What is one everyday thing you think is THRIFTY, but your friends/family think is CHE

[FI50]

After reading some of these posts, I told DW I would never complain again when she does not buy things from Publix when they are not their sales cycle.

 

[Markola]

Have to sleep on it.

The Amazon “List” function is great for that. I often research some product and then put it on my List (not the shopping cart.). 95% of the time, I forget about the passing fancy I was so interested in but I like that it’s still there should I want it.

 

[Pellice]

I thought I was the only one who did that?

I thought everybody did that!

Also: serious question, when did nail salon visits become so common, even required? A bottle of nail polish costs $3.49. What does it mean if I don't visit them? Am I unkempt? Slovenly?

 

[Amethyst]

It's an interesting question. My nails stay very short because I use my hands a lot; nail treatments would be a waste of money.

In fact quite a few women I've known, who were nail-salon devotees, don't have much spending money. I suspect nail treatments must be carefully priced just low enough to seem like a reasonable treat.

If I had to rank "beauty" activities in order of genuine usefulness, the list would go something like:
1. Cleanliness
2. Dental care
3. Exercise
4. Good diet
5. Sufficient sleep
6. Hair color (if gray)(you can color your own hair, despite what some say)
7. Hair cut (flattering as well as practical - not over the ears)
8. Shaving (if hairy where society says one shouldn't be)
9. Well-fitting clothes and shoes
10. All that other stuff.

Also: serious question, when did nail salon visits become so common, even required? A bottle of nail polish costs $3.49. What does it mean if I don't visit them? Am I unkempt? Slovenly?

 

[rcbrad]

My friend waters down the Soft Soap he puts in his bathroom soap dispenser because he thinks the kids use too much. CHEAP!

For the most part, we now use shampoo which does the job just as good as Softsoap. Some shampoos we did not like for our hair, so this is where the idea came from. Many times you can buy decent shampoo for hand washing far cheaper than Softsoap.

If you water it down, it dispenses easier and lathers more quickly.

 

[gooddog]

Cut the dryer sheets into 1/3rds - still work.

 

[meleana]

Too many to list, but one thing is I wash out all plastic bags and non stick aluminum foil for reuse.

 

[Jim in PA]

On reusing dental floss. DON’T! Flossing helps reduce inflammation which in turn has been linked to heart disease. Google it.

Foaming soap. I strongly prefer the foaming soap dispensers to the full strength ones. The soap is diluted and it spreads easier on your hands. I DO refill them. Like in a triangular Dial dispenser, put about 1/4 inch of dish soap in the bottom and fill it with warm water. Shake to mix. Yes, the foam in the bottle goes away.

Dryer sheets. I use them only for my acrylic dress socks. If I don’t use them there, I get a static lightning bolt about a foot long. Anyway, I cut a corner off the sheet for every load and when the corners are gone, so is the sheet. My box is probably a lifetime supply.

Hotel soap: I take the soap and then reuse my own bar. The “new” ones I donate to the Food Bank. No, they’re NOT food, but the Food Bank clients have to use CASH to buy soap. I.E. you can’t buy soap with an EBT or SNAP card.

Food past best by date: My lady friend likes this story but it is 100% true. When I was an infantryman in Vietnam, in 1970/71, the C-rations we got had production dates from the end of WWII, so they were 25 years old. For those not familiar, these were canned goods. My model is if cans aren’t rusty and have their seal, canned goods last a very long time. For very acidic items, pineapple and some tomato products, you need to use more discretion.

 

[kingkarmann]

I recycle beer.
Think about that for a moment

 

[papaof2]

Liquid hand soap has not resumed its place on grocery shelves as some other things have. However, we've been diluting the house brand 50/50 for years to make a proper solution for the lather dispensers (kids and adults use much less lather than liquid soap - typically just one squirt of lather) and the Dial lather dispensers are good for dozens of refills. The ready-to-use solution for the lather dispensers is diluted 50/50 so why pay them to do that and then pay more for the watered-down product? A 56oz bottle makes enough lather solution to last the two of us about 6 months.

We have cell phones for use as needed but we don't live on them so a $100/year plan from Tracfone works for each of us. Knowing where the free wifi is means we don't need huge amounts of data for the phones.

 

[Sanbenito1]

I can tell by the replies that many of us were raised by Great Depression era grandparents and/or parents They were Old School environmentalists that the young ‘uns could learn from

 

[Dean56]

Stock up shoe glue instead of buying shoes.

This idea is my favorite. This thread has me in stitches.

 

[W2R]

I thought everybody did that!

Also: serious question, when did nail salon visits become so common, even required? A bottle of nail polish costs $3.49. What does it mean if I don't visit them? Am I unkempt? Slovenly?

I have had my nails done just once, back in 1975 (the day before my ex and I got married).

I keep my nails clean, neatly trimmed, and unpolished, and I see nothing wrong with that.

 

[Time2]

I've seen this at the lap pool too. Suits that are paper thin and completely faded. Uh, it is not good when this happens. If you are a lap swimmer, switch out your suit before it is see thru.

That reminds of a joke I recieved the other day.
Men are such gentlemen, when a women wears a skimpy bikini, being the gentlemen we are, we only look at the covered parts!

 

[Aerides]

Also: serious question, when did nail salon visits become so common, even required? A bottle of nail polish costs $3.49. What does it mean if I don't visit them? Am I unkempt? Slovenly?

Well my bottle costs $8 (i like essie) but I do my own fingernails. I do indulge in a pedicure (or...did, not going now) for two reasons: My eyesight + flexibility are ok, but no longer the ideal combination for getting a good close up look at the little hangnails on my pinky toe, stuff like that.

Also, it's a nice treat, a pampering.

Men should go too - you have all, at least once, stabbed your wife with your big toe nail by accident in bed one night.

 

[PointBreeze]

I wash and reuse zip lock bags too - not only for cost savings but so that I am not using as much plastic.

I use intended-for-reuse silicone zip bags, primarily to avoid single-use plastic ending up in the landfill.

 

[Chuckanut]

Here's my grandmother's favorite thrifty trick. Never, ever, waste bacon grease. Throw a slice of bread in the pan, soak it up and eat it. Not ready for that? Save the grease and use it on your bread for an afternoon snack.

Part of a great British breakfast is frying both sides of the bread in the bacon grease after the eggs have been cooked. Don't knock it till you've tried it, it's absolutely delicious and comes out crispy.

Pancakes fried up on bacon grease have the lovely crisp edge that they used to have when my mother made them. She used butter or lard.

 

[Chuckanut]

im just here loitering looking for better ideas. I already dilute my soap and I also water down most beverages bc I find them too sweet and too caloric, but it also saves money.

I dilute my cola with rum. Somehow I haven't found that save me much money. But, it does cut down the sweetness.

 

[Chuckanut]

When my colleagues were giving me odd looks for washing and reusing my plastic silverware, their tune changed when I said “I hate to see it go into the landfill”. In actuality I was just being frugal. .

I've found that many money saving habits are also environmentally good. I mean actually good, not feel-good, virtue signaling.

 

[Chuckanut]

Isopropyl alcohol, or even hydrogen peroxide, work great. I found this out when we forgot to buy stick deodorant. I figured germs cause odor, so disinfectants should keep it away. And, in a pinch, they do! No good as anti-perspirants, unfortunately.

Soap and a washcloth work great. The trick is to scrub well so as to disrupt the bacteria colony that forms in those places.

 

[Winemaker]

I dilute my cola with rum. Somehow I haven't found that save me much money. But, it does cut down the sweetness.

+10 I'll drink to that, it's the only way to drink cola. And with a squirt of lime juice, too.

 

[zippy2020]

I often get multiple uses out of paper towels/napkins, foil, paper bags, and plastic bags....but I do it because Americans are the biggest producers of waste on the planet. It's not much, but I figure every little bit held back from the trash has to help somewhat.

Thankfully our garbage companies compost for us so we just add the food scraps to the garden trimmings once a week. Sadly, landfills are filling up fast everywhere and the closure of Chinese recycling plants means that a lot of collected plastic and cardboard is just dumped by recycling companies into landfill.

I make broth, but that's because I love to cook. There is nothing better than homemade stock. Commercial ones are way too high in sodium.

My spouse is the more thrifty one. He compares prices on websites, and hunts for bargains on eBay.

I don't usually bother. When we were doing our regular driving trips all over the region, I did practice thrift in selecting hotels. We don't golf, play tennis, use spas, or give a darn about room service - all we need is a decent bed, clean bathroom, and fast Wi-Fi.

We usually looked for Hampton Inn, Best Western Plus, etc. But if we only had a choice between Motel 6 and a Sheraton or Marriott, I went with the latter.

No kids, average expenses, a solid 3-legged stool as spouse has good pension w/benefits, all fully assigned to me should I survive him. Good financial planning approved by our CFP ensures old age expenses will never be a problem for us.

A full 25% of our monthly income is discretionary - since no traveling - so lots of room to cut back if need be. We're spending some $$$$ for work on the house, but we'd have to do most of that anyway. Tucking in some extras keeps the old cottage salable in uncertain RE times. The RE market is hot now, but who knows what might happen?

 

[JJpop]

When I see people with 7 figure portfolios crying about the cost of cable tv or streaming services.

 

[harllee]

When I see people with 7 figure portfolios crying about the cost of cable tv or streaming services.

But how do you think those people got the large portfolios? I always say watch the pennies and the dollars take care of themselves.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

But how do you think those people got the large portfolios? I always say watch the pennies and the dollars take care of themselves.

+1. The second chapter of The Millionaire Next Door is called, "Frugal Frugal Frugal". For all the neighbors who can't figure out how we retired early in a HCOL area, I can tell they never read this book. Housing is expensive where we are, but other than that a lot of the other expenses are simply lifestyle choices, like shopping at ethnic markets instead of Whole Foods. Rich Roll had a cute video on what you can buy for $25 at stores like Whole Foods for $25 vs. going to an ethnic market (two fancy juice bottles at WF vs. several bags of fresh produce or ~25 pounds of dried rice and beans at the ethnic markets).