Have you guys seen this show? I channel-surfed onto it but could only watch for a few minutes because it grossed me out too much. This married couple share showers to save water - but that’s not the gross part. He washes his hair with her shampoo suds, they share a razor - she shaves her underarms then hands it to him to shave his face, they share Q-Tips - she uses one end to clean both her ears then he uses the other end to clean both his ears. They share one toothbrush because they’re too cheap to spend the two bucks to buy a second one. They even share one string of dental floss.
She keeps a chain and padlock on a cupboard where she keeps her snack food. He asked for a chip and she gave him one then said “You owe me fifteen cents.”
What’s the cheapest thing you’ve seen or what’s the cheapest thing you do? Can’t be any grosser than those people.
If I put a sandwich in a bag I’ll brush it off and use it at least once again.
I do the same thing with Ziploc bags when I bring leftovers to work like spaghetti.
I used to use Tupperware but the Tupperware melts in the microwave and eventually ends up in the trash so now I have a real plate, bowl, and silverware in my office that I wash in the kitchenette after lunch.
Part of this is because I just can’t stand the thought of all that stuff ending up in a landfill but I admit part is because I’m cheap.
I started watching this on Netflix and I found it to be both gross and boring. Not only were the practices gross but the people seemed pretty mean and controlling.
I can’t think of anything weird cheap that I do at the moment but I’m sure I do tons of stuff.
I saw on a talk show years ago where the cheapest guy they could find would buy 2-ply toilet paper and separate the two plies, rolling the “extra” on an old cardboard tube. That’s pretty cheap.
I bring dry cereal and fruit to work in ziploc bags almost every day. When I went on a strict budget several years ago, I started dating the ziploc bags and reusing them. Eventually it became a challenge to see how long I could keep using the same bag. Today I brought my cereal to work in a bag that has been in continuous use since July 5, 2012. My fruit bag has been in continous use since April 16, 2012. I’ve even thought about contacting Hefty (the maker of these bags) to see if they want to use me in an ad. I’ve certainly proved the toughness of their bags, although they might not like the fact that at this rate I’m going to buy a box of bags about once a decade.
As mentioned elsewhere, I drink (artificially sweetened) lemonade by the gallon. I drink it out of a plastic bottle that is at least four years old (it once contained Propel, which I no longer drink, and the bottle style is long discontinued). I have replaced the cap several times, but am still using the original bottle.
I use almost everything until it is completely worn out. I just can’t stand to throw something away unless it is unusable.
OTOH, there is no way that I am an extreme cheapskate, since there are certain things (clothes, bath and body products, shoes) that I love to buy.
We mainly reuse ziploc bags for dry goods, like crackers or peanuts. Other stuff, like leftover sauces that are kept frozen, are returned to the same bag until used up.
I have a real plate, bowl, and utensils from home at work too but not because I’m cheap, it’s because I don’t like eating out of plastic containers, takeout containers, or paper plates with a plastic spork.
As for cheapness, I’ve been known to buy Natty Boh, and like it. It goes down easy and it’s 8 bucks a twelve-pack. Now, I could go to the Trader Joe’s downtown for $3 sixers of Red Oval/Name Tag/Simpler Times, but the cost of driving down there and back easily negates the $2 savings.
Why? I’m serious. As I said, I’ve been reusing these bags for well over a year, and haven’t noticed any particular grossness. Since they’re only being used for dry goods (dry cereal) or whole fruit, there’s no moisture involved.
I started watching the show because I expected to pick up some good frugal living tips; but these folks are seriously ill. The last one I watched was when a family went running out to the street to pick up roadkill for the pelt. Another guy invited himself to stay on a friend’s couch, and offered to cook dinner as a thank you. He then went to the fish market and picked up some salmon heads and carcasses (post filleting, you understand) and cooked them up while the family tried not to yack in the background.
The worst was a guy who threw his daughter’s sweet sixteen party at a local strip club (during the day when they weren’t open it was a cheap venue to rent out). He then proceeded to show the multiple bank accounts that he lets his family know about, vs the hidden one with over $100k in it.
I’m sorry, but if you cant spend money on your daughter’s birthday, there’s no point in having it.
I saw something about this couple on another show. The toothbrush thing is the most disgusting. Also, have they never heard of the dollar store? You can get a pack of 4 toothbrushes for a dollar and a whole lot of q-tips. They also sell cheap 1 play TP, so no need to unroll a whole roll of 2-ply. I think some of this shit is just people trying to find ways to get on TV.
I can’t see why reusing zip-lock bags (I don’t reuse them due to laziness) is any grosser than reusing Tupperware type stuff. They’re both made of plastic. I used to teach high school- I loved to tell the kids that we used to have to pay a dime deposit on each soda bottle and get the dime back when we returned the bottle. I asked them what they thought happened to the returned bottle. They invariably said “recycled,” as in melted and re-molded into new bottles. I said no, they just washed them and refilled them and sold new soda in them. The looks of disgust and surprise on their faces was epic!! Eww, gross! they said. I then asked the how many mouths the forks they used at Golden Corral and Red lobster had been in over the years-
Good times!!
Anyway, the most cheapskate things I’ve done-
I was given a case of cheap bar bath soap from the school. It was left over after some assembly where the kids got personal hygiene goody bags. That was five years ago. I haven’t bought bath soap since then.
I have no trash service available here out in the country, so I have to haul my own trash to a site about nine miles away. Sometimes, when I’m going there anyway, my trash ends up in a Walmart trash can in the Walmart parking lot.
Some of that doesn’t even make sense. Razors and toothbrushes both wear out with use, and if they’re both using the same one, it’s just going to wear out twice as fast. You’re not even saving anything over just having two separate razors and two separate toothbrushes.
To me, it sounds more like some sort of weird compulsion to make a point of doing absolutely everything together as a couple, not actually about cheapness at all.
