I have my odd little quirky things that I do that make no sense to anyone, in an honest effort to save money...
I am guilty of taking the packets of ketchup from the fast food joint and emptying them one by one into the ketchup bottle in the fridge....
I buy clothes at the thrift store (for a dime) and cover up the stains or wear and tear, with beads or other embellisments off of other old clothes...
I have been known to not flush the toilet after using it in certain situations-like when everyone has to go at once... Then flushing after all have used it...
My husband thinks I am insane for only buying meat that is on sale for under $1 a lb, now it has gone up to $1.50.... I freeze it for later...
I take the books the kids have destroyed or magazines I have read and cut stuff out of them... There are some cute graphics that the kids can use as "story starters" as I call them....
I am anti bottled water-who needs to pay for water???
At one point I thought we should put a rubbermaid tote in the shower and water the lawn with it afterwards... I couldn't lift the tote and he refused to do it...
I put water in shampoo, conditioner, dishwasher soap, and laundry soap containers to get another use or two out of them...
Yes, I do very odd things like break down the boxes from the kids snacks or a 12 pack... For some reason I think it will break down faster in the dump, not to mention take up less space in the trash....
We make origami ornaments for the Christmas tree and gum wrapper chains (out of old magazines)... It is easier with the toddler tearing all the ornaments up anyways...
I put odd things in the roast, brisket, or ribs etc for flavoring and to save on spices... I have put apples, maple syrup, wine, apple juice, watered down barbeque sauce, and so on in while the previously mentioned are cooking... (just don't eat the apples once cooked in a roast)
Old t-shirts, sheets, towels, and blankets become rags....
Socks make great cleaning devices....
Cutting the sponge in half gives you twice the life...
For some reason I believe that doing all the laundry in a day makes it dry faster... Like the dryer won't need to heat up as much or something...
However, I am guilty of leaving the lights on, wasting food, buying fast food, smoking, overspending on impulsive buys (like I am ever going to get around to selling x,y,z on ebay), renting way too many movies, and a whole lot of other hypocritish things... Yes, I just called myself a hypocrit...
What is the weirdest quirky thing you do to save money and be frugal???
Oh and please tell me I am not the only hypocrit out there... What do you not do that you know you should???
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Comments: 17
I scrape the mold off cheese and keep eating it. I soak stale bread in sauces. But then I go and buy capers and imported olives!
and I still have clothes from 20 years ago that I think I will
fit into one fine day. I save all my jars that have lids to put
tater peels apple peels bones from chops chicken and any
thing left in the fridge growing green hairs on it all goes into
those jars with lids so my garbage doesn't STINK!! And I do
buy Lamb chops 4 in a pkg. $6.99 yep I know they are tiny
chops but they are tasty chops. Oh let me see what else, nah
I guess I will leave well enough alone!!!hehehe
I save plastic wrap and use it several times if it is still clean (and clean is relative).
I re-use aluminum foil too. I wash plastic sandwich bags with the zip tops and re-use them.
We don't even buy beef anymore. I use ground turkey for everything we used to use beef for.
I make my own breads with a bread machine. That way I can be lazy and frugal at the same time.
I buy 10 lbs. of chicken leg quarters, cook them up all at one time, then debone them and wrap them up in meal sized packages and put them in the freezer. Lasts a couple of weeks.
When turkeys are cheap, we buy a lot of them.
I found a store that sells spices in plastic clear containers. They are cheaper to buy than buying spices in those spice bottles. Then we keep the plastic tubs and use those to freeze things.
I buy a lot of things in those giant #22 cans and then split the contents up and refreeze them in smaller containers (those plastic clear tubs the spices came in).
I agree about the rags and sponges.
The one thing I really splurged on was cloth diaper service when my kids were little. I wanted to save the landfills but have the diapers treated with alkaline rinse because of sensitive little bottoms.
Ain't being cheap fun???
Strategies for Living With a Mental Illness Tip #1
Support Group: To Be or Not to Be, Do I Have a Choice?
Seasoning meat with other stuff isn't frugal, it is just imaginative. I do the same thing all the time. I just made a brownie recipe and added some bee pollen to it because I saw it in the freezer.
I buy designer clothing at the consignment shop instead of spending full price. I got a Ralph Lauren sweater for $1 once. I also got a silk sweater for $1. I come home and either wash the items or put them through a dry cleaner process so they are much cleaner than they began.
I bake a lot of my own bread and snacks. I do a lot from scratch.
I keep shoe boxes for school projects and boxes from mail order for Christmas mail and gifts.
BUT I do waste food at times and I forget about the leftovers in the refrigerator.
1. pick things out of people's trash that can be used again (I have gotten many things I still use today this way)
2. unplus appliances that are rarely used
3. Drain my veggies and use the water to pour over my plants.
4. Do dishes by hand. Instead of using the dishwasher.
5. I use old newspaper sto line the dogs cage.
I am a hypocrite as well. Because I enjoy buying an ice cold tea at the local gas station every once in awhile, eat from dollar menu at McDonalds, and buy cute hair pieces for daughter that already has a million and one different kinds.
Sandy- It is very handy to know when big trash day is for the different areas of town... I get my best trash scores that way or weekends after the garage sales are over...
we share a lot of oddities!
I save any packet of fast food condiments, you never know when you'll run out or just want a little horsey sauce from Arby's on a sandwich.
I use old clothes if they are soft for rags, socks do make great little dusters and rags too.
I buy a lot of my clothes at resale/goodwill type places because you can find cool unique stuff. It kills me to buy clothes that are not on sale at a regular store.
Bottled water is crazy to me...why pay for something you can get out of your faucet..I reuse 33oz juice bottles, put water in them and they go in the fridge.
I love that you season with what's on hand, I don't use a lot of seasoning either..
I always put water in BBQ sauce jars to get out the last bits.
I also put water in soap bottles to use the last drops.
I use the lint from my dryer screen to fill little pillows with , for my pets..(NOT really just being silly there ) LOL
Oh, I can think of so many crazy things I do to save money. I reuse my glad bags several times, I collect rain water to water my plants, I pick up cans, I pick up bottles and save the coke reward points, I'm an avid freecycler, I almost only wear second hand clothes, I only buy shoes at payless, I use my coupons like a madwoman, and I will second guess that grocery bill everytime. If they overcharged me 1 dollar, you better believe me that I will go to customer service. I also do CVS! I say do CVS because it is almost a game....I bring home 40 dollars worth of items for less than 5 dollars....otherwise CVS won. Oh, I could go on and go on....and I see we share a lot of saving ideas.