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

[6miths]

I do know that one friend I have thinks that my propensity to pick up deals at Value Village is over the top. He is a lifelong friend and a recently retired cop who has a great pension and he and his wife were each over 100k income for most of their lives. I don't have a pension but we are very comfortable. The best T-shirts I have are from VV and I tend to wear many of my old T-shirts from runs or sports tournaments well past there anticipated lifespan so a few frayed collars. I know DW is on my side as a couple of weeks ago I tried to retire a T-shirt from the mid-80s to the garage rag bag but I found it neatly folded in my T-shirt pile the other day. I definitely picked the right spouse!

 

[Gumby]

I don't think you could ever get all the shards out of anything. And even one shard could mean a trip to the ER.

Anyway, peanut butter at BJs comes in plastic jars.

Travelover is referencing this famous 2005 post by TromboneAl

https://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f30/confused-and-scared-17347.html#post317941

In which he shares a post from the simpleliving forum:

... Another thing in my fridge that probably should be thrown out is a container of peanut butter that may or may not have tiny bits of broken glass in it. I dropped the jar and it broke, so I carefully scooped out the peanut butter and tried to get all the broken glass out, but my husband cut his tongue on his sandwich at work. So I heated up the peanut butter and put it through a mesh strainer to get the smaller glass bits out. I'm still scared to use it, but I hate to waste it. There's probably a whole dollar's worth of peanut butter in that container! And it MIGHT not have any glass in it!

 

[6miths]

... As I sit here looking at my "Smucker's Natural Creamy Peanut Butter" in a glass jar. Best by Mar 01, 2021. Ingredients: Peanuts, 1% less of salt.

Maybe because the oil separates they use glass? Or glass is more "natural" for the health conscious? Don't want no petroleum leaching in my PB?

Yes I think you may be right. The Kirkland Organic is in glass while the Skippy and Kraft are in plastic.

 

[harllee]

Pre covid DH and all bought all our clothes at consignment stores--we have some fairly high end consignment stores in our area and for $50 I could get an entire season of very nice clothes. I can't remember the last time I bought "new" clothes --it has been many years ago. I don't know what I am going to do now that I am no longer shopping due to Covid--I guess I will just wear the clothes I have until they fall apart. I am very frugal.

I don't think I have seen anyone else mention--I still have a flip phone with a cheap grandfathered plan. DH has an iPhone and I have an iPad so I just use the flip phone for actual talking--I can hear on it much better than the iPhone. I have been told they my old phone is being made obsolete but as of today it still works.

 

[Sue J]

I don't think I have seen anyone else mention--I still have a flip phone with a cheap grandfathered plan. DH has an iPhone and I have an iPad so I just use the flip phone for actual talking--I can hear on it much better than the iPhone. I have been told they my old phone is being made obsolete but as of today it still works.

Me, too! My plan is a legacy prepaid plan. I can add money and it’s good until I use it. It never expires. No monthly fee. I added $15 in Feb, 2020 and still haven’t used it up. $.15 a minute.

DH has an iPhone so we’re not completely out of date.

 

[O2Bfree]

Another library fan here for books, DVDs, streaming, and also for copies. My mom bugs me from time to time about why I don't just buy a cheap printer, but I don't mind stopping by the library to pick up the occasional printout.

Also, when we eat out, which isn't often, I take in a container for leftovers, and when I leave I take my napkin if I didn't use it much. I'll use it for meals at home or maybe to wipe up something messy instead of using a towel.

 

[statsman]

Yes I think you may be right. The Kirkland Organic is in glass while the Skippy and Kraft are in plastic.

Trader Joe's natural peanut butters (plain or crunchy; roasted with or without salt) are in plastic jars. I actually wish they were in glass jars because they are a pain to stir because the oil-less part of the peanut butter can be a solid mass, especially with the plain varieties.

 

[CaliKid]

Go into the gas station to pay cash.
5 cents a gallon is 5 cents a gallon!

However, if you pay with a 2% or more cash back credit card then you are losing money paying cash I think!?

 

[daylatedollarshort]

We buy most of our clothes at Costco. Thrift shops are actually kind of trendy here so Costco is often cheaper, especially considering they are brand new clothes. We usually shop at Costco at least once a month and whenever we see something we like just chuck it in the cart. The thing with Costco is we can't usually wait until we need something as they don't always have a big selection. But with the chuck it in the cart when we see it method, at the end of the year we usually don't need too much else. Jeans on sale might be $10, end of season tops $5 - $7. If I need a new winter coat I go to Costco and pick from one of the three styles they have available.

I've tried buying clothes at Sam's Club but they haven't lasted as long as Costco clothes.

 

[Dtail]

However, if you pay with a 2% or more cash back credit card then you are losing money paying cash I think!?

Shell has a 5% discount card which can be used at the pump, plus use a BOA rewards card on top of that.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

We get gas at Costco. I've looked on gasbuddy and never seen cheaper gas for our area.

 

[Rianne]

The Dollar Store has the same sized candy as in the movie theater. Makes me sad all that's on hold. I bought an entire set of Fiesta dishes, setting for 16 people, $1 bowl, $1 plate, $1 glass. So, $32 for all the plates and bowls. All kitchen utensils, $1, silverware and coffee cups. Really cute too. Gift wrapping paper and gift bags $1. I've probably saved hundreds $$ there. They have arts and crafts for kids. Cheaper than Walmart.

 

[Koolau]

Multiple meals out of a whole chicken, including making broth from the bones; use the library and it’s digital accesses. Call cell phone and internet providers annually to keep costs down. We went from a two car family to one. We live frugally to reach FI !

DW buys a whole COOKED chicken from Costco for $5. It's not huge, but it supplies samiches for 6 meals. Full disclosure: We waste a fair amount of the bird because we don't "disect" the last little bits of meat from the bone. Nor do we boil it for soup/stock. We got a $10 gift cert. to Canes Chicken from someone. Basically they sell chicken strips and fries w/cole slaw. SO, It's not bad BUT it's barely a meal for DW and me while a $5 whole chicken covers most of 6 meals.

Heh, heh, so far, no one has called us "cheep" for "living" like this. But I think it was one of the kids who gave us the gift cert. to Canes and I KNOW they think we are cheep! YMMV

 

[ocean view]

I hope y’all aren’t throwing out the excess cleaning liquid at the end of the Clorox wipes canister? This stuff is liquid gold. My family has been given strict instructions to not throw this out. I transfer the excess liquid to the next container. Once I run out of wipes, I’ll start making my own with paper towels in the old canister. I’m sure there’s a DIY recipe online for the cleaning solution for when I finally use up all of the Clorox solution too. Who knows how long until we’ll see them in stores again.

 

[SecondCor521]

Yes I think you may be right. The Kirkland Organic is in glass while the Skippy and Kraft are in plastic.

It could also be due to taste. Some people think the plastic taste leaches into the food. Not so much with glass.

Plastic cheap PB here.

 

[Retire2013]

I LOVE this thread. I think we should keep this thread going FOREVER. Lots of great ideas in here. I already have been doing most of them . My sister is constantly rolling her eyes at every money-saving thing I do. She is 9 years older than me and still needs to work full-time for financial reasons. I retired 7 years ago. LBYM does make a HUGE difference. Reading this thread makes me feel not so alone. I am in good company!

 

[Dtail]

We get gas at Costco. I've looked on gasbuddy and never seen cheaper gas for our area.

Costco is also cheapest here, but is an additional 5 miles round trip from the Shell station, so not worth the extra time or gas to me.

 

[JoeWras]

Here's one thing we, well I, do. You know that last bit of sauce or ketchup in the bottle? Do you put a tablespoon of water in the bottle to mix out the last bit? I do. Since the last bit is thickened, the thinning makes it normal.

 

[O2Bfree]

You know that water you let run down the drain while waiting for it to get hot when you take a shower or wash dishes? In the bathroom I'll collect it in a bucket and use it to flush the toilet once. The water from the kitchen faucet goes into a jug then into the Berkey. I do stash the bathroom bucket away when company's over.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

I LOVE this thread. I think we should keep this thread going FOREVER. Lots of great ideas in here. I already have been doing most of them . My sister is constantly rolling her eyes at every money-saving thing I do. She is 9 years older than me and still needs to work full-time for financial reasons. I retired 7 years ago. LBYM does make a HUGE difference. Reading this thread makes me feel not so alone. I am in good company!

I like all the tips as well. I keep a list of potential frugal and urban homesteading projects in a spreadsheet and it is always very long. I never catch up, but that is fine. It keeps me busy during the pandemic. My big frugal project this summer was decorating the backyard with mason jar lanterns and solar fairy lights. I bought up the lantern stakes on closeout last summer for 25 cents each. I saw some similar ones for $30 each at a garden shop last week. DH helped put up the string lights in the trees and around a $150 patio table in perfect shape I got for free on a Freecycle type site.

I could spend more, but for me half the fun of the projects is the treasure hunt part.

 

[Gumby]

We regularly shop at Goodwill. Some of our friends are skeeved out about the prospect.

 

[JoeWras]

You know that water you let run down the drain while waiting for it to get hot when you take a shower or wash dishes? In the bathroom I'll collect it in a bucket and use it to flush the toilet once. The water from the kitchen faucet goes into a jug then into the Berkey. I do stash the bathroom bucket away when company's over.

What a great idea!

 

[Winemaker]

Some relatives, friends, neighbors and myself this year will spend $3000 to make a barrel of Cabernet Sauvignon made from some of the finest California grapes. The very same grapes grown in the same vineyard, are used by several notable wineries, that in the past have retailed $60-80/bottle. It will run us about $11/bottle to make. This is the most expensive wine I make; in other years, other varieties cost about $7/bottle to make, and can run at a retailer close to $35/bottle.


For at least 7 years, DW and I have acquired one FREE 30 gallon fill up of gasoline each month. That's 2520 FREE gallons, at minimum, from a local grocer offering reward points. We purchase groceries (no beef, and for 5 years, no pork because we bought out own cow/hog.) and gift cards for the vendors we use. We usually charge them on our Southwest card, which qualifies us for a companion pass. Any items we purchase for the rentals are done with gift cards, and are sometimes doubled or tripled around the holidays.

We did screw up one year, when we bought our quartz countertops. Since we don't commute to w*rk any more, we had too many points expiring at the end of one month. So the relatives, tenants and neighbors dropped their gas cans off, and we gave away at least 300 gallons of gas, so they wouldn't expire.

 

[sengsational]

Seven pages of money saving ideas in 3 days. I'm surprised. Wait, this is e-r.forum....no I'm not.

My beer fridge is stocked with Hamms.

This one wins my "Honestly Cheap" award. If I'm going to have a beer, it's going to be something I really think is exceptional. Or if not, at least something I brewed myself (for about $0.50 per "bottle").

What a great idea!

I don't waste the water waiting for the shower to heat up...I shower in it (exercising my endothelial cells through cold exposure). It's not about saving money, because when the hot comes, I take my time and enjoy it.

 

[harllee]

I am not surprised this thread is 7 pages. Most of us are thrifty by nature and due to Covid many of us have some time on our hands.