I found an article on Twitter yesterday, which made me smile. It was called ’60+ extreme things people have done to save money’.
Some of them were a bit crazy, like making your own reusable toilet paper, shaving your head to save money on haircuts and hair products, going through your neighbours’ rubbish for coupons and giving your child a new toilet seat for their birthday.
But others were quite sensible and I do some of them (or I know people who do them) – cutting out cable and all other forms of paid tv, cutting your own hair, limiting the amount of stuff you have, hanging blankets over doors and windows to stop drafts, going to bed early with a hot water bottle to save on heat and flushing the toilet less to save on water (the saying being ‘if it’s yellow, let it mellow, if it’s brown flush it down’)!!
The link is here if you fancy reading it.
I have saved a bit of money myself today, buying my poor old cat’s prescription meds online. My old vet used to charge me £100 for 100 tablets and was sniffy and obstructive about giving me the prescription (charging £12). I changed vets and my new one is much more obliging. They charge £80 for the same tablets but gave me the prescription with no quibbling, charging me £7.50 for this. I then went online and got the tablets at £54 for 100. That’s more like it!
I make a point of saving money wherever I can. It all adds up. The site I use is www.vetuk.co.uk. They seem very efficient and I have used them a few times now.
I’m not an extreme money saver though. I like to think I am just enthusiastic!
Frugal in the Valley says
Not to the point of revoltingness, but I do collect fruit from trees and gather useful to me stuff that other people chuck out.
shoestringjane@outlook.com says
Me too! That’s just sensible
Margaret Powling says
No, I can hardly be called an extreme money saver when I shop for the most part in Waitrose. But I don’t spend needlessly. I don’t have a raft of beauty products, I don’t have a raft of household cleaning products, and I don’t buy many clothes (because when I buy I pay heed to the old saying “buy cheap, buy twice” so as I buy the best I can afford, but I certainly would not buy overpriced ‘so-called designer’ products. I save money by not buying, in the main, knick-knacks, Christmas ornaments (flowers, cards, tree are quite sufficient for us), but I do spend on books (and how! But mainly never full-price on Amazon, or 2nd hand ones which are a penny plus postage) and flowers and plants and bulbs for the garden. When shopping I always have a List and I don’t buy what I call snack food, pizzas, popcorn, fizzy drinks (mineral water is an occasional treat, tap water when it’s been in the fridge and drink from cut glass is just as nice, especially with a slice of lemon or lime), sweets, chocolates, more than one packet of biscuits (which will last us the week). I also subscribe to three monthly magazines, so in no way could I be called an extreme moneysaver, but we have to have some enjoyment, don’t we? We seldom dine out, we do have coffee out occasionally, and we don’t go on holiday – but then, we don’t feel we need to, living in sunny South Devon, a holiday destination. I would say I’m careful rather than frugal.
Margaret Powling says
PS My comment reads incorrectly. I mean I only buy one packet of biscuits a week, sometimes not even that.
shoestringjane@outlook.com says
We don’t mind if you buy more
Carolyn says
I have been called cheap for doing many of the things on the list, tv antennae only, no cable tv, turning down the thermostat to 60 degrees, drive a used car that is paid for, my husband cuts my hair and my children’s hair as well as many do it yourself repairs and projects. And I get compliments on the haircuts he does, no hack jobs like I got at the barbershop or salon. What I havent been is foolish enough to miss paying my bills or have a car repossessed. So I guess I am doing ok 🙂