# The "How Cheap Can You Get?" Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 2, 2010, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-how-cheap-can-you-get-thread/552334 "2010-09-02T00:53:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-how-cheap-can-you-get-thread/552334/41 "2010-09-02T22:31:15Z")
My mom cracks me up. She’s a widow, but Dad left her comfortably provided for, plus she had her own business for a lot of years, and she has an inheritance from her dad. She’s not rich, but my brother has managed her investments, and she’ll never want for anything. BUT, she still saves margerine tubs and carry-out dishes and lids rather than buying containers for leftovers. She saves the plastic bags from bread to pack stuff in the freezer. She buys on sale with coupons and her senior discount and who knows what-all. She turns off EVERYTHING in the house if she’s not using it at that second - no sense spending an extra penny on the electric bill. However, she won’t even blink at taking her kids, kids-in-law, and grandkids all out to a really fancy restaurant and dropping $1K or more for dinner. She cracks me up!! ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-how-cheap-can-you-get-thread/552334/42 "2010-09-02T22:40:51Z")
A friend of mine sent her neighbor a Christmas card. The following year the neighbor sent it back, but had ripped off the back (where it had been signed) and signed the inside of the front. She didn’t even waste a stamp but put it in the mailbox. I have to wonder if she was making a statement - I mean if you are that cheap, why bother at all? ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-how-cheap-can-you-get-thread/552334/43 "2010-09-02T23:01:44Z")
I had a co-worker once who went to San Francisco and _camped_ instead of staying at a hotel or motel. I’m sure camping can be a great, inexpensive vacation, but if the point of going to a city is to stay in the city, I don’t think camping’s going to do it. I don’t know where she stayed, but I assume it must have been down the penninsula somewhere. If you go to a place like SF on vacation but you have to stay miles out of town, where you have to use your car to get in and out, you might as well not go. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-how-cheap-can-you-get-thread/552334/44 "2010-09-02T23:03:37Z")
I had a friend who I thought was incredibly cheap but turned out to be a compulsive hoarder. A mutual friend even tried to get her on the cable show about hoarders. She saves every envelope from the mail because she might be able to write notes on it, goes to her company commissary at the end of the day to get free food that didn’t sell, saves every Boston market container, every plastic utensil, plastic or paper bag, twist tie, rubber band, and condiment packet, and takes a wad of napkins from every eatery she goes to. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-how-cheap-can-you-get-thread/552334/45 "2010-09-02T23:07:27Z")
> [@Wilbo523](#): > > I knew a guy that used his old bathroom rugs as floor mats in his truck before he threw them out. What’s this “bathroom rug” of which you speak? ---
**Author:** ![rogerbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@rogerbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rogerbox)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-how-cheap-can-you-get-thread/552334/46 "2010-09-02T23:07:45Z")
> [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](#): > > > [@Scarlett67](#): > > > > She also washed and reused sandwich baggies. (Yuck.) > > How is washing and re-using a Ziplock baggie different from washing and re-using Tupperware? You wouldn’t throw out your Tupperware after a single use. I think it’s because the corners and sealed part are assumedly harder to clean than tupperware which is designed to be reused. I would re-use one if it was only used for something “dry” like crackers or something, but if it gets at all wet,it gets thrown out. My stepfather washes and reuses sandwich bags, and it always looks cloudy after he rewashes it…it’s quite gross. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-how-cheap-can-you-get-thread/552334/47 "2010-09-02T23:09:08Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > A friend of mine sent her neighbor a Christmas card. The following year the neighbor sent it back, but had ripped off the back (where it had been signed) and signed the inside of the front. > > She didn’t even waste a stamp but put it in the mailbox. > > I have to wonder if she was making a statement - I mean if you are that cheap, why bother at all? Except for this and the OP, I can’t see anything wrong with most of these practices. I save takeout containers for taking my lunch to work (saving on food, using plastics that are already in circulation, etc.). I also rinse out baggies and re-use them, use old athletic socks as rags, dusters, etc. Buying the unlabeled can food though I can’t see. And the woman who is well-set but frugal seems alright to me. Probably it’s knowing in her mind that’s she doing most things wisely that allows her to be so generous. I’m definitely bad with TP though (against all teaching by my father on that\*) 'cause there’s no way I’m taking a chance on getting any overage on my hand. - He would charge us for gas if we asked him to drive us to our jobs when we were in high school. _We took the initiative to earn our own money and not ask for his and he charged us for helping us get there!_ ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-how-cheap-can-you-get-thread/552334/48 "2010-09-02T23:38:45Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > My mom … won’t even blink at taking her kids, kids-in-law, and grandkids all out to a really fancy restaurant and dropping $1K or more for dinner. She cracks me up!! I’m like that. It’s like … if it’s just for me, there’s no point in spending money on it. But if it’s for other people, money doesn’t matter so much. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-how-cheap-can-you-get-thread/552334/49 "2010-09-02T23:39:03Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > > [@panache45](#): > > > > My ex. If he didn’t use as much toilet paper as he had broken off, he’d tear off the part he didn’t use and lay it back onto the roll. > > I think you might win the thread with that one. > [@Ponch8](#): > > I don’t see what’s so unusual about that. It’s not like he put USED toilet paper back. I know someone who did that. Does that mean I win the thread? My mother-in-law does not use her turn signals when she drives because she’s afraid the little light bulbs will burn out. There’s a guy I work with who got married several years ago. When he and his bride-to-be were registering at Target, they put things on their registry like wooden spoons and plastic spatulas. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-how-cheap-can-you-get-thread/552334/50 "2010-09-02T23:47:27Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > There’s a guy I work with who got married several years ago. When he and his bride-to-be were registering at Target, they put things on their registry like wooden spoons and plastic spatulas. 😕 What’s wrong with that? You need wooden spoons and spatulas, I’m happy to get them for you. I’d probably get a dozen of ‘em, stick on some bows to make a silly “bouquet” and stick it in a pretty vase or somethin’. I appreciate inexpensive stuff on registries. Sometimes, I sincerely can’t manage a $100 gift, but I’d still like to get you something you want. ---
**Author:** ![rogerbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@rogerbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rogerbox)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-how-cheap-can-you-get-thread/552334/51 "2010-09-02T23:51:00Z")
Oh, I just thought of one that infuriated me: My ex-roommate would never, EVER, recharge his cellphone battery until his phone died. So you had a 50% chance of trying to call him and hearing “I gotta go, my phone is about to die.”, or him not answering at all because of a dead battery. This was because he erroneously believes that his battery will develop a “memory” of a half charge, and not completely recharge unless he does this. He also claims he will not have to replace the battery until its time for a new phone. I can’t believe how cheap you would have to be, that not getting to complete your phone calls, or not receiving them in the first place was worth it! ---
**Author:** ![rogerbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@rogerbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rogerbox)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-how-cheap-can-you-get-thread/552334/52 "2010-09-02T23:56:04Z")
> [@](#): > > There’s a guy I work with who got married several years ago. When he and his bride-to-be were registering at Target, they put things on their registry like wooden spoons and plastic spatulas. I’m also not understanding this one. I would call that “considerate”, not cheap. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-how-cheap-can-you-get-thread/552334/53 "2010-09-02T23:57:39Z")
> [@Wilbo523](#): > > I knew a guy that used his old bathroom rugs as floor mats in his truck before he threw them out. I use the remainder pieces of carpet from when I re-carpeted the house a few years ago. Worn out bathroom rugs go into the cat’s bed for them to sleep on. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Stilettos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/fbc32d/32.png) [@Red\_Stilettos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Stilettos)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-how-cheap-can-you-get-thread/552334/54 "2010-09-03T00:00:03Z")
I’m a microbiologist (bacteriologist, specifically). My graduate advisor would use toothpicks to transfer bacteria from one plate to another. Then, instead of throwing it out, he would save the used ones, re-sterilize them, and use them again. You can get 500 for $1! Plus, it risks contamination of your cultures. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-how-cheap-can-you-get-thread/552334/55 "2010-09-03T00:01:06Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Long ago I worked at small shop where the owner’s wife would open every roll of dimes from the bank and count them because dimes are so thin that sometimes there would be an extra one in the roll. Silly! Weighing them in an accurate postal scale will be faster. And you haven’t opened the roll, so the bank is more likely to replace the missing dime. ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-how-cheap-can-you-get-thread/552334/56 "2010-09-03T00:23:25Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > I had a co-worker once who went to San Francisco and _camped_ instead of staying at a hotel or motel. I’m sure camping can be a great, inexpensive vacation, but if the point of going to a city is to stay in the city, I don’t think camping’s going to do it. I don’t know where she stayed, but I assume it must have been down the penninsula somewhere. If you go to a place like SF on vacation but you have to stay miles out of town, where you have to use your car to get in and out, you might as well not go. I stay in a campground in West Chester when I used to visit PA regularly. it was VASTLY cheaper. Instead of $125 a night, I paid $35 for the entire weekend. The time it took me to drive in and out of time was half of what my regular commute to work would have been. I was a starving student at the time and was unconcerned about sleeping indoors. Wasn’t there a Doper who, in a “worst first date” type of thread met a guy who was so cheap when they stopped by his apartment and he offered her a drink, he had to plug in the fridge because he didn’t want it running? > [@rogerbox](#): > > > [@Swallowed My Cellphone](#): > > > > How is washing and re-using a Ziplock baggie different from washing and re-using Tupperware? You wouldn’t throw out your Tupperware after a single use. > > I think it’s because the corners and sealed part are assumedly harder to clean than tupperware which is designed to be reused. I would re-use one if it was only used for something “dry” like crackers or something, but if it gets at all wet,it gets thrown out. We wash and re-use baggies most of the time. If you turn them inside out, you can get into the pesky corners. If they are carrying anything disgusting, such as if something got moldy, or soemthing that is excessively goopy, we don’t re-use them. It’s not a matter of frugality, but one of limiting our production of landfill-destined waste. We have an unofficial rule about not bringing any single-use items into our home. We’ve been able to cut back on the amount of garbage we produce quite dramatically. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-how-cheap-can-you-get-thread/552334/57 "2010-09-03T00:47:32Z")
> [@Red\_Stilettos](#): > > I’m a microbiologist (bacteriologist, specifically). My graduate advisor would use toothpicks to transfer bacteria from one plate to another. Then, instead of throwing it out, he would save the used ones, re-sterilize them, and use them again. You can get 500 for $1! Plus, it risks contamination of your cultures. I’m a microbiologist who studied yeast in grad school. We did the same thing and fought over the oldest jars of toothpicks. The clumps of yeast would get hard and smooth and be perfect for streaking plates. I hated using the fresh toothpicks! Never had a contamination issue. Autoclaved is autoclaved. ---
**Author:** ![sharding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90db22/32.png) [@sharding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sharding)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-how-cheap-can-you-get-thread/552334/58 "2010-09-03T01:28:55Z")
> [@Sattua](#): > > My uncle was a big spender at the craps table…but he would park a mile from the hotel/casino to avoid paying the valet, then lug all his bags up to his room on his own rather than let the bellhop do it. I avoid the valet too (not the bellhop), but not because I’m cheap. It’s because I don’t trust those idiots with my car! I have had cars damaged by valets in cases in which I didn’t have a choice. I’m probably pickier about my car than most, though. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-how-cheap-can-you-get-thread/552334/59 "2010-09-03T01:51:38Z")
> [@rogerbox](#): > > > [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](#): > > > > How is washing and re-using a Ziplock baggie different from washing and re-using Tupperware? You wouldn’t throw out your Tupperware after a single use. > > I think it’s because the corners and sealed part are assumedly harder to clean than tupperware which is designed to be reused. I would re-use one if it was only used for something “dry” like crackers or something, but if it gets at all wet,it gets thrown out. > > My stepfather washes and reuses sandwich bags, and it always looks cloudy after he rewashes it…it’s quite gross. Yeah, it’s just . . . oogy. I will reuse a ziplock bag for dry things like leftover bread that will be eaten tomorrow, but nothing gloopy. And yes, I do prefer to use reusable plasticware whenever possible. The ziplocks come out very rarely. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-how-cheap-can-you-get-thread/552334/60 "2010-09-03T01:52:11Z")
I worked with a guy who bought all his clothing mail-order (this was before the internet), and had a phobia about returning anything. Once he got a pair of shoes that were something like size 14, so he brought them to work and cut off the toes with the paper cutter. And that wasn’t by any means the weirdest thing about him. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-how-cheap-can-you-get-thread/552334.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-how-cheap-can-you-get-thread/552334.md?page=4)