almost any meat makes a good leftover taco, pizza, or fried rice protein. About once a month i just take the bits and pieces and make a soup."

- theAlphabetZebra

Generic

"There are some exceptions, but for the most part, store brand is just as good or the same as name brand. In the case of Kirkland, it might be superior."

"Beans are a magical food. Even better if you make them yourself - buy a 1lb bag of dry beans for $1.25, and that is a good amount of protein and fiber."

- Redditujer

"I'm embarrassed to admit that I recently made beans for the first time from dry beans, not from a can. I used my pressure cooker, and they tasted magical. I couldn't believe the difference!"

- CommunicationSalt960

Crack it Up

"Add an egg for nutrition. Got rice and veggies? Those are sides. Fry it with an egg, and that is a good meal. Add a hard-boiled egg to instant ramen for a gourmet experience. A piece of toast with a fried egg is now an open-faced sandwich."

- Less_Interview1713

Egg GIF Giphy

I love eggs.

I approve the egg machine.

Of course, that wasn't so helpful during our egg epidemic.

I still hate DIY projects.

I'll just leave it broken. LOL.

Always shop generic.

Coke and Pepsi are always just Coke and Pepsi.

Walmart's label is just as good.

Make your money work for YOU!