Practical Or Impractical? Observe The 30-Second Rule
3 min readPeople might automatically brand you as kuripot for maximizing your household supplies down to the last drop. Some may argue that they’re only trying to get their money’s worth; some may be going overboard with being masinop.
How do you draw the fine line between practicality and being a cheapskate? As Filipinos have the knack for making the most out of every purchase, we’ve prepared a simple guideline to know when to skimp and when to spend just right.
Remember the 30-second rule
Like everyone else, we’re also trying to find ways to make our everyday living more economical. This means trying out different frugality tips to see if it works for us.
While there are myriads of money-saving techniques out there, every method must be able to withstand the test of time. And we’re not talking about timeless tips here. By time, we mean the one that will cost you little to no time possible. This is where the 30-second rule comes in:
If it requires you merely 30 seconds to get that last bit, then you’re definitely doing it right. Otherwise, it’s a waste of time.
Since time is more precious than any other saving technique you have in your arsenal, your frugal ways must require you as little effort as possible. If you must tinker with a lot of tools and spend at least an hour just to save up a few centavos, then you’re putting way more time into it than you should be. It’s not fair to you.
For instance, if you’re going to squeeze the last portion of toothpaste out of the tube, then it shouldn’t require you to use elaborate tools and maximum effort. When you start to use pliers, rolling pins, and other tools to get a small amount, you’re better off moving on to the next unopened tube.
Want to test it out? We’ve got a few tricks you can use that will only take you 30 seconds or less:
| Item | Impractical | Practical |
| Soap | Melt the scraps and combine into a new bar | Cut parallel notches on a new bar and the old scraps. Wet the notched areas, press together and join. |
| Toothpaste | Buy a “toothpast squeezer†to get everything out | Take a small cylindrical object (like a pentel pen). Fold the end of the toothpaste tube over object and roll towards the opening. |
| Shampoo | Dilute the contents of an almost empty bottle with water | Tip the old bottle over the opening of a new bottle. Leave it like that till what’s left in the old bottle drips down to the new bottle. |
| Lotion | Removing the pump and replacing it with a cap with a lid | Cut the container in half to have easy access to the remaining contents |
Whatever life hack you have, try to apply the 30-second rule. Life hacks and money-saving tips shouldn’t require you to put considerable effort.
How much is enough?
It’s good to have practical lifehacks to stretch your money’s worth of supplies. However, one way to make sure that you get the value of every gram and every milliliter of that item is using the right portions.
One perfect example is the toothpaste trick: You don’t have to slather your brush with a lot of toothpaste as if you’re one of those commercial models with perfectly (edited) white teeth. As recommended on most toothpaste labels, a pea-sized serving is more than enough to keep your teeth squeaky clean.
Since a pea size is usually 0.25 g, a 193-g tube will yield you approximately more than 700 brushes per container. If you’re living alone, that’s almost a year’s worth—if you’re faithful with the whole twice-a-day brushing!
Whether you want to save money by hacking your everyday items or using them properly, one thing is for certain. Whatever you do, you have to make sure that it still works for you, even if you scale down the amount you’re using.
Sources:
https://www.menshealth.com/trending-news/g19539457/serving-size/?slide=9
https://www.cosmopolitan.com/style-beauty/beauty/how-to/a39196/how-much-hair-product-to-apply/
https://lifehacker.com/5833610/combine-old-and-new-bars-of-soap-easily-with-a-notching-technique
About the author
eCompareMo eCompareMo is the No. 1 financial e-commerce site in the Philippines. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram: @ecomparemo.