Confessions of a true CHEAPSKATE

[tightasadrum]

Khan, you're my hero.

 

[Walt34]

In the late 70's I drove a Karman Ghia with very little heat . I remember driving to work as I was scrapping the frost off the inside of the window. Fun Times !

Hmph. Wimp.

Try doing it on a 100cc motorcycle all winter. Two years in a row.

Of course, I haven't been "quite right in the head" about cold weather since, given what we spend on nat. gas for heat....

 

[Khan]

In the late 70's I drove a Karman Ghia with very little heat . I remember driving to work as I was scrapping the frost off the inside of the window. Fun Times !

I had a VW Bug in the early '70s. Recall scraping the inside and outside windshield from the driver's seat.

 

[calmloki]

I had a VW Bug in the early '70s. Recall scraping the inside and outside windshield from the driver's seat.

So how many of you VW owners carried the uptown window defogger kit? a 6" squeegee. Worked fast and easy!

 

[unclemick]

So how many of you VW owners carried the uptown window defogger kit? a 6" squeegee. Worked fast and easy!

1958 VW bug - Seattle in the 60's. Cloth Bull Durham bag - you know the roll yer own tobacco pouch with the little pull string. Not that much ice in Seattle anyway.

I must confess - whatever frugals I did in life - I never stinted on Toilet Paper - nothing but top of the line for my tush - ever since Boy Scouts.

In some areas you just can't compromise! I'm sure we all have our little luxury to contrast the frugals.

heh heh heh -

 

[toofrugalformycat]

I had a VW Bug in the early '70s. Recall scraping the inside and outside windshield from the driver's seat.

I had a '63 bug, 6-volt, sunroof in the '70s. The defroster was the palm of my hand held against the inside of the windshield until the ice melted in that spot.

 

[calmloki]

1958 VW bug - Seattle in the 60's. Cloth Bull Durham bag - you know the roll yer own tobacco pouch with the little pull string. Not that much ice in Seattle anyway.
heh heh heh -

Had to put up some pics of the '55 camping out under rental supplies in the garage. One of these days...

Cool - you're the only other person i've known who did the Bull Durham trick - with tobacco in it and wiped on the inside of the window with a little moisture it prevents fogging - think i remember using it on the outside to help the woeful wipers too. A good memory: my Dad used to have a roll yer own Bull Durham smoke (usually out) stuck to the corner of his lower lip most of the time - he'd peel it off and relight when something required more than a normal amount of cogitating. Awful tobacco though - little bitty dried up flakes - but it did the job on windows!

 

[freebird5825]

We also hang our clothes on the line, instead of using a dryer.

We don't buy bottled water.

i'm almost there with you on the no dryer. but it's winter and i have to use it. an energy saver i do...heavy things like jeans and big bath towels get hung up for about 2 hours above the washer and dryer (it's the furnace room too) to partially dry. all that extra heat from the furnace does a good job on getting them to a damp state. then it takes less than half the time to get them completely dry. little stuff goes right in the dryer.

save a watt today for tomorrow's use...

bottled water? hell no - i have a small collection of diswasher safe sipper bottles with unscrew caps. fill it up before i go out for the day, and refill when i need to. i drink a lot of water, so that's a huge savings for me.

 

[freebird5825]

oops...forgot a huge cost saver. we all hear how great green tea is for us. and how much are you paying for a 20 oz bottle of green or white tea? last i saw was $1.79. and the add to water instant single serve mixes are off the scale.

this is too easy...Invest in a 64 oz glass (not plastic) wide mouth beverage dispenser. it has a push button spigot at the very bottom. dollar store or wally world sells them for about $3-$5.

take 2 decaf green tea bags and 1 celestial seasons fruit flavored tea bag (black cherry berry or peach passion or any from their fruit sampler box). fill the glass jar to the brim, empty into a regular stovetop pot, add tea bags and heat to boiling. let cool. skim tea bags out of pot. pour tea brew into jar, add about 1/3 cup sugar if you like or skip. stir and refrig.

you will get addicted to this simple fruity green tea. and it is so good for you. and no caffeine so you can enjoy it anytime.

 

[Khan]

i'm almost there with you on the no dryer. but it's winter and i have to use it. an energy saver i do...heavy things like jeans and big bath towels get hung up for about 2 hours above the washer and dryer (it's the furnace room too) to partially dry. all that extra heat from the furnace does a good job on getting them to a damp state. then it takes less than half the time to get them completely dry. little stuff goes right in the dryer.

save a watt today for tomorrow's use...

What if you just left them hang to dry for a few more hours? The clothes (even jeans and towels) dry in 24 hours (or less) in the winter(and that's upstairs and not in the furnace and laundry room).

bottled water? hell no - i have a small collection of diswasher safe sipper bottles with unscrew caps. fill it up before i go out for the day, and refill when i need to. i drink a lot of water, so that's a huge savings for me.

I drink hot water in the winter. Use an electric cup warmer to keep tea/water warm in winter.

Don't go out that much, so don't carry water.

 

[Marquette]

calmloki, that's the most interesting toilet paper holder I've seen in a long, long time.

 

[calmloki]

calmloki, that's the most interesting toilet paper holder I've seen in a long, long time.

it's a hi-cap roller ... get it on the IRS pan and stick the 1916cc engine mouldering away under the bench in there, a little glass, the odd doodad, maybe a tire or four, and it could be fun again. Need to stop playing with the rentals and start playing with more entertaining things again.

 

[Shawn]

Still driving my 1980 Corolla (250K+ miles)

Cut my own hair (I don't have to look at myself, what do I care)

Reuse napkins / paper towels

Know the exact price of every value menu item at all fast food restaurants within a 50 km radius (and I collect napkins, ketchup, salt, plastic utensils, etc)

Don't ask about my underwear - trust me, you don't want to know

Have two 10 year-old garden hoses covered with duck tape

Bicycle tubes covered with patches

Unplug electronic items when not in use

Rarely turn on gas heat, don't have AC (much of house gets down to 45 degrees in winter)

 

[maddythebeagle]

Do NOT use paper towels for TP! Those things absorb water and will get stuck in your drains. You will pay for it with the plumber's bill. Trust me: been there, done that!

He he...I think she got confused with T-Al's cut paper towel rolls that look like tp....First thing I thought when I saw the pics was why does Al have a spice rack and microwave in his bathroom

 

[megacorp-firee]

Gawd, you guys win. I thought we were frugal, ... but we are spendthrifts compared to you all. DW buys stuff by the bulk when it comes on sale. Our basement has 4 shelves that have cans and dry goods that would support us through the entire winter if we got snowed in. I estimate she saves about 1/3 on average on all expenditures. When I see anything 'new' in the grocery bag, I know that it was on sale. Same with clothes ... she is a black belt shopper, probably saves us about 1/2 off of retail. We eat well and dress well for a fraction of the costs. But no re-use of toliet paper or that sort of thing. The closest thing I have is that on a cruise, I brought in my own bottles of booze. So each night before dinner, we would have cocktails in our cabin ... and then we would carry a cocktail to the show instead of paying through the nose for the ones from the bar.
When I was completing my education, I was on GI bill and her claim to fame (to this day) is that her household budget was 49 cents a day. Including diapers and forumla for the new born.
But I bow to all of you. We cannot compare.

Amusing anecdote: We were in Vegas, riding the bus from downtown to the strip. It's about a 5 mile ride end to end. An older (late 50s) Indian (from India) couple is at the 2nd stop from the start of the run and the bus stops. They ask the bus driver how much and he replies 2 dollars each. They say they want to go down to the Excalibur (at the far end of the strip). It's about a full 4 miles away. It's 95 degrees out. They decide to walk. Everyone was amazed. They would fit right in on this thread.

 

[zoey]

Eeow! That sounds painful. In the winter around here the incoming water temp is in the 40s. I try to tell her it would save water if we showered together but that only works sometimes.

Yeah, not something you could do in a lot of places, but we're in Hawaii. Most of the year, it's not that cold. In the summer, the coolish water is refreshing.

 

[dex]

Our basement has 4 shelves that have cans and dry goods that would support us through the entire winter if we got snowed in. I estimate she saves about 1/3 on average on all expenditures. When I see anything 'new' in the grocery bag, I know that it was on sale. Same with clothes .

I used to stock up on food and clothes when they were on sale. Then I saw that I was throwing away food - expired or got old and clothes. Now I'm on an as needed basis - very little food on the shelves and clothes only when it wears out - 2 pair of jeans.
Again not really to save money

Amusing anecdote: We were in Vegas, riding the bus from downtown to the strip. It's about a 5 mile ride end to end. An older (late 50s) Indian (from India) couple is at the 2nd stop from the start of the run and the bus stops. They ask the bus driver how much and he replies 2 dollars each. They say they want to go down to the Excalibur (at the far end of the strip). It's about a full 4 miles away. It's 95 degrees out. They decide to walk. Everyone was amazed. They would fit right in on this thread.

They probably could have gone half way across India for the $4.

 

[Marquette]

My mom always bought in bulk whatever happened to be on sale. As kids, our job was to rotate stock out in the basement to make sure we were always using stuff before it went bad.

To this day, my only horror story from childhood is garbage soup day. She'd clean out the freezer and, if it looked like it might go together, it went in the pot. It was never the same recipe and it usually tasted ok, but it was sort of like food roulette.

 

[megacorp-firee]

I used to stock up on food and clothes when they were on sale. Then I saw that I was throwing away food - expired or got old and clothes. Now I'm on an as needed basis - very little food on the shelves and clothes only when it wears out - 2 pair of jeans.
Again not really to save money

DW was really good about using all the food up. So no waste.
Clothes she would get high quality stuff on sale anticipating need. Again no waste.
I'm telling ya .. a 10th dan black belt shopper. I have no choice but to keep her for another 36 years

They probably could have gone half way across India for the $4.

Yeah, probably, it's about 159 rupees

 

[Meadbh]

When I was completing my education, I was on GI bill and her claim to fame (to this day) is that her household budget was 49 cents a day. Including diapers and forumla for the new born.

Breast milk is cheaper (and better). Missed saving opportunity!

 

[HFWR]

Breast milk is cheaper (and better). Missed saving opportunity!

I use it in my coffee...

 

[Notmuchlonger]

I use it in my coffee...

Lol reminded me of Meet the Fawkers

 

[loosechickens]

We have always done pretty much all of the things mentioned, and we still do them for the most part. It doesn't surprise me that people on this board engage in these sorts of thrifty habits. Lots more people become millionaires on thrifty habits than on large incomes. People who are focused on early retirement know how to get there.

Now that we are financially independent and retired, we still do the thrifty stuff, but we are also inclined to spend on travel, eating out and other luxuries within our budget now that we aren't in the accumulation phase anymore. It's hard to give up any of the thrifty habits, though.....they have become a way of life.

LooseChickens

 

[W2R]

He he...I think she got confused with T-Al's cut paper towel rolls that look like tp....First thing I thought when I saw the pics was why does Al have a spice rack and microwave in his bathroom

Yes, that's what happened. I was too embarrassed to admit it!

As far as little pieces of paper towel, I just do that without cutting up the roll like that.

 

[TromboneAl]

why does Al have a spice rack and microwave in his bathroom

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