He is so frugal he......

[ExFlyBoy5]

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Originally Posted by 34rlsa In the spirit of the holidays... I'll share one from my Dad. Christmas trees. When I was a kid every year my Dad would buy a live beautiful Blue Spruce tree... With all the roots and soil wrapped in a burlap bag. We would bring it into the house and decorate it as usual. Then after New Years my dad would take the tree and transplant it in our yard. We had several beautiful trees that grew and grew for years all over our small lot. p.s. Took me a while but his is my 100th post!

When I lived with my Mother (just a couple of years) we did that for 2 years; 1982 and 1983 if I recall. This house was sold in 1999 but the two trees that we planted are still there!

[Major Tom]

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Originally Posted by Mulligan If I showed this to my Dad you would have an instant friend for life.

Mine too. My Dad would have thoroughly approved of that.

All the comments about getting the last squeezes of toothpaste out of the tube reminded me of how much easier it was to do this when toothpaste tubes used to be made out of a mixture of plastic and aluminum, and retained the shape they were bent into. Perhaps a few hardy souls even remember when toothpaste tubes were made entirely of metal (a mixture of tin and lead) up until WW2.

I don't buy paper towels at all. I use rags for wiping floors and surfaces, and if I want to use a paper towel, use a few sheets of bathroom tissue instead.

For the most part, I don't go to any great lengths to be frugal. My lifestyle in a 285 sq ft studio with just a bicycle, my feet, and the occasional bus or train for transport seems to have frugality built into it. I don't have a TV subscription, and my total phone + internet bills come to $35/month (less if I don't call much long distance). On top of that, my rent is cheap (for the area). Because my main recurring bills are well under control, the extra savings involved in making a tube of toothpaste last longer, or using less bathroom tissue/paper towels would be minimal compared to the money I save by not buying a car, for example.

I don't have a car, and I don't have HBO/Discovery etc etc, but my personal luxury in the winter evenings is settling down with a nice cup of hot coca spiked with whisky. Heaven! Gotta live it up from time to time

[unclemick]

I hope folks reading this thread know there is a dastardly ending to all this.

After 21 years of varying degrees of fugal (er cheap) your portfolio gets out of hand and epiphany strikes - you can't take it with you.

heh heh heh - come 70 1/2 your Pals at the IRS show up to help you. So do you spend the leftovers or stay frugal?

P.S. the last few years before marriage and moving again - I ran an outdoor extension cord and decorated the 6-8 ft Blue Spruce in the front yard - why 'buy' a tree?

[aja8888]

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Originally Posted by unclemick heh heh heh - come 70 1/2 your Pals at the IRS show up to help you. So do you spend the leftovers or stay frugal?

I'm feeling that pain now and DW thinks I just got a raise!

[GalaxyBoy]

Dear old Dad has been using the same spatula with the broken handle for literally as long as I can remember, which would be the mid-1960's. He gets a puzzled look when I suggest he replace it. Oh, and he also has literally over a million in his investment accounts.

I guess what we used to call "being cheap" is now referred to as "being green." Dad is proud of the fact that his weekly garbage consists of one plastic grocery bag full of stuff (he recycles his newspapers, glass and cans), but he doesn't necessarily identify himself as an "environmentalist;" it's just what one DOES.

[Walt34]

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Originally Posted by Rick_Head Buy groceries and cook along the way. I often go on long (3 -7) days with my old car buddies. DW gave me this aid for Xmas a few years ago. Not only frugal, but better tasting too.

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Originally Posted by aja8888 Working on oil and gas projects in Wyoming in the middle of nowhere, we cooked lots of food on our truck engines.

A part of family lore is Dad cooking a chicken on the manifold driving from DC to Tyrone, PA where his parents lived. According to the story his mother, not being sure it was thoroughly cooked, was reluctant to eat it until it had passed a careful inspection.

[FUEGO]

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Originally Posted by Calico This was decades ago when everyone sent beautiful cards every year. I loved this habit of hers and have never known anyone else who did it.

We do this. And make bookmarks out of the cards. Mostly the kids and not so much me.

[Elbata]

I see these 1999 Chrysler vans on the road and I wonder why I ever got rid of mine. Same with my 1987 toyota pickup. I've gone on to buy well over $100,000 in vehicles since and to be honest, I would be as happy and better served with my older vehicles.

How do we get this idea the buying new is better? Just inherited FIL's honda 1998 with only 75K miles. Hope we could make it work for another 15 years.

BTW, this thread makes me laugh. Another reason why the internet is so wonderful.

[audreyh1]

I think I'm going to be less frugal to make up for the rest of y'all!

[flyingaway]

Talking about eating dog food?

We used to buy small crackers for breakfast, the larger bags are cheaper. One day I was looking for cracker bags at Walmart and was surprised to find some very big bags of cracker-like stuffs selling at a unreasonably low price. I put one bag in my cart and still could not believe that I found such a bargain. So I looked around and found that I was in pets food section.

[MRG]

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Originally Posted by flyingaway Talking about eating dog food? We used to buy small crackers for breakfast, the larger bags are cheaper. One day I was looking for cracker bags at Walmart and was surprised to find some very big bags of cracker-like stuffs selling at a unreasonably low price. I put one bag in my cart and still could not believe that I found such a bargain. So I looked around and found that I was in pets food section.

But the real question is did you buy and eat them?

Along the same line when we discovered "Greenies" for our dogs that had dental issues. These things worked great and the vet quit bothering us about expensive dental procedures to clean their teeth. The manufacturer had an email to send comments to.

I wrote explained how great their products worked, saved the dogs from dental work and us money. Joking I asked if they thought their products worked for people.

The owner answered the email explained while they manufactured by FDA approved procedures, the products hadn't gone through the FDAs approval process for human use. He went on to say he'd used them personally and his dentist commented how his gum health had improved.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Early Retirement Forum mobile app

[NW-Bound]

Talk about cooking on top of the car engine, I wonder if a gourmand's palate would be fine enough to tell by the imparted flavor if the engine oil was Penzoil 10W40 or Valvoline 5W30.

And without a V8 engine with a flat top, how does one tuck his meal into the modern 4-cylinder or V6 transverse engine?

[calmloki]

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Originally Posted by MRG But the real question is did you buy and eat them? Along the same line when we discovered "Greenies" for our dogs that had dental issues. These things worked great and the vet quit bothering us about expensive dental procedures to clean their teeth. The manufacturer had an email to send comments to. I wrote explained how great their products worked, saved the dogs from dental work and us money. Joking I asked if they thought their products worked for people. The owner answered the email explained while they manufactured by FDA approved procedures, the products hadn't gone through the FDAs approval process for human use. He went on to say he'd used them personally and his dentist commented how his gum health had improved. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Early Retirement Forum mobile app

I've used ophthalmic ointment for several eye injuries - the stuff for cats was about an 1/8 the cost for people eye grease and had the same ingredients and size and shape tube. Worked and felt the same. I figure drugs for animals are the same whether you add or subtract a soul - you are treating the body anyway.

[Calico]

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Originally Posted by FUEGO We do this. And make bookmarks out of the cards. Mostly the kids and not so much me.

I never thought of making bookmarks out of them - thanks for that idea!

[heeyy_joe]

I use soap until it's gone, them little slivers last a good while.

Love those Mach 3 razor blades, four will last me a year.

Toothpaste tubes - consider it a challenge to get all the product out!

[FUEGO]

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Originally Posted by Calico I never thought of making bookmarks out of them - thanks for that idea!

We also use $5 or $10 bills as bookmarks.

#livinglarge

[freebird5825]

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Originally Posted by FUEGO We also use $5 or $10 bills as bookmarks. #livinglarge

No hundreds ?

[Calico]

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Originally Posted by heeyy_joe I use soap until it's gone, them little slivers last a good while. Love those Mach 3 razor blades, four will last me a year. Toothpaste tubes - consider it a challenge to get all the product out!

Take a bunch of the slivers, moisten them and stick them together, and you've got yourself a whole new bar of soap. Another trick I learned from my grandmother!

[NotMyFault]

Save junk mail envelopes for messages and grocery lists.

[NW-Bound]

I stopped using soap bars long ago. I use liquid soap, and need much less than a teaspoon per shower. It was not just for reduced costs. Soap bars create a mess in the soap holder, which takes effort to clean.