Author Topic: What's the craziest thing you've done in the name of frugality?  (Read 118035 times)

Frugal_Red

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Re: What's the craziest thing you've done in the name of frugality?
« Reply #50 on: September 05, 2014, 05:59:50 AM »
When I was in college I would spend the last day of each semester going from dorm to dorm collecting all the paper, pens, binders etc. that all the student had thrown out.  I found computers / cables that I could sell or give away, microwaves, fridges and other whatnot.  To this day I haven't had to buy any computer office type supplies and my first apartment was furnished with the furniture I got on those trash days. :-D

I love dumpster diving!  Even now a decade since I graduated, and with an annual salary >100k, I still grab stuff from the curb if it looks good. :-P My parents think it is great but quite a few of my friends think it is weird.

Squirrel away

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Re: What's the craziest thing you've done in the name of frugality?
« Reply #51 on: September 05, 2014, 06:30:05 AM »
We don't have a car either. I was reading on another forum where lots of people were saying that it was bizarre that some adults lived without a car. Some people seemed to think men who didn't drive was less manly or something. So silly!

When I was in college I would spend the last day of each semester going from dorm to dorm collecting all the paper, pens, binders etc. that all the student had thrown out.  I found computers / cables that I could sell or give away, microwaves, fridges and other whatnot.  To this day I haven't had to buy any computer office type supplies and my first apartment was furnished with the furniture I got on those trash days. :-D

I love dumpster diving!  Even now a decade since I graduated, and with an annual salary >100k, I still grab stuff from the curb if it looks good. :-P My parents think it is great but quite a few of my friends think it is weird.

That's brilliant and you are also saving stuff from going into landfill.

lemanfan

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Re: What's the craziest thing you've done in the name of frugality?
« Reply #52 on: September 05, 2014, 11:45:39 AM »
I walk to the airport. For some reason that comes off as crazy to people! It's only a mile away.

Hey!

I've done that too.  Just to prove it could be done.  Probably two miles in my town tho.

g3

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Re: What's the craziest thing you've done in the name of frugality?
« Reply #53 on: September 05, 2014, 12:38:30 PM »
I used to address letters to myself, then clearly put the intended recipient's address in the "from" area.  I would drop them in the mail in Houston with no stamp.  The US Postal Service would stamp them "insufficient postage" and dutifully "return" them to, say, my sister in California.
I don't think theft-of-services is in the spirit of frugality.

+1

johnny847

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Re: What's the craziest thing you've done in the name of frugality?
« Reply #54 on: September 05, 2014, 12:58:33 PM »
I used to address letters to myself, then clearly put the intended recipient's address in the "from" area.  I would drop them in the mail in Houston with no stamp.  The US Postal Service would stamp them "insufficient postage" and dutifully "return" them to, say, my sister in California.
I don't think theft-of-services is in the spirit of frugality.

+1

This is an example of how I distinguish being frugal and being cheap.

domustachesgrowinhouston

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Re: What's the craziest thing you've done in the name of frugality?
« Reply #55 on: September 05, 2014, 03:52:26 PM »
I dunno, he steals from the post office, who steals from social security, but then every government program steals from social security, so is it really wrong?

johnny847

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Re: What's the craziest thing you've done in the name of frugality?
« Reply #56 on: September 05, 2014, 05:18:57 PM »
I dunno, he steals from the post office, who steals from social security, but then every government program steals from social security, so is it really wrong?

Regardless of whether the post office steals from social security or not, you can't justify stealing form one entity just because they steal from another. It's still wrong to steal from the post office.

domustachesgrowinhouston

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Re: What's the craziest thing you've done in the name of frugality?
« Reply #57 on: September 06, 2014, 12:57:59 AM »
I dunno, he steals from the post office, who steals from social security, but then every government program steals from social security, so is it really wrong?

Regardless of whether the post office steals from social security or not, you can't justify stealing form one entity just because they steal from another. It's still wrong to steal from the post office.
Point taken. Nonetheless, lets agree that if you should happen to visit me, you just pretend not to notice my rather impressive collection of Skilcraft pens.
« Last Edit: September 06, 2014, 01:00:06 AM by domustachesgrowinhouston »

igetit

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Re: What's the craziest thing you've done in the name of frugality?
« Reply #58 on: September 06, 2014, 06:44:03 AM »
This is a good one.   
Did it take you the entire 6 weeks?


TomTX

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Re: What's the craziest thing you've done in the name of frugality?
« Reply #59 on: September 06, 2014, 04:44:08 PM »
I'm a baggie washer also!  As far as I'm concerned, they're probably cleaner after I've washed them with hot water and soap than they are fresh from the (who knows how clean) factory.  Of course, there are probably many people out there convinced that they'll contract cholera from a re-used baggie.

I never quite got the "washing baggies" thing, even though I first read about it something like 25 years ago. With the time, water, soap and such - it just seems like the net benefit is quite small.

I do re-use clean baggies. For example, I get a bag of fruit at the grocery store. I then use it to take food to work (probably some of the fruit, some cheese, some veg) then it ends up in the freezer for collecting bones for stock. After that, I just throw it away.

I don't get it, either.  I had a neighbor ask me, "Is that still working okay?" referring to my bike + belly.  Well... yeah, I mean, I don't pedal with my uterus, and I'm not housing a fetus in my calves, so I don't see what one has to do with the other.

At work, I get a lot of, "I can't believe you're still biking!" and one "That looks like torture."  To which I reply, "I can't believe you pay $3.50+ for gas!"  Smile and move on...

FWIW, my CNM recommended against biking after around 20 weeks because of balance issues with a changing center of gravity. It sounds like the objections you were hearing were more about the idea of doing anything more strenuous than lifting the ice cream scoop, which is obviously ridiculous, but there might be a nugget of truth in there somewhere.

I'm having trouble seeing the "changing center of gravity" being a big deal for biking. Typically pregnancy isn't going to make you lopsided left/right - you have the seat holding you up and the wheels keeping you from falling forward or back.

My wife did martial arts up past 32 weeks, and successfully belt tested just before stopping. She did stop (light) contact sparring at something like 20 weeks.

tracylayton

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Re: What's the craziest thing you've done in the name of frugality?
« Reply #60 on: September 06, 2014, 05:38:48 PM »
The Fort Worth Zoo was having a "Shots for Tots" day. You got free admission plus an ice cream cone for getting their no cost immunizations at a tent outside the front gate. I took my 6 year old and 12 year old, and we had a great time(well, after they had their shots). The funniest thing is that I was actually married to a family practice doctor at the time...that's frugal!

Elderwood17

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Re: What's the craziest thing you've done in the name of frugality?
« Reply #61 on: September 06, 2014, 07:46:07 PM »
I didn't have a car one summer at my job on Cape Cod. I needed to get to Palm beach for my winter job. There was a six week gap....I rode my bicycle. It only cost me $160.00 [1983]

Impressive!

Frugal_Red

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Re: What's the craziest thing you've done in the name of frugality?
« Reply #62 on: September 07, 2014, 04:54:31 PM »
We don't have a car either. I was reading on another forum where lots of people were saying that it was bizarre that some adults lived without a car. Some people seemed to think men who didn't drive was less manly or something. So silly!

When I was in college I would spend the last day of each semester going from dorm to dorm collecting all the paper, pens, binders etc. that all the student had thrown out.  I found computers / cables that I could sell or give away, microwaves, fridges and other whatnot.  To this day I haven't had to buy any computer office type supplies and my first apartment was furnished with the furniture I got on those trash days. :-D

I love dumpster diving!  Even now a decade since I graduated, and with an annual salary >100k, I still grab stuff from the curb if it looks good. :-P My parents think it is great but quite a few of my friends think it is weird.

That's brilliant and you are also saving stuff from going into landfill.

Indeed! I can't believe how much stuff people throw out that are in perfectly good condition!  In NYC it is especially bad! Too bad people can't put in just a little effort to donate it. They could even use it as a tax write off!

viper155

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Re: What's the craziest thing you've done in the name of frugality?
« Reply #63 on: September 07, 2014, 06:02:06 PM »
I didn't have a car one summer at my job on Cape Cod. I needed to get to Palm beach for my winter job. There was a six week gap....I rode my bicycle. It only cost me $160.00 [1983]

Well, I don't think it quite cost only $160. By deciding to bike over 6 weeks instead of driving or flying there, you had to eat along the trip. Unless you only ate food from grocery stores along the whole trip, you incurred more eating out food costs than if you drove or flew. And over 6 weeks that can really add up.
But if you managed to only eat food from groceries, congrats!

160. period

viper155

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Re: What's the craziest thing you've done in the name of frugality?
« Reply #64 on: September 07, 2014, 06:08:08 PM »
I used to live in an apt that was 1 block from a commuter rail station. The big party area was 1 stop heading east. I'd get on heading east and ask the conductor for a ticket to a station that was to the west. He'd say, "you're heading in the wrong direction. Get off at the next station and head west." So, I'd get off and party....usually got a ride home from a friend.

johnny847

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Re: What's the craziest thing you've done in the name of frugality?
« Reply #65 on: September 07, 2014, 06:18:16 PM »
I didn't have a car one summer at my job on Cape Cod. I needed to get to Palm beach for my winter job. There was a six week gap....I rode my bicycle. It only cost me $160.00 [1983]

Well, I don't think it quite cost only $160. By deciding to bike over 6 weeks instead of driving or flying there, you had to eat along the trip. Unless you only ate food from grocery stores along the whole trip, you incurred more eating out food costs than if you drove or flew. And over 6 weeks that can really add up.
But if you managed to only eat food from groceries, congrats!

160. period

Inflation adjusting $160 from 1983, that's $390. You managed to live on just $9.28 a day for the whole trip? I find this a bit hard to believe, considering you need to eat and find lodging.

Paul der Krake

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Re: What's the craziest thing you've done in the name of frugality?
« Reply #66 on: September 07, 2014, 06:26:21 PM »
In my late teens, I've hitch-hiked hundred of miles to go meet people I only knew from online communitiesm carrying nothing but a laptop and some change to buy the generous souls taking me on their drive a coffee or two.

shuffler

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Re: What's the craziest thing you've done in the name of frugality?
« Reply #67 on: September 07, 2014, 07:50:16 PM »
I'd get on heading east and ask the conductor for a ticket to a station that was to the west. He'd say, "you're heading in the wrong direction. Get off at the next station and head west." So, I'd get off and party....
Afraid I'm playing the Internet-Police again, but I still don't see lying & stealing as a "crazy frugal" activity.
It's important to me that the forum try to promote above-the-board frugality.

Anyhow, so I'm not a complete downer, here's some crazy-ish things I've done ...
  *  Ride my bike a hundred miles overnight and over a mountain pass to pick up my car after repairs, rather than pay for bus fare.
  *  15 years of using the same $20 electric clippers for self-haircuts means I'm down to about 4-cents per haircut.
  *  Unexpectedly stranded in a foreign city in the late evening, deciding to walk around and see the city through the six-ish hours until dawn, rather than get a hotel.
  *  Removed the passenger-seat and back-seat and cut a hole through into the truck of my 2-door Chevy Cavalier.  Built a sleeping platform that had my head where the passenger seat used to be, and my feet in the trunk.  Could sleep in there *with* my bike also in the car.  Was a great weekend-escape car.  Could head out to mountains or deserts or wherever else, ride my bike in the day, and sleep in the car at night.

Joggernot

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Re: What's the craziest thing you've done in the name of frugality?
« Reply #68 on: September 07, 2014, 08:01:47 PM »
I'd get on heading east and ask the conductor for a ticket to a station that was to the west. He'd say, "you're heading in the wrong direction. Get off at the next station and head west." So, I'd get off and party....
Afraid I'm playing the Internet-Police again, but I still don't see lying & stealing as a "crazy frugal" activity.
It's important to me that the forum try to promote above-the-board frugality.
I agree.  Lying and stealing are not frugal.  They are lying and stealing.

MsRichLife

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Re: What's the craziest thing you've done in the name of frugality?
« Reply #69 on: September 07, 2014, 08:58:36 PM »

I don't get it, either.  I had a neighbor ask me, "Is that still working okay?" referring to my bike + belly.  Well... yeah, I mean, I don't pedal with my uterus, and I'm not housing a fetus in my calves, so I don't see what one has to do with the other.

At some point, the belly does get so big that your knees start hitting it. Then riding gets uncomfortable (and probably looks comical to observers). I suppose if you have quite an upright bike, you could keep riding comfortably for longer.

TurtleMarkets

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Re: What's the craziest thing you've done in the name of frugality?
« Reply #70 on: September 08, 2014, 06:01:36 AM »
I didn't have a car one summer at my job on Cape Cod. I needed to get to Palm beach for my winter job. There was a six week gap....I rode my bicycle. It only cost me $160.00 [1983]

That is a fantastic adventure

viper155

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Re: What's the craziest thing you've done in the name of frugality?
« Reply #71 on: September 08, 2014, 06:40:57 AM »
I didn't have a car one summer at my job on Cape Cod. I needed to get to Palm beach for my winter job. There was a six week gap....I rode my bicycle. It only cost me $160.00 [1983]

Well, I don't think it quite cost only $160. By deciding to bike over 6 weeks instead of driving or flying there, you had to eat along the trip. Unless you only ate food from grocery stores along the whole trip, you incurred more eating out food costs than if you drove or flew. And over 6 weeks that can really add up.
But if you managed to only eat food from groceries, congrats!

No one said the trip on the bike was six weeks. I said the gap between jobs was six weeks. I biked from Cape Cod to Palm Beach. Singer Island to be precise, in 16 days. I stayed in a tent, on a field of grass or at a college every night and paid nothing. I had camping equipment and lived on raisins, bananas, pasta, bread and peanut butter for the entire trip. I hitchhiked across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Free. The only let down on the entire trip was getting to the Florida state line and being in a euphoric state just to be let down by having to pedal an entire 3 days more!

viper155

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Re: What's the craziest thing you've done in the name of frugality?
« Reply #72 on: September 08, 2014, 06:44:18 AM »
I'd get on heading east and ask the conductor for a ticket to a station that was to the west. He'd say, "you're heading in the wrong direction. Get off at the next station and head west." So, I'd get off and party....
Afraid I'm playing the Internet-Police again, but I still don't see lying & stealing as a "crazy frugal" activity.
It's important to me that the forum try to promote above-the-board frugality.

Anyhow, so I'm not a complete downer, here's some crazy-ish things I've done ...
  *  Ride my bike a hundred miles overnight and over a mountain pass to pick up my car after repairs, rather than pay for bus fare.
  *  15 years of using the same $20 electric clippers for self-haircuts means I'm down to about 4-cents per haircut.
  *  Unexpectedly stranded in a foreign city in the late evening, deciding to walk around and see the city through the six-ish hours until dawn, rather than get a hotel.
  *  Removed the passenger-seat and back-seat and cut a hole through into the truck of my 2-door Chevy Cavalier.  Built a sleeping platform that had my head where the passenger seat used to be, and my feet in the trunk.  Could sleep in there *with* my bike also in the car.  Was a great weekend-escape car.  Could head out to mountains or deserts or wherever else, ride my bike in the day, and sleep in the car at night.

I'm no angel. What can I tell ya?

johnny847

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Re: What's the craziest thing you've done in the name of frugality?
« Reply #73 on: September 08, 2014, 06:47:51 AM »
I didn't have a car one summer at my job on Cape Cod. I needed to get to Palm beach for my winter job. There was a six week gap....I rode my bicycle. It only cost me $160.00 [1983]

Well, I don't think it quite cost only $160. By deciding to bike over 6 weeks instead of driving or flying there, you had to eat along the trip. Unless you only ate food from grocery stores along the whole trip, you incurred more eating out food costs than if you drove or flew. And over 6 weeks that can really add up.
But if you managed to only eat food from groceries, congrats!

No one said the trip on the bike was six weeks. I said the gap between jobs was six weeks. I biked from Cape Cod to Palm Beach. Singer Island to be precise, in 16 days. I stayed in a tent, on a field of grass or at a college every night and paid nothing. I had camping equipment and lived on raisins, bananas, pasta, bread and peanut butter for the entire trip. I hitchhiked across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Free. The only let down on the entire trip was getting to the Florida state line and being in a euphoric state just to be let down by having to pedal an entire 3 days more!

Now that makes more sense. Thanks for the clarification.

viper155

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Re: What's the craziest thing you've done in the name of frugality?
« Reply #74 on: September 08, 2014, 06:51:57 AM »
I'd get on heading east and ask the conductor for a ticket to a station that was to the west. He'd say, "you're heading in the wrong direction. Get off at the next station and head west." So, I'd get off and party....
Afraid I'm playing the Internet-Police again, but I still don't see lying & stealing as a "crazy frugal" activity.
It's important to me that the forum try to promote above-the-board frugality.
I agree.  Lying and stealing are not frugal.  They are lying and stealing.

I guess you were just a paragon of virtue when you were 22 years old.

viper155

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Re: What's the craziest thing you've done in the name of frugality?
« Reply #75 on: September 08, 2014, 06:56:47 AM »
I didn't have a car one summer at my job on Cape Cod. I needed to get to Palm beach for my winter job. There was a six week gap....I rode my bicycle. It only cost me $160.00 [1983]

Well, I don't think it quite cost only $160. By deciding to bike over 6 weeks instead of driving or flying there, you had to eat along the trip. Unless you only ate food from grocery stores along the whole trip, you incurred more eating out food costs than if you drove or flew. And over 6 weeks that can really add up.
But if you managed to only eat food from groceries, congrats!

No problem on the clarification. I had never embarked on anything like this before. Once I started pedaling.....I just pedaled until I couldn't anymore. I did not stop to smell the roses. I just pedaled and learned as I went along. It was a great life lesson. I learned that if you put yourself to a point of no return on an improbable task, you can accomplish anything because you have no choice but to do so. My next trip, several years later was better funded and thought out. And comfortable.

No one said the trip on the bike was six weeks. I said the gap between jobs was six weeks. I biked from Cape Cod to Palm Beach. Singer Island to be precise, in 16 days. I stayed in a tent, on a field of grass or at a college every night and paid nothing. I had camping equipment and lived on raisins, bananas, pasta, bread and peanut butter for the entire trip. I hitchhiked across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Free. The only let down on the entire trip was getting to the Florida state line and being in a euphoric state just to be let down by having to pedal an entire 3 days more!

Now that makes more sense. Thanks for the clarification.

viper155

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Re: What's the craziest thing you've done in the name of frugality?
« Reply #76 on: September 08, 2014, 06:58:11 AM »
Johnny -----this is what I meant to respond....I pushed the wrong key!

No problem on the clarification. I had never embarked on anything like this before. Once I started pedaling.....I just pedaled until I couldn't anymore. I did not stop to smell the roses. I just pedaled and learned as I went along. It was a great life lesson. I learned that if you put yourself to a point of no return on an improbable task, you can accomplish anything because you have no choice but to do so. My next trip, several years later was better funded and thought out. And comfortable.

Joggernot

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Re: What's the craziest thing you've done in the name of frugality?
« Reply #77 on: September 08, 2014, 07:22:52 AM »
I'd get on heading east and ask the conductor for a ticket to a station that was to the west. He'd say, "you're heading in the wrong direction. Get off at the next station and head west." So, I'd get off and party....
Afraid I'm playing the Internet-Police again, but I still don't see lying & stealing as a "crazy frugal" activity.
It's important to me that the forum try to promote above-the-board frugality.
I agree.  Lying and stealing are not frugal.  They are lying and stealing.

I guess you were just a paragon of virtue when you were 22 years old.
We led different lives.  When I was 22 I had a DW and two kids and worked 12 hour days to support us.  Definitely couldn't afford to party.  Lying and stealing were not accepted by my parents, so that is what I learned and followed.

viper155

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Re: What's the craziest thing you've done in the name of frugality?
« Reply #78 on: September 08, 2014, 12:00:51 PM »
I learned the same things from my parents. But don't worry, I have grown up since then. I was a party animal at that age....good, bad or indifferent. Please don't hold it against me. Besides growing up in Texas and growing up in New York City in the 70s and 80s are 2 different animals.

Paul der Krake

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Re: What's the craziest thing you've done in the name of frugality?
« Reply #79 on: September 08, 2014, 12:20:55 PM »
No one said the trip on the bike was six weeks. I said the gap between jobs was six weeks. I biked from Cape Cod to Palm Beach. Singer Island to be precise, in 16 days. I stayed in a tent, on a field of grass or at a college every night and paid nothing. I had camping equipment and lived on raisins, bananas, pasta, bread and peanut butter for the entire trip. I hitchhiked across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Free. The only let down on the entire trip was getting to the Florida state line and being in a euphoric state just to be let down by having to pedal an entire 3 days more!
Man that's just nuts.

Thread over, folks.

shuffler

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Re: What's the craziest thing you've done in the name of frugality?
« Reply #80 on: September 08, 2014, 01:40:06 PM »
Please don't hold it against me.
Wouldn't hold it against you at all.  You'd probably be fun to know in real life.  :^)

... but I just wouldn't want theft to be among the "crazy frugal" thing that people on this board like to do.  Frugality is pretty core to the forum here, and I think we should be careful about when frugality can cross into illegality (or immrality, etc.).

If we had a thread about "cheap and illegal things I did to save money, kids don't try this at home", then great.  I might even have a contribution there.  ;^)

Joggernot

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Re: What's the craziest thing you've done in the name of frugality?
« Reply #81 on: September 08, 2014, 02:33:25 PM »
Please don't hold it against me. Besides growing up in Texas and growing up in New York City in the 70s and 80s are 2 different animals.
Definitely don't hold it against you.  I grew up in Colorado and retired to Texas.  New York City and SE Colorado are wildly different.  Yes, I've been to NYC and lived in DC for 8+  years.  No comparison with SE CO.  Loved the DC area with all the things to do and see.  Yes, kids were gone by then so we went to some of the "fun" places to drink and watch football games.  Traveled by Metro at all hours and for commuting.  Still have fond memories of DC.  Definitely didn't follow mustachian ways while there...:)

viper155

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Re: What's the craziest thing you've done in the name of frugality?
« Reply #82 on: September 09, 2014, 01:57:55 PM »
Ok...peace!

nawhite

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Re: What's the craziest thing you've done in the name of frugality?
« Reply #83 on: September 11, 2014, 11:00:44 AM »
Navy misplaced my futon in a move. While I was waiting for my stuff I slept for 3 months on blankets on the floor. Finally everything showed up.

I had the greatest relocation package ever from a company who was moving me from DC to Denver. Up to $30,000 total and tax re-upped (so if they give me $30k in benefits that would go on my salary and get taxed so they'd give me an additional ~20% to cover taxes) and I could bring stuff from 2 different houses. I happened to be getting married about the same time so we used that to get furniture moved from her parents' place in Tennessee.

One thing that the package included was "per-diem". This means they paid us $220/day for food until our stuff arrived and another $200/day for a hotel while house hunting. Our movers wouldn't start packing and transporting until we had a place picked out to move into. So we took 2 weeks finding a nice apartment (and waiting until the end of the month so we didn't have to pay for a partial month). Then it took the movers 3 weeks to get everything across the country.

So for the house hunting weeks, we stayed in a cheap $70/night hotel that had a mini-fridge and microwave and bought a hotplate and then once we got the keys on the apartment, we bought an air mattress, new pillows, one pot and some camping dishes. Pocketed $350/day for 2 weeks and another $220/day for another 3 weeks.

$10k simply for not going out to eat. I guess its not crazy, just common sense.

neophyte

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Re: What's the craziest thing you've done in the name of frugality?
« Reply #84 on: September 11, 2014, 11:46:43 AM »
I gave myself stitches to save on an ER visit. I also saved several hours of time that would have been spent in the waiting room but were put to better use by sleeping.  Granted, it was a small clean cut, I pretty much knew what I was doing, and had acceptable thread available.  Several months later, the scar is much smaller than one I have from a professional job.  Some of that is probably due to the location though.

Overseas Stache

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Re: What's the craziest thing you've done in the name of frugality?
« Reply #85 on: September 18, 2014, 08:22:18 AM »
I don't think it is that crazy but others might. I never drink soda, alcohol, or coffee mostly because I don't want to spend the money. But I do love me some Ceres 100% fruit juice, however I try to stretch it out as long as possible. I started by putting about 1/3 water in 2/3rds of juice and have slowly worked my way up. Now I put 1/3 juice in 2/3 water and it tastes great to me. I tried just drinking it straight the other day and it didn't even taste good anymore.

Gone Fishing

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Re: What's the craziest thing you've done in the name of frugality?
« Reply #86 on: September 18, 2014, 09:53:49 AM »
It comes so natural I don't even notice crazy anymore!  Ask my wife, she can probably tell you...

Asked my wife and she said, "Taken individually, nothing you do is crazy. What is crazy is that you do it ALL!"

tofuchampion

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Re: What's the craziest thing you've done in the name of frugality?
« Reply #87 on: September 18, 2014, 11:56:28 PM »
I gave myself stitches to save on an ER visit. I also saved several hours of time that would have been spent in the waiting room but were put to better use by sleeping.  Granted, it was a small clean cut, I pretty much knew what I was doing, and had acceptable thread available.  Several months later, the scar is much smaller than one I have from a professional job.  Some of that is probably due to the location though.

My brother did that once. 

I've never needed stitches, but I did take out my own IUD a couple of years ago.  :)  I couldn't see any reason to pay someone at least $100 to tug on a string for a few seconds.

sequoia

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Re: What's the craziest thing you've done in the name of frugality?
« Reply #88 on: September 19, 2014, 02:16:11 AM »
When I was in college I would spend the last day of each semester going from dorm to dorm collecting all the paper, pens, binders etc. that all the student had thrown out.  I found computers / cables that I could sell or give away, microwaves, fridges and other whatnot.  To this day I haven't had to buy any computer office type supplies and my first apartment was furnished with the furniture I got on those trash days. :-D

I love dumpster diving!  Even now a decade since I graduated, and with an annual salary >100k, I still grab stuff from the curb if it looks good. :-P My parents think it is great but quite a few of my friends think it is weird.

Me too! I grab stuffs from curb. So good to hear I am not the only person who still does this, even now with a great job, and own two rentals. Last year we bought a cheap fixer-upper rental house, and one of the lid for the toilet tank was broken. I happened to drive home one night in a rain, and saw someone throw away an entire toilet in a curb. Did a u-turn, stopped, and grab the lid thinking that if I got lucky, it will fit and look fine for the rental house. I did get lucky! The color matches too lol
« Last Edit: September 19, 2014, 02:18:14 AM by sequoia »

2ndTimer

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Re: What's the craziest thing you've done in the name of frugality?
« Reply #89 on: September 19, 2014, 10:29:03 AM »
Brought a cabinet sewing machine home on my bike.

Gerard

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Re: What's the craziest thing you've done in the name of frugality?
« Reply #90 on: September 19, 2014, 04:42:37 PM »
Is it distressing that I can relate to multiple "crazy" things on this thread?

I walk to the airport (6 km) about half the time here (YYT). It's a nice walk. Only other city I've done it in is San Diego, again about 6 km from the airport to the HI hostel in Point Loma. Started a thread here somewhere about walking or taking transit to the airport, and a bunch of people were nice enough to offer suggestions.

When I was young, I hitch-hiked across the US (NY-FL-CA) and slept under a 6-mil plastic sheet. Spend $175 for the month, so johnny847's budget sounds about right.

And Frugal_Red, are you me? Curb shopping, especially at universities, is very productive.

Never did stitches, but I dislocated my shoulder a couple of years back and popped it back in myself.


johnny847

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Re: What's the craziest thing you've done in the name of frugality?
« Reply #91 on: September 19, 2014, 05:30:50 PM »
Is it distressing that I can relate to multiple "crazy" things on this thread?

I walk to the airport (6 km) about half the time here (YYT). It's a nice walk. Only other city I've done it in is San Diego, again about 6 km from the airport to the HI hostel in Point Loma. Started a thread here somewhere about walking or taking transit to the airport, and a bunch of people were nice enough to offer suggestions.

When I was young, I hitch-hiked across the US (NY-FL-CA) and slept under a 6-mil plastic sheet. Spend $175 for the month, so johnny847's budget sounds about right.

And Frugal_Red, are you me? Curb shopping, especially at universities, is very productive.

Never did stitches, but I dislocated my shoulder a couple of years back and popped it back in myself.
It wasn't my budget actually, it was viper155's ($160 in 1983 over 16 days).

Popping in your shoulder yourself is pretty badass! Did anybody with some kind of medical experience help you/give you advice or anything?

MustacheNorway

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Re: What's the craziest thing you've done in the name of frugality?
« Reply #92 on: September 20, 2014, 01:53:50 PM »
I'm new in the frugality department , so only i can add here is doing my own haircuts with a hair clipper for the last 10 years.
More to come as my Frugalitymuscle is growing.. :)

johnny847

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Re: What's the craziest thing you've done in the name of frugality?
« Reply #93 on: September 20, 2014, 03:11:36 PM »
I'm new in the frugality department , so only i can add here is doing my own haircuts with a hair clipper for the last 10 years.
More to come as my Frugalitymuscle is growing.. :)

Are you a man or a woman? I've been contemplating doing my hair myself, but my mom told me it's hard for guys to cut their own hair...

shuffler

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Re: What's the craziest thing you've done in the name of frugality?
« Reply #94 on: September 20, 2014, 03:33:53 PM »
Are you a man or a woman? I've been contemplating doing my hair myself, but my mom told me it's hard for guys to cut their own hair...
I'm a man who has been cutting his own hair for 15+ years.

As I'm sure would be the same for a woman, the difficulty depends on the complexity of the haircut and your own skill.  I realized I have little skill, so I just use a #1 guard all around.  Done in ~5 minutes, every 10 days or so.

Bonus:  I use the same #1 guard for my beard.  Haven't shaved with a razor in the same 15+ years.  Though I do work in tech where neckbeards (including close-cropped ones such as mine) are common.

MustacheNorway

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Re: What's the craziest thing you've done in the name of frugality?
« Reply #95 on: September 20, 2014, 04:38:31 PM »
I'm new in the frugality department , so only i can add here is doing my own haircuts with a hair clipper for the last 10 years.
More to come as my Frugalitymuscle is growing.. :)

Are you a man or a woman? I've been contemplating doing my hair myself, but my mom told me it's hard for guys to cut their own hair...

I am a man , and I use a range of 5 diffrent sizes of clip ons on my machine. Starting with the longest on top, and gradually go smaller.
When I say I do it myself my friends and coworkers are amazed. They all believe I go to the hairdresser.

It takes a bit of practice , but I do it in 10-15 mins , the hard part is in the back , but just get a good second mirror.. ;)

johnny847

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Re: What's the craziest thing you've done in the name of frugality?
« Reply #96 on: September 20, 2014, 04:41:17 PM »
I'm new in the frugality department , so only i can add here is doing my own haircuts with a hair clipper for the last 10 years.
More to come as my Frugalitymuscle is growing.. :)

Are you a man or a woman? I've been contemplating doing my hair myself, but my mom told me it's hard for guys to cut their own hair...

I am a man , and I use a range of 5 diffrent sizes of clip ons on my machine. Starting with the longest on top, and gradually go smaller.
When I say I do it myself my friends and coworkers are amazed. They all believe I go to the hairdresser.

It takes a bit of practice , but I do it in 10-15 mins , the hard part is in the back , but just get a good second mirror.. ;)
After talking with my mom, I was discouraged...but I think I'll give it a shot. It might come out terribly considering it'll be my first time...but hey I live and learn.

MustacheNorway

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Re: What's the craziest thing you've done in the name of frugality?
« Reply #97 on: September 20, 2014, 04:46:44 PM »

I'm new in the frugality department , so only i can add here is doing my own haircuts with a hair clipper for the last 10 years.
More to come as my Frugalitymuscle is growing.. :)

Are you a man or a woman? I've been contemplating doing my hair myself, but my mom told me it's hard for guys to cut their own hair...

I am a man , and I use a range of 5 diffrent sizes of clip ons on my machine. Starting with the longest on top, and gradually go smaller.
When I say I do it myself my friends and coworkers are amazed. They all believe I go to the hairdresser.

It takes a bit of practice , but I do it in 10-15 mins , the hard part is in the back , but just get a good second mirror.. ;)
After talking with my mom, I was discouraged...but I think I'll give it a shot. It might come out terribly considering it'll be my first time...but hey I live and learn.

Just what I was thinking when I first started doing it.
Well it is a mustachian thing to do though. Using the new app from Kio http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/index.php?topic=23657.0 , if we calculate that a hair cut is $15 every month , I have gained $2611 in 10 years , that is a sizable amount of workers for cutting your own hair.. :)
« Last Edit: September 20, 2014, 04:50:33 PM by MustacheNorway »

Gerard

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Re: What's the craziest thing you've done in the name of frugality?
« Reply #98 on: September 20, 2014, 04:59:49 PM »
It wasn't my budget actually, it was viper155's ($160 in 1983 over 16 days).

Oops, got lost in the sub-quotes!

Popping in your shoulder yourself is pretty badass! Did anybody with some kind of medical experience help you/give you advice or anything?

Not at the time. I was miles from help and realized what had happened and what it made sense to do. Looked online later in the day and was reassured that things had gone right.

Zamboni

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Re: What's the craziest thing you've done in the name of frugality?
« Reply #99 on: September 20, 2014, 07:22:46 PM »
I gave myself stitches to save on an ER visit. I also saved several hours of time that would have been spent in the waiting room but were put to better use by sleeping.  Granted, it was a small clean cut, I pretty much knew what I was doing, and had acceptable thread available.  Several months later, the scar is much smaller than one I have from a professional job.  Some of that is probably due to the location though.

My brother did that once. 

I've never needed stitches, but I did take out my own IUD a couple of years ago.  :)  I couldn't see any reason to pay someone at least $100 to tug on a string for a few seconds.

Impressive on both counts.  I've heard stitching it up too tight is what makes the scar really bad. 

IUD:  You just pulled . . . and it came out?

Nothing at all to top some of these, but add my name to the list of airport walkers, tasty drink diluters, and periodic under plastic sheet sleepers (no idea how many mils think the sheet was, but it functioned just fine in light rain.)

I dig the sleeping conversion modifications to the car. 

The weirdest one I've heard is that I have a friend who doesn't shower at home and infrequently uses the toilet at his house to save on his utilities bills.  He showers at work and tries to hold it until he's going somewhere and can use a public toilet.  Totally serious on this one.