"Extreme Frugalness???"

[lovinFL]

What do you do to be frugal or save some money that most people would consider this "Extreme'"?

 

[mjantz]

I think the fact that I rarely buy a new item of clothing that isn't off a clearance rack and isn't marked down multiple times & that goes for my kids as well. My DD & I went to the GAP a few weeks ago & she figured out that she could get several items off the clearance rack for the same amount of money as 1 t-shirt. It was a real eye-opener for her.

 

[lovinFL]

My husband and I have been known to share tea bags when both of us are having some hot tea!

 

[JackJack08]

My husband and I have been known to share tea bags when both of us are having some hot tea!

I do that too!

 

[LanaJae]

I won't pay more that 80% off retail for clothing, including all jackets and gloves, etc.

I'll pay more for shoes if I have to, but they must be at least 30% off retail.
.
The only thing I will buy at the grocery store that isn't on sale is milk. I grocery shop every 2 days (don't freeze or stock up on fresh items).

With CVS, I haven't paid more than about $25 total in the last year for all toiletries, toilet paper, OTC items and laundry products. I've spent more than that at CVS, but for items not listed.

I'm not a total miser though, I splurge on the things I love, mostly electronics.

My aunt and her family have me beat though, they grind their own flour, grow their own vegetables and only eat meat they have hunted or traded. They have a well, burn wood, and they generate more than half their power. They do this by choice, they could afford more than the average person.

 

[Vivianne]

There's a local supermarket chain that sells their food at a lower price. Only they don't bag your groceries, you have to buy plastic bags for .10 or bring your own. I'd rather find an empty box in the store rather than pay the .10.

 

[McKelly]

Well, I will just say I went somewhere with a friend and had to take a double take when she was washing styrofoam plates. I thought that was being extremely...........frugal.

 

[stitchlovestink]

and only eat meat they have hunted or traded.

To each his own, but that just grosses me out.
we do not consume Bambi Burgers in our house.

 

[gabriellyn]

I don't have anything interesting to share regarding what my family does - we just do the regular stuff. I have never ever paid more than $30 for a pair of shoes though - does that count?

I did want to share something a co-worker of mine did a couple of years ago. A hurricane threatened the Texas Coast - Hurricane Rita. Well of course everyone made preparations, one of which was filling bathtubs with water in case the water service went out. Luckily Houston did not get hit by the hurricane and life went back to normal. My coworker did NOT drain his tub like most people did - instead he had a bucket and filled the bucket with bath water each time he had to flush until all of the accessible bath water was used up. Talk about frugal!!!

My sister and her hubby + 2 kiddos came all the way down from Seattle, WA to Texas towing an RV trailer and stayed in Wal-mart parking lots the whole way to save the $20/night or so had they stayed in an RV park instead.

More power to them!

 

[jeankeri]

I ask my boys to reuse their zip-lock bags from lunch. They are packing pretzels/crackers/chips and I just hate that they throw them out every day. This is their proof that I am .

 

[lovinFL]

My sister and her hubby + 2 kiddos came all the way down from Seattle, WA to Texas towing an RV trailer and stayed in Wal-mart parking lots the whole way to save the $20/night or so had they stayed in an RV park instead

.


I had to laugh...I see this at my Walmart all the time!

 

[LanaJae]

To each his own, but that just grosses me out.
we do not consume Bambi Burgers in our house.

It's worse than that, Venison is a luxury to them.

I grew up on a farm and wouldn't even eat the eggs from our chickens, but I would eat them from the store

 

[LanaJae]

I did want to share something a co-worker of mine did a couple of years ago. A hurricane threatened the Texas Coast - Hurricane Rita. Well of course everyone made preparations, one of which was filling bathtubs with water in case the water service went out. Luckily Houston did not get hit by the hurricane and life went back to normal. My coworker did NOT drain his tub like most people did - instead he had a bucket and filled the bucket with bath water each time he had to flush until all of the accessible bath water was used up. Talk about frugal!!!

To me, that is ultimate extreme frugalness!

 

[MaryKLady]

I think the fact that I rarely buy a new item of clothing that isn't off a clearance rack and isn't marked down multiple times & that goes for my kids as well. My DD & I went to the GAP a few weeks ago & she figured out that she could get several items off the clearance rack for the same amount of money as 1 t-shirt. It was a real eye-opener for her.

Doesn't everyone do this?!?! I always shop in the back of the store.

 

[mjantz]

I ask my boys to reuse their zip-lock bags from lunch. They are packing pretzels/crackers/chips and I just hate that they throw them out every day. This is their proof that I am .

I pack a mix of baggies & plastic containers. I have also found cheap plastic utensils at the Target Dollar Spot & I buy those & reuse them. I figure even if they lose 1/2 of them by the end of the year I've still saved money.

 

[spaceacewannabe]

I did want to share something a co-worker of mine did a couple of years ago. A hurricane threatened the Texas Coast - Hurricane Rita. Well of course everyone made preparations, one of which was filling bathtubs with water in case the water service went out. Luckily Houston did not get hit by the hurricane and life went back to normal. My coworker did NOT drain his tub like most people did - instead he had a bucket and filled the bucket with bath water each time he had to flush until all of the accessible bath water was used up. Talk about frugal!!!

Frugal, yes, but also environmental. The waste of water is a bigger issue than the waste of money...I'd probably do the same thing, at least until I needed to use the bathtub for, you know, bathing.

 

[IDoDis]

I have been known to take all of the extra ketchup packets from fast food stops on road trips that end up in my van and instead of tossing them in the trash, I fill up the ketchup bottle at home. I've done this more than once, and usually add 1/3 more ketchup to the bottle. Sometimes the people who work the drive-up windows give us around 10 packets when they only need two!

We were pretty poor when I was growing up until I was about 10 years old. When my mom made sloppy Joes or BBQ chicken, she used to put a damp rag on the table for everyone to share because we used to use up too many paper napkins with those messy meals. So, when someone needed to wipe their mouth or hands, they'd say, "Please pass the rag." Thinking about that now as a grown-up, that truly grosses me out, but it makes for funny conversation when we all get together for the holidays. All of our kids hear our stories, look at each other and go

 

[PiratesRock]

Obsessing with the Budget Board.

Growing all my veggies and all the Halloween pumpkins for everybody on my road!! DH keeps us well stocked on fish and wild turkey. Also very generous with my veggies. Neighbors who happily receive tomatoes will often happily offer fresh pears!!

Learned to cook many breads and such from scratch so no packs of biscuits or cinnamon rolls ever goes bad in my fridge waiting to be eaten.

My kids have nice clothes, but all come from discount rack or ebay. No retail prices for us. And always watching for coupons!!

 

[tonilea]

To each his own, but that just grosses me out.
we do not consume Bambi Burgers in our house.

Hey, it is organic!

 

[stitchlovestink]

I pack a mix of baggies & plastic containers. I have also found cheap plastic utensils at the Target Dollar Spot & I buy those & reuse them. I figure even if they lose 1/2 of them by the end of the year I've still saved money.

Okay okay, I guess I am guilty of extreme frugalness in that I do 'save' the disposable 'silverware'. It gets washed in the dishwasher until it is no longer usable or gets lost.

Hey, it is organic!

My BFF's son once defined 'organic' (for a project) as being grown in 'Poo'. I have never looked at organic foods the same since then. And how do you know that it is organic? Deer are infamous for disease. YUCK!! And I don't eat small rodents either. I used to have bunnies as pets, not dinner. Squirrels and possum...Eewww

makes me think of the joke...
How did the redneck know he needed new tires on his Truck?


When the syrup wasn't spreading evenly thru the tire tracks on that night's dinner.