Tell Us Your Tightwad Secrets!!

[ZephyrHawk]

- One thing that's really helped me save is planning our meals for the week ahead of shopping. It's not something I used to do before we were married, being not terribly cooking inclined. I used to just go to the store and buy what I thought I would probably need. Taking DH with me was always a challenge too because it's difficult to explain to a hungry male that, no, he will not need several bags of potato chips...even if they ARE on sale. However, now I plan out specific meals and only buy what is necessary to fulfill those plans . This also forces me into trying new recipes, thereby adding some variety that makes DH happy.

- I've switched to all online bill paying. I got sick of smail mail getting to its destination a day late and getting charged late fees. Plus, this way I save on stamps.

- I've instituted a secret santa arrangement with DH's family which, beforehand, had everyone giving presents to everyone else in the large, and increasingly growing, family. Mind you, several family members rebelled at my suggestion that maybe the struggling young couples (who are looking to start families of their own) can't really afford to get presents for 30 some individuals. As such, they backed out of the deal (and out of family Christmas entirely) and have somewhat cut us out of their good graces. Such is life with DH's family. We also participate in a secret santa amongst our numerous friends.

- DH's car is over 10 years old and has over 200,000 miles. It's not in the best of condition, but it runs. Both of our cars get over 30 miles per gallon. When DH does finally get a new vehicle, he won't settle for less than 50 MPG.

- We get some perks for being members of a movie club and a bookstore rewards club. Since we patronize these services anyways, it makes sense to become members. Free popcorn when we go to the movies and free books at Christmastime are useful.

 

[MELSMICE]

I forgot about these 2 small things..........

Instead of buying those Saran covers for lids on open bowls or plates, I buy shower caps at the dollar store. You can get 10 for $1. They are the same thing & work great, especially at Christmas time with cookie trays.

Instead of buying an expensive night time eye cream I use chapstick under & around my eyes. I'll be 44 in a few weeks & I can honestly say that I may have 1 or 2 very fine wrinkles near my eyes & that's it. Chapstick every night is doing the trick for me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[mickeyfan2]

Instead of buying those Saran covers for lids on open bowls or plates, I buy shower caps at the dollar store. You can get 10 for $1. They are the same thing & work great, especially at Christmas time with cookie trays.

They might look the same but the way they are produced and handle are completely different. On is created in an sterile environment for food consumption. I would never touch anybody's cookies that had a item for a persons head touching them.

 

[Zoesmama03]

I just got those dryer balls.

oh my gosh will I save a ton on fabric softener.

I don't use dryer sheets since my mom's dryer repair man said they are bad for it. She still uses them but I got those balls since it will be a lot cheaper.

She has gotten to like the freshness from the Febreze ones so maybe I'll have her cut them in 4ths like the OP mentioned if she is gonna use them but so far she hasn't the balls do freshen the load quite a bit.

And the best part is it takes less time to dry clothes which saves money on electric bill too.


My other tightwad thing is I only shave my legs when I MUST. I hardly ever wear shorts even in the summer I do when I'm going swimming. I hate the price of blades and shaving gel. For my capri pants I shave the lower portion since that is what grows the most anyway.

I buy TP in bulk and when its on sale.


Soda is a "treat" that I only buy occasionally while out for dinner. Saves a TON!!! If you have trouble coming off soda since it is and can be very addicting slowly wean off. I switched to Sprite to get off caffine and then on to flavored water, using Crystal light but that won't save money at first that stuff is expensive too. Eventually though I craved water.

 

[MissMichelle]

*MICKEYFAN*

I have never heard of a debit card that you can earn rewards from. Can you tell me what bank you use? We don't have any credit cards (learned the hard way twice ) I would love to earn points for spending my own money

I use Webster Bank and we also have this...You can check Visaextras.com and see if your bank participates...I just checked my reward points and I have $12,000 worth of points to use (1 point per dollar) since MARCH...But that is every time I use it to pay a bill, buy groceries, get clothes etc...

 

[writersblock42]

We don't do anything super "tightwad" like cutting dryer sheets or anything like that. I find that just refusing to buy things we do not need and not wasting any money really helps keep us in our budget. I guess the things people think are strange that we do are lowering our thermosat in the winter, not using AC in the summer (we live in southeast PA), not having cable, buying clothes at yard sales, consignment shops and ebay for our son. I do save the quality sandwich bags.
One of my biggest secrets is cut chicken breasts into thirds. A third of a chicken breast is really all the protein a person needs. Then add a nice spinach salad. I find that spinach is cheaper than Romaine lettuce and healthier. We have reduced the amount of meat we use in a lot of meals and instead of adding starches we add veggies. We have a garden in our back yard with cucumbers, tomatoes, squash, zucchinni, eggplant, oregano, and peppers. Also we pick raspberries on the side of the road. We also go to farms where you pick your own fruits.
One thing that I used to do was get a chicken roaster and then eat it for one meal and then pick it clean. The little $5 chicken can feed us for like 3-4 meals.

 

[grlpwrd]

They might look the same but the way they are produced and handle are completely different. On is created in an sterile environment for food consumption. I would never touch anybody's cookies that had a item for a persons head touching them.

Ack... good point. One is food grade while one is not.

Also wanted to add that I am striving for more simplicity and infusing it with frugality. I try to live simply and not spend, spend, spend. That is along the lines of what you, writersblack42, stated:

I find that just refusing to buy things we do not need and not wasting any money really helps keep us in our budget.

Sure, I stockpile and buy future gifts and items on clearance, but I don't recreationally shop or pay much attention to posts about buying the latest gizmo for $19.99 or something. lol

 

[disneymom3]

yeah I know I rather have dh bring his coffee. Howver dh stopped smokeing a year ago so if he wants to buy coffe thats way better than 10 $ per day on smogs . So I will just take advantage of his coffee habit

You know that is a good point. Sometimes the sacrifice is not worth the savings. We made a similar decision when DH started working downtown and on a direct bus route instead of the suburb he was working in. He could take the bus for $9 a day, or pay for the gas, wear and tear on the car and $7.75 a day in parking. (Do the math, it's not hard to see what the best economic choice is!! ) However, taking the bus would take up to half an hour more for him to get home, for one thing because they take a weird way and for another thing because of the schedules. He looked for a new job in part so that he would not have such a long commute so to us, the lost time was not worth the money we would save. Next month, his workgroup is transferring to their other office with a dedicated parking lot so we won't have parking costs anymore!

GOOD JOB to your DH for quitting smoking!! I agree he deserves what ever kind of coffee he wants!

 

[tcarr5]

found this in my mary hunt newsletter it may help someone

Master Mix
5 pounds (18 3/4 cups) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup double acting baking powder
3 tablespoons salt
2 1/2 cups powdered milk
2 tablespoons cream of tartar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 pounds (4 cups) solid vegetable shortening

Combine dry ingredients in a very large mixing bowl. Cut in shortening until mix looks like cornmeal. Store at room temperature in tightly sealed container(s). Makes about 30 cups mix. Use just as you would Bisquick, if you can find some recipes, making sure you substitute water for any milk required. Or get started with those that follow.

1 DOZEN BISCUITS: 3 cups Master Mix, 3/4 cup water. Blend and knead a few strokes. Bake on a greased cookie sheet in a 450 F preheated oven for 10 minutes.

1 DOZEN MUFFINS: 3 cups Master Mix, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 egg, 1 cup water. Mix water and egg and add to dry ingredients. Mix together until incorporated. Bake in greased muffin cups in 450 F preheated oven for 25 minutes.

4 DOZEN DROP COOKIES: 3 cups Master Mix, 1 cup sugar, 1 egg, 1/3 cup water, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1/2 cup nuts, chocolate chips or whatever. Blend and bake on greased cookie sheet in 375 F preheated oven for 10-12 minutes.

9-INCH ROUND COFFEE CAKE: 3 cups Master Mix, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 egg, 2/3 cup water. Optional: 1/2 cup nuts or raisins. Blend and pour batter into a greased 9-inch cake pan. Cover with topping: 1/2 cup brown sugar, 3 tablespoons softened butter, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Bake in 400 F preheated oven for 25 minutes.

18 MEDIUM PANCAKES OR 6 WAFFLES: 3 cups Master Mix, 1 1/2 cups water, 1 egg. Blend.

8-INCH SQUARE CORNBREAD OR MUFFINS: 1 1/4 cups Master Mix, 3/4 cup cornmeal, 1 egg, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1/2 cup water. Blend and pour into greased pan or muffin tin. Bake in 400 F preheated oven for 25 minutes.

 

[ZPT1022]

Ever read The Millionaire Next Door? My parents fit that book to a T. My mom would pick up napkins and cut them in half if she was at a fast food place, she never saw a butter wrapper she didn't scrape with a knife to get the last bit and no one ever saw the like of how she could stretch a meal. But she and my dad took vacations whenever the mood struck and after his death my mom took all 7 of us girls on an all expense paid trip to wherever we wanted to go basically. Just said, "You pick it, tell me when to show up and here's my credit card." She also took our whole family--including nephews, nieces etc 28 in all--on a cruise for a family reunion. Did she need to save Cool Whip containers? Nope, but that was how she grew up and she made choices about what to spend her money on. (She also didn't have A/C which was bad in our MN summers and led to her house having a mold problem so that was actually NOT a good cost conscious move.)

see, that is exactly what I was thinking of when I wrote that.

 

[minnie1928]

I just got those dryer balls.

oh my gosh will I save a ton on fabric softener.

Ok, I feel dumb...are you talking about those blue spikey looking balls? Tell me more (where you got them, price, etc.)!!!

 

[dwaddict]

I would love to see pics of those dresses!!! Are they easy to make? I have only sewed blankets, simple curtains ect. That sounds like a great thing to make for my DD5 for upcoming trip. TIA

Basically if you can sew a straight line you can make these!! Just type in pillowcase dress instructions and do a search and tons of free instructions will pop up!!! I make these all the time for dd and lil bloomers to match or little pants depending on the season!!! Super easy and so cute!! Good luck!!!!

 

[ballle_98]

http://rowena.typepad.com/rostitchery/2004/06/done_is_better_.html

Here are the instructions I used. Super easy. I don't know how to post pictures on here. I will try to get DH to show me and post a picture. There are a few pictures that some ladies posted on the other thread.

 

[TNKBELL]

http://rowena.typepad.com/rostitchery/2004/06/done_is_better_.html

Here are the instructions I used. Super easy. I don't know how to post pictures on here. I will try to get DH to show me and post a picture. There are a few pictures that some ladies posted on the other thread.

Thank You!!!

 

[TNKBELL]

I use baby wipes for removing spots/stains on clothing and it even works on the carpet!!

 

[cajunpeach]

I forgot about these 2 small things..........

Instead of buying those Saran covers for lids on open bowls or plates, I buy shower caps at the dollar store. You can get 10 for $1. They are the same thing & work great, especially at Christmas time with cookie trays.

Instead of buying an expensive night time eye cream I use chapstick under & around my eyes. I'll be 44 in a few weeks & I can honestly say that I may have 1 or 2 very fine wrinkles near my eyes & that's it. Chapstick every night is doing the trick for me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love the shower cap idea, I will expand on it...If you go to a beauty supply store, I go to Sally's, you can get about 50 caps for a little over 2 dollars.

How long have you used chapstick under your eyes? i'm impressed

 

[MELSMICE]

How long have you used chapstick under your eyes? i'm impressed

Been using the "chapstick trick" for at least 10 or 12 years now!

 

[mom2dea0813]

Great thread everyone !

Sarah

 

[Zoesmama03]

Ok, I feel dumb...are you talking about those blue spikey looking balls? Tell me more (where you got them, price, etc.)!!!

Yeah those blue spikey ones you've seen on TV I'm sure. I got them at Walgreen's for $9.99. Sure beats buying fabric softener. Some people say it helps with static some say they had tons but I haven't noticed any. I think static is more running it too long and I've found that even with dryer sheets I get static if it had run to long.

 

[ticktock]

Yeah those blue spikey ones you've seen on TV I'm sure. I got them at Walgreen's for $9.99. Sure beats buying fabric softener. Some people say it helps with static some say they had tons but I haven't noticed any. I think static is more running it too long and I've found that even with dryer sheets I get static if it had run to long.

OK I've wanted to ask this for a while. Where does everyone live that gets static in their laundry? I thought this was just up north? I don't get static in my laundry unless I'm washing a cetain fuzzy polyester blanklet my DH has had for years .Yuck I hate polyester. I only buy clothes that are cotton or linen. Is that why I don't get static?

I live in Fl. and don't use fabric softener or dryer sheets. I hate the way they make my clothes feel slimey. The oils or whatever it is in the softener imbed themselves in the threads of the fabric so your detergent can't penetrate as well and your clothes don't get as clean. So why use it?

While I'm already irritating people let me add, juice isn't good for you. Not even 100% juice. I've had two pediatricians, a dentist and a hospital's nutritionist tell me that juice is NOT good for your kid and it just premotes tooth decay. I think I'll believe them over what the ad companies tell me. Giving your kids juice is just like giving them soda according to my ped. Now that's fine if you understand it, but I see alot of parents on here who seem to think they're doing something healthy by giving their kids juice. Just FYI. So again, why buy it?