Is tightwadiest a word, LOL?

Anyway, here's a few things we do that other people consider really tightwad:
- We only get the really basic cable - $11.50/month
- My husband and I share 1 cell phone that has a pay-as-you-go plan
- When we bought our house we insisted on a mortgage we could afford on one salary - The real estate agent thought we were major tightwads, but I'm really glad we did it.

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If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn't help the poor, either we have to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or we've got to acknowledge that He commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition, and then admit that we just don't want to do it.

- Stephen Colbert.

I don't think any of those things make you a tightwad, just smart.

Most of the time I will only buy something when it is on sale. And sometimes it has to be 50% of the clearance price before I buy it. lol

I love to buy marked down meat, and I like that a lot of people go right past it. We will also eat things past the experation date. My friend will bring me things from her freezer once it is past the experation date. I figure if its frozen its fine. Nobody in my family has ever gotten sick because of it.

OK, you asked for it. I use cloth toilet wipes (only for pee), wash, and reuse. Besides being thrifty, they are softer and don't leave *lint*.

Okay you asked so I will answer it goes
Never ever ever go shoppig with out first scanning the circulars and then matching coupons along with the sales and of course here we have triples and doubles and I stockpile to the max. However I only stockpile items we use alot of for instance I never buy 100 bottles of salad dressing or ketchup or pasta just because its free, we could never use that stuff it would go bad.

Next I love love love garage sales, I only shop clearance racks literally I have gotten so many beautiful clothes for so few dollars from Macys just shopping when items are 75-80 percent off shoes and handbags and socks and jewelry as well.

I also love love the Goodwill store we have a really really nice one here . Other then that as far as Cell phone usage goes for me and my husband we only use it to call each other, our children and parents, the rest can wait. We also only use the cell phone only after 7 pm because its free and only use the cell on the weekend because its free. I love to read magazine so for that I either purchase them for pennies at garage sales or rent then at the library. The only one thing I will never do no matter what is purchase any food that has gone past the expire date or has a coupon on it like to save 2.00 to me its not worth getting sick.. So here is to saving money I love to save money. Peace. Catherine

LOL at the wipes. I tear mine in half to get twice as many uses!!!! Drives DH crazy.

You should try the wipes, then. Easy to make and last forever. It's amazing how much tp you save. Sheryl Crow would be proud of us!

Why would it "go bad"? Why wouldn't you donate it

Garage sales, thrift store, library....these are are words in my vocabulary! It's amazing what you might find for yourself, or even something to resell if the price is right.

I also love to scour Target after Christmas to buy for next year (even though this last year wasn't so great). I have bought beautiful candles for teachers gifts.

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I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it!

Actually Kellyjef you right I should I have mentioned that I do donate alot of items that I am able to get for pennies for nothing. In the beginning way back when, I used to purchase and keep alot of items in my home but soon realized we could not as a family use them fast enough before the expire date and even though they were free or even pennies I still hated to waste the items. Thanks for reminding me because I donate quite a bit to our local aids hospice home and also bring food to the goodwill store where they can sell for a very cheap price.. Peace. Catherine

In the shower after I'm all wet and my washcloth is all suds up, I back off the pressure while washing to save (hot) water.

I try to pack my lunch everyday for work

Order water in a restaurant

At our office we take turns mailing our bills in the same envelope to save on postage

At the local Kmart I aways scan the prices of random things because lots of items will scan for alot less than they are marked.

At the store I look for bottles or boxes of things that have an extra 20% in it. They will be the same price but will be called a bonus bottle. Often happens with shampoo or hand lotion.

I save about $4 - $5 postage each month using internet billpay with my bank. If you consider the cost of checks and the time saved, it gets even better.

Hmmmm....

I also look for "extra" product for the same price - great for lotions, soap, shampoo, etc.

I make my own laundry soap.

I tip all of the shampoo bottles, soap bottles, etc. upside down to drain in another when they are gone. I can't stand it if I don't get it all out.

I do some MAJOR after Christmas shopping - I, too, get most of the teacher gifts at those sales - nice candles, diffusers, etc. Found some great deals at JC Pennys last year.

I stockpile when I find a great deal - for example, one of our local Albertson's just went out of business. We are wine drinkers. Their wine was 30% off!!!! That was off the sale price. $700 later, we have wine for the next year probably.... You may not think that is tightwadish, but DH sure does. I have wine under my bed... lol

DH and I do most of the work (that we can) on our rental property and lakehouse. Sometimes he gets frustrated because it can be a lot, but painters and lawn guys are expensive!!!!!

I wet small pieces of soap and stick them to the top of a new bar. They "attach" and you don't waste them.

I use the library to check out books and books on CD.

I'm not very frugal compared to other people on this site, but DH thinks I squeak (on day to day items - not my splurges lol)... I don't. He just doesn't understand the difference.

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Kim

It's not tightwad but people think it is: we don't buy ANYTHING not vacations, not clothes, not household repairs, not dinner out, not "treating" ourselves to a gift, not one single thing that we do not have the cash to pay for. We do without rather than go in debt. While other people we know go to "fun" places because "don't we all deserve it once in a while?" we stay home.

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.

DAVE RAMSEY would applaud your lifestyle.

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I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it!

We're the same way, annadrose. We make well over six figures a year, yet both DH and I drive cars that are over ten years old. In a moment of weakness about 2 years ago we went out and bought a brand new vehicle, loved it but didn't love that it had a car payment attached to it so we sold it and are back to our clunkers. Currently saving up for when one of our clunkers dies and we can pay cash for it.

As far as thrifty goes, we had to learn how to live off of nothing when DH was going to school and after he graduated we pretty much kept living the same way (minus the car episode and we built a pretty nice house).

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I've had a Foreman Grill for about six years. I've done about 85% of my cooking on it, but I've never burnt myself. Probably because I don't use it as a pillow.

Make my own laundry detergent.
I turn the water off while I shower. I get wet, turn it off. Lather my hair, turn it off and rinse hair. Turn it off. Condition my hair and soap the rest of me up. Then turn it back on and rinse.
We only had the a/c on for less than a week this summer. We only turned it on when we went out of town and didn't want to give the kids anything to complain about(they stayed home)
Other than that we used two window fans. I decided I'd rather spend $ on fun stuff not the electric bill.

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Insanity laughs under pressure we're cracking

Don't you freeze when you do that? I'm such a wimp, I couldn't even do that in the summer. One of my luxuries is a nice hot shower.

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If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn't help the poor, either we have to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or we've got to acknowledge that He commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition, and then admit that we just don't want to do it.

- Stephen Colbert.

Someone else mentioned tipping the bottles up to get the last bit of shampoo, etc. When I get to where the pump lotion bottle won't dispense anymore lotion I but the bottle in the cabinet and pull out a new one. Eventually I'll cut the bottle just above the lotion that's left and empty it into another almost empty bottle. One time I had 6-7 almost empty bottles and by the time I finished I had a bottle about three fourths full!! Now that's a lot of lotion to not waste.

Hey all ya'll making your own laundry detergent, How do ya do that?
I've never tried that. Family of five here and it gets pretty wild doing ALL that laundry. Clothes, Towels, Bed Linens, Gym uniforms on a seemingly unceasing cycle!

We use Gain 120 load size. How much would I have to make to equal that and do I have to have the special kind of new "low water" style washing machines to do it with? - We haven't upgraded yet . Our maytags that we bought when we got married are still going strong so when DH mentions replacing I just smile and say "when one dies" Hadn't happened yet!

Back to original question... tightwad... hummm... I think EVERYthing I do counts as tight! LOL!
I buy generics, shop yard sales and thrift stores, Pay cash for Christmas/Birthday gifts, only shop in real stores for the clearance isles.
We manage on one salary. Choices are the reason we can.

Thanks in advance for the help on detergent making... I just wondered if all the supplies to "make it" were going to cost more to do it that way.

X

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Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28

10 Homemade Laundry Soap Detergent Recipes : TipNut.com

I use recipe #3. I bought all of the ingredients (including 2 bars of soap, which will make six batches) for about $8.00. It makes a ton and lasts a long time. It doesn't have a lot of suds, so I know some people on here use it in the newer washing machines. Mine is about 8 years old - just a standard washing machine - and it seems to do just fine in it.

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Kim

Another "makes own laundry soap" here. FYI: A batch makes about 2 gallons and takes about 15 minutes to make.
Environmentally friendly too.

I freeze more when I first turn the water on. It takes a few minutes for our water to warm up.

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Insanity laughs under pressure we're cracking

I use the Duggars recipe for detergent. I make the liquid one.
I spent $20 something on supplies in January and still have enough to make one more batch. I spent the most $ on a pot to make it in and a five gallon bucket with a lid.
I have already made 3 batches with the supplies I bought. And all I need to buy is more Fels Naptha or another soap, I still have a bunch of the borax and washing powder.

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Insanity laughs under pressure we're cracking

Not me, but DH is the tightwaddiest tightwad. He uses 1/2 or 1/3 sheets of paper towel. His brother will reuse cheap white paper plates if there's nothing wet on them....just flick the crumbs off. They are pieces of work!

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

My FIL used to buy 2 ply napkins, pick them apart on one corner, and blow them apart. Yep, he literally blew them apart to separate them.
He'd fold them back up and stack them. Ewwww!