# How are you irrationally frugal **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 11, 2004, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-you-irrationally-frugal/233587 "2004-03-11T00:52:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2004, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-you-irrationally-frugal/233587/21 "2004-03-11T05:12:56Z")
Razor blades! I’ll use 'em for weeks. Assuming a cost of 50 cents each, my greatest savings come the first couple of days. (Use 'em one day=50 cents/day; 2 days=25 cents/day; 3 days=17 cents/day, etc.) By the end of a week or two I’m not saving more than a penny or two from day to day, but I’ll use those suckers till it literally feels like I’m pulling the whiskers out with pliers. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2004, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-you-irrationally-frugal/233587/22 "2004-03-11T05:13:43Z")
> [@Really Not All That Bright](#): > > You should move Stateside. WalMart does that for you. Yeah, they do it in the UK too. I miss that… ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2004, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-you-irrationally-frugal/233587/23 "2004-03-11T05:24:25Z")
Recycling the envelopes is very green and sensible, but Aspidistra gets double points for re-using the vacuum bags. I always buy several identical pairs of socks, so I can throw out any that get wholes without losing the whole pair. Well, I don’t throw out the bad sock, I save it for a cleaning/painting rag. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2004, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-you-irrationally-frugal/233587/24 "2004-03-11T05:31:56Z")
> [@j66](#): > > Recycling the envelopes is very green and sensible, but Aspidistra gets double points for re-using the vacuum bags. No, don’t say that, you’ll get me doing it again! I forgot one. I plant veggies in the garden, so that I can save on bying them at the supermarket. What’s so irrational about that, I hear you ask? Well, when you factor in my black thumb… So far I’ve managed to harvest about three (tiny) carrots and half-a-dozen snow peas. But I am forever hopeful. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2004, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-you-irrationally-frugal/233587/25 "2004-03-11T05:54:32Z")
No, no, no, no, no! You get double IRRATIONAL points for the vacuum bags. But home-grown vegetables are the most expensive, when you include time (as even minimum wage) and water. Oh, I just remembered a good one; during the good weather I hand wash my dishes, and collect the rinse water to use in the garden. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2004, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-you-irrationally-frugal/233587/26 "2004-03-11T06:09:09Z")
**My Frugality is cancelled out by my You Get What You Pay For-Mentality.** I cannot justify spending $50 or more on shoes, jeans, sweatshirts or well, anything that goes on my body or even the kids. I live for the Salvation Army and resale shops. The Cancel Out? I love Birkenstocks. And, I’ve discovered that I will pay any money for a well made, excellent fitting bra and underpants. Then proceed to buy in bulk and stock up so as to avoid the humiliation of the _Quest for the Perfect Nipple Placement In a Bra_ and the\* Holy Grail of No-Wedge Panties \* and naturally, \*Who In the Hell Is That Woman In the Dressing Room Mirror? GAH! \* From Mid April to early Winter I hang dry all my laundry. Screwing the propane business is such a little joy for me. Bathing suits should cost, in the happy place in my mind, about $50 for a nice, non-wedgie, non-designer suit. Period. [rant] Look, designers, we women are not Baywatch nor do we live on Planet Malibu nor have their cash. Give us normal folk a break, m’kay? [/rant] When I shell out, as I did last year, $90 for a suit that met every specification that I wanted and the stinking suit started tearing and faded within two weeks, I was not a happy camper. **Nautica** I smite thee and your slave labors your probably hire. so, This year, I am blowing the wad on a new suit. [Possibly this](http://www.h2owear.com/catalog/legs/ecl1.html) Yeah, verily, am I not daring? or [this](http://www.h2owear.com/catalog/tanks/xbk1.html) This company has come highly recommended to me by the nice ladies at the local Aquatics Center. I buy only generic food stuffs. It kills me to buy spices, so I started to grow my own and man, it is so easy. I grow my own veggies. Though I don’t know how to can, yet. I have a desperately hard time blowing money on the designer ice cream. The size of my ass will affirm that I cave in far too much on this argument. And I should be given yogurt for free since my kids eat about 4 cups a day each. dammit. sorry… It’s late. I bowled well tonight ( 141/107/137) and I should be in bed. I’m able to focus on the OP about as well as a 12 year old in a Political Science Class drinking a mountain dew and eating a Zagnut bar. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2004, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-you-irrationally-frugal/233587/27 "2004-03-11T06:41:01Z")
> [@j66](#): > > No, no, no, no, no! > > You get double IRRATIONAL points for the vacuum bags. oh, that’s ok then 😃 > [@](#): > > . > But home-grown vegetables are the most expensive, when you include time (as even minimum wage) and water. My current theory is that it depends on the expense of the veggie. So, carrots - a bit silly; snow-peas - possibly worth it, if they would only live. Vietnamese mint - definitely worth it, and it’s not even dead yet! Anyway, I’m just practising for the Fall of Western Civilisation when my computer skills become redundant and we all have to get our food by the sweat of our brows again ---
**Author:** ![Jervoise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@Jervoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jervoise)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2004, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-you-irrationally-frugal/233587/28 "2004-03-11T07:22:09Z")
[QUOTE=Aspidistra] [ul][li]I always recycle large envelopes and padded bags … even though the cost of the bag is generally only a small fraction of the cost of whatever I’m posting - not to mention the postage itself which, bizarrely, I don’t worry about at all. My dad does this too, so the same envelope can wing its way backwards and forwards between Melbourne and Aberdeen half a dozen times.[/ul][/li][/QUOTE] Stingy Scottish people? Say it ain’t so! 😃 I’m grown up in rebellion against my irrationally cheap parents, so I’ve eliminated most forms of frugality from my life. Except, like **Burnt Sugar** I seldom buy drinks when I’m out (other than beer and wine–there’s a good reason to buy them!) ---
**Author:** ![notquitekarpov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@notquitekarpov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notquitekarpov)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2004, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-you-irrationally-frugal/233587/29 "2004-03-11T07:57:00Z")
Since I read the about 90% of the worlds toothpaste gets immediately washed down the sink first spit so to speak I have had a sad battle to see how little I need to use to get the same result. It is coming out at about the size of a petit pois - it actually take fine thumb control to deliver such a small amount. This means I tube lasts me around three months! 🆒 Yes, sad isn’t it. ---
**Author:** ![Omnipresent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8c91f0/32.png) [@Omnipresent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omnipresent)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2004, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-you-irrationally-frugal/233587/30 "2004-03-11T11:26:50Z")
I always eeeeze up to speed from a stop (whether it be a red light or stop sign etc) instead of pressing on the gas harder than normal. I feel that, over time, it will save me a little gas. My SUV gets 13mpg, I think it just might make some sense. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2004, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-you-irrationally-frugal/233587/31 "2004-03-11T13:14:23Z")
> [@Shirley Ujest](#): > > From Mid April to early Winter I hang dry all my laundry. I can beat that; I dry my clothes on racks in the house all **winter** , too. Not only does it save on gas, but it helps keep up the humidity, so I also save on the water, electricity, and filters necessary to run the humidifier. Sigh. I really drive my family crazy. > [@Shirley Ujest](#): > > so, This year, I am blowing the wad on a new suit. [Possibly this](http://www.h2owear.com/catalog/legs/ecl1.html) Yeah, verily, am I not daring? $80 is not a lot, when you consider how much a bikini wax costs. ---
**Author:** ![Triss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Triss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Triss)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2004, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-you-irrationally-frugal/233587/32 "2004-03-11T13:28:28Z")
I cheap out on my own clothing. I think it might be a guilt-reflex for spending so much money on books. Plus I really don’t _need_ expensive clothing, my work wardrobe consists of jeans, t-shirts, sweatshirts & cheap-ass running shoes. My biggest work wardrobe expense of late has been safety boots which are required for certain job-sites/plants/what have you, where I’m sometimes required to visit. But even they were paid for by the company, as was my hardhat and other gear. It’s funny because I can afford to spend what I like on clothing. It’s not a books-OR-clothing thing by any means. I don’t mind spending money for any family member’s clothing and they get whatever they like, within reason. I can’t think of anything else offhand that really bugs me to splurge on. On the occasions that I do need new formal wear for whatever reason, I’ll spend more money in gas driving around looking for bargains than I save on the actual purchase. My husband has a word for this behaviour but ‘irrational’ is kinder. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2004, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-you-irrationally-frugal/233587/33 "2004-03-11T15:05:50Z")
I work in a women’s clothing store. Our clothes arrive in apartment-garbage-sized bags. We usually throw them out, which means the company has to pay for expensive city garbage bags (I think it’s $64 for twenty). I now fold them up, bring them home, and use them for our garbage. It’s always hurt to have to _pay_ for garbage bags. I’m just going to throw them out! Unfortunately, we’ve been receiving a lot of stock recently… I may drown. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2004, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-you-irrationally-frugal/233587/34 "2004-03-11T15:10:51Z")
I will drive quite a long way to get 2 cents a gallon off on gasoline… ---
**Author:** ![cowgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@cowgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cowgirl)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2004, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-you-irrationally-frugal/233587/35 "2004-03-11T15:27:46Z")
That extra buck or two I have to pay to get money out of a bank machine that’s not mine. I hate it ! I resent it ! If I use a machine other than mine, I get charged a buck or two by my credit union, plus a buck or two by the bank whose machine I’m using ! The problem is that my credit union only has a few branches in the city, none of which are anywhere near my house (but there’s one right near my work, so it’s not too much of a problem). If I get stuck without cash I go to the grocery store and get cash back, because then I’m only charged once, by the credit union. This practice - of double-charging me to get _my own farking money_, really makes my blood boil. I’ll go miles out of my way to avoid paying it. Vegetables for Black Thumbs: grow green beans. Easiest thing in the world. Just make sure they have something to climb, and water them occasionally, and you’re golden ! Also chives: plant them once, you’ll have them forever. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2004, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-you-irrationally-frugal/233587/36 "2004-03-11T15:44:46Z")
I don’t blink an eye at a $10 bank charge for an emergency transfer, since it was my own fault. But I am going to keep fighting a $4 telephone late fee which was imposed on me through lies and inefficiency on other company’s parts. I refuse to purchase Warhammer 40K figurines, well, partially because they are expensive, and that’s a rational reason. But some figurines are cheap, points-wise in the game, but expensive, money-wise. So if you have a lot of money you can buy the expensive figs and have an advantage over those who don’t. So I refuse to take part in a game in which real money is a factor. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2004, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-you-irrationally-frugal/233587/37 "2004-03-11T16:17:58Z")
> [@cowgirl](#): > > This practice - of double-charging me to get _my own farking money_, really makes my blood boil. I’ll go miles out of my way to avoid paying it. Separated at Birth Alert! We have to be related. This is a rant that I rant at least once a week. GAAAH!!! Julie ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2004, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-you-irrationally-frugal/233587/38 "2004-03-11T16:18:28Z")
I’ll use a bottle of shampoo or conditioner until there’s literally no soap left in them. I keep adding water and swishing it around until the inside is sparkling clean. I’ve actually emptied a vacuum bag and reused it, but that was only because I didn’t want to go to the store for more at the time. I also hate paying the ATM fees, so rather than do so at the ATM right outside my office, I walk seven blocks to the bank branch to use the ATM inside. The sad thing is, I don’t have to get cash out more than once every month or two, since we get out enough to last. (Yeah, I know seven blocks isn’t much, but it’s the fact that I do it to save less than $25 a year.) On the other hand, I always buy soft drinks by the can and bottled–albeit cheap–water (my recycle bin gets full easily). ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2004, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-you-irrationally-frugal/233587/39 "2004-03-11T17:25:25Z")
I often emptied my vacuum bags and reused them. When you own three or four large indoor dogs, you fill bags pretty darned quickly. Now I have a bagless vacuum, which is even better. Instead of buying trash bags I use empty dogfood bags. I’ve lived 10 years in the same house and just finished my first roll of trashbags. \Shirley Ujest\ - I can go even further with the “cancelling out” thing. I tell myself that if I smoked, I’d be spending $X on cigarettes. Since I don’t smoke, I can afford that sweater or magazine subscription, etc. StG ---
**Author:** ![Intent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5e9695/32.png) [@Intent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intent)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2004, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-you-irrationally-frugal/233587/40 "2004-03-11T17:55:58Z")
I have a disgustingly hard time spending money on things I save for. This past year, I’ve been saving for a trip to europe this summer. I have thousands in the bank specifically for this trip. Everytime I put money in my savings account, I think about it. And yet, now that the time has come to start spending money on plane tickets and the like, I can’t bear to spend the money on EXACTLY WHAT IT IS MEANT FOR. Geeesh… what’s wrong with me? I also have a problem with buying clothes. I recieved lots of free t shirts from work. I can no longer wear them to work, so they have started in my recycling process. First, they get used as school shirts. Than, as they become worn, they fall down to my I need to do laundry this is all I have left shirts. Than, they become workout shirts. Finally, they will become cleaning rags or dog toys. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-you-irrationally-frugal/233587.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-you-irrationally-frugal/233587.md?page=3)