What frugal tips have you tried and then abandoned?

You guys came up with so many great reader interview questions, I couldn’t possibly fit all of them into future reader interviews.

So, I thought it would be fun to occasionally use some of them as an Ask The Readers question; that way we all can share! 

This one, from Danielle C., seemed like a fun one to start with. I’ll share my answers, and then you guys can join by sharing in the comments.

What have I tried and then abandoned? A few things!

1. Line-drying my laundry

I did give this a solid try for a year or two, and then I let it go.

Why?

Well, I hated it. It was super annoying to haul all my laundry outside and then back in again. And I had no good place to line-dry clothes in the winter.

Secondly, I did the calculations, and it wasn’t really saving me an impressive amount of money, even when I considered the annual savings.

So, I decided to let this practice go.

I do still hang-dry some things, but only to preserve items that don’t do well in the dryer. For instance, I air-dry sweaters, shirts with screen printing, and items with lots of elastic (such as sports bras and leggings).

2. Making my own laundry detergent

I tried several variations of homemade laundry detergent and they all were terrible. Our clothes started to smell like dirty socks after a while, so I gave up on this.

What good is detergent that doesn’t actually clean? I decided it’s better to pay for something that truly works.

3. Keeping my heat super low in the winter

I tried to hang in there for a number of years, keeping the heat set around 65 degrees or lower.

But no one in my family runs particularly warm, and we were pretty miserable, even with hot drinks, slippers, and plenty of clothes.

I know some people manage to feel great at that temperature in the winter, but it was not working for us! 

4. Couponing (mostly)

When I was in my 20s, I did quite a lot of couponing, but I mostly gave that up a while ago.

Why?

Two reasons:

-Coupon deals used to be better

There were more high-value coupons back in the day, AND several of my local grocery stores doubled coupons, even $1 coupons.

By combining coupons with sales, I got lots of food and toiletries for pennies; it was definitely worth my time.

But over time, coupons have become less valuable; there are so many “$1.25/3” type of coupons, and that cannot compare with a doubled $1/1 coupon.

-I didn’t have an Aldi back then

Once I discovered Aldi, couponing became significantly less important. It was hard to beat Aldi’s prices, even with sales and coupons. And shopping at Aldi was not as time-consuming as couponing.

The start of my Aldi era coincided with the decline of coupon quality, so that was pretty adventitious timing! 

I do still sometimes use coupons for freebies (like birthday coupons). Or when companies send me a $5/any purchase or $10/any purchase coupon, I will pop in and find something that’s around the price of the coupon. 

I also use online coupon codes. BUT, I do not carry a little box of coupons to the grocery store anymore!

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As I look at the frugal practices I’ve abandoned, a common theme is that these practices did not feel worth my time, either because they didn’t save me much, OR because the practices made me feel particularly miserable. 

This is why the frugal choices we make (and we are always making choices!) are so personal. What’s miserable to one person could be a source of joy to another, and vice-versa.

In fact, many people adore hanging their laundry out to dry. I am just not one of those people. 😉 

How about you? What frugal tips/practices have you abandoned?