Pinching pennies is something that almost all of us could, and should, be better at.
It’s easy to add the extra cheese on your sandwich for a dollar or splurge on a new jacket, but can you imagine if you were even just a little bit more responsible with your money?
You might even be able to send yourself on a tropical vacation by the end of the year — who knows?
But on the other end of the spectrum are the people who let no cent go to waste. Maybe these people lived through the Great Depression and know not to take luxuries for granted. Or, maybe, they simply don’t want to let anything in life go to waste. These are the people that know how to make the most of every single buck.
These 10 stories of people going to extremes to save some cash are quite amusing. But you know what? We can all learn a bit from them. Maybe we'll save some money of our own and prevent excess waste in the process.
Would you ever try any of these penny-saving ideas? What's the one frugal thing that you always do? Let us know in the comments and please SHARE with family and friends on Facebook!
[H/T: Reddit]
Thumbnail sources: Flickr 1, 2
1.
“I have a friend whose grandfather would take out all of the grandchildren to the donut shop. He would buy a single doughnut and then cut it into six pieces for each of the grandchildren. Then he would take a huge handful of napkins and take them home with him. At home he would cut them in half to use.” – usutsich 5377
2.
“My wife always talks about her great-grandfather's frugality. He hand built most of their furniture, had a black and white TV in the 90's, and drank off-brand beer. The neighbors had a dispute with him concerning the overhang of his outside shed, it apparently was too close to their property line. So this rickety old man filled his beer cans with homemade concrete, somehow raised the entire shed by himself, and rolled it on the cans 6 inches away from their property. Entire endeavor cost about $8.” – Kesmai41
3.
“My grandpa takes everything from restaurants he can get his hands on. Crackers, mints, napkins. Not like one. Like a lot.” – CountChoculahh
4.
“My dad refuses to buy drinking glasses. Instead, he will buy the cheapest spaghetti and alfredo sauces that come in glass jars, use the sauce, and save the jar. He cleans the jars, removes the label, and voila — new drinking glasses.” – The_Otaku_Effect
5.
“In college I worked as a barista and we threw out a ton of pastries, bagels and sandwiches. The owner was very clear that we could not take anything out of the case and bring it home but there was nothing stopping us from digging through the garbage. So at closing time we would take out the day's trash, then divvy up the food to be thrown away, put them in small bags, gently set them inside the clean trash bag for a second, then take it out and go home. Free food loophole.” – TheBrontosaurus
6.
“My friend's dad would make the family collect the water you run in the shower before it heats up. He would then use that water to water his yard.” – tyco_brahe
7.
“I know a lady who collects those small ketchup packets you get for free at food joints. She’s collected up to a kilo of ketchup in a day in her handbag from all the different food joints in the city. Later she fills up small bottles and sells it as her homemade ketchup to unsuspecting people.” – Urban_Aghori
8.
“Going to the gym every other day which is my hair wash schedule and showering there to save money on hot water.” – hisa6170
9.
“Someone I know bought a microwave. Knowing the store has a 90 day return policy, they return the microwave for a new one every 89 days, citing a new 'problem' and often making up a problem of their own.
"They've never had to replace a microwave and are always at the pinnacle of microwave technology.” – jon-in-tha-hood 2421
10.
“I had a roommate in college with a back up battery. He would go to the library and charge that thing all day then use that to power his PC at night. I managed the bills in the house and I noticed $8-20 monthly reduction in electricity once he started doing that.” – Asiansensationz
11.
“10 years ago, my great-grandfather lost his leg to something like gangrene because he was too cheap to go to the doctor. After they took his leg off (below the knee), he opted out of the prosthetic (it would have cost him some money, I don't know how much but anything over $20 would be too much) and carved himself a pegleg.” – inthesandtrap
Do you know anyone as thrifty as this? Please SHARE with family and friends on Facebook!
These stories are based on posts found on Reddit. Reddit is a user-generated social news aggregation, web content rating, and discussion website where registered members submit content to the site and can up- or down-vote the content. The accuracy and authenticity of each story cannot be confirmed by our staff.
