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It’s unsurprising that most popular media feels far removed from the struggles of everyday life. The culturati is made up of rich, well-educated, connected people. But every once in a while, they get it right. Thrifty Redditors recently shared their favorite books, movies, and series on frugal living — pieces of true-to-life media that show what it's really like to live on a budget.
Based on Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books of the same name, the “Little House on the Prairie” series tells the story of a family of farmers in 19th-century rural Minnesota. Since life is tough on the prairie — deadly diseases, kidnappings, and calamitous weather are common — the show is full of lessons about roughing it in the face of hardships. In one illustrative episode that touches on class, the family’s patriarch takes pride in paying off his debts, even though it means taking on back-breaking work digging ditches.
On its face, “Malcolm in the Middle” is just another family sitcom. But unlike, say, “Modern Family,” which spotlights rich suburbanites in Los Angeles, “Malcolm” centers around a lower-middle-class family that struggles to get by. As Yohann Koshy writes for Vice, “Re-watching it now it's clear what the show is actually about: meritocracy is a sham, social institutions are corrupt and wage-labour is cruel.”
Before there was r/Frugal, there was Amy Dacyczyn’s “Tightwad Gazette,” an informational (and humorous) newsletter that endeavored to teach readers how to live like true penny pinchers. Topics include practical tips such as how to avoid credit card debt and how to transform old jeans into quilts.
This book’s message is simple: You can live frugally without living a boring, colorless life. “We want you to have an excellent life. And we don’t think you should have to spend much money to do it,” the authors write.
Related: 7 Purchases That Frugal Redditors Say Drastically Improved Their Lives
This semi-autobiographical novel is a coming-of-age tale that follows Francie, the daughter of a poor immigrant family in early 20th-century New York City. While this story is more about “poverty than frugality,” in the words of one Redditor, they note that the two “often go hand in hand.”
Related: Real People, Real Solutions: Thrifty Redditors Share Their Tips for Conquering Credit Card Debt
Like “Malcolm in the Middle,” this show follows a lower-middle-class family and leans into the everyday absurdities, humor, and dysfunction that come along with that situation. One Redditor shares that they think often about a scene where the family’s faucet breaks, so they end up doing dishes in the bathtub.
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While it’s more focused on sustainability than frugality, the documentary’s premise is so extreme — a family gives up nearly everything to be as green as possible — that there’s plenty of overlap.
Related: Here's Why Frugal Redditors Are Ditching Amazon Prime
For an on-the-nose treatment of class and frugal living, watch “Home Economics.” Three siblings are stars of the show: Connor, a rich, unhappy divorcé; Tom, an author who makes a decent living; and Sarah, a child therapist who barely makes ends meet. The families’ “different socioeconomic levels and approaches to spending are the central theme of the show,” one Redditor writes.
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Capitalism’s pressures and values are inescapable in American society, so what if you simply opted out? “Captain Fantastic” answers that question in a dramedy that follows an eccentric, left-wing anarchist family that lives in the Washington wilderness. Instead of celebrating Christmas, watching television, or reading “Harry Potter,” this band of isolated misfits observes Noam Chomsky Day, reads Mao, and discusses the evils of capitalism. While you might not learn any practical frugal tips here, the film presents an interesting thought experiment.
Have you ever felt guilty or embarrassed for being too frugal? If you answered yes and want to feel a lot better about yourself, watch this reality TV show, which highlights the lives of frugal fanatics. There are bizarre characters like Greg, who only flushes his toilet once a week, and Kay, who washes her clothes in the shower to save money.
Since the above list is far from exhaustive, we've also included a few frugal favorites that didn't make the top ten. We've got fun picks like "So Freakin' Cheap," a reality show where tight-fisted families will do anything to save an extra buck (including dumpster diving). And with films and books like "The Pursuit of Happyness" and "Maid," there are also some heavy, heavy tearjerkers.