8 Purchases That Saved Me Money Over Time | Frugal Living

One of the first spending rules I set for myself when I decided I wanted to be a little bit more mindful with my money is that any purchase I made would have to save me money in some sort of way. While I'm not as an extreme minimalist as I may have been in the past, I still like to stick to this rule when considering a purchase to help see if a purchase makes sense. There are a few things that I own that fall into this category of saving me money in some form, even if it's a bit of a reach, and I wanted to share that today in a video. Here are a few purchases that have saved me money over time. But first, if you're new to my channel, thank you for stopping by. Here we talk about minimalism, frugal living, tech, and things of that nature. So if that sounds good to you and you end up liking the video, be sure to like and please force the subscribe button to sit through a Netflix comedy special. Let's get started. Rechargeable batteries. Rechargeable batteries are really what I think should be the standard for most things at this point. Batteries are already pretty expensive, and so a one-time purchase of a negligible amount more than the cost of regular batteries, I now have some that could be reused again and again. Of course, these batteries degrade over time, just like the batteries in our devices, but the convenience I can't ignore. I think at the very least, looking into rechargeable batteries for the things you use the most or for the things that seem to die the most often would be worth looking into. For me, I noticed it's my controller where the AA batteries seem to die extremely often, so a one-time purchase of a rechargeable eventually has paid for itself, and I've done this in most areas I've been able to. External hard drive over cloud storage. And choosing an external drive over cloud storage is something I don't really see myself ever moving away from. I'm very aware of the conveniences of having cloud storage that automatically syncs and is accessible from pretty much anywhere at any time, but if I'm able to avoid recurring costs, I typically will. And being able to have digital files on an external drive completely accessible offline is pretty nice. I've showed off this SanDisk SSD before, but since the last time showing it, I've actually even have a backup of this backup as a lot of comments suggested. Considering the valuable information and memories I keep backed up, I would definitely say it's worth being extra careful. My point is that the cost of an external drive one time can quickly pay for itself when I consider the recurring cost of a cloud storage subscription. Now, I guess depending more on my job or my lifestyle, I would consider paying for some sort of cloud service, but for me, the external drive just makes more sense. I wanna thank the sponsor of today's video, Triple 10. I think a lot of people reach a point where their job doesn't line up with what they wanna do long-term. Whether that's stability, flexibility, or just doing something that feels relevant, that's why I genuinely like what Triple 10 is doing. It's an online bootcamp that's made for those who need a flexible schedule. Their programs are flexible, beginner-friendly, and designed to get you actually working in tech with no tech background needed. Triple 10 has beginner-friendly online bootcamps teaching things like software engineering and UX design with one of the highest graduation and employment rates in the industry. And it's the only bootcamp in the US that provides unlimited externship opportunities even after graduation. 82% of their grads get hired in under six months, and if you don't, they give you your money back. They even keep letting you do these externship programs after you graduate to continue getting more experience. If you're looking to make a career change to find a job you didn't think you'd be able to, Triple 10 might be worth looking into. I've actually been really looking into software design for quite some time now, so I'm considering really doing this as well. You can get started for $200 a month, which is more affordable than traditional schooling, and I personally would have definitely paid to at least get into my current desk job. Just scan the QR code or click the link in the description box for a free career consultation. Thanks again to Triple 10 for sponsoring this video. Now back to purchases that save money over time. A safe. I remember years ago in a video, I showed off my safe that I kept tucked away, and for the sake of B-roll, I'll show my safe, but remove the contents out of it. My safe was a gift from my girlfriend, which we both use simultaneously, and you could really make the argument that a safe can save money in a few different ways. Reasons like creating a little bit of friction with leaving any spare cash you have in here so you don't spend it, or if there's anyone watching that actually uses a safety deposit box, you could say this is a replacement for that. Another reason that could be considered quite a reach depending on a few different variables, but living in Florida where flooding and hurricanes happen quite often, having certain paperwork and other things protected in a waterproof and fireproof device could arguably be priceless. I'm not 100% certain this is true, but I've actually heard of insurance premium discounts coming along with keeping valuables locked away in a safe. By insurance, that's probably homeowner's insurance. I'm not entirely sure. Thinking back, when I was 17 and got my first job, a safe was literally the first thing I bought with my very first paycheck, and not that I had a lot of valuables at that age. If I didn't have one now, I have no idea where I would keep my valuable paperwork, like my passport, for example. Hopefully, there's never a scenario where I actually need to test my safe's waterproof or fireproof durability, but just the peace of mind knowing that all of my valuables are protected in case something terrible like that were to happen, the security itself is a relatively good feeling. I recommend everyone look into even a very small safe to see if it makes sense for themselves. Hair clippers. Although lately, my haircuts have been few and far between, this has definitely been one of the best $30 purchases I've ever made, and this purchase I've made a handful of years ago easily saved me so much money when I was getting haircuts more often. And not to mention, it's actually saved me from having to purchase razors because I do also use this as a beard trimmer. I know I've talked about this before quite some time ago, but if you have short hair and you're willing to learn how to cut it, there are countless good tutorials on YouTube how to do it, and a small amount of money and time learning how to do it could potentially save a lot of money over the long run. This is a very low risk, high reward investment that quickly pays for itself when you just consider the price of about two or three haircuts. Not to mention, I think it's a pretty useful skill to have. Dash cam. Now I could definitely admit, having a dash cam might be the most just-in-case items out of everything on this list, but in a routine where I drive every single day and drive a pretty decent distance to my job, there's a lot of opportunities for things to happen. When I'm driving, that could potentially cost a lot of money. I believe I might've mentioned this the last time I talked about my dash cam, but this was purchased open box, practically brand new condition for half off. I've heard of people getting discounts on their car insurance premiums just for having a dash cam installed. If I were an Uber driver or some sort of delivery service person, I would no doubt have one of these in my car for my own protection. I really think this is something everyone should have in their car for their own safety, because even a really cheap one is better than nothing and could save a lot of money in case of certain scenarios. I suppose a lot like having a safe, having a dash cam is very much, hope you don't need it, but extremely glad you did when you do need it. Coffee dripper. When you first become a minimalist, the starter kit that shows up at your front door should come with plain colored shirts, a copy of the book, Essentialism, and all the tools to make your pour over coffee. Yeah, yeah, I got it. The photo of Matt is missing. But before that, my entire life drinking coffee has been from a regular coffee pot. And pretty often I would get my measurements wrong when making the coffee. And unfortunately end up wasting a little bit that I made from time to time. But ever since I started making pour over coffee, there's never been any wasted and it's better every single time. This one-time purchase of less than $10 will arguably last indefinitely. I mean, I don't see how it can actually break. And I can specifically remember of about two or three times my family had to replace a coffee maker because it broke for much more than $10. You can make the argument that you also need coffee filters and an electric kettle to make pour over coffee, but those items in themselves, especially the electric kettle, can save money in other areas. Altogether, these are still far less expensive than a decent coffee maker, as well as potentially less wasteful and taste much better. And by the way, I do remember getting a comment a while ago about getting reusable coffee filters. And so I did decide to go with those from that comment. So thank you. I'm definitely not saying to get rid of whatever coffee maker you have at home, but if or when it does break, I definitely recommend trying a cheap pour over coffee set before investing in an expensive new coffee maker, unless you make cappuccinos or something way more difficult than I know how to do, then I understand. A fan. Even in my very early days, when I had the bare minimum amount of things in my room, I always had a fan. And I've pretty much had one for as long as I can remember. In the summer months here, our electricity bill goes up a noticeable amount, naturally because we're using the air conditioning more. And since I tend to be warmer than my girlfriend most of the time, one of us is always compromising. This fan was a gift from her a while ago that I moved throughout the home where I am and have pointed it at my general direction pretty often. It might not seem like it'll make an actual difference on the monthly electric bill, but it does. And combined with the fact that it's something that makes me just more comfortable wherever I am, really just makes sense to me. If you're a person who sleeps with a fan directly pointed at you when you're sleeping, I know you're agreeing with this. Quality water bottle. Now to end this list with probably the most obvious, simple and effective purchases that have saved me money over time is of course a high quality water bottle. The amount of times I've bought water while out and about has been extremely low over the past several years. And it's usually a special instance like I'm traveling without my water bottle or something like that. Going on 10 years of having mine, it's just so satisfying to get years of heavy use out of this product. Not to mention, it incentivizes me to fill it up and drink water wherever I am because I have it. Everyone pretty much knows Hydro Flasks are a little overpriced, but it's made of metal. So I'm sure any 10 or $12 water bottle will probably last a decade or so as well. If there's anything to take away from this entire video, it's just to stop buying drinks when you're out and stick to water. These are just some of the purchases that I've made that have saved me money to some degree over time. It's always been a rule of mine to follow whenever making a new purchase. And I plan on following that formula for any future purchases I might make. Anyways, as always, I appreciate the time you spend here and I appreciate you watching. If you did like this video and you like this type of content, be sure to like and consider subscribing to my channel and I'll see you next time.