I'm so cheap that I....

1235

Replies

  • GBO323
    GBO323 Posts: 333 Member


    I GET MY MUSIC OFF YOUTUBE CONVERTER - F** PAYING ITUNES

    The YouTube converter is my best friend!!! I used to spend craploads on iTunes, but I haven't spent a dime on there in about 6 months!!!

    OK I am DYING to know...how do I DO this??? I spend WAAAAAY too much buying music!

    My advice? Enjoy the music you paid for. Don't steal music off of Youtube...ripping it is a nice short way of saying to rip it off. Go to websites that stream music(Pandora) and enjoy it legally. If the music is worth it to you, then pay for it. iTunes/Amazon let you buy it one song at a time vs having to buy a CD just for one song. Being cheap is one thing. Stealing things to save money...that's just wrong.
    Before I get flamed, just know that what I'm saying follows the law. If you don't like it, then get the law changed.
  • dckim
    dckim Posts: 311 Member
    i use toothpicks as chopsticks.
  • ajbeans
    ajbeans Posts: 2,857 Member


    I GET MY MUSIC OFF YOUTUBE CONVERTER - F** PAYING ITUNES

    The YouTube converter is my best friend!!! I used to spend craploads on iTunes, but I haven't spent a dime on there in about 6 months!!!

    OK I am DYING to know...how do I DO this??? I spend WAAAAAY too much buying music!

    My advice? Enjoy the music you paid for. Don't steal music off of Youtube...ripping it is a nice short way of saying to rip it off. Go to websites that stream music(Pandora) and enjoy it legally. If the music is worth it to you, then pay for it. iTunes/Amazon let you buy it one song at a time vs having to buy a CD just for one song. Being cheap is one thing. Stealing things to save money...that's just wrong.
    Before I get flamed, just know that what I'm saying follows the law. If you don't like it, then get the law changed.

    I agree. And not only is it the law, it's the right thing to do. Yes, a lot of artists are rolling in the money, but they got that money because they work hard for it. And some artists aren't rich at all. Pay them for their work.
  • TubbsMcGee
    TubbsMcGee Posts: 1,058 Member
    -I clip coupons,
    -go to product's websites for freebies (I can't remember the last time I bought toothpaste or dental floss),
    -scour the flyers every Thursday and Friday night for the deals of the week, stock piling everything in my basement that is ridiculously on sale,
    -call my service providers at least once a year to see if I can get a better deal on cable/internet/phone bills
    -xmas shop for everyone throughout the year, buying everything they'd want when it's on sale and not paying the "sucker price" during the holidays
    -use vinegar a lot for my cleaning needs
    -only buy my clothes when they're on super-sale (i used to practically live at the Goodwill, but then my style got fancier with my job, and I have a lot of hand-me-downs)
    -I'm starting to make my own laundry detergent
    -I'm growing an edible garden

    ...yes I totally buy my shoes in the kid's department if they're "adult" enough :laugh:

    Ooh and I forgot: I only grocery shop once a week (even though I have a company car with free gas that I'm allowed to use at my leisure), get all of my music free online (wtf is iTunes? lol), cut and dye my own hair (free hair dye always from promotional sites like P&G) and I subscribe to several websites that notify me when they have daily deals
  • babylemonade
    babylemonade Posts: 250 Member
    I GET MY MUSIC OFF YOUTUBE CONVERTER - F** PAYING ITUNES

    Same here.
  • baypathgradLyns
    baypathgradLyns Posts: 639 Member
    I haven't bought my own socks in years- I just use hubby's.

    I did that for a while w/my fiance's socks :)
  • boomboom011
    boomboom011 Posts: 1,459
    i have a question about the laundry soap. does this homemade stuff have any effect on the HE front loaders?
  • netty1959
    netty1959 Posts: 46
    yuk:sick:
  • dimoul
    dimoul Posts: 137 Member
    wear Brooks Brothers dress shirts to change the oil.
  • PanteraGirl
    PanteraGirl Posts: 566 Member
    I stock up on things that are on sale....like Toilet Paper, pantry items that I use on a regular etc. I generally try and buy things I need on sale as well..
  • knittnponder
    knittnponder Posts: 1,953 Member
    We live out in a little town so when we travel into the bigger towns we try to be very efficient and plan all the errands at once. Or since my DH works in a larger town he'll just pick things up before he heads home.

    I cook pretty much everything from scratch, right down to milling my own flour. One of my kids is gluten free (which means so are the rest of us for the most part!) so I mill all the grains for the gluten free flour too. The mark up on that stuff is ridiculous! I buy in bulk as much as possible and in season if I can. I also like local farmer's markets but they don't have a whole lot for us unless it's summer/early fall.

    We reuse or repurpose as much as possible. Old clothes have been known to become new items of clothing or coverings for other things. I've even made curtains into clothes for my kids but mine were considerably cuter than those in the Sound of Music! :P My hubby is a woodworker and pretty handy so we repair or maintain pretty much everything ourselves instead of paying someone to do it. My brother is a mechanic so if we have car trouble that is beyond my hubby's skills I just pay him with a sugar free cheesecake (he's diabetic.)

    I have been known to put the butter wrapper into the freezer when unwrapping a cube. You can use it to grease your pan later and get every bit off of it. :) When we were REALLY poor and had to go to the food bank nobody wanted the whipping cream they had in excess so I took as much as they'd give me. I brought it home and used my mixer to make it into butter.

    ETA: I'm a craigslist junkie, buy my hair color at a beauty supply store, mix and dye my hair myself and whatever we don't eat we either compost or feed it to our chickens. The chickens make some lovely compost that then goes on the garden. I didn't list "grow my own vegetables" because so far I have a black thumb and haven't been successful. My 7 year old on the other hand grew TONS of sugar snap peas last year so I'm thinking she should be designated gardner.
  • the_journeyman
    the_journeyman Posts: 1,877 Member
    Am very careful when I upgrade my cell phone so I am not required to purchase a data package.

    JM
  • serena569
    serena569 Posts: 427 Member
    1. I learned to make my own laundry soap and I use vinegar for fabric softeren. Super cheap and helps with my daughter's allergies.
    2. I never, ever use the dryer. Wash a load in the morning and hang it on a folding rack on my balcony. It's dry when I get home from work. In the winter I hang it in my den overnight. Bonus: I don't have to run a humidifier in the winter.
    3. I have night lights in every room. I trained my daughter from a young age that she didn't need to turn on the bathroom light just to go to the bathroom. The nightlight is bright enough.
    4. Splurged on an electric water bowl for the cat. It cost $50 and sucks some electricity but the cat no longer needs prescription cat food at $40/month.
    5. I use a toaster oven in the summer if I must cook inside. It heats quickly but is so small it doesn't heat my entire house.
    6. When I grill, I cook lots then reheat in the microwave throughout the week.
    7. Clothes do not need to be washed every time you wear them. (Still trying to teach my daughter this.)
    8. Grow my own herbs. I'd grow veggies too but my balcony is only so big.
    9. Drink of choice - water.
    10. Coupons, coupons, coupons. Then I buy as much as I need for 3 months while it's on sale.
    11. Car maintenance! Totally cheaper than a repair.
    12. Planned leftovers so I have something to take for lunch the next day. Keeps me out of the cafeteria.
  • KayteeBear
    KayteeBear Posts: 1,040 Member
    i have a question about the laundry soap. does this homemade stuff have any effect on the HE front loaders?

    I've heard that nobody's had problems. The reason they say you have to use HE detergents is because of the sudsing...well homemade laundry detergent doesn't create any sudsing so it's not a problem. Lots of people use homemade detergent in their HE front loaders without problems.
  • brbetha01
    brbetha01 Posts: 179 Member
    I chase after the garbage truck with a grocery list lol


    LMAO - too funny!
  • sweetsarahj
    sweetsarahj Posts: 701 Member
    Well, I make coffee at work and bring my own lunch.... that is the easy one. I also do the thrift shopping thing but not as much as i could (takes a lot time!)

    But the one (kinda extreme) way I save money is in buying organic, free range horomone and anti-biotic free chicken. It is SO much more expensive I really couldn't afford it if I didn;t do this. One day I noticed that all the premimum chicken was marked 50% off! I bought 18 packages of it and froze it. I started monitoring the meat section of the grocery store and I realised that the chicken is reduced by 50% the day before the expiry date... and they usually stock it all on the same day, so it all expires on the same day. I just have a look at the expiry dates, and go to the store the day beofre to get my chicken on the cheap.

    I also try to buy discounted produce :) I hate the thought of food being thrown away!
  • sweetsarahj
    sweetsarahj Posts: 701 Member
    I only ever shop at thrift shops for clothes
    I spend about $15 a week on food
    The employees at the 99 cent store literally know me by name.
    I collect bottles I find on the street and turn them in for CRV
    glue my shoes back together when they're falling apart (like right now)
    Make my own toothpaste
    Never buy starbucks, unless it's with a cup of someone else's so I can get a 50cent refill (also, I get a venti hot brewed coffee with ice in a separate cup so I get 3x as much coffee as I would if I had gotten an iced)
    I eat mustard for lunch sometimes when I'm out because it's free.

    Mustard for lunch ?!?!?!?!
  • sdennis6505
    sdennis6505 Posts: 1
    I can't get the hang of coupons. Seems to never save me much since I already buy generic and most coupons are for name brand foods.

    I didn't used to use coupons until about a year ago and have found that, if I shop right and keep a 3 months supply at home, it's a lot cheaper to use coupons than buy generic. Anything I don't use that I can get for free, I'll pick up and donate. It also helps my mother and brother out, who live in a more expensive part of the state. I haven't paid for toothpaste, toothbrushes, deoderant, pain medication (advil, aleve, excederine) or shampoo since I started couponing. I don't, however, "sweep" the shelves clean when something is on sale.

    I buy a lot of my clothes when the outlet malls have their sales, so I can get cute, recent name brand clothes for pennies of what it would sell for at a regular mall.
  • Marjorielk
    Marjorielk Posts: 202 Member
    The people who make their own shampoo, laundry detergent, cleaners, etc. ....please post the formulae for these. Thanks.
  • Jenn728
    Jenn728 Posts: 683 Member
    I make my own laundry detergent.
  • Marig0ld
    Marig0ld Posts: 671 Member
    I am learning so much! :-D Thanks everyone!
  • Jenn728
    Jenn728 Posts: 683 Member
    The people who make their own shampoo, laundry detergent, cleaners, etc. ....please post the formulae for these. Thanks.

    My favorite recipe for detergent is found on the Duggar family website under recipes.
  • Jenn728
    Jenn728 Posts: 683 Member
    I clip coupons too when I have time for it. For a while there a few months ago, it was taking over my life. I wont have to buy toothpaste or mens body wash for a long time still! I need to ease back into it.
  • juliesummers
    juliesummers Posts: 738 Member

    I eat mustard for lunch sometimes when I'm out because it's free.


    Was this for real? 0.o

    Hahaha i'd like to know, too!

    I didn't realize this forum was still going!
    Yes, when I'm at college all day and have major assignments due, I'll grab (or my boyfriend will bring me some) mustard packets from the cafeteria and I'll suck on them during class/studying/etc. It's free and tides me over :)
  • 2Bgoddess
    2Bgoddess Posts: 1,096 Member
    We're a family of 5, so buying in bulk is the key. We shop at Costco for meat, top quality for a fair price. I price match at Walmart, I use coupons and ask for more on sites like coupons.ca.

    I cut my own hair, and everyone else's in the house. I have bought hair colour at the dollar store. Most of my furniture was purchased on clearance, the rest, from my sister in law wh redecorates every 3 years. My son's curtains are spongebob bed sheets.

    Lunches are catered at work, so I get the left overs from the kitchen, lunches or dinners for the family sometimes twice a week. They always send too much margerine and ketchup, and dressing, so I refill ours.
  • annabellj
    annabellj Posts: 1,337 Member
    bump
  • SeasideOasis
    SeasideOasis Posts: 1,057 Member
    I separate 2 ply toilet paper to wipe.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    Rough...
  • snowfox92
    snowfox92 Posts: 100 Member
    I'm so cheap I eat cereal with a fork to save milk :P
  • mos1971
    mos1971 Posts: 57 Member
    I ask for forces discount on already discounted items
  • RaeLB
    RaeLB Posts: 1,216 Member
    cut my own hair

    since grade 9
This discussion has been closed.

Categories