18 financially savvy people reveal their favorite life hack for saving money.

Being an adult often means stepping outside and wondering how the air seemingly charged you $250 to exist...

Taxes, mysterious fees, exorbitant rent increases--life is often full of financial confusion, exhaustion, or overall rage at the sight of your checking account balance. So, when a Reddit user asked, 'What are some interesting life hacks for saving money?' people were ready to share their favorite trick to being responsible with their cash. Does anyone happen to know which lottery numbers to choose? Thanks in advance, psychics.

1.

Learning how to cook pasta, rice and beans, soups, stews, polenta, grits, etc, really anything that costs very little and can feed a huge family. You save insane amounts of money, even if you are frugal in terms of buying cheaper things from stores (e.g. $5 sandwhich). For that same $5 you can make pasta with butter, cheese, and peas for the whole family. Or make beef stew with barley (chuck roast is really cheap and delicious in a stew). - Bince82

2.

Dollar store bleach. Dollar store vinegar. Dollar store cleaning products. Dollar store air freshener. - danmartinofanaheim

3.

When buying online, leave items in the shopping cart for awhile. There is a good chance that the website is tracking this, and will lower the price overtime to entice you into buying. I've saved a lot by being patient. Like when I got a surround sound amp for $350 that was listed everywhere for $450 to $500, just by leaving it in the online shopping cart for a week. - Whatmeworry4

4.

Acting broke. Trust me. Nothing helps you save more than acting broke. And there is a way to do that without becoming a mooch. Eat at home if your friends have a dinner plan at an expensive place. Pregame if you're going clubbing. And if anyone asks you why aren't you eating/drinking/coming for that vacation just say you're broke. I learnt this the hard way.

Because I remember becoming a recluse and slowly stopped socializing just because my friends always had these extravagant and expensive plans and I realized it really started weighing down on me. But eventually I learnt that there was no shame in wanting to save money/being broke and definitely none in saying so. - TheQr8r

5.

Live below your means - turtle101z

6.

I have a friend who, at the end of each pay period, moves whatever she has in checking into savings. It doesn't matter if she's got $5 or $50 in the account, it goes into savings the night before payday. - Gigglefruit358

7.

If you have any land whatsoever and you aren't growing at least some your own food, plant a fruit tree, etc, you are really missing out. We got 20ish raspberry canes at an end of season auction last year for $1 each. They saved me at least $200 in the first year alone, and they are spreading nicely, filling out the space I planted them in.

I was pulling in 100 tomatoes every day at one point this summer. My freezer is full of free soups, and bags and bags of frozen tomatoes. I saved seed (heirlooms) and from here on out, I get free tomato plants forever. If you mulch them heavy with woodchips, they are almost no work. You can make your own compost really easy. It's all a lot less work than you think, and totally free money.

Plus, FRESH raspberries, tomatoes, peaches, strawberries, they are LIFECHANGING. The sh*t in the store is hollow tasteless garbage. This year alone, I bet I saved at least $2k from food I grew, with zero inputs other than a few hours to drop some compost down, plant, mulch, then pick now and then. - Suuperdad

8.

I don't spend $1 bills. I collect them in a box and at the end of the year I usually have a few hundred dollars - RusoArmo

9.

I don't smoke but live my financial life as a smoker. Meaning every Monday I transfer the sum of one weeks worth of cigarettes to my savings account. If people that earn less than me can afford smoking, so can I. - kebabhue

10.

Only drinking water is a solid one. Soda at restaurants or other drinks add up a lot. - Kings-x-Dynasty

11.

Always eat before going food shopping - Trackull

12.

If you can buy a tool to complete a repair for the same price as the repair itself, buy the tool and repair it for free next time. - -thersites-

13.

When at the grocery, look at the price/oz or whatever unit it is instead of the total price. It's usually posted in one corner. It's not going to save you tons of money, but it does add up. Plus it takes out the guess work when comparing similar items. - Richards_Brother

14.

Don’t buy something that you normally wouldn’t buy just because you have a coupon. - Rwill113

15.

Try buying reusable objects in place of single use ones. It's better for your wallet and environment. Steel water bottles, reusable K cups, dish towels instead of paper towels, etc. Over time the costs of little things really add up - moongardenne

16.

Don’t use your main checking account for non-essentials. Give yourself a cash allowance each week, set it to whatever you find comfortable, and only spend that. Once it’s gone, it’s gone, and you have to wait until next week. It really helps with budgeting - you know exactly how much you’re spending on nonessentials, and you don’t need to track every penny. - [deleted]

17.

Did you just get a raise? Put that amount into savings if you already have it. A couple hundred bucks a month is nice, but you'll probably not notice is week to week. - smokintommybbq

18.

This is not mine, but 'The 72 hour rule' is pretty damn helpful. Basically, the gist of it is, if you want something that is not a necessity, instead of buying it immediately, add it to a list (in my case I use a spreadsheet, but whatever works), then wait 72 hours. If after 72 hours, you still want it, then you can buy it.

It seems that 80-90% of the time, after the 72 hours is up, I don't end up buying the item I thought i wanted. The reason I like doing it with a spreadsheet is, I can then at the end of the year, easily add it up, and see how much money I DIDN'T impulsively spend. - Icarus_Jones