Updated for 2025

100 dollars in 1992 is equivalent to $228.87 in 2025. That may not seem like a lot, but if you are trying to get out of debt, save to retire (compound interest, Baby!), or save up some emergency money (things break. Probably more so now than back then, to be honest), that $228.87 could come in real handy. 

I need to preface this whole post with some stats. We are a family of three senior adults, I work full-time and care for my husband and mom. A lot of times, time-saving beats money-saving for me. Your mileage may vary. 

Here is her list with my comments:

1. Purchase 10 articles of clothing at thrift shops and yard sales. I can’t say what this would save someone because I never really did this back then and don’t now. It was never my thing. I maintain my clothes, replace buttons, fix zippers, etc. Additionally, I buy multipurpose clothes (they can be work and play) and wear them until they become rags—like literal rags!, and if the material isn’t suitable for cleaning the house or washing the car with, I make it into something else. 
2. Hang four loads of laundry per week instead of using your dryer. I continue to hang laundry even though we rent and don’t have a place outside to hang a line. We bought a TriPod Laundry for about $35 seven years ago, and I am sure it has paid itself off many times. We love this thing. I haven’t run the numbers because kilowatt hours X how long the dryer runs X the dryer’s efficiency makes my head explode. 
3. Once a month make a pizza from scratch instead of having one delivered. I work full-time now making time saving a little more important to me right now. I have been known to buy dough and the ingredients but to tell you the truth, we only buy pizza from Papa Murphy’s Tuesday deals every week. It is a special thing for us. We never get delivery, but looking at the local Domino’s website, the pizza we would buy is smaller than what we get at Papa Murphy’s and costs $19.99 plus tax, a delivery fee, and a tip. I’m ballparking a delivered pizza would cost close to or more than $30 a week. In our town, we can get a Family-size Gourmet Vegetarian pizza for $15.25 including tax. It is large enough for leftovers for my lunch, making it $3.81 per person/4 meals. Pricing it out with store brand: 
   1. Dough: $2.64/tube
   2. Sauce: $.76/ half a jar
   3. Zucchini: $.51/ half each
   4. Sliced mushrooms: $.98/ half 8oz container
   5. Roma tomatoes: $.50/ for 2
   6. Pre-diced: peppers and onions $1.44/ half of 10 oz
   7. Fresh spinach: $.40 / 2 ounces
   8. Mozzarella cheese: 1.97/8 ounces

It costs $9.20 to make a 13-inch pizza, not counting my time. I would have to make two to have one meal and leftovers, so the total would be $18.40. I’m saving over $3, and I don’t have to make it.

The savings of getting it from Papa Murphy’s vs. delivery are $14.75/wk X 52 weeks = $767/year.

4. Write a good letter instead of making a monthly long-distance phone call. Not really a thing anymore unless you don’t have a cell phone. I love snail mail as much as the next person but I really like a nice video chat with my kids. I don’t consider cell phones to be a luxury these days. They are/can be a safety device.
5. Reduce your soda consumption by four cans per week. We don’t really drink soda, but sometimes my mom likes it. I buy the store brand for $1.00 for a 2-liter bottle, which lasts for weeks (weirdly, she’s okay drinking it flat). In 2025, I think it would be more likely to cut out buying coffee or a beverage at the coffee shop than buying soda. I had to do this one-day last week. It cost $5.01. I was amazed. I’ll get up a little earlier from now on. Let’s say I save half this amount a day by making coffee at home, and yes, I drink coffee every day. $2.50 X 365 = $912.50.
6. Bake one batch of bread (two loaves per week). We don’t eat a lot of bread, but when I do, I buy the marked-down bread. Someone else will have to do the math on this one.
7. Save $50 each on two children’s birthday parties by making homemade decorations, cake, wrapping paper, and one present. We no longer do big event parties. We do small parties, potlucks, and picnics but I’ve seen some crazy money spent on gender reveals, birthday parties, and engagement parties. This is probably something that could be cut back in some way. On Amazon, birthday party supplies (paper plates, napkins, cups, cutlery, tablecloth, banner, and balloons for 24 average about $21. Three of us X $21 = $63/year.
8. Rescue your smoking by three cigarettes per day (or give up smoking altogether and save even more). We have never been smokers, so this didn’t apply to us, but in our area, the average cost of a pack of cigarettes is $8.51. That is $.425 per cigarette. 3 x $.4255 = $1.275 per day x 365 = $465.375. DANG! 
9. Reduce your whole milk consumption by two gallons per week by substituting dry milk in cooking, homemade cocoa mix, and half-and-half for drinking. I don’t buy whole milk, but a gallon of 1% store brand is $3.44, and whole milk is the same. A 64-ounce box of nonfat dry milk is $19.67 and makes 5 gallons or $3.93 per gallon. It’s not the savings it used to be. We only buy a gallon of milk a week. Not a real calculatable item for us.
10. Pack four inexpensive school (or work) lunches per week.  I always pack my lunch. It is usually a mason jar salad or leftovers. This could really add up to some big savings. The average cost of going to lunch in the US (quick Google search) is between $11 – $20. I’ve bought fast food for Mom and JR recently. A Whooper meal is $10.89 per person. Times that by 4 = $43.52/week or $2,263.04/year. That’s a bonkers amount of money. 

The bolded cost is $3,238.54 per year, which is a giant chunk of change in my book. As I said, your savings will vary depending on your situation and what you are willing to cut back on. There is no judgment here.