The economy is not looking good. While no one knows exactly where things are headed, it’s safe to say it would do us all good to think about how to cut costs. Finding things for less is a bit of a hobby of mine. Whenever I am looking to buy something, I always try to find it for the lowest price possible. Over the years, I’ve accrued a few tips that I thought I’d share. At the end, I’ll give you a tip for buying the amazing things you see on Serena & Lily for less (no peeking!!). I’d love to hear your tips on how to cut costs in the comments!
5 Ways to Cut Costs on Your Favorite Things
(Note: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. This will help me keep this blog active!)
1. Make It Your Own Household and Beauty Products
I started making my own house cleaners, facial soaps, and other household and personal items a few years ago. At the time, my primary intent was to reduce exposure to toxins when I became pregnant. Over time, I realized that it really saves you a lot of money! This is the easiest place to start when you need to cut costs!
Here are some of the household items I routinely make that can cut costs:
- Counter Spray: take a 16oz spray jar, add 1/3 cup rubbing alcohol, 3 drops of soap and 5 drops of lavender essential oil. Fill to the top with water and swish around.
- Window / mirror cleaners: 50/50 mix of vinegar and water and pour into one of those amber spray bottles
- Disinfecting spray: just add a spray top to hydrogen peroxide! Yes, I’m using this even now during COVID-19. I also have Clorox wipes and other non-DIY options too (I’m not messing around this that thing)
[For more DIY household items, check out this post: Non-toxic household items that can actually save you money]
Some of my DIY beauty items are:
- Facial cleanser: I use this recipe from Nadia at Body Unburdened. She has a ton of great tips to make your own beauty care!
- Toner: straight witch hazel or witch hazel with aloe vera. Lately I’ve been integrating rose water 1x/day. Here are the ones I use:
- Moisturizer: I just use Jojoba oil. It’s lightweight and very moisturizing (without looking like an oil slick). And cheap! I’ve never received so many compliments on my skin until I started using Jojoba oil. Dr. Axe explains in amazing nourishment and moisturizer for the skin the benefits of Jojoba oil.
Desert Essence Organic Jojoba Oil
- Shaving cream: fractionated coconut oil. Coconut oil is amazing nourishment and moisturizer for the skin. I’m not exactly sure what fractionated stands for, but it’s a liquid form (vs. the hardened coconut oil you cook with). So it’s easy to use in the shower as a shaving cream!
[For more DIY beauty items that will save you money, check out this post: Non-toxic beauty items that can actually save you money]
2. Buy gently used clothes and shoes (cut costs by buying used)
A great way to get designer clothes for less is to buy them used!
Don’t look at me like I just licked the floor.
It’s not as gross as you think to buy gently used clothes. Most often, they aren’t even gently used. Many times, I’ve purchased something that is new or almost new from someone that they realized they didn’t want.
So, for example, someone purchased, say, a Lululemon jacket on final sale before they realized it didn’t fit. They may be willing to sell it for dirt cheap to you (likely still with tags) to avoid a total loss. Or, they received a gift and cannot return it..they’d rather turn that into cash than have the item in their closet.
You can find great items on eBay, The Real Real (luxury consignment), or Tradesy.
Just one word of caution of these sites (especially eBay). Please do check the return policy if, for whatever reason, your items isn’t as described. I honestly haven’t had any issues but please do your research!
If this isn’t for you and you want to save money on higher end clothes, consider buying a bigger (and perhaps less popular) clothing size and having it altered! I do this a lot for fancy dresses. I have purchased a larger size in petite and alter it! Perfect way to cut costs!
3. Cook & Freeze
I do so much cooking & freezing that we had to get another freezer! I usually cook 1x/week (Sunday) and double (or triple) the recipe. We eat that meal on Sunday, with leftovers on Monday. I then freeze what is left over in small portions. For the rest of the week, I take out a previously frozen meal and put it in the fridge the night before. It’s defrosted by dinner the next evening!
I also freeze pancakes, muffins, banana bread, soups, and sauces. For example, if I use half a can of, say, tomato sauce, I freeze the rest in freezer trays (see below) and, once frozen, dump them in a freezer bag.
We waste almost no food in my house. But we have lots of freezer space, thanks to this handy freezer in my garage:
Kismile 1.1 Cu.ft Upright Freezer with Compact Reversible Single Door
Here are the ice trays I use to freeze sauces and condiments I make:
Here are pancakes I froze a few weeks ago! They fit perfectly on the tray in that freezer! Yum!
This takes some planning but cooking and freezing is really a great way to cut costs.
4. Exercise classes from Facebook Live / Video (cut costs of gym membership)
I love going to barre classes at my local Pure Barre. It’s pricey, however. I have signed up for their Pure Barre On Demand for $30/month and enjoyed it a lot.
Then, I realized that they offer FREE classes on Pure Bare Go on Facebook. They don’t offer them every day, but if you go to their page, click on Videos, you’ll see about ~10 workouts they have posted previously. That’s plenty to give you some variety.
I haven’t looked at videos on the Facebook pages for other workout programs, but I suspect you’d find a lot of options.
Work out and cut costs at the same time! Amazing!!
5. Use Image Search for Home Decor Items (aka How to Get Serena & Lily for less)
In case you are familiar, Serena and Lily is a massively popular home design retailer. Their products and images are just gorgeous. And they’re pretty expensive too (even with a discount).
What I learned is that some of their items are not their brand. They are provided by other manufacturers and renamed (sometimes) by S&L. As such, they are available at OTHER retailers for less.
So, for example, I really wanted to buy the Serena and Lily Rosecliff Chandelier:
However, I didn’t want to pay $1598!
Fast forward a week and I had purchased this same chandelier for ~$1000.
How did I find this Serena & Lily chandelier for less?
I found it at another retailer using a Google Image Search!
What is a Google image search?
You basically use the image of something you want and ask Google to find images just like it. This is how I found this SAME chandelier for ~$1000.
Here is how I used Google Image Search for this Chandelier:
1. Take a screenshot of a generic image on the website
By “generic” I mean an image that doesn’t involve the room setting…just an image of the exact item you want…and only that item in the photo. Here is the image I used:
2. Go to Google.com and click on Image in the upper right hand corner
3. Click on the camera icon and choose your generic screenshot
4. Then watch the results pop up….you essentially see all websites that have the same exact image you uploaded
Do you see the chandelier on the right available at Circa Lighting?! It’s the SAME one as the Rosecliff Chandelier at Serena & Lily but for $600 less!
How are you sure it’s the same one?!
To be honest, I’m not 100% sure. But I looked at the dimensions, which are exactly same. I looked at close ups of the curvature of the light posts and they are identical. Some of the verbiage to describe them is the same. The image is the exact same. It’s the same chandelier as far as I’m concerned!
On top of that, I received a discount from signing up for the distribution list for this online retailer. So, needless to say, I got Serena & Lily for waaaaay less!
Can I just buy everything at Serena & Lily for 30% off? Will I always be able to cut costs this way?
No, sadly. This is NOT going to work for everything you see at Serena & Lily (or other retailer). In fact, it probably only works for a minority of items. Essentially, there are some items S&L does not make themselves and those are the ones you can find elsewhere (sold under different names). I suspect most of their lighting is available elsewhere.
Actually, not everything available elsewhere is cheaper….
I did a search for this Malibu Chandelier (isn’t it beautiful?):
It’s currently $2398 at S&L.
…..and, doing a Google Image Search, I found it for MORE at this retailer….
It’s also available at other retailers…I didn’t search if there was one that was actually less.
So, no, not everything at Serena & Lily is less expensive at other locations.
Even if you cannot find it for less at another retailer, you may be able to find it used.
I did a search for this Serena & Lily Riveria chair:
While I didn’t find them available at another retailer, I found them for 40% less slightly used at Chairish…
The takeaway is: an image search may save you money at Serena & Lily (but not always).
Hope you liked these ideas on how to cut costs! What do you do to cut costs?
If cost cutting isn’t going to be enough and you need help getting a job, here are 2 resources I have created for you:
If you liked this post, be sure to check these out:
- How to Prepare for a Recession
- The Best Healthy Meal Ideas to Enjoy in Quarantine
- 3 Tips for Making Easy, Healthy School Lunches
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Buying things used is such a great tip, so is using the online exercise classes! Going to classes is so expensive.
Classes are so expensive! I want to support the instructors by paying but it helps to offset with online sometimes.
This is a great list! I have just started making my own products.
Nice 👍
I love your witch hazel tip. We used to use witch hazel a lot when I was a child. I can smell it now!
Wonderful alternatives so you can save money. I only cook two meals per week in order to save money!
Great that you only cook 2 meals a month! It’s doesn’t have to be too cumbersome in order to cook and save!
I’m a fan of thrift shops (gently used clothing)! Sometimes I spend a day driving around the city looking for big shops and it’s amazing how many neat signature items you can find there. These are really awesome tips and I will be trying some of these (making beauty products).
Glad to hear I’m not the only one that looks for gently used clothing!
Great tips. I would love to own one of those furnitures.
This is really interesting read. Very practical ideas. I learnt soething new today 🙂
Great tips. During current situation, we can try creating our own. Thanks for sharing.
Making my own has come in handy given the shelves are empty at the store!
Quite helpful, I need to follow few tips from here now. Thanks.
Many cultures actually practice handing down clothes from one sibling to the next, and I definitely don’t see the harm jn reusing a garment as long as it’s been properly washed.
Glad to know I’m not crazy!
I love the idea of making your own household cleaners! Great read!!
These are some great tips to low cost of our budgets, as well not spending ton of money. Making your own products is really a smart idea. Should consider this one.