Discovering Your Reddit Personal Finance Community: The Frugal Subreddits
Learn how to cook cheap and healthy, live out of your van, or find products that last for a lifetime!
Intro:
Recently, I’ve been on the hunt for interesting personal finance subreddits. They’re a fantastic source for ideas and feedback on all sorts of topics, and give a great sense of shared purpose. This week, I’ve mapped out all the subreddits I could find on living frugally, and organized them into 3 categories: General, Self-sufficiency, and Getting Stuff.
General:
Focused on living on a low budget in general.
Who’s it for?:
Anyone looking to stretch every dollar to its limit. /r/frugal focuses more on quick tips and tricks on saving money, while /r/povertyfinance has general advice for anyone who is struggling to make ends meet. Thankfully I’m not in any dire financial situation, but reading the stories and help that they give is still enlightening
What are some great posts?:
For these subreddits, the quality of comments always trumps the quality of posts. There’s all sorts of interesting discussions to read in the comments.
Do you think about the health consequences of your frugality?: Anytime we do something frugal, there’s always a sacrifice of some sort. This post discusses how redditors make sure that sacrifice isn’t their health. I found this important: I hate the idea of eating cheap unhealthy food to save money on the short-term, since you sacrifice so much of your health in the long-term .
Rather than post stories of savings & paying off debt, why don’t people post how they got their great jobs?: As a college student right now, I’ve been on the hunt for internships to start my career. This thread gave a lot of helpful tips on tailoring resumes and looking good to employers, as well as many stories of how people are getting out of poverty.
Food
Focused on eating cheap, delicious, and healthy.
Who’s it for?:
Anyone who wants to cook good food easily and regularly. /r/MealPrepSunday focuses on cooking meals in advance to last you the week, while /r/EatCheapAndHealthy is self-explanatory. As a college student about to live off-campus, these subreddits are important to me. I’d prefer a diet that goes beyond ramen with egg.
What are some great posts?:
So many people have been asking where to start… Here’s the original guide I posted that lead to the creation of MealPrepSunday: In-depth blog post on what to buy and what to cook for your first Meal Prep Sunday. I’m looking forward to trying this out when I live on my own.
I’m a 19 y/o who’s living on their own for the first time, and am very lost and scared on how to prepare/make dinner while working (more in body): Lot a great tips for getting started cooking for someone who is close to my situation.
Self-sufficiency
Learn to become independent from outside systems
Who’s it for?:
Anyone interested in becoming less reliant on the traditional spending lifestyle, and becoming self-sufficient. This ranges from living in your own van to growing your own food. To be honest, I’m not sure if this is something for me, but starting your own garden seems like a delicious hobby.
What are some great posts?:
I gave up my 6-figure desk job to live in a cabin with no electricity and no running water. I live on about $2,000 a year doing odd jobs here and there, the rest of my time is devoted to my hobbies. I love my life. AMA: This guy took the common fantasy of just leaving it all and actually lives it out. Stardew Valley, in real life. I’m not sure if this is the life I’d ever want, but there’s something alluring about that kind of lifestyle.
Getting Stuff
Everything about obtaining things on the cheap.
Who’s it for?:
If you’re someone who enjoys getting/finding/building stuff, these 3 subreddits are for you.
What are some great posts?:
My in-laws were brilliant: Le Creuset, purchased 1977: Basicallly sums up any post made in /r/BuyItForLife; products that have lasted for a very long time. Once I get rich enough, I think I’d really enjoy shopping for classic items like this.
Been making money off of all the Atlases I found at a office supply dumpster!: Similar to /r/BuyItForLife, most posts on /r/dumpsterdiving tend to be crazy finds like these. I’m hoping to try it during the yearly dorm exodus at school. I’ve already gotten a nice whiteboard calendar out of dumpster diving.
Conclusion
Subreddits give you access to a wealth of crowd-sourced resources that help give you a jumpstart in whatever topics interest you. Whenever I pick up a new project, there always tends to be a subreddit post that I can jump to to get new ideas. I hope this list of subreddits will help you do the same.
I’ll spend the next couple weeks reviewing the other 4 categories in-depth, just like this last post. Let me know if there are more subreddits to add!
