Cheapskate Tips?

POOLMANinCT

outside of work i still love saving money, after all how much you keep is more important than what you sock in right??

joasis? got any tips, as you have expressed your love of savings?

just looking to hone the craft/art of frugality.

ray

POOLMANinCT

ive been spending 150 bucks on groceries at price chopper than getting voucher for 30cents off gallon at sunoco, and filling all vehicles on one stop

dougchips

I wish I was cheap, maybe I can learn a few things from this thread.

I fly often but will never spend the money or first class. I leave my travel plans open I get bumped enough so I get a few free tickets a year. Once had a streak of going to FL 4 years in a row for x-mas and only paid for the first ticket.

This is cheap: A friend of mine fills empty Poland Springs bottled water with tap water and if you ask for a water you get it.

joasis

Now I am offended.....I hear this from my wife all the time about how cheap I am....my guys say it every pay day.....and now here, on this forum.....

I bet everyone here can list dozens of things we do to save bucks...when I frame spec homes, I buy units of lumber....yep...a few thousand more against the house, but the next one is free.....on and on. I buy tools on Ebay, and I wait til I get what I want...even if I have to bid on 50 of them to get it. Example is Dewalt DC4 kits.....Lowes price and most stores $499...price I pay on Ebay $300....

My vacation savings kill my wife. Last summer, a buddy called and said lets go to Branson, Missouri....ok, great. We have kids the same age, this will be fun. I start the search for rooms...no dice...car show in town, all booked up....so what do I do? Call a vacation deal getaway...sign up for a 2 hour INTENSIVE sales pitch on Fairfield whatever they call it, get aways or something, and presto. I have a room, tickets to a few shows and Silver Dollar City for $229, including dinner coupns for 2 nights.....nope, they didn't get to sell me crap, but my buddy, who I call daddy warbucks because he really is cheap compared notes and I beat his good deal by a hundred bucks or so.

The only reason you think I am cheap is the pool I want in my new house.....I am looking at solar heating technology now so we can use it all year, for free....now if I could get the electricity for free......

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ron schenker

I fill up the truck at night when the gas prices go down

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Don't worry, the baseboard will hide it!

mdshunk

I buy tools on eBay. I buy standard stock items on eBay also. Other than that, I don't do anything weird like joasis does.

ron schenker

Funny comment of the day

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Don't worry, the baseboard will hide it!

mdshunk

Well, in fairness, I did do a weird thing a while back. I bought what may turn out to be a lifetime's supply of 73B wire nuts. I turned another ContractorTalk user onto the deal, and I think he bought a similarly sized batch. We each have enough 73B's to last for quite some time. I bought a box of 500,000 plastic wall anchors last year, but they're getting used up fast.

Teetorbilt

Never buy a new vehicle, the moment that it 'rolls over the curb' it is used - 10% loss in just a few seconds.

Shop pawn shops, flea markets and garage sales for tools - you can find some really good bargains if you know your tools.

Recycle. I do a lot of kitchen remods and if the old cabinets are decent, I place an ad in the paper. Some people will pay you for them AND take them down. Second hand appliance shops will take appliances away and even pay a little something for the privelege. Chandeliers and lighting fixtures go to consignment shops. You make out on both ends and keep a lot of stuff out of the landfill.

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You can't solve you're problems with the same level of thinking that created the problems.

Albert Einstein

K2

$5 turkeys during the holidays go into 3 freezers, (15 or 20 of them), and last until about August.

Flea market and garage sales for just about everything. " My boyfriend moved out a few years ago and left all these tools and I just want them gone" is what I love to hear.

Dumpster diving or better yet grabing it before it hits the dumpster. I did over 5k in used light fixtures one year that were headed for the crusher. Saved some $1500 splosion proofs from the dumpster the other day.

I'm the cheapest guy i know except at Christmas. The wallet comes out for Christmas charities and a few special unrelated kids. Makes being a cheapskate the rest of the year worth it.

RobertCDF

Is that when the lights at the station go off?

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Robert Shaw
Colorado Springs Custom Decks
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jmic

Md, How many do you figure you have left?

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Joe

POOLMANinCT

i like the turkey tip ty

JNLP

You're not kidding. I just bought a Avalanche. The sticker for it was $40k. It's now 3 years old, 45k, and runs/looks showroom. Paid $15k for it. That means it lost $25k value over 3 years. It's insane the value drop of new vehicles. Better off buying a like new a few years old.

dougchips

No shii I bought a Nissan Tittan 3 years ago, paid 35ish, I can get 15-17 for it---I owe a few dollars more than it is worth! Everytime I look on e-baye I swear my next purchase will be there.

joasis

No telling how far this thread will go...Dave Ramsey's radio show I have been listening to every once in a while got me to thinking..and I read his book...just common sense stuff will save you a ton of bucks.

Here is funny one about being cheap. My waife hates it when I buy the groceries....I will be generic 95% of the time...except where I can taste the difference...like Kraft macaroni and cheese...there is only one macaroni and cheese sp I stock up when it is 69 cents a box. Charmin toilet paper, and Hamburger Helper are a few of the name brand things that things I prefer over generic....I buy value brand bleach....now my wife and I are both college grads, and she was a science teacher....so what is the problem? Always save bleach, she says, sucks....I say bleach is bleach...of course, it is the scent or aroma added to Clorox, since the active ingredients are exactly the same, and it pisses her off royaly for me to remind her of this. I think she actually hates standing in a checkout line looking like we are poor people.....image thing.

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donb1959

My wife and I go to the "Dollar Tree" store. You can get all kinds of named brand items nothing over $1.00. I paticularly like the toiletries, for example you can get speed stik anti persperant for $1.00 at Wal Mart its over $3.00.

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rservices

I keep my toilet paper roller real tight so they can only get 1 sheet at a time
just kidding

dougchips

I get paint brushes for exterior priming (not for nice finish) at the dollar store---save tons on the clean up time. No one can clean a brush for under a dollar. Use to freeze the brushes but had some meat spoiled because of it.

Teetorbilt

Jo, I have never cared about what my 'appearance' may look like. I buy store brand foods all of the time, they're actually manufactured by the name brands and sold for less under the generic lable. Nothing new here.

I don't mind buying reconditioned tools either. A buck is a buck, add them up over the years and it will = $. Like to see my retirement accounts? Big $$$$$

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You can't solve you're problems with the same level of thinking that created the problems.

Albert Einstein