Absurd things people do in order to Save Money

I know of people who will still eat mouldy bread, and vegetables and fruit that I would consider as compost and a health hazard. They don't do it because they can't afford any fresh groceries, no, they do it because they are stingy. They tell me that it's a "sin" to waste anything in life. I think it is downright stupid to play with one's health like that.

 

My Grandpa said that during the Great Depression, his dad would just put pieces of cardboard in his shoes when he got a hold in the bottom of his soles. I know this isn't absurd considering they had no money, but it was the most extensive ploy I've heard to save money in 40 years. and that is after having lived in 3rd world countries. Oh, no, the other thing that is absurd is in one of those countries, they take the plastic garbage bags out of the trash, wash them, and then re-use them to fill their tobacco up with for re-sale. Most of the times, the bags are washed in a river basin though, with cows bathing nearby. While I admire the tactic for its recycling purposes, I do find it unhygienic and therefore not a good idea. Whenever I see it though, I think to myself, 'Wow - I am really wasteful!' So sometimes the absurd reminds us of how much we really use that isn't necessary.

 

Some women I hear sell their undies on ebay for some good cash to fetishists of sorts. With that cash they buy new lingerie and save a bit of it too.

There are some people who block their debit cards by entering the wrong pin so they can't buy anything. I see how that helps because if you really don't want to spend cash, why not just leave your debit card at home?

 

I know a friend of mine who really wanted to save up for a car so every time he gets his paycheck he saves almost every penny that he made and he results to starving himself for real. He would only eat once and just drink water for the rest of the day. I have no idea how he's still healthy up until now but to be honest that water therapy did get him to an awesome slim body.

 

How would you even go about transferring bath water to a toilet? I'm less cautious about saving water than I am about saving electricity and gas etc. I consider re using tea bag absurd but many people do it.

 

For some reason this was difficult to think of but the most absurd way I can think of is one thing that my mom does. She grabs as many napkins as she can from restaurants and they are used for cleaning up spills or wiping the mouth. She apparently saves a lot on napkins.
I guess it's not that absurd but it is to me because I couldn't be bothered to keep all of them.

 

I worked as a maid for a wealthy couple last year and the wife turned out to be a little crazy.
For one thing, she would literally buy groceries at Dollar Tree. I'm not talking about those yummy frozen spring rolls, I mean that she would buy those thin ,salty stringy pork chops from Dollar Tree and cook them for dinner along with some canned beans. She lived in an expensive condo on a private island and wore pajamas from Goodwill to go everywhere.
Now ,clothes from Goodwill and ramen noodles are fine for me because I'm poor and a single mom.
But for a woman in a $500,000 condo to eat Dollar Tree meat and hand wash her clothes is probably mental illness.
One time she made dinner for my daughter and I , and it was gelatinous boiled pigs' feet and rice.
No wonder her husband would buy all of his dinners at fast food places on the way home.

 

I know someone who keep the food she buys all to herself. Instead of putting the food in her storage area, she brings it with her to her room so that her kids and grand kids won't be able to eat the food that she bought. Her husband is still working abroad so he doesn't know about what her wife does. Since their housekeeper lives with them, she frequently gossips what her boss does that's why the entire neighborhood knows this bad trait of her.

 

I suppose they just don't have any impulse control and don't trust themselves,
but if that was they case they could always put it in an obnoxious hard to reach place, like frozen in a block of ice or in their attic. I guess if you were desperate enough to stop spending you'd do anything to prevent yourself when you're having a moment of clarity.

 

Ramon is the office mate of my husband who usually had no lunch money. In lieu of lunch, he would just smoke a cigarette which he asked from the smokers in the office. Sometimes my husband would buy 2 meals to give 1 to Ramon. In the weeks that passed, my husband and some of their office mates were wondering why Ramon had no money. Maybe maybe he is deeply in debt. And then the truth was discovered accidentally by another of their colleague - Ramon had built a house for his family and is paying the high installments.

 

I've watched the show extreme cheapskates and there are really lots of prime examples there of the extreme extents people go through just to save a few cents. I once saw an episode where the girl cut her own hair and dived dumpsters to get expired or discarded ingredients from the grocery garbage bin, and she served it to her guests when they came over. I think there might be something off about these people mentally or emotionally that causes them to be this way but if it's what will make them fulfilled then I think it's alright especially since they are not harming anyone else anyway.

 

I think the most absurd story that I know of is when our late neighbor used to take advantage of parties and would bring his whole family along to eat for free. They also try to take home food if it's allowed.

 

I've found that there are extremists in all circles. I'm all for saving a buck, but some of the things people do will cost them more in health problems than they saved. I can't imagine bathing in dirty water...

I have also heard of people using a "sawdust toilet." I can't remember where I read about it, since it's been a while, but ewww. That to me, amounts to having an indoor outhouse. No thanks.

 

I think some of these people do these things because some are environmentally conscious...but bringing your family to a party to eat for free...now that is just tacky. It reminds me of the people who go to the store to get samples and bring their whole family there., and hit the sample tray over and over again. I just think that when your cheapness comes to taking advantage of other people it is just too much!

 

I was watching this show on television where this lady would take the uneaten portion from the plates and store it in the refrigerator to be eaten again. She did this along with recycling things that most people would dispose of, just to save money. Even thouh she has a right to do whats suits her, I found it to be very digusting.

 

Well, I do save leftovers, but I don't scrape the plates to do it. Yuck! I only use what's left in the serving dishes.

I recycle a lot of things as well, and probably some that other people wouldn't. I don't think any of the stuff I save is gross or anything though. So, what was she re-using that was disgusting?

I do my best to avoid wasting stuff, but yeah, I think people do need to draw a line somewhere.

 

I actually saw something worse than that. On Extreme Cheapskates, I saw a guy that would ask strangers at restaurants for their leftovers. So basically he had no problem with getting up from dinner to ask people at another table for their partially eaten food. That seems really unsanitary and kind of creepy.

 

Yeah, that's just disgusting and wrong, if you ask me. He shouldn't be bothering those other people in the first place, much less eating from their plates. What if they are sick? Ugh... the germs. So nasty.

Saving money is great and all, but some of these people go beyond being cheap or whatever. To each his own, if they arent' bothering/harming anyone else, but seriously... I think some of them need an eval. Wow.

 

My mom, as well as some of my friends, used to snatch straws, condiment packets, coffee creamers and other stuff from restaurants regularly. In fact, my mom would sometimes send me to go grab them for her when we were at fast food joints. I never understood the logic behind any of this, considering how cheap straws, napkins and condiments are in the first place. They were wasting far more money by even going out to eat at all. A friend of mine in particular is proud of his "stash" of bbq sauce packets, sweet & sour sauce packets, ketchup packets, etc... he's amassed. It's ridiculous considering the hundreds of dollars on fast food he spent accumulating those.