That one weird trick for saving money

It’s been a tough year on the wallet with the cost of living and inflation continuing to rise.

But the internet is full of weird and wonderful tips on how to save money when times get tough.

So we took to Reddit and TikTok to find some of the most extreme money-saving methods people have used in the past year to keep an extra dollar or so in their pocket.

Showering at work

This will obviously only work if you still work in an office and have access to a shower facility in your building, but one Reddit user said they began showering at work to save on money.

‘‘I use the shared shower at work instead of showering at home. I can take longish showers and get an exercise daily,’’ the commenter said.

Along with other hygiene habit changes, people had opted to: ditch shampooing their hair; use blocks of salt as natural deodorant; have cold showers; limit the days they showered to once or twice a week; and wear all pieces of clothing at least three times before washing them.

Buying kids clothing, shoes

For an adult with smallish feet, buying the same style of shoe in a child’s size rather than an adult’s size can save upwards of $50.

One Reddit poster said she usually wore a US size 5.5 to 6.5 in women’s shoes and shopped for shoes in the children’s section.

‘‘Last week I went to buy a simple pair of black Chuck Taylors. The store had none in my size in the women’s section, and I was irritated by how expensive they are,’’ she said.

‘‘Checked the boys’ section – the boys’ [size] 3.5 fit perfectly and were US$25 cheaper.’’

Freeze or replant food

To combat the high cost of living, one British woman makes food a month in advance and freezes it.

This includes sandwiches, which she popped in plastic wrap and froze for up to a month. She also replanted her fruit and veges, such as a spring onion, which can regrow in the garden.

It would also reduce food waste, which is one of the leading causes of people losing money on food and costs New Zealand households $3.1 billion a year.

Ditch Netflix for loan DVDs

Paying up to $22.99 a month for

Netflix, $12.99 for Disney+, $12.99 for Neon and $8 for Amazon Prime can add up, especially if you’re subscribed to all of them.

One Reddit user said they now went to their local library to rent DVDs instead. So dust off your old DVD player that has been sitting in a cupboard for years.

If you no longer have a DVD player, you can still buy one for under $100 from a number of retailers.

You just might have to deal with a scratchy disc – but that works out to be the equivalent of glitchy internet while using a streaming service.