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Old 09-05-2020, 10:17 AM   #221
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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.
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Old 09-05-2020, 11:18 AM   #222
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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?
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Old 09-05-2020, 02:46 PM   #223
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When I see people with 7 figure portfolios crying about the cost of cable tv or streaming services.
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Old 09-05-2020, 02:48 PM   #224
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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.
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Old 09-05-2020, 03:06 PM   #225
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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).
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Old 09-05-2020, 03:08 PM   #226
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............... the closure of Chinese recycling plants means that a lot of collected plastic and cardboard is just dumped by recycling companies into landfill.........
I hate to break this to you, but a lot of the Chinese "recycling" was right into the ocean. They took the good stuff out and dumped the unrecyclable stuff. That is how we got plastic floating islands the size of Texas.
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Old 09-05-2020, 03:10 PM   #227
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+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).
There comes a point when it is just being ridiculous and cheap. You can rationalize anything. Sorry.
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Old 09-05-2020, 03:33 PM   #228
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There comes a point when it is just being ridiculous and cheap. You can rationalize anything. Sorry.
One man's cheap is another man's smart. I'm not going to pay $200 a month for cable when a quick phone call can negotiate that down to $120. Or $18 a month for my sirius when I can call and get $5.
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Old 09-05-2020, 03:52 PM   #229
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There comes a point when it is just being ridiculous and cheap. You can rationalize anything. Sorry.
So I take it you own Whole Foods then?

If not, why so exercised about where daylatedollarshort shops for food?
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Old 09-05-2020, 03:58 PM   #230
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I hate to break this to you, but a lot of the Chinese "recycling" was right into the ocean. They took the good stuff out and dumped the unrecyclable stuff. That is how we got plastic floating islands the size of Texas.
And what happens to our discarded electronics that are sent to China and other countries for "recycling" is frightening. Circuit boards are stripped of resellable components then tossed into local streams. Children crouch over fires used to burn the insulation off copper wire, breathing in toxic smoke. Procedures used to grind up plastic and produce sellable plastic pellets are unregulated, exposing workers and the environment to a variety of toxins.

For this and other reasons, DH and I are frugal with electronics. We finally retired our CRT TV four years ago and bought a flat screen. The old TV went on Craigslist for free and found a new home in minutes. In our entire lives DH and I have purchased just two desktop PCs and two laptops. I've always used my workplace laptop at home, and now have the one my manager let me take when I retired last year. Don't have smartphones yet.

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Old 09-05-2020, 03:59 PM   #231
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One man's cheap is another man's smart. I'm not going to pay $200 a month for cable when a quick phone call can negotiate that down to $120. Or $18 a month for my sirius when I can call and get $5.
I never said anything about that. I just did exactly that myself.
I am talking about the posts I see where people bemoan the price of Netflix because they had to raise it a couple dollars or how terrible the price is of Directv.
Ever go to a NBA game or any professional sporting event and pay to park and buy something to eat? How about a play in a major city? How about to one dinner in a nice restaurant?
The return on the entertainment dollar is fantastic for cable tv and streaming if you enjoy watching from your couch.
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Old 09-05-2020, 05:31 PM   #232
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There comes a point when it is just being ridiculous and cheap. You can rationalize anything. Sorry.

I don't know what you mean by rationalizing, or what you are sorry about, but I do know that if I have a choice of paying 50 cents a pound for onions or $3 a pound, I like the 50 cents a pound price better. Why pay extra for advertising and overpaid CEO bonus money when I can buy the same onions (and all the other groceries) for a fraction of the price at ethnic and discount stores? And support a local business and keep the dollars we do spend in the local economy. Over the course of a year our grocery budget can be under $4K or over $16K, largely just depending where I shop. If I save $10K a year on groceries over a decade that is $100K in after tax money.
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Old 09-05-2020, 05:59 PM   #233
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There comes a point when it is just being ridiculous and cheap. You can rationalize anything. Sorry.
Why are you posting on a thread entitled "Thrifty"? Let us thrifty people post on this thread and be "ridiculous and cheap". There are other threads for people who are not thrifty. Sorry.
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Old 09-05-2020, 06:13 PM   #234
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DW and I both wear tee shirts until they completely wear out. At some point in the life of a tee, it is taken out of the lineup for "outside the house", although some shirts may be used when painting outside or doing dirty work. At a further point in the lifespan, the worn tee becomes quite thin and soft, making it a comfy sleep shirt, until some final trauma like a completely separated neck renders it unwearable. At this point the tee becomes a nice rag for applying wood polish, dusting, etc.
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Old 09-05-2020, 08:06 PM   #235
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I don't know what you mean by rationalizing, or what you are sorry about, but I do know that if I have a choice of paying 50 cents a pound for onions or $3 a pound, I like the 50 cents a pound price better. Why pay extra for advertising and overpaid CEO bonus money when I can buy the same onions (and all the other groceries) for a fraction of the price at ethnic and discount stores? And support a local business and keep the dollars we do spend in the local economy. Over the course of a year our grocery budget can be under $4K or over $16K, largely just depending where I shop. If I save $10K a year on groceries over a decade that is $100K in after tax money.
I never said anything about grocery shopping. I have nothing against shopping smart and saving money which is what I do.
I guess it just bugs me when I hear some multi-millionaires talking about prices for Netflix and others in the way that they do. That’s it.
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Old 09-05-2020, 08:18 PM   #236
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........I guess it just bugs me when I hear some multi-millionaires talking about prices for Netflix and others in the way that they do. That’s it.
I think the "pet peeves" thread is calling you.
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Old 09-05-2020, 08:31 PM   #237
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I don't have anything. I mean I don't scrimp on anything. In 25 years (age 90) I'm gonna be dead. Probably.

I plan on enjoying!
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Old 09-05-2020, 08:34 PM   #238
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I never said anything about grocery shopping. I have nothing against shopping smart and saving money which is what I do.
I guess it just bugs me when I hear some multi-millionaires talking about prices for Netflix and others in the way that they do. That’s it.
You may not have intended to, but when you directly quote someone, it is assumed that you are responding to their specific post. So most people, including me, assumed you had some issue with daylatedollarshort's grocery choices. If you just want to make a general comment about the topic, it is better to use the "post reply" button instead of the "quote" button.
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Old 09-05-2020, 10:13 PM   #239
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In our house, leftover bacon grease is used for making popcorn.
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Old 09-05-2020, 10:43 PM   #240
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In our house, leftover bacon grease is used for making popcorn.
That sounds amazing, what a great idea, yum!
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