7 Ridiculous (But Effective) Ways To Save Money

Collect loose change. Choose value-for-money over brand name. Buy items at thrift shops. Set aside a portion of your income and spend what’s left. These are all tried-and-tested measures for saving money. And if you’ve been trying all these but failing, then it’s time for plan B.

There are actually other ways that will involve you spending money, make morally questionable life choices, or even have you going the extra mile. In case you want to crank up your money-saving skills up to 11, you should try these things and see the results for yourself.

1. Pee in the shower.

Gross, but effective. On average, a standard residential toilet uses six liters of water per flushing. If your household has an average of 20 trips on total, it means that your consumption for dumping your numbers 1 and 2 can reach up to 120 liters per day!

Now, taking a leak while showering may not affect your water bill that much, but it saves you a flush’s worth of clean water whenever you’re showering.

2. Wash your hair less frequently.

Showering makes up for one-fifth of the total residential water use. If you plan to reduce your water bill, not washing your hair regularly may just help.

Project Vanity, a local beauty blog, says that it is possible to survive a day or two without washing your hair. “The trick is to find a balance. Try to see how long you can comfortably go without washing your hair, and that’s your sweet spot. The truth is we don’t need to wash our hair as long as it is clean and not overly greasy,” Liz Lanuzo, Project Vanity’s head honcho, writes.

3. Buy an expensive pair of jeans.

Your average pair of jeans is your workhorse, and subjected to everyday use and abuse, it easily fades and/or breaks. Instead of shelling out cash every year for a pair of tiangge-bought jeans, why not buy a sturdy one that can last for much longer?

For starters, find a retailer that knows something about denim weight. Get a pair of jeans that weights around 11-13 oz. so it is durable enough for everyday use.

4. Split subscription costs.

If you think about it, streaming services such as Spotify, Netflix, and iFlix are not only legal, they’re cost-effective as well. Netflix’s Premium account is only P550 and you can share with three other users, while Spotify’s P149 Family account is good for six people.

While their terms and conditions explicitly say that you can only share them with the members of your household, these platforms can never really know that family goes beyond sharing the same residence. Just make sure to not abuse this leniency and give away your password to everyone.

5. Buy an e-book reader.

Nothing beats the smell of freshly bought books. But collecting books is an expensive hobby, even if you’re just getting your titles from secondhand bookstores.

If you are eager to go over countless titles without hurting your budget and going full Jack Sparrow, you can legally download some e-books for free. Places like Project Gutenberg, Internet Archive’s Open Library, and Literature.org have some of the finest collection of e-books on the web.

6. Dump someone before a big event.

7 Ridiculous (But Effective) Ways To Save Money

When we said morally questionable, this was what we meant. If ever you’re in a relationship and starting to fall out of love, call it quits with your partner before a big event. Yes, such as a birthday, anniversary, or gasp, Valentine’s day.

This way, you dodge a major expense and at time same time keep yourself from giving a false sense of hope for your partner. Savage, but filled with so much #feels.

7. Buy overripe fruits.

Everyone says that fruits are best eaten when they’re just ripe—and they are no longer good once they show blemishes or the flesh becomes soggy and jelly.

But instead of the dumping them in the trash, throw overripe fruits in the blender with ice and milk for some nice fruitshake. Or if you have the time, turn your overripe fruits into preserves, which will extend their shelf lives significantly.

In addition, you can buy overripe fruits from fruit vendors at a much cheaper price—perfect for whipping up that last-minute fruit smoothie.

Have more crazy but effective money-saving tips? Share them in the comments.