Where do you draw the line at being too cheap?

[Genieklone]

Is there a such thing as being too thrifty? What would someone have to do to be go over the edge.

Personally, I have no problem with trash picking...but some people have accused me of being too cheap . Hey man, if you want to throw out your nice china because your hubby got you a new set, I'm getting it out the landfill

Also, I time myself in the shower, put dates on all of my products so that I can compete with myself on how long I can stretch an item and I have been known to be in a 58 deg house all day

Also by Favorite book is the Complete Tightwad, rich Dad Poor Dad and anything by Robert Kiyosaki....

You weren't hurt my feelings, what is too thrifty?

 

[vhoffman]

YOu can't be too rich, too thin, or too thrifty!

I even use tha same tea bag 2-3 times! However,I do draw the line at mixing used coffed grounds with new--my coffee's sacred!

How here's too thrifty--my aunt did this when we were kids--only flush the toilet after doing #2, not #1. Discard used toilet paper in a trash can so it doesn't clog up with multiple uses on one flush. I hope never to be thast hard up

 

[vhoffman]

I do find I have to time ds in the shower or he gets in there and forgets to come out until the water's cold, no mean feat with a 50 gallon hot water heater!

Also, my kids have their own bathroom but I find I can't leave bottles of shampoo and conditioner in there. Whatever's in there they use! I keep small sample size bottles and refill them every day (diluted 1-3), and they still go through that like crazy! Kind of like housekeeping at a hotel, fresh toiletreis daily! Beats using an 18 ounce bottle of shampoo in 3 days!

 

[KelNottAt]

I don't care how thrifty anyone is as long as his or her habits don't affect me.

For example, my BIL also keeps his thermastat set very low. OK, fine. But when he threw a party and 4 guest asked if they could turn on the gas fireplace he said, "no. do you know how much that costs?"

I think withholding heat from guests who are cold qualifies as too cheap.

 

[delmar411]

what would put you over the edge is not weighing the real cost of an item and getting it just because it was 'cheap'. kwim? Buying 50 $1 t-shirts that fall apart after 1 wash is not thrifty if you can buy a $50 shirt that lasts for years and years. That's a broad weird example but the best I could come up with off hand. LOL

 

[StephMK]

I think we need to start a movement to change "trash picking" to voluntary recycling then maybe it'd catch on a little better. I have no problem taking something usable out of the trash but won't do commercial diving. I've gotten some nice stuff that way & hate to see good items just tossed due to laziness. Heck, when we moved, most of my boxes came from trash picking from a new neighbor and McDonald's when I asked the guy breaking them down if I could take them. I set a big pile of pickable items when we were moving & it was funny to see which things went the fastest.

I know it's well supported but I can't bring myself to wash & reuse baggies or foil. Not knocking the practice, it's just not something I want to do.

 

[delmar411]

I think we need to start a movement to change "trash picking" to voluntary recycling

we call it curb shopping

 

[feedindy]

I won't reuse things that are intended to be disposable. If I didn't want to waste money on disposables, I just wouldn't buy them in the first place.

I also won't scrimp on heat. We keep it at 69; 70 was too warm for DH, 68 too cold for me-but I won't go any lower than 68. Warmth and comfort is worth the price. Even at that temp, I'm still bundled in blankets most days.

 

[seashoreCM]

I don't like to see good things that somebody could use thrown in the trash or thrown in the dumpster. So it is perfectly OK to salvage that set of old dishes or that old table. Except I have too many sets of dishes back at home.

If it will make me comfortable, it is perfectly OK to turn up the heat, or to ask my host or the restaurant maitre d' to. Also, there are times when my family and I will take two cars so we can leave at different times. No problem driving if the next bus doesn't come for 20 minutes.

On another forum someone posed the question of what to do with an old TV that every so often had the picture shrink but come back to normal after a second or two. I suggested giving it away, either set out on the curb or taken to a dump/landfill.transfer station with a section set aside for salvageable goods.

More:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/save.htm

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

I won't reuse baggies, either, nothing against it, it just doesn't seem worth the time for me. I will reuse plastic utensils. I buy them for my kids' lunches and snacks at school, that way if they bring them home, great, if not, no big deal. Fortunately my kids are big on recycling so they usually bring them home and I throw them in the dishwasher.

I won't do anything that is unsanitary or unhealthy for my family, such as skimping on toiletries (not the same as what vhoffman is talking about, I mean not buying them) or buying expired food. I do stretch out our shampoo and conditioner by adding water.

Shoes, I won't buy cheap shoes. They need to be brand name (on sale and preferably with a code) so they'll hold up for an entire school year and I can pass them down. The same for DH and I, we deserve to have good shoes so we don't get sore or injuries from improper support.

That's all I can think of right now, there may be more.

 

[PreciousSadies]

When I see the calculator come out at a restaurant, when a friend needs to know exactly what she needs to contribute, and can't be a little generous.

And when another person, returns items that are questionable after a few years of using it, back to the store.

Or when I heard this one on the radio... the millionarie that you're staying with in their mansion... charges you to wash your own laundry and dry it (but, then hangs you're laundry outside!) That's how they stay rich!

 

[Worfiedoodles]

When my sil (not a young woman, in her 40s) takes a trip to NYC, she and her husband stay at the Y, in different dorms for men and women, using a communal bathroom. For me, that's too thrifty. If we can't afford to sleep together and have our own bathroom, I'm not going!

 

[DreaGirl]

There are two things that I don't skimp on...

1-Make-Up/Face Products: I have very sensitive skin, so I have to get a more expensive brand of cosmetics. I was buying very expensive facial cleanser and mousturizer until I went to the dermatologist and he said that Cetaphil and Oil of Olay are just as good for sensitive skin as the more expensive brands.

2-Gifts- If I see something that reminds me of a friend/relative and it is a little expensive, then I buy it. I think it is worth it.

 

[corndog]

I do find I have to time ds in the shower or he gets in there and forgets to come out until the water's cold, no mean feat with a 50 gallon hot water heater!

Also, my kids have their own bathroom but I find I can't leave bottles of shampoo and conditioner in there. Whatever's in there they use! I keep small sample size bottles and refill them every day (diluted 1-3), and they still go through that like crazy! Kind of like housekeeping at a hotel, fresh toiletreis daily! Beats using an 18 ounce bottle of shampoo in 3 days!

Hmmm? Teenage boys?

 

[HappyDznyCamper]

Shoes, I won't buy cheap shoes. They need to be brand name (on sale and preferably with a code) so they'll hold up for an entire school year and I can pass them down. The same for DH and I, we deserve to have good shoes so we don't get sore or injuries from improper support.

Save yourself the potential Podiatry bills later and don't hand down those shoes, just like you want proper support for your feet, your kids growing feet need proper support too. Each of us walks differently and shoes "break into" the form of the foot that wears them, when younger sibling wears used shoes the support may not be correct for their growing bones.

 

[MrsNick]

I have nothing against "voluntary recycling" but I don't do it. Having lived in NYC for many years, I learned that this is a great way to bring unwanted guests into your home (the six-legged variety).

In the past, I have shopped at thrift stores and bought clothes there, but would never, ever purchase shoes at a thrift store. Just too much skeeve factor for me (I know, I have issues )

IMHO, too cheap is this: a woman died doing a "hold your weight" contest at a radio station so she could win a Nintendo Wii for her two sons. She (and other contestants) drank something like two gallons of water. The point of the contest was to see who could refrain from using the toilet the longest, and that person would win the Wii.

This was very, very tragic, but also foolish on the part of the radio station and the contestants. To me, performing stunts like a trained seal to win something, especially at the expense of my health, or the health of my loved ones is penny wise and pound foolish.

 

[hegfam]

Warning...sensitive issue coming up... I just recently ran across a website where it is explained how to make your own sanitary napkins. Plenty of info also on how to store and launder used ones for reuse. Man, the things only cost about $3 a bag, I can surely spare that on myself once a month.

That's TOO THRIFTY for me...

 

[arielsleepingbeauty]

I consider myself thrify, but one thing i definately draw the line about skimping on is toilet paper. I like a certain brand. It has to be fluffy, not feel like cardboard. My brother in law told my sister that she uses too much toilet paper. He will take the time to unroll a whole roll of double ply and separate them and reroll onto an empty roll to get more out of it. That to me goes too far. He makes over $100,00.00 come on now. When she comes over I kid them about this and tell her to take her time in there and enjoy the comfort.



Also heat, I will not be cold in my own home. No way. I work and therefore I choose to spend my money on heat. I think it's ridiculous of me to have to walk around in swatshirts and turtlenecks in my own home. I want to be comfortable and I want my heat!

 

[arielsleepingbeauty]

Warning...sensitive issue coming up... I just recently ran across a website where it is explained how to make your own sanitary napkins. Plenty of info also on how to store and launder used ones for reuse. Man, the things only cost about $3 a bag, I can surely spare that on myself once a month.

That's TOO THRIFTY for me...

That's just wrong and gross.

 

[Hedy]

I think being too cheap is like so many other things-I know it when I see it. I'm probably labelled cheap for using a reusable menstrual cup, but I wouldn't cook in a resort room.