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I can see the headlines in news of the weird
Old 12-24-2014, 07:39 PM   #141
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I can see the headlines in news of the weird

... millionaires smuggle their own drinks into pub, save string, recreate bars from soap slivers, re-use things you wouldn't ever want to know.

Ha
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Old 12-25-2014, 12:19 AM   #142
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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.

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Old 12-25-2014, 12:32 AM   #143
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I'm thinking more of a road trip. $15 or so to feed the family of 5, maybe grab a coffee while we are there. Possibly let the kids burn off another couple hundred miles of steam in the Play Place. Rest, relaxation, recreation, caffeination, for under $20.

We do often pack a picnic lunch/dinner for the first meal or two of a road trip, but not always.
When we were on travels or vacations, we usually brought instant noodles, even to another country on overseas travels.
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Old 12-25-2014, 04:38 AM   #144
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I bring home soaps and lotions from hotel rooms. I have a basket of them in the guest bathroom. I haven't bought a bar of soap in years.
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Old 12-25-2014, 04:41 AM   #145
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... Millionaires smuggle their own drinks into pub, save string, recreate bars from soap slivers, re-use things you wouldn't ever want to know.

Ha
+1

lol!
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Old 12-25-2014, 04:44 AM   #146
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I bring home soaps and lotions from hotel rooms. I have a basket of them in the guest bathroom. I haven't bought a bar of soap in years.
Oh no, you caught me on something!

But we don't use them at home. Just to replenish our overnight kits while traveling. And only the hotel soap or shampoo we really like.

That's neat idea to have them available in the guest bathroom.
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Old 12-25-2014, 06:36 AM   #147
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+1 on the toiletries. I also use them for travel and for the guest baths.

I think I am selectively frugal. Although raised with little, I'm not obsessed with penny pinching. I save more than 40 percent of our salary. After that we live large. Eating out once or twice a month for lunch, occasional coffees, and getting my hair done every couple of months.

For us this works.


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Old 12-25-2014, 07:02 AM   #148
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I bring home soaps and lotions from hotel rooms. I have a basket of them in the guest bathroom. I haven't bought a bar of soap in years.
+1
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Old 12-25-2014, 07:34 AM   #149
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When I was a kid, Mom used one of these.
When a bar of soap got too small to use comfortably, the scraps went in the basket. You would swish it around vigorously in the sink to make suds when washing the dishes.
At some point, it was abandoned in favor of the newfangled detergents, but it was a pretty good gadget at the time.
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Old 12-25-2014, 08:10 AM   #150
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I might win this one. I actually used the hotel toiletries at home.

But I am also selectively frugal, and easily spend $500 at casinos.
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Old 12-25-2014, 08:17 AM   #151
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I bring home soaps and lotions from hotel rooms. I have a basket of them in the guest bathroom. I haven't bought a bar of soap in years.
+1
At one time business class(Megacorps dime) on American they gave out travel kits, had decent travel toothbrushes. We'd stock the guest bathroom room with them too. Use em and dispose.

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Old 12-25-2014, 08:57 AM   #152
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I flatten the toothpaste tube against the bathroom counter but most people use too much toothpaste. You only need a pea size portion.
I use plastic food containers not ziplock bags for food storage. I normally don't have much as far as leftovers. Only cook small portions.
We use to cut paper towels in half because you rarely use a whole one but stopped when select-a-size came out. Will cut the smaller size if I only need a small piece.
I can see saving a couple of recycled glass/plastic jars, plastic bags and tie wraps but not the tons that a friend saves. It's a waste of space to store them and what guarantees that you get those plastic bags clean. I can still see the tons of old bread bags and ties that we threw out at a neighbors house.
Those of you that buy Talenti, wow, that's expensive. What is it $5 or 6 a pint?
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Old 12-25-2014, 09:31 AM   #153
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Originally Posted by haha View Post
... millionaires smuggle their own drinks into pub, save string, recreate bars from soap slivers, re-use things you wouldn't ever want to know.

Ha
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+1

lol!
haha!
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Old 12-25-2014, 09:51 AM   #154
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....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.
Around here, we pay about $2/kitchen sized bag for trash disposal so recycling is both green and frugal.
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Old 12-25-2014, 11:08 AM   #155
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Heard today, "I'll get you a Christmas card tomorrow, after they go on sale."
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Old 12-25-2014, 11:36 AM   #156
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... millionaires smuggle their own drinks into pub, save string, recreate bars from soap slivers, re-use things you wouldn't ever want to know.

Ha
Exactly what I was thinking!

Some people confuse frugal with cheap.

I'm not going to wash zip lock bags or reuse foil.
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Old 12-25-2014, 05:36 PM   #157
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Back in my youth, I was having a beer or several at a friend's place. I went to his bathroom for a pee and saw a bunch of condoms drying on the shower curtain rod. Just glad we were straight and same gender. This was pre aids and even herpes if that matters.
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He is so frugal he......
Old 12-25-2014, 06:24 PM   #158
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He is so frugal he......

I'm in with the in crowd.

Wash and re-use ziplock bags, bring my lunch to w*rk every day, make my own breakfast, pour hot water over the coffee grounds my husband uses for his morning coffee for my own weak cup in the AM, always re-use tea bags, the toothpaste thing, probably wear my disposable contact lenses longer than I should (but I only wear them 3 days a week while at w*rk), use the soap slivers until they are gone. Part of it is buying high quality hypoallergenic soaps and special toothpastes and not wanting to waste them.

I don't use plastic containers except for my hobby of abstract painting - switched to glass food storage a few years ago. I do use paper towels: 1) I'm messy, 2) I think they are more sanitary than cloth, 3) I don't do enough laundry to make it worthwhile to wash just a few. I have been known to wash out a paper towel and reuse it though.

The 2 exceptions to not reusing the ziplocks: raw meat or chicken stored in them, onions unless I can substitute with a new 1/2 onion.

I am not frugal in many areas but I'd love to cut cable if DH would consent. I buy organic fruits and vegetables and good quality shoes and clothes that last a long time but have a bigger up-front expense. However I got a great deal on a pair of Mephisto clogs on eBay. The ones I was wearing probably cost $230 new and they literally broke in half one day after about 10 years of daily wear. I found the same style, now discontinued, but not the same color, on eBay for $28. I wish there had been 2 in my size, I would have snatched them up.

NW well north of $2M, grew up poor. My mother saved everything. Clearing out her house before she died when she was in the nursing home was a long laborious process.


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Old 12-25-2014, 10:16 PM   #159
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No hundreds ?

Look, I said we're frugal!
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Old 12-26-2014, 01:55 AM   #160
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Every 3 or 4 days I put my dish sponge in a small jar, add ~4 drops of bleach, fill it with water, cap it and let sit until it's needed next. Why? Sponges gross out long before they wear out.

Back when my sister had a rabbit, I grocery shopped at places where the cashiers would ask customers if they wanted the greens removed from their fresh carrots. If so, the greens went in the trash. I'd usually ask the cashier if they had any carrot greens because my rabbit loved them.
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