Extreme Cheapskates

There should be boundaries people shouldn't cross. I've heard about some disgusting things extreme cheap skates do to avoid buying their food or getting it at the lowest possible prices. It's not that these people can't afford to buy food [one of them was a millionaire] they just are stingy. Best to spend some money on cheap but healthy food rather than get free or filthy cheap food which might get you food poisoning/foodborne illness.

 

This is definitely taking it to an ugly extreme, there's a huge difference between being thrifty and going dumpster-diving for food when you have money to afford food...
I'll try to caqtch a few episodes, but I can already predict that I will be enraged throughout

 

I've seen this show before. It's kind of like watching a traffic accident. Thank goodness people who are this cheap are few and far between.

From my perspective, being thrifty is all about weighing risks and benefits. Dumpster diving is a huge risk that doesn't deliver enough of a benefit to make it worthwhile. You're risking getting hurt in the dumpster by something someone threw away or eating something that is going to make you sick. These are things that are likely to happen to you if you keep it up, not just a small risk! Let's see, what's better: getting $3 worth of free food, or paying lots of money for doctors. That's just silly.

Now, clipping coupons is something you can do while you're watching TV and wasting time anyway, will result in substantial savings over time, and there's nearly zero risk of bodily harm. Well, I guess you could stab yourself with the scissors, but that's not very likely. Now, that's a truly thrifty choice!

 

I was actually disgusted by some of the episodes I did see. I can see being frugle but these people were doing things that can be down right bad for your health!! I saw a family actually walk to a random field and have every one pick "wild greens" for a salad. Seriously?? They were picking weeds and eating them as a salad. I also saw a woman make lasagna in her dishwasher while she was cleaning the dishes in order to save money on her electric bill. Ewwww!!
I was in awe of it all actually. Don't get me wrong I use coupons all the time and shop sales to their fullest but there are times I think people need to draw the line.

 

Some of these episodes make me really sad. It's clear that the people have developed something similar to a compulsive disorder when it comes to depriving themselves of basic needs. I hope the situations are exaggerated on television but I know that some people live their lives that way.

 

I know some people in my country who dive into dumpsters especially of restaurants to get food. However, these people are the poorest of the poor - those who are homeless and really struggling to make ends meet. To know that people who can afford clean and healthy food are doing this as well is kind of disturbing. I wonder what they are saving for? I mean do they want to amass so much money, or did they just develop a special fondness for dumpster food? Someone should tell them that they cannot take their money to the grave with them in case the reason why they don't want to spend money because they want more of it.

 

I've seen a few episodes of this and it was very informative and entertaining, but also a little depressing. I think some of these people have some emotional issues, but I guess as long as they aren't harming themselves or others too much, then their chosen way of life should be respected. The good thing about this show is that some of the tips can actually prove to be useful for regular folks.

 

I've sadly watched some of this show (I try and avoid reality TV at all costs, this show was on in the background for some reason) and was pretty mad watching the people on it throughout the episode. What's sick is these people CHOOSE to live like this, not that they are forced to. It's like, there are plenty of ways to eat healthy food for a good price. At any rate, shouldn't food pretty much be at the top of priority list of things to buy? Will never feel bad for people who get sick doing this sort of thing because they bring it upon themselves.

 

I think I watched one episode where somebody reuses toilet papers. It was really outrageous, I'm not really sure if it's Extreme Cheapskates episode though but it was horrible to watch. I'm pretty much a cheapskate because I really value what I earn but I won't go to the extremes and really come up short with myself.

 

I watched one episode of it, where this millionaire real estate lady was so cheap, she would eat cat food. When she would invite friends over for something to eat, she would offer them a "tuna fish" sandwich, and one of them discovered that she had served them cat food as well. Her logic was that the tins of cat food were a few cents cheaper, and something about how, by law, pet food has to be safe for human consumption anyhow - lol. Good grief, that was enough for me, I was about to turn it off. But that wasn't even the end of it. She was so cheap when it came to flying, she was flirting with the local pilots of smaller planes to get them to let her tag along for flights with them for free. Her car was a mid 1990's Ford Taurus that was in such bad condition, when she brought it in to get fixed, the technicians wouldn't let her leave with it because it needed so much work they would probably be held liable if she got hurt.

I have a friend like this, he lives in a filthy tiny little house and you need a crowbar to pry a penny from his cold dead hands. He freeloads off of all of his friends and family, and on top of that, goes down to the food banks for bags of stuff - even when he is employed full time. Not to mention he's a major kleptomaniac and steals stuff just about everywhere he goes. He wears baggy cargo pants and other clothes with lots of pockets, and he'll case a place and come out with over $50 worth of food merchandise easily. He's walked out of grocery stores with entire cases of beer. He's been fired from just about every job he's had for stealing, though I doubt any of those companies knew the extent to which he was stealing from them. When I worked with him at restaurants, he wouldn't just skim off the register, he would steal entire cases of meat from the freezer in the back, as well as stacks of appetizer cards and other gift cards from the managers office.

It's more of an uncontrollable compulsion and a sickness with him, rather than just a simple bad choice.