What are your best cheapskate tips?

I put almost ALL of my expenses on a cash back credit card each month. I pay it off in full, over the phone.

So, I very rarely use change. I know whe every single coin is, I put my change in a plastic container in my car.

Yea, so I wouldn't dumpster dive or do anyth too taboo. I reuse grocery plastic bags as garbage bags. I cut open "empty" toothpaste tubes. I soap all my dishes & stack them, then I rinse all the smaller ones first so the water is a "pre-rinse" for the bigger ones. I use the fan.during pre-summer & no heater during winter. Just random things really. Nothing too crazy!

I know a a lot of wealthy people who buy nearly-new, secondhand cars instead of buying new models.

My mom is the biggest cheapskate (though not to the extreme of some of these people) and I learned a lot from her. She earns 100K a year but hasn't bought new clothes in over a decade (everything is second hand) and has never bought a new car. Her cheap ways developed growing up in an immigrant family and being a single mom but they allowed us to live in one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in our city and have a summer home so I try to emulate her as much as possible.

She also uses plastic grocery bags as garbage bags, reuses yogurt containers, takes napkins from coffee shops, second hand furniture. For her dog, she makes some of her own dog treats & food from cheap organ meat.

For her guinea pigs she picks grasses & clover from the experimental (government) farm in our city and willow branches from the pond by her house. She also feeds them odds and ends of fresh vegetables and dethawed frozen vegetables (the frozen is admittedly not very thrifty but she wants to make sure they have all the nutrients they need).

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Well I always do laundry and dish washer machine after 9pm since it does help decrease the bills a bit

During summer, I set the central air conditioning to 77-78 degrees. If no one is home it's 80 degrees. During winter, I set the heat to 68 degrees and have a programmable thermostat that lowers it to 64 at night.

Costco is great. I buy 2 big loaves of bread for less than $4 and freeze one loaf so it last longer and use the other. I also buy a large pack of sausages for $14 and freeze most of them and thaw them, when needed. It lasts a couple weeks. They also sell 2 packs of 18-egg cartons for $4 too. I also buy many cans of crushed tomatoes and make my own spaghetti sauce.

I pack my lunch to work. I rarely buy lunch. I make my own coffee. Though the 7-eleven near my work sells a whole pizza for $6. It is not great pizza, but it is edible enough and lasts a couple days.

I keep track on where the cheapest gas stations are in my area. The gas stations near my church are the cheapest so I go get gas on Sundays.

I prefer to do number 2 in the bathroom at work so I use their toilet paper instead. Too bad, my mother in law and wife uses toilet paper like they are wrapping a mummy all the time.



Me fail English? But, that's unpossible.
http://www.store.fredjung.com

I reuse plastic containers, like butter containers or sour cream containers. Wash them and use them for lunches or leftovers. I use plastic bags from the grocery store for garbage bags in the small garbage cans around the house. I re-purpose old t-shirts as rags *not toilet paper*.

I do many of the ideas in this thread such as the re-using of plastic bags and containers, using lint filled tp tubes for firestarters, turning old shirts into cleaning rags, etc.

I bring my own lunch to work, pay bills online, buy gas at a store that offers savings per gallon when you purchase a certain amount at the store. I do use coupons (when I remember) and shop the sales. I always buy new Halloween/Christmas decor and lights AFTER the holiday when everything is 70 percent off.

I make cookie dough from scratch (versus the store bought premixed stuff)and in fact cook from scratch a lot. I grow my own vegetables and herbs, collect rocks for landscaping my yard from alleys and washes (versus spending money on them)and do most of my own repairs instead of paying to have them done.

I agree, I think a lot of the "driving around" and "time spent" on some of these money-saving ideas make them not such a great savings in the long run.