Things cheap people do
Discussion
I have a good friend who earns a very high 6 figure salary, and so has all the usual accoutrements you would expect. Except he is married to an "extreme couponer".
This means when you see his kitchen, it is littered with 5p or 10p vouchers, and with bottles and cans of "stuff" which they don't need but which was available on some crazy bulk buy purchase scheme his wife couldn't resist.
It's become an obsession for her trying to save a few pennies off something which they don't really need. And yet at the same time, he will piss through money, with expensive handmade road bikes, a new 540i which does low 20's to the gallon etc etc.
It really isn't worth the time and effort to bother trying to achieve the savings as far as I can tell.
This means when you see his kitchen, it is littered with 5p or 10p vouchers, and with bottles and cans of "stuff" which they don't need but which was available on some crazy bulk buy purchase scheme his wife couldn't resist.
It's become an obsession for her trying to save a few pennies off something which they don't really need. And yet at the same time, he will piss through money, with expensive handmade road bikes, a new 540i which does low 20's to the gallon etc etc.
It really isn't worth the time and effort to bother trying to achieve the savings as far as I can tell.
Ive learnt to be fairly frugal due to living on my own whilst being an apprentice.
I did the discount supermarket shop thing for the first year of my apprenticeship and even now in my final year i still pick up at least one thing discount everytime i shop.
I recently considered leaving the bath water in when ive finished in the bath and drying the air with the dehumidifier... Alot of wasted heat energy in that water!! I then decided that was absolutely ridiculous and forgot the idea.
There are many other frugalities i do that i will try to post up as i remember them.
I did the discount supermarket shop thing for the first year of my apprenticeship and even now in my final year i still pick up at least one thing discount everytime i shop.
I recently considered leaving the bath water in when ive finished in the bath and drying the air with the dehumidifier... Alot of wasted heat energy in that water!! I then decided that was absolutely ridiculous and forgot the idea.
There are many other frugalities i do that i will try to post up as i remember them.
JuanGandini said:
daddy cool said:
Dan_1981 said:
Learn somethign every day!
Tomorrow its "how to spell" 
A long time ago I worked with an IT contractor who, for his lunch, would snip up some dry spaghetti into a bowl, top it up with boiling water and leave it for an hour before eating. That was it. No sauce, no nothing, just 3 pence-worth of f
king spaghetti. He didn't look well on it, mind 
Ha ha, I have a friend who also earns a 6 figure salary, mortgage free plus enviable savings and loves collecting money off coupons. I am not sure whether my friend is tight or just ultra ultra careful with money. Their child doesn't want for much but absolutely everything is second hand. I now have a growing collection of second hand bargains that have been procured for later use when said child has grown to the correct size.
Generally my friend only goes out when a coupon can provide a "bargain". Food shopping is always a bargaintastic exercise and foodstuff is purchased because it was cheap due to being old stock, rather than it is liked or desired. Mobile phone, internet & TV & applicable contracts are all procured at absolute rock bottom cost and spec. They always check to see if they can use their Topcashback app with anything they buy. I could go on and on and on, and all the while, they continue to hunt for a bargain whilst being very well paid.
Me on the other hand, I'm definitely a committed spender and should take some advise from my thrifty friend. It is a good job we are all different and my friend is a very good person regardless of my opinion of their spending style.
Generally my friend only goes out when a coupon can provide a "bargain". Food shopping is always a bargaintastic exercise and foodstuff is purchased because it was cheap due to being old stock, rather than it is liked or desired. Mobile phone, internet & TV & applicable contracts are all procured at absolute rock bottom cost and spec. They always check to see if they can use their Topcashback app with anything they buy. I could go on and on and on, and all the while, they continue to hunt for a bargain whilst being very well paid.
Me on the other hand, I'm definitely a committed spender and should take some advise from my thrifty friend. It is a good job we are all different and my friend is a very good person regardless of my opinion of their spending style.
ReallyReallyGood said:
Not sure it qualifies but when buying a whole chicken for Sunday roast I always make sure I get the heaviest medium chicken available.
chickens are charged by weight in supermarkets usually aren't they though? not in brackets for sizes.i must admit i grab a load of straws and salt sachets when getting a takeaway.
I have a line marked on the sight glass of the kettle for one mug of coffee, It really annoys me when people fill it half full then just pour one mug from it! Must have saved me a fair bit over the years.
I'll stand for 15 mins at the pump and brim my tank right to the edge so I get maximum mileage per fill up as I can get an extra £15 - £20 in from when it clicks off - self employed, time is money!
I burn used engine oil at work to heat the place.
Haven't bought any booze in years, make all my own and even take it to the curry house as they aren't licensed so allow it.
I always shop at the knock-down shelf in the Supermarket, but am no match for the local Asians. They've worked out that a trolley of REALLY cheap groceries gets wheeled out of the stores every night at around 7pm so a big group of them congregate there to wait for it. They'll happily stand for half to one hr until it comes out and then fight amongst themselves to get stuff, it's like watching Piranhas.
I'm a really low earner, yet enjoy life and am mortgage free. The fact I don't owe any money reduces stress levels massively.
I'll stand for 15 mins at the pump and brim my tank right to the edge so I get maximum mileage per fill up as I can get an extra £15 - £20 in from when it clicks off - self employed, time is money!
I burn used engine oil at work to heat the place.
Haven't bought any booze in years, make all my own and even take it to the curry house as they aren't licensed so allow it.
I always shop at the knock-down shelf in the Supermarket, but am no match for the local Asians. They've worked out that a trolley of REALLY cheap groceries gets wheeled out of the stores every night at around 7pm so a big group of them congregate there to wait for it. They'll happily stand for half to one hr until it comes out and then fight amongst themselves to get stuff, it's like watching Piranhas.
I'm a really low earner, yet enjoy life and am mortgage free. The fact I don't owe any money reduces stress levels massively.
My business partner has this issue. He cannot stop it. If he dropped 50 pence
I swear it would land on the back of his neck!!
We have a contract copier/printer in my office which, with ink costs 0.34p per page of colour. I print off anything I need and file it. Periodically he will ask me if I've done with the file. Oftentimes I have ie. a tender file not won or something similar. He then takes the paper out and puts it back in the printer to print on the other side!! Funny thing is he nearly always puts it back in the wrong way up so wastes more money than saving by double printing on the same side!
He also picks nails up and straightens them.
I swear it would land on the back of his neck!!
We have a contract copier/printer in my office which, with ink costs 0.34p per page of colour. I print off anything I need and file it. Periodically he will ask me if I've done with the file. Oftentimes I have ie. a tender file not won or something similar. He then takes the paper out and puts it back in the printer to print on the other side!! Funny thing is he nearly always puts it back in the wrong way up so wastes more money than saving by double printing on the same side!
He also picks nails up and straightens them.
louiebaby,
There's a woman I see quite often in my local Sainsbury's who buys broccoli loose and she snips the stems off with a knife she brings before weighing! Actually, I reckon this saves a fair bit of weight therefore money. My wife will not let me do this as she thinks the best of the broccoli is the stem eaten raw!
R.
There's a woman I see quite often in my local Sainsbury's who buys broccoli loose and she snips the stems off with a knife she brings before weighing! Actually, I reckon this saves a fair bit of weight therefore money. My wife will not let me do this as she thinks the best of the broccoli is the stem eaten raw!
R.
louiebaby,
There's a woman I see quite often in my local Sainsbury's who buys broccoli loose and she snips the stems off with a knife she brings before weighing! Actually, I reckon this saves a fair bit of weight therefore money. My wife will not let me do this as she thinks the best of the broccoli is the stem eaten raw!
R.
There's a woman I see quite often in my local Sainsbury's who buys broccoli loose and she snips the stems off with a knife she brings before weighing! Actually, I reckon this saves a fair bit of weight therefore money. My wife will not let me do this as she thinks the best of the broccoli is the stem eaten raw!
R.
theplayingmantis said:
chickens are charged by weight in supermarkets usually aren't they though? not in brackets for sizes.
i must admit i grab a load of straws and salt sachets when getting a takeaway.
Yeah think some do but not all, I think it's a Tesco where they bucket prices by small/medium/large though.i must admit i grab a load of straws and salt sachets when getting a takeaway.
daddy cool said:
Fastchas said:
daddy cool said:
When I buy loose tomatoes in the supermarket (which are weighed of course) I twist off the bit of stem remaining.
If Sainsburys think they can charge me for that they have another think coming!
Serious question... Did you mean to type 'think' or is it a typo?If Sainsburys think they can charge me for that they have another think coming!
It's just that the way the english language is evolving there are more people than ever that say 'anythink' nowadays, so much that I've even seen it in written form!
https://www.theguardian.com/media/mind-your-langua...
Wasn't it Bud Flanagan - "Who do you thing you are kidding Mr Hitler...."?
Mate sold his big old house for £1.5m - a tidy profit in that. Rented a smaller place for a few months whilst finding somewhere to buy abroad.
Me: "So, is the rented place OK?"
Mate: "No, we hate it, its really awful."
Me: "So why not rent somewhere nicer?"
Mate: "Its got a couple of old barns we can put all our stuff into - saves paying storage costs."
227bhp said:
I have a line marked on the sight glass of the kettle for one mug of coffee, It really annoys me when people fill it half full then just pour one mug from it! Must have saved me a fair bit over the years.
I do that, but more from a time POV then anything else. I replace the water in the kettle straightaway so it soaks up the residual heat too - again to boil quicker next time.227bhp said:
I'll stand for 15 mins at the pump and brim my tank right to the edge so I get maximum mileage per fill up as I can get an extra £15 - £20 in from when it clicks off - self employed, time is money!
Be careful of that especially if the car is going to be left shortly afterwards - I had a car that used to fill easily to the brim but it would overflow as the fuel expanded. Apparently some cars have filters in the tank vent and fuel can destroy the, although I don't know you'd become aware of that.Sheepshanks said:
227bhp said:
I have a line marked on the sight glass of the kettle for one mug of coffee, It really annoys me when people fill it half full then just pour one mug from it! Must have saved me a fair bit over the years.
I do that, but more from a time POV then anything else. I replace the water in the kettle straightaway so it soaks up the residual heat too - again to boil quicker next time.227bhp said:
I'll stand for 15 mins at the pump and brim my tank right to the edge so I get maximum mileage per fill up as I can get an extra £15 - £20 in from when it clicks off - self employed, time is money!
Be careful of that especially if the car is going to be left shortly afterwards - I had a car that used to fill easily to the brim but it would overflow as the fuel expanded. Apparently some cars have filters in the tank vent and fuel can destroy the, although I don't know you'd become aware of that.RedWhiteMonkey said:
There has been a few articles in the media recently about a growing group of people who live so sparingly and save so much that they are able to retire by their mid-thirties. Whilst this the dedication to do this is admirable the lives they lead and will have to lead in their “retirement” sounds truly depressing.
I'm doing this, and on track to retire at 40 in a couple of years.Edited by RedWhiteMonkey on Thursday 13th December 13:38
It's not so much about living a life of poverty, rather, it's more about maintaining a high savings rate, relative to your income.
For instance, 33% saving rate arguably won't change your lifestyle in a hugely meaningful way. Above a certain level of higher income there are diminishing returns.
For example if I earn 90k, but only spend 60k a year, after 15 years of 5% returns, you would have 750k saved up. If you were then to retire maintain the same spend, the balance would last you a further 17 years.
So for the sake of spending 2/3 of your income, you have basically bought yourself 17 years of financial freedom.
Assuming 5% + inflation returns, which is a big if.
Is that extra 33% really worth 17 years of work? For some people sure, for others maybe not.
sinbaddio said:
Ha there are some crackers in here.
My ex FiL in the good old days of landlines only, used to unplug the home phone and take it to work with him.
He'd also take the fuse out of the plug for the electric fire until he got home!
We had a lock on our telephone dial! The old man didn't realise that you could 'tap out' a number by hitting the hook switch the corresponding number of times as the individual numbers of the phone number ie. 0151 would by tap 10 times, wait a second, tap once, wait, tap 5 times, wait tap once etc. Not sure it works any longer but may give it a try later!!My ex FiL in the good old days of landlines only, used to unplug the home phone and take it to work with him.
He'd also take the fuse out of the plug for the electric fire until he got home!
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