Suffering and increased labor doesn’t always equal cost savings. In fact, it can be less cost effective at times. Here is my list of luxuries that are more frugal than their increased labor alternatives.

Using the Dishwasher

I’ve been living frugally for the last seven years or so and I always thought it was more cost effective to wash my dishes by hand. I was doing the labor, so it must save me money, right? Apparently, I was wrong. According to the PG&E website, running your dishwasher when full is more energy efficient than washing the dishes by hand.

Grocery Delivery Services

When I buy my groceries online, I can evaluate my needs much easier. In person grocery shopping has a plethora of stimulation that can distract me from my goal of feeding myself for the week within a particular budget. It’s harder for me to do the math when I’m in public as opposed to on my couch. Just a couple more conscious purchases save me the cost of the delivery fee and then some. If you can use the time savings to focus on increasing your income or resting, that’s an even better bonus.

Gym Memberships

Of course, you can do workouts at home or outside for free, but a gym membership has other advantages than just improving your muscle tone. Where gym memberships can save you money, aside from the long-term health effects that can reduce your medical bills, is you can use it as something to do when you want to get out of the house as opposed to retail therapy or spending money at a café. In a capitalist society, it can be hard to leave your house and do something that doesn’t result in spending money, that’s one benefit of the gym. Yes, you’re spending money on the membership, but it’s capped and in return you’ll also experience mood and health benefits from its use.

Using a Gas/Petro Delivery Service

I don’t know anyone but me who does this, but omg I love it so much. I don’t pay attention to gas prices, and I assumed I was paying premium prices to get my gas delivered to my car, but recently realized my gas delivery service is only about 8 cents more a gallon then filling up my tank myself. So technically this luxury doesn’t save me money, but it subjectively I think it does. I’d gladly pay $0.80 to get 20 minutes back in my day. I’m the sleepy gurl and any optimization of my energy pays me dividends. When I optimize my day, my brain is fresher. I can work more towards a promotion, use it to evaluate more stocks, or write articles like this. If you live in an area where Booster delivers your gas, here’s my referral link!

In conclusion, remember suffering doesn’t always equal cost savings. Occasionally, the easier route is also the better route. What other luxuries do you find save you money?