What are your "poor person" money life hacks?

return2ozma@lemmy.world to Ask Lemmy@lemmy.world – 305 points –

Let's get a list going. Like with a Target debit card you can get $40 cash back and it takes 1 to 2 days to be withdraw from your checking.

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I'm not poor but this always helps everyone. Wait for a while before you buy the thing off your shopping list. Wait for a week and reconsider whether you indeed need it.

If the answer is still yes, buy it. It is a must do for expensive things. Never break this rule for any massive purchase like a car or something!

Also, there's a big difference between being able to pay for something and being able to afford something.

Thank you! Wish my last girlfriend understood this.

I could pay for her, but I couldn't afford her...

If you add an item to your cart but don’t buy it right away, you will sometimes see a discount that it meant to encourage you to buy it.

To add a light structure to this approach I always liked the "wait $100 a day" approach. Want to buy something that costs $300. Wait three days after you have decided you want it. Want to buy something over $1000, think about it for a couple weeks. A $50 impulsive purchase, maybe think about it over lunch.

With no offense intended, I don't think you're as poor as you think you are

Yea for me every extra hundred is at least a couple days, even a $20 item usually sits in the cart until i make a decision on if i actually need/want it enough to warrant it

You are not wrong. I've been pretty fortunate in my adult life and I've adjusted the threshold as I go. Really the point is to slow down your decision making and reduce impulsive purchases.

...also, thank you for calling me out. I grew up pretty poor, and didn't ever make much more than minimum wage until I was over 30. I think I internalized the frugal lifestyle as part of my identity during that time, and I often forget that is not my situation anymore. I appreciate the occasional reminder to be more grateful of my current privilege.

I was looking for a new car (leasing) and kept checking different for some weeks until I stumbled upon one offer that was 100€ less than any other while being essentially the same (power, space, etc). That was nice and I don't really care about brands as long as they are somewhat reliable.

Interesting I guess this is why my partner does this. Kind of drives me nuts though because then we'll have something on the list for months and he keeps putting it off until I finally just go on my own to buy it because I actually need it. Obviously not for big purchases but for stuff we don't use often like flour or jam or something.

Growing up my parents sheltered me a lot more from the financial instability we faced, his did not and he's still stuck in survival mode even though we are past it, so we have very different spending habits.

I try to never buy something the same day I learn of it. I'll take someone's business card, look it up online, comeback later, etc. that way it's only if I really care about it and not just feeling pressured or spending money for fun (buying stuff feels like an accomplishment, but the feeling never lasts).

My suggestion is only for things, not people.

I'm not sure what you mean here. I can only think the confusion is on business cards, where I am from it common for little shops and individual vendors to have business cards to look them up later. Sales people for big things too like cars, and houses.