The "I'm not frugal, I'm cheap. " thread...

[Old Dog]

I stuff my Holsters with wadded up paper so I can regulate them for other guns. One holster, 10 Guns.

I was trying the reverse of this earlier today- 1 pistola, 10 holsters, even with paper towels none of them worked- pistol kept falling out. Guess I will have to break down and buy a new one.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

I once had a push mower made from the parts of three other mowers. I had to put the handle bar on upside down, so the throttle was sticking down, and when I put the motor on the different base, it had the muffler pointing right at me. To keep from smelling like exhaust, I put a threaded elbow to push the exhaust out to the side, but it kept coming loose and the muffler would end up flopping down, with the opening against the mower body. The kids said it made it sound like a helicopter.

 

[Nevermore]

I buy all my jeans from Tractor Supply, their Blue Mtn. brand. You can get them $12-15 a pair, though I try to wait until they go on sale for 10. I've used my jeans crawling in crawlspaces, working outside for hours, wiping untold amounts of paint/caulk onto them, and after 3 hard years they're just now showing signs of wear at the knees. I used to wear Levi's and such before I found these, now I'll never go back.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

I buy all my jeans from Tractor Supply, their Blue Mtn. brand. You can get them $12-15 a pair, though I try to wait until they go on sale for 10. I've used my jeans crawling in crawlspaces, working outside for hours, wiping untold amounts of paint/caulk onto them, and after 3 hard years they're just now showing signs of wear at the knees. I used to wear Levi's and such before I found these, now I'll never go back.

They still look almost like new!

 

[9mmfan]

I've cut the tv cord. Bring my own lunch to work. My Netflix is shared with my sister and I have her Comcast log in and her HBO now info.
Can begin to tell you all how much money I have not spent on this daily ***t.

 

[hoosierdoc]

I buy used cars for cash and run them a long time. Currently in a 2008 sienna.

i don’t really buy clothes. Been known to goodwill some new to me threads. Don’t buy food at work. Buy off brand where i can.

But then I splurge on stupid stuff in a manic mode and lose all my savings

 

[HoughMade]

My truck currently wears tires that were bought as slightly used take-offs and I will never go back to buying "new" tires when I have the opportunity to plan for replacement.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

My truck currently wears tires that were bought as slightly used take-offs and I will never go back to buying "new" tires when I have the opportunity to plan for replacement.

I used to do that on truck tires. Find a 4x4 shop that does lifts and oversize tires and they'll often have new take-offs.

 

[CHCRandy]

Even since college,I would take ketchup/mustard packages and re-fill bottles at home. I have to hide my packet stash, because my significant other throws out the bottle every time she catches me.

Dang, I thought I was taking it a little to the extreme taking my own bottle of Ranch to the local pizza shop because they charge $1 for a little cup of ranch. A bottle of Ketchup/Mustard is only $2 together!

 

[BugI02]

I have a small enough to not be a PITA 16oz stainless thermos. I brew 24oz most mornings (the lowest my drip brewer can go) - 8 for the travel mug and 16 for later. For less than the cost of two starbucks overpriced, overcooked coffees I can feed the jones for about two weeks (and it's way better coffee)

 

[Fargo]

I buy used cars for cash and run them a long time. Currently in a 2008 sienna.

i don’t really buy clothes. Been known to goodwill some new to me threads. Don’t buy food at work. Buy off brand where i can.

But then I splurge on stupid stuff in a manic mode and lose all my savings

The goodwill by your place is awesome, it is my go to when I need new pants. Which is pretty seldom, since I find pants to be overrated...

 

[femurphy77]

Underwear inside out, forward backwards, 4 days on one pair .

 

[femurphy77]

I used to do that on truck tires. Find a 4x4 shop that does lifts and oversize tires and they'll often have new take-offs.

OE new takeoffs are the best tires out there! OE quality standards are a LOT higher than replacement market tires. 11 years in a Goodyear plant speaking here.

 

[BiscuitsandGravy]

A 2nd for take your lunch. Quit going out to lunch at the office a few years ago and figured I saved $5-$8 per lunch. Multiply by 20 work days per month and it adds up.

 

[Leadeye]

Heat the house with wood I cut and split myself.

Cast bullets and reload, sometimes that's less for economy and more because the cartridges haven't been made in 70 years.

Butcher and eat local meat from the forest.

Lucky to have a penny pinching wife.

 

[FWP9MM]

We are a family of 5, soon to be 6 in August. Single income family as my wife stays at home with the kids, which is a sacrifice and blessing at the same time.

"Vacations" are almost nonexistent. We instead may go camping a few times a year, go to parks, regional points of interest, etc. We are home bodies so the kids use birthday and Christmas money to buy things they want. So far they bought a trampoline, Swing Set (with the help of grand parents), and a swimming pool this year. I will say the $200 summer waves pool from Walmart has been awesome so far this year!

We use cloth diapers and wipes, which started with our first. Not for the tree hugger benefit, but because it was cheaper and we knew we wanted multiple children. We also have a clothesline which helps with drying costs.

We do not do car payments. This means that I also do all of the repairs as the vehicles are older. I generally shop auto parts at RockAuto, but sometimes I find better deals at advance auto parts when I search for coupon codes. I have also found cheap higher end brake pads on eBay from individuals who never did the brakes and traded the car. That being said I tend to spend a little more on better quality parts as I am saving big on labor and I only intend to do it once if at all possible.

I have a high deductible health plan through work (it is either pay it on the front end each paycheck or have a little taken out and contribute to a HSA) it all seems to average out unless you have a good year. The past few years have not been so good, so when I get bigger bills from the hospital for ultrasounds, blood work, etc. I will call the business office and ask if they will settle for less if I can pay in full. I have been consistently successful in getting them to knock off 20% if I pay in full. I then pay with my credit card to get rewards points and reimburse myself with HSA funds to pay off the credit card.

I am not an Aldi fan, however I seem to do very well with coupons and Kroger click list. My mom who is an avid Aldi shopper doesn't get how I do it. I stock up when meat is on sale, which the variety seems to rotate every few weeks.

My wife uses a straight talk phone as I am provided my phone though work. We do not have TV or pay for separate internet as we use our phones.

We we are on propane, so when I bought the house I ditched the rental tank the prior was on contract with. I bought a 1,000 gallon tank and fill it once a year in July when prices are generally the lowest. This has been a huge area of savings for us as we can buy for the year when prices are low.

 

[BiscuitsandGravy]

We we are on propane, so when I bought the house I ditched the rental tank the prior was on contract with. I bought a 1,000 gallon tank and fill it once a year in July when prices are generally the lowest. This has been a huge area of savings for us as we can buy for the year when prices are low.

Forgot about the propane... We own 3 tanks for 1500 gal total. Summer fill lasts all year. Always do the call-around every summer. Have a spreadsheet with numbers and past prices. Econogas used to always beat everyone, now its local Co-op.

 

[Snapdragon]

Oh, something I remembered about "points" credit cards. Years ago, my dental insurance gave me a choice between paying up front and being reimbursed, or paying just the amount I would owe after insurance. I would always run the total amount through my Chase VISA and then get reimbursed about 70% from the insurance company. Racked up lots of points that way. Now they won't let me do that any more.

 

[Jeepster48439]

Search the web using the Swagbuck's search engine. Earn between $300-$400/year. Also earn Swagbucks when buying online at most sites. I'll have to retry e-bates.

 

[bwframe]

Might be worth a look in the Survival forum? A lot of us make a hobby out of living frugal.

I cast and load my own ammo, grow/catch/hunt my own food and roast my own coffee. That's just a start...