The Official Cheapskates Thread

[rjundi]

I just significant money by purcashing a vehicle I like and keeping it 10 years at least. I purchased Subaru's partially due to a 3% kickback credit card (I have two cards=$1000/yr) up to $500/year making all service free on them.

Also a professional handyman father-in-law has saved us thousands in home repair (some major) costs.

However I tend to travel abroad for a month/year. I eat very well week at home and drink $10-30 bottles of wine with every few dinners so I don't save money there and never really want to unless forced. I think $90/week in groceries for two is steep and this is with very little processed or prepackaged food.

I manage still though to save 38% of our salary towards retirement and savings. So I guess I am living well below our means given our income level.

I guess this will all changed soon as I will double our real estate taxes ($3000 to $6500) and increase our mortgage payment by $600 when we move within the next year into a better school district.

[ July 04, 2006, 08:13 AM: Message edited by: rjundi ]

 

[moribundman]

Like johnsmith, I enjoy inexpensive (must be ORGANIC, though) chicken thighs. And I don't plan on getting a divorce. Till death do us part -- that's big savings right there.

 

[sprintman]

As a family cost does not come in to our calculations for food. It has to be organic and the best, bugger the cost. We have a child. Why would anybody buy non-organic for your kid? People are just so lazy it's beyond belief. But then I'm not your average dead d1ck father. I actally care and most fathers just don't give a sh1t!

 

[Al]

quote:

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Originally posted by sprintman:
Why would anybody buy non-organic for your kid?

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Probably bc in manycases its a rip-off and no-one is yet to prove its any better. But I understand where you are coming from.

I re-use paper plates.

We keep a pile on the countertop. For things that are not jucy we use them and after we are done, we just brush them off. This saves on work and also is pretty good conservation with hot water/water.
When we get company we will throw the top dirty one away.

 

[Oldmoparguy1]

I use plastic foam plates in wicker holders. I wash them off after use with a damp dish cloth. When they start to get ratty looking, I use them in the microwave once or twice which usually finishes them off.

 

[rjundi]

quote:

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Originally posted by sprintman:
As a family cost does not come in to our calculations for food. It has to be organic and the best, bugger the cost. We have a child. Why would anybody buy non-organic for your kid? People are just so lazy it's beyond belief. But then I'm not your average dead d1ck father. I actally care and most fathers just don't give a sh1t!

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I go to the farmer's market(typically organic) for all our baby food we make which is far superior food vs supermarket as its freshly picked and not degrading in shipment and picked too early to make it "ripe" on the shelf. Cost is irrelevant to me.

 

[NJC]

quote:

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Originally posted by sprintman:
As a family cost does not come in to our calculations for food. It has to be organic and the best, bugger the cost. We have a child. Why would anybody buy non-organic for your kid? People are just so lazy it's beyond belief. But then I'm not your average dead d1ck father. I actally care and most fathers just don't give a sh1t!

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I'd say the vast majority of people are not lazy and they DO give a crapola.

 

[Pablo]

Reusing paper plates? Hadn't thought of that - we do use them to heat our made USA Aussie pies and stuff....yeah Styrofoam would be better for those pies - add some real flavor, 5-10 minutes, full power - good to go!

I don't drink frozen/bottled juice much. We bought some unsweetened bottled cranberry juice on discount for $1 bottle. (serious good deal) That is stuff is astringent - near pulls your kidneys up into the throat. Makes a great morning starter mixed with cheap vodka.

 

[PandaBear]

Chase business card (they don't care if you have a business, just made one up and put your name on it) has 3% restaurant, home improvement, and office supply rebates. Use that to eat out for the entire family and have saved $68 this year so far.

I can tell the difference between Tropicana and Minute Maid, so no thanks to concentrated juice. IMO the more you spend on quality food for home the less urge you have for eating out, so in a way it is a "saving" for me.

Buy books from half.com or Amazon used. Buy lots of them. Education helps generate more income (or keeps you entertained for low cost), and when you are done with them, sell them again.

 

[andyd]

Yrs ago I had a portable dish washer that discharged into the sink. I used to catch the discharge and use it to mop the kitchen floor. Iuse mini florescents wherever I can. I re-use ziplock baggies and plastic utensils. I dilute all the juice I drink. I shop at discount places. My latest find is concentated lime juice at 99cents a qt. Mixed about 16:1 in water, it makes a great thirst quencher.
I have renovated my house using re-cycled materials where-ever possible. I fix everything I can, plumbing, appliances, cars l lawnmowers, furniture even shoes. I havent bought a new lawn mower in ages, I get them from the dump. Ditto snowblowers. My Stihl chainsaw is 30 yrs old. My BMWs are 18 yrs old and my son's is 20. Neither has had professional attention in 6 yrs Most of the furniture is used.

A few comments about wood in general. Old wood is much more stable than new woood. It often has better grain and less knots too.
50yr old or older furniture is better than most stuff for sale today. Better wood and construction. Plus it has withstood the ravages of time. If it still is serviceable after 50yrs it will outlast me.

 

[Dominic]

As a college student on limited income I am forced to never spend money on frivilous things. I may treat myself to a movie without concessions on occasion - $5 with student ID - or buy a bag of chocolates to munch on before a big exam, but most of my savings have to be put on the utilities and necessities.

Health Insurance - Im on the best HMO I can get and in PA insurance is high even for a healthy non smoking adult. Plus I take vitamins, keeps me from using my copayments

Car Insurance - It pays to shop! Had I moved and used my old company I would've paid 4x more than I do now, and Im using State Farm and it was cheaper than Geico and I am getting better service.

Drugs - Instead of paying the doc $20 to give me an Rx for Zyrtec and Flonase I buy my meds LEGALLY without an Rx from Canada. www.medisave.ca has given me great service and the generics work fine for me.

Water - No bottles. PUR Filter in the fridge gives me gallons of clean water for pennies.

Electric Utility - 100% Flourescant bulbs, power savings on my monitor and fish tank, no extraneous electric use or devices. Lower the hot water temperature to 120F.

Cable TV - $42 for internet $9 for basic cable. I need nothing more, and I spend more time studying and reading as a result. Money saved can be used to see cool new movies instead!

100% of car maintenace done by me. We all know the savings that can be had there.

5% back card (Chase Rewards for me) - this is groceries, drugs, and gas too, and Im saving around $25/mo doing this.

No canned sodas, no potato chips, max 2 cereals in my apartment, cook dinner for myself or don't eat except around finals, and no snacking saves me a lot at the grocery store. Also I consolidated what credit card debt I have over to a 5% loan that I pay monthly on a spare card I wasn't using, another big savings.

I also penny pinch believe it or not by not shopping in a supermarket, but instead at a local Trader Joes. Less selection, but good selection, good quality, good prices, and I spend less per week because I have less items to choose from to fill my cart!

 

[Brett Miller]

Dropping homeowners insurance????? That would be the dumbest thing you could ever do. I only pay $440/year for a $225,000 house.

 

[eljefino]

forgot... I do the family's IT shopping the day after thanksgiving, black friday. Decent laptops
Smaller stuff like cordless phones, wireless routers, I watch for on slickdeals.net. Don't mind the rebates. Unlike motor oil, cheap chinese electronic junk still comes in at a reasonable price after rebate. And if it allows me to work or entertain myself from home, that saves gas and money.

I used to shop at Aldi in Oneonta NY, wow the memories. 1 gal milk for $1.59, 24 cans of cola for $2.99 + dep... 1998 prices but great for staples.

 

[thooks]

quote:

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Originally posted by sprintman:
What I, and all the other Aussies on this board don't understand is Americans obsession with cheap. You have more free money than any other nation yet you never mention quality, you just want cheap. Australians want quality and insist on it whatever the cost. What drives this American obsession with cheap as it really screws our minds up??

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How about our taxes. Yep our taxes. Foreigners won't beleive it, but we are taxed to death. Literally.

We pay Federal Income Tax, most of us pay State and even local income tax. Those that don't, usually have killer property taxes. NJ is a great example.

Then we have sales taxes. Taxes on our car tags. Businesses pay property taxes on staples, pens, paper, desks, lamps, keyboards, and window blinds.

We pay taxes on meals, auto repair, and with this unreal real estate boom here, the property taxes should be enough to run this government own it's on.

 

[Shannow]

thooks, I think we pay similar rates.
Average Ozzy pays 30% income tax, plus a 10% GST on everything (except cooking ingredients and medicines...produced food is GST inclusive). Fuel is 40% tax

Buy a car, and pay 3% stamp duty, same as a house. $250 motor vehicle tax with registration every year. Fire levies in every home insurance policy.

$250 p.a. to be within 50 metres of a water main (whether connected or not), same for sewage.

 

[JHZR2]

yep... ~30% Fed. income tax, ~5% state income tax, ~4% Phila. wage tax, 6% salex tax on all non essential (i.e. except unprepared food and clothing) items, including automobiles, ~$60/car registration fee each year, and $5200 in property tax.

Yep, I pay my fair share. The richer folks may pay more and prop the government up more, paying 60% of what the government collects... but it sure hurts them a lot less.

JMH

 

[obbop]

Didn't read this technique:

In many cases you can ask and receive a discount price. Sure, Wal-Mart and similar firms will not dicker but other firms will.

The camera store: asked them to encourage me to buy from them rather than on-line.... an immediate $70 discount that equaled the on-line price and no shipping to pay.

Hydraulic jack at Napa auto parts; asked three times in a jovial way but received a negative each time. The fourth was the magic number, the made in the USA jack was reduced from $109 all the way down to $67.

When I feel the situation is "correct" I ask the dude at the drive-through fast food scarf burger joint for some free french fries since "I am your best customer." Works frequently.

Be bold. Look for opportunities to get a price reduction or a freebie thrown in to sweeten the deal.

Try different strategies. Yesterday, at the local Thermo-King dealer, where the MityVac Web site declared I could find their product, the item's price was reduced $35 after I declared it was their opportunity to get the item off the shelf and that I was likely the only person in Nebraska who would ever buy it. The counterperson agreed and the discount was applied. Extensive Web research earlier told me the price was only a few bucks more than the very best Web price and there was no shipping cost.

I have noticed that a humorous approach works best.

Over time you can save a decent amount of money and revel in all the freebies added to items bought. I see very very very few people using my tactics. Maybe that's why it works so well for me.

 

[Master ACiD]

quote:

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Originally posted by Brett Miller:
Dropping homeowners insurance????? That would be the dumbest thing you could ever do. I only pay $440/year for a $225,000 house.

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i guess you arnt doing bad then , but in different areas it can be quite expensive. for example where my dad lives homeowners is 900 dollars a month. and thats the cheapest one he could find. he decided to not do it and instead save the 900 a month.

 

[labman]

Check with the morgage holder before dropping insurance.

 

[methusaleh]

One more thing in the "roadside treasures" theme...

Cruise the streets of large colleges and universities during finals week. Especially wealthy schools. You can find almost anything you can imagine in great condition, even computers, appliances, etc.

A friend of mine furnished his entire apartment and even got some electronics, just from cruising Boston-area colleges (yes, Harvard was the Big Score).