It’s actually pretty common all around the world.
Did you know they don’t even refrigerate milk on the shelf in a lot of countries?
I agree with Chronos. Some of these things just don’t make sense. These folks sound pathological.
You know, I used to have this friend who took pride in being super-cheap. She used to do stuff like take an unused date book from a previous year and just cross out the wrong dates and fill in the new ones. She claimed she shopped for clothes at the dump, and she did indeed wear some really awful mom-jeans. But she was nothing like these people. She would spend on things like going out to eat with friends and taking care of her beloved vintage car. If she was cooking dinner, you can bet it was a good dinner, and of course she was always clean and stuff. I think she was a frugal person who made a bit of a hobby out of being cheap, and I really admired that about her. I think she would have loved this show. “I may be cheap, but these people are NUTS!”
Not ALL of Canada. In Manitoba it comes in Plastic bottles or Tetra-packs of various sizes.
I just saw this on Netflix last night. Man, these people need Jesus or something. There is something more than being cheap going on. I mean, saving 6 dollars a splitting toilet paper and picking up handfuls of rice outside the courthouse can’t save you that much money versus doing other things for income. Plus, this guy would ask for leftover food from other restaurant customers even though his wife specifically asked him not to do it on their wedding anniversary.
It’s much more expensive in the long run to not brush your teeth.
They know about that account now. :o
As for reusing Ziploc bags, I only do that with dry things too. Anything moist, once it’s been removed, goes into another container because I’ve had a few develop small holes in the meantime. And anything that’s come into contact with raw meat will be washed if it’s reusable, or pitched if it isn’t.
More than one person has thought I was a bit strange because I don’t buy paper napkins (I use paper or cloth towels) or Kleenex, except for purse-size packs; I just use toilet paper for that too.
Regarding Canadian milk distribution, I can casually have my choice of bags, plastic jugs or cartons. Only convenience stores with limited shelfspace will have only one or two options.
Here in the US, also–but only at Kwik Trip in our area. We have to haul our own recycling here in a major dairy state :rolleyes:, so we buy our bagged milk at the gas station.
I don’t think I have many extremely cheap habits, except that I reuse twist-ties until they turn into plain wire, which is a stupid economy when you consider that I don’t actually buy twist-ties.
I watched about three or four episodes (like another poster, thinking I might pick up some good frugality tips, not because I wanted to watch a mental illness freak show). I especially remember the guy who threw a fit about having to pay for the number of people in his group at a buffet, while squirreling away all kinds of money in accounts his wife (whose pay was ALSO going into these) had no idea even existed.
I really hope that when she saw that episode, she got herself a good lawyer to help the (hopefully STBX) husband learn the phrase “community property”.
I’m familiar with bagged milk from when I lived in Ontario, but it’s certainly not here in Alberta.
I’ve seen a few episodes of the show. The woman who booked a high school gym for her daughter’s wedding (complete with borrowed fake display cake from a baker, homemade sandwiches for the reception, and the mother’s online ordination to perform weddings in order to avoid paying a minister) was bad enough; but some of the others border on absolute craziness.
Maybe I’ll nominate my sister to the show. She’s just as bad in a number of ways.
Milk comes in bags in India, too. When I was little I used to gnaw a tiny hole in the corner like a mouse and just sip at it. I loved it.
I haven’t seen the show, but charging your husband and presumably the love of your life fifteen cents for a freakin chip is insane. We all do some things for frugality - I re-use ziploc bags, too, but this is to the point of craziness.
And I have a limit to how many times I reuse bags, and which one I reuse depends on what was in there. I have a limit on reuse of plastic containers, too. I don’t just keep them forever.
Me too. (I mean that I too agree, not that I too sound pathological).
These people sound like they have the sort of OCD that in other people leads to hoarding.
I thought I was cheap, but I was wrong.
:::whew:::
The stupid stuff about shows like this is that these people seem to put the most effort into saving the most trivial amount of money. At least with the extreme couponers, if they are buying non-perishible items, they could maybe claim they saved $1200 in a year by buying item X in bulk/with coupons vs getting it bit by bit each shopping trip. But re-using floss? :eek:
I’d be more interested in savvy people (like some Dopers 
) who take advantage of credit card offers to consistently get free airfare and take vacations at little/no cost, or know how to get a really good deal on a new car simply by knowing where to look/what to say. My wife is frugal in the sense that she is a very good negotiator and knows when to press a salesman to get something on her terms (for instance, she’s never paid a restocking fee on returned merchandise. She’s polite about refusing to pay for it, but very persistent in the matter. They’ve never stood their ground, apparently.)
I look at my budget like a company. Sure, I could focus on spending and try to drive every inefficiency out of the system, but I find it easier to work hard at bringing in more income.
I’m now at a point where saving $10 a day is irrelevant to my budget. My perspective is that I can only drive down costs so much, but I can drive up income much more readily.
They ARE hoarding - bank accounts.
I can’t stand the taste of the water I get in my house, so I always drink bottled water. About 8 years ago I bought a case of Deer Park 20-ounce bottled water, and I’m still using those bottles. After I’ve used one, I rinse it out with hot water and refill it from a gallon jug. The jugs are comparatively cheaper than buying new bottles.
To the people re-using plastic bottles:
I’ve heard mixed things about that. Obviously, the super-crazy people/websites will tell you “OMG chemicals leaching into the water!” but they would say that about everything, even a brand new bottle you haven’t opened yet, just bottled last week from the bottling plant. I guess you can only drink natural rainwater collected in your rain barrel, or something.
But even with ignoring the more crazy-types, I can’t imagine re-using a plastic bottle designed for one use for YEARS is in any way good for you. A few times? Sure…but YEARS?! Hell no.
Seriously, just buy a $10 re-usable aluminum or stainless steel bottle.
Hell, if you’re not picky about color, you can pay less than $5.
In the U.S., the milk man brings me milk in a bag, but the bag is inside a box.
Allegedly the most ‘frugal’, though most would say miserly woman that ever lived.