My momma was so frugal/cheap, she...

[canadian bacon]

Our family would go on vacation to florida and stay at my grandparents trailer.  When we would go to the beach we would also walk to a hotel as a family and all crash their pool.  The hotel staff would see us day after day and assume we were staying there. 

[MoonShadow]

The carpet in my bedroom was stitched together carpet samples of all different colors and patterns.  I don't know where my mom found all of those large carpet samples (1x1.5 foot size?) but I loved that carpet

You can still get them from the flea market.  I have a few of them I use in various places, but not as a continuous wall-to-wall carpet.  Mostly as a one person foot rug on hard floors during winter; while watching tv, on the toilet, etc.  Does wonders to keep unshod feet warm when the thermostat is at 66.  The vendors at flea markets get them directly from the carpet stores, that get rid of them when the new "models" of carpeting arrives, because they always come with new sample squares.

[forummm]

Just remembered a good one:

We were canoeing on a local lake when we spied a small cooler floating near the shoreline.  We paddled over to check it out and lo and behold, it had a couple cans of Budweiser in it.  Now this cooler had obviously been floating for a while, at least several weeks, maybe even months based on the level of algae growth on it. No one in their right mind would ever drink those Buds, but my mother, being the frugal woman she is, brought the cans home with a plan to make beer bread with them (dad would never let her "waste" a drinkable beer).  They would sit in the cabinet for another several years before she executed on her plan, but she eventually did, and the bread wasn't half bad!

Were the cans open or sealed? If they were sealed, why would it be a problem to drink them? (other than it being Budweiser, of course)

[MoonShadow]

Just remembered a good one:

We were canoeing on a local lake when we spied a small cooler floating near the shoreline.  We paddled over to check it out and lo and behold, it had a couple cans of Budweiser in it.  Now this cooler had obviously been floating for a while, at least several weeks, maybe even months based on the level of algae growth on it. No one in their right mind would ever drink those Buds, but my mother, being the frugal woman she is, brought the cans home with a plan to make beer bread with them (dad would never let her "waste" a drinkable beer).  They would sit in the cabinet for another several years before she executed on her plan, but she eventually did, and the bread wasn't half bad!

Were the cans open or sealed? If they were sealed, why would it be a problem to drink them? (other than it being Budweiser, of course)

They would have to be sanitized, exposed as they were to the river water, but they should have been fine after that.  Might not have been great to drink, simply because beer doesn't taste quite right if the can spends any time above 90 degrees, but beer bread sounds like a reasonable use.

[Inaya]

My Catholic grandparents had 6 kids, and there wasn't a ton of spare money for candy or sodapop. However, the economy was such that the refund on a single bottle would pay for lots of candy and sodapop. My dad and his older brother were resourceful teenagers. Who happened to have a "surprise" brother many years younger. So they'd take their youngest brother to a likely looking dumpster and lower him upside-down into the dumpster (each older brother took a leg) to dig out any bottles. I've never thought to ask if he got any candy for his trouble--I'll have to next time I see him.

If the kids were playing on the second floor and needed something from downstairs, they'd put youngest brother in a laundry basket and lower him down out the window to go get it. They also forced him to sit in a basket and Jesus when they played "communion" with the Necco wafers paid for with those dumpster bottles. And of course why would you give Jesus "communion wafers"? (Would that be cannibalism?)

Many, many years later my dad was building a house and needed some cheap labor. Conveniently, his youngest brother needed a job. I don't think he was paid a fair wage.

They all laugh about it now, so there's no hard feelings. And youngest brother seems fairly well adjusted and not at all traumatized.

[JoRocka]

Editing- because I see the steal vs not steal is done to death and my 2 cents are not needed LOL



My grandfather used to reuse paper towels, plastic bags and aluminium foil.

[Inaya]

My grandfather used to reuse paper towels, plastic bags and aluminium foil.

I get the bags and foil. We have a no-bag ordinance, so if you don't want to pay for bags, you reuse. And foil makes sense if you're not using it to catch drippings or something.

But paper towels? Just buy (or knit, or sew from old clothes) a dish cloth and wash it.

[Gone Fishing]

Just remembered a good one:

We were canoeing on a local lake when we spied a small cooler floating near the shoreline.  We paddled over to check it out and lo and behold, it had a couple cans of Budweiser in it.  Now this cooler had obviously been floating for a while, at least several weeks, maybe even months based on the level of algae growth on it. No one in their right mind would ever drink those Buds, but my mother, being the frugal woman she is, brought the cans home with a plan to make beer bread with them (dad would never let her "waste" a drinkable beer).  They would sit in the cabinet for another several years before she executed on her plan, but she eventually did, and the bread wasn't half bad!

Were the cans open or sealed? If they were sealed, why would it be a problem to drink them? (other than it being Budweiser, of course)

They would have to be sanitized, exposed as they were to the river water, but they should have been fine after that.  Might not have been great to drink, simply because beer doesn't taste quite right if the can spends any time above 90 degrees, but beer bread sounds like a reasonable use.

Semi-submerged in the lake, they might have actually stayed below 90 during their "voyage".

[BlueHouse]

Kept the baby's diaper on until it was at it's written limit.

When they say 20 pounds, that's all they'll hold!

I do that. I just put Babytooth into size three diapers today with much griping.

For the life of me when I read the original comment I was convinced they were talking about keeping the baby in the diaper until it filled up with 20 pounds of shit.

ME TOO! I'm glad I'm not the only one. I was very confused. Then I realized from this post they meant because the smaller sizes are a little cheaper :)

Thank you so much for straightening that out for me.  I couldn't understand why someone would be proud of letting their kid's diaper fill up with crap. 

[Inaya]

Kept the baby's diaper on until it was at it's written limit.

When they say 20 pounds, that's all they'll hold!

I do that. I just put Babytooth into size three diapers today with much griping.

For the life of me when I read the original comment I was convinced they were talking about keeping the baby in the diaper until it filled up with 20 pounds of shit.

ME TOO! I'm glad I'm not the only one. I was very confused. Then I realized from this post they meant because the smaller sizes are a little cheaper :)

Thank you so much for straightening that out for me.  I couldn't understand why someone would be proud of letting their kid's diaper fill up with crap.

I read it the same. I didn't even question it, which is probably evidence that I shouldn't ever have children.

[Need2Save]

- Every food product that comes in a re-closable container: container gets reused forever. This one isn't so bad at all. It's just confusing digging through 6-7+ identical sour cream containers in the fridge to find the food item you're looking for. They have plenty of Tupperware, which mostly sits unused in the cupboards.

This one got me.  My mom still does this! She is now 66 years old. I don't understand why leftover mashed potatoes are in the once empty sour cream or margarine containers in her fridge.  No labels - it's a crap shoot how long the mystery contents are in her fridge.  She also has perfectly usable tupperware and glass containers but 5 times as many food containers she uses over and over again.  A few reusable ones, I understand - but they take up a huge portion of her kitchen storage and usually spill onto the counter at times - taking up counter space. I secretly recycle several every time I visit to cut down the quantity.  Shhh...

When I was growing up, my mom couldn't afford our trash pick up in the old hood and it wasn't serviced by the county.  We had an oversized trash can in the kitchen and once or twice a week she would drive into the nearby apartment complex and throw it into their dumpster. Usually at the crack of dawn on her way to work, or in the middle of the night for a 'dump run' she called it.  Right by the sign that said "no dumping allowed - Resident use only!"  I think this was more out of necessity as at the time she was getting support from the county to help feed her 4 kids.  (My dad wasn't paying child support for years).   I have no idea how much she avoided paying the trash service but the fine if caught - I'm sure was pretty hefty!

We didn't have AC and the heat never, ever was turned on.  We just couldn't afford the fuel.  She is always cold when she visits me in warm months with my luxurious central AC.