Embarassing Things You Do To Save Money

[Anonymous]

Wasn't there a I'm So Frugal I..." post in the Off Topic forum about 2 months ago?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let's find out the embarrassing things you do to save money:
1. State your HHI.
2. List some things you do to save money.
3. List some ways how you waste money (not a waste to you, but to most people)
Then we can make fun of each other. Or maybe we can learn new ways to save money.

I'll start.
1. HHI = $500,000
2. I am embarassed about using lots of dining coupons (not enough to stop though). I love the Entertainment Book and restaurant.com. I almost never return to the same restaurant unless I get another discount. I am very conservative with paper products. i.e. Napkins, tissues, toilet paper, writing paper. One shampoo bottle can last nearly a year.
I like to walk instead of drive. I shop online but always through a portal that gives me 1-10% cash back.
3. One year, I bought about 10 timeshare weeks. Some I love, some I now regret. I have a $2.5 million house. My DS had about 6 private tutors each week in a variety of areas.

Where do you get 1-10% cash back?

[Anonymous]

(1) HHI of 160k
(2) All clothing, toys, and books for our child are from consignment sales, but we're not embarrassed about that. I'm petite and I do most of my shopping in the juniors section - there usually is a suit or two in stock and they're a lot cheaper than the suits from the adults section. The only $$ saving things we do that others might be embarrassed about are: shopping at Walmart, shopping at other really low-cost grocery stores, and using coupons at McD's.
(3) I think we're wasting money every time we order take out or haven't packed lunch the night before and then have to spend $5-10 on lunch at work. We get specialty shampoos, soaps, and deodorant from soap.com and that's definitely not a low-cost option. We get most of our food from a farm share - it's not the cheapest food option so some might consider that an unnecessary luxury and I would mostly agree but of all the things to spend money, I think getting high quality food is a more worthy expense than others. I also think DH is too quick to want to replace household items, like bathmats, kitchen scrubbers, cups, etc but I try not to make those small things a battle. I just get him to promise that he is confident enough in his purchase that he won't change his mind and want a new bathmat again for at least a few years.

[Anonymous]

200k

Waste money on Starbucks and coffee and getting my hair done.

Save money by never shopping.

Eat cereal and eggs for dinner often.

Don't eat out.

Do my own nails.

Only go groceries once a week

Kids in private school so we have NOthIng extra left every month ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i wear my silver wedding shoes to work as my main shoes no matter what i wear (from 3 yrs ago).

i tell the garage guys at work sometimes i have no $$$ to pay them that day (to park).

I ask coworkers for change to buy a bag of chips from the vending machine. And I ask for k-cups.

HHI $155

You sound like a very strange lady.

Agreed.

really?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i wear my silver wedding shoes to work as my main shoes no matter what i wear (from 3 yrs ago).

i tell the garage guys at work sometimes i have no $$$ to pay them that day (to park).

I ask coworkers for change to buy a bag of chips from the vending machine. And I ask for k-cups.

HHI $155

You sound like a very strange lady.

Agreed.

really?

REALLY.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i wear my silver wedding shoes to work as my main shoes no matter what i wear (from 3 yrs ago).

i tell the garage guys at work sometimes i have no $$$ to pay them that day (to park).

I ask coworkers for change to buy a bag of chips from the vending machine. And I ask for k-cups.

HHI $155

You sound like a very strange lady.

Agreed.

really?

REALLY.

DEFINITELY.

[Anonymous]

Hold it. Besides the fact that the OP is a douche, none of these things is embarassing (besides the lady who actually steals parking and k cups)

[Anonymous]

And crazy lady hits up coworkers to buy her chips. Sheesh.

[Anonymous]

sites that give you 1-10% cash back are upromise, ebates, fatwallet, etc. and airline and hotel reward programs give you miles or points instead of cash back.

i wish i could refer you for the referral bonuses they give too. i suggest asking your friends and family and they will be happy to refer you and receive the bonus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:(1) HHI of 160k
(2) All clothing, toys, and books for our child are from consignment sales, but we're not embarrassed about that. I'm petite and I do most of my shopping in the juniors section - there usually is a suit or two in stock and they're a lot cheaper than the suits from the adults section. We used cloth diapers for our first and will use those same diapers for future children so major savings there. I make my own cleaning liquid - an alternative to Clorox. We use "unpapered towels" instead of paper towels. The only $$ saving things we do that others might be embarrassed about are: shopping at Walmart, shopping at other really low-cost grocery stores, and using coupons at McD's.
(3) I think we're wasting money every time we order take out or haven't packed lunch the night before and then have to spend $5-10 on lunch at work. We get specialty shampoos, soaps, and deodorant from soap.com and that's definitely not a low-cost option. We get most of our food from a farm share - it's not the cheapest food option so some might consider that an unnecessary luxury. I also think DH is too quick to want to replace household items, like bathmats, kitchen scrubbers, cups, etc but I try not to make those small things a battle. I just get him to promise that he is confident enough in his purchase that he won't change his mind and want a new bathmat again for at least a few years.

Oh, and I didn't realize these counted as "saving" but since others have mentioned them: I do my own nails, get my hair cut once a year, we're a one car family, and we don't outsource any chores - no maid service or dry cleaning, and we use a licensed in-home provider in the suburbs which is the cheapest regulated childcare option in this area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And crazy lady hits up coworkers to buy her chips. Sheesh.

That woman is awful! No morals whatsoever.

[Anonymous]

I copy music and movies from my friend who downloads them for free. I buy pirated DVDs sometimes. Mostly because there is a place that sells them near me. I am rich and I should be able to buy this stuff. As I type, I do feel slightly guilty but I haven't quite been able to stop myself yet.

My flawed logic is that millions of people are doing the same thing. This could be a subject for another thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I copy music and movies from my friend who downloads them for free. I buy pirated DVDs sometimes. Mostly because there is a place that sells them near me. I am rich and I should be able to buy this stuff. As I type, I do feel slightly guilty but I haven't quite been able to stop myself yet.

My flawed logic is that millions of people are doing the same thing. This could be a subject for another thread.

Now that's just stealing. Regardless of your HHI.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i wear my silver wedding shoes to work as my main shoes no matter what i wear (from 3 yrs ago).

i tell the garage guys at work sometimes i have no $$$ to pay them that day (to park).

I ask coworkers for change to buy a bag of chips from the vending machine. And I ask for k-cups.

HHI $155

You sound like a very strange lady.

Agreed.

really?

REALLY.

DEFINITELY.

I have this mental image of this woman wearing the same pair of silver sandals EVERY DAY and everyone in the office has a bet when she is going to get a new pair.