The Official BITOG Cheapskate Thread

The Critic

The Critic

Joined
Aug 30, 2004
Messages
33,984
Location
CA
Share with others, the ridiculously good deals that you took advantage of recently.
grin2.gif


I'll start this off. Purchased my Macroeconomics book and study guide for $23 shipped off Amazon this morning from a seller in the "Marketplace." College bookstore wants $150 total for the two.
 
I wouldn't know where to start. My last name has a "stein" ending to it. I'm always been on the cheap. If it's not on sale, I don't even bother. Let me put it to you this way: a couple of years ago I bought a case of Budlight at Sam's. Noticed it was about a dollar cheaper at a local supermarket. I took the case back to Sam's and got my money back. Even the customer service rep said that was a first.
 
I rarely eat out anymore. Treated myself to a $2.75 pork bon mei (sp?) sandwich yesterday – first time eating out in 3 weeks. Don't buy lunch at work.

Traded a couple quarts of ATF for PBR Deluxe brake pads.

Got a free NIV bible because the spine was coming unglued, reglued it and it's perfect.

Always rent DVD's and books at the library.

Save 20% of my money, pre-tax. Use the FSP to the hilt.

Don't drive pointlessly, plan my trips.

Trim my own nose hair.

Buy the huge pack of bat soap and save my soap bits and press them into a new bar.

Only water the lawn when 100% necessary.

Clean the gutters, etc myself.

Don’t have others do car work for me. Pretty much always wrong and expensive to have others service cars.

Try to get full usage out of my motor oil.

Have lunch from samples at PCC.

Bought a used Sony 32” TV from Craig’s list for $50 and the guy gave me his very nice hardly used VHS player for free.

Go on hikes in parks and hills a lot. Beats TV.
 
Originally Posted By: Pablo
Trim my own nose hair.
I had no idea you could go somewhere and get that done for you. Wow, imagine that "Joe's nosehair clipping botique". Wonder if they style? I once saw a guy with a growth of nosehair draping out his nostrils (well, I do exaggerate a bit, but it did stick out a tad). Could curl it like a mini mustache.
 
Haven't bought a PC since 1994; continue to reuse old ones and now run Linux on them to extend life.

Drove $1,900 1984 Accord for 9yrs; upgraded last summer to newer and equally [censored] 1988 Accord for $250. Daily commuter.
 
Used to black friday before black friday was cool. Only had to show up at 3:30 or 4 am and was fifth in line.

For a while, walmart mispriced motor oil so I complained at customer service and got it for free or $3 off.

Yet my wife did all the shopping around to refinance the house (thanks hun!). Knocked 9 years off the mortgage for another fifty bucks a month.

I cut power cords off stuff I throw away at the dump. Strip the outer insulation when I need short pieces of hook-up wire.

Speaking of the dump, people actually leave lead acid car batteries there! IDK if it's a tip for the dump guys or what but I inconspicuously snag one and again. Local parts store pays $5 in gift cards even if you don't have a receipt for new battery purchase.

I shut off the gas pump at the filler hang-up then drain the hose into my tank. I use their squeegee and blue juice then finish with a flick of my own wiper (no juice.) I run water for windshield cleaner in the summer even though I use very little after pollen season. Then I have to purge this every fall.

If I run my air compressor for tools, I shut it off for the night then look for any low tires that need filling before I open the petcock to let moisture drain.

Run compact flourescents everywhere but have a full size freezer of indeterminite efficiency (pretty lousy per kill-a-watt meter) that I use for extra food. Local supermarket will have a sale on vegetables one week but have overpriced meat. Then vice versa. Found this freezer for free on side of the road.

Am presently running a woodstove to save on heating oil. Regrettably I have to buy most of my wood but at least it's from a more deserving local guy.
 
Discovered coleman fuel is just low octane gasoline. Ran it all summer in my lawnmower after getting it for $.99 a gallon on clearance.

Leave my beer/soda/whatever on the porch to cool down before introducing it to the fridge.
 
We go out Black Friday to view the chaos. My wife and I get some warped amusement in watching raiding hordes and the social carnage they bring with them.
 
Originally Posted By: Gary Allan
We go out Black Friday to view the chaos. My wife and I get some warped amusement in watching raiding hordes and the social carnage they bring with them.


LOL! That's the only reason I'd go. Watching people fight over material B.S. and put themselves in debt is entertainment.

I rarely shop and purchase things, PERIOD. Same clothes for the last 7 or 8 years (new drawars here and there and socks though), same TV for the last 5 years, same computer, same car, same EVERYTHING. Bought a foreclosed house for mega cheap.

The only thing I really buy is food and gas, insurance, water, electricity and natural gas for the furnace, although I have a ton of firewood that is OH SO enjoyable to heat the house with.

Well, yea, I do splurge on fishing tackle, but come on, it's FISHING! I do eat out a few times a week as well.

I also drink cheap beer; been on an Ice House kick lately. Tasty stuff! High alcohol content. 30 pack of bottles for 14 bucks.
 
I think life is too short to consume cheap things.

While I save money on car maintenance by doing things myself, I buy the best food available. I don't drink a lot of beer but if I do, I drink the good stuff.

The same goes for almost everything else - selective consumption of quality items.
 
I live a fine life. I'm not nearly the material girl I make myself seem when I'm griping about buying a new car. I don't like to make comparisons but look at how 80%+ (?) of the rest of the world lives.

The worst thing in my imperfect life are so called forced buys....when my old PC (Dell) smoked the motherboard, I had to scramble....I ended up getting a pretty good deal on the HP after rebates and all....lucky mostly...I can't remember the exact cost. The family PC, new was about $300....you don't even see those super low cost ACER's anymore (thanks Vista!)

We did buy this house during the big run-up, didn't want to buy needed to get the kids in decent schools....luckily it was before the peak. We paid $395,000, put huge % down. Neighbor straight across paid $529,000...dunno what he put down.

Dishwasher died.....see Sears thread. Didn't want to have to replace it!! Rushed buy, did OK. $250, insulated it with extra soundproof matting. As good as a $400 dish washer.

One TV died last week. Not going to replace.

Next raise, will increase 401K amount, because I'll be 50 next year!!

Wife only works substitute school jobs, not bad - she has two full time jobs with the kids, plus all she does at home. That woman is amazing. No replacement model available.

Amsoil is great, my monthly income check is paying my medical bills. Arrgh.....beats the alternative!
 
I'm with Drew and Civicfan on the spending. If it does nothing to bring you joy ..it's not worth squat.

Drew ..you and I have similar age wardrobes. Socks and underwear. The biggest other casualty is t-shirts ..which usually get destroyed while changing oil.
 
Originally Posted By: CivicFan
I think life is too short to consume cheap things.

While I save money on car maintenance by doing things myself, I buy the best food available. I don't drink a lot of beer but if I do, I drink the good stuff.

The same goes for almost everything else - selective consumption of quality items.


Aye!
 
here's a lesson in frugality from youre's truly.
this past weekend me and some friends went to a national forest for some atv riding. me being a cheapskate packed my own food and took my own car. the other guys shared a car, but ate out for each meal and were generally wasteful.

it started out like this.
we drive there using different routes. i have a gps and i took the interstate to get there. this added 20 extra miles to the trip but i offset the mileage by saving $13 in tolls on the way there. my 2 friends drove the turnpike which is a toll road.
they also drove about 75mph pulling a trailer in a suv so their mileage was lower.
i estimate the mileage to be about 12mpg for them, and a real world 25 for me.
on the way there i pulled out 6 wrapped pre grilled taquitos that i had grilled that morning to eat for lunch. cost about $2.00 for my lunch.
they stopped for lunch somewhere. cost $5-$10 each.
when we get there, they had went to a gas station to buy food (subs, sandwiches, pepsi etc) and probably spend a good deal of money on that premium costing food. i had bought all my food for the entire weekend at walmart the night before. where as they would go out for breakfast, go out for lunch and dinner too instead of staying at the campgrounds and making their own food.
but that was fine with me, i got to sleep in late and each time they went out for more food i just napped in the sleeping bag.

so basically i spent a total of $60 for 2 days of atv riding, and thats including the gas to drive there and back. my buddies must have spend about $200 each on the trip.

i don't understand why people won't plan ahead for things. they don't understand why i always have money. its because i don't spend it on stupid things! and that is why i road trip by myself in my own car. it's actually cheaper to take my own car then it is to car pool with others.
 
Quote:
i don't understand why people won't plan ahead for things. they don't understand why i always have money. its because i don't spend it on stupid things!


M.A., the fact that planning gives you more freedom is too abstract a concept for some people.
 
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