Author Topic: Extreme cheapskates  (Read 23344 times)

FrugalUndercover

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Extreme cheapskates
« on: March 20, 2013, 05:43:44 AM »

Normally the 'anti-mustachian' posts relate to spendthrifts. I'm interested to see what people think of the 'extreme cheapskate' series.  I've put two links below, this is far beyond mustachian 'living within means' in my opinion. Even if I could get beyond part 1 (more self imposed spending cuts), she feeds unsuspecting friends dumpster dived food in part two... 

But this may also be how outsiders view mustacians...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRKd2_c7hPw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMhMsG5Xnm8

GuitarStv

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Re: Extreme cheapskates
« Reply #1 on: March 20, 2013, 06:50:31 AM »
Live at your comfort level.  If she's comfortable living like that, more power to her!  It just means she's more badass than you or I.

unplugged

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Re: Extreme cheapskates
« Reply #2 on: March 20, 2013, 06:52:18 PM »
I watch this program. One person really stood out to me and that was Millionaire Victoria. If you take out the parts that were overly dramatized there was some great tips from her. I have searched and searched and she does not have a blog or site from what I can tell.
I REALLY need to figure out what spreadsheet she is using. I can't find anything similar for my Mac. I have Excell but don't know how to use it. If anyone watches her episode and knows what system she is using can you share?  She has her numbers down so well she can even track her wattage electrical use!

Russ

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Re: Extreme cheapskates
« Reply #3 on: March 20, 2013, 07:46:53 PM »
I think most of the folks on that show live very similarly to the way we do, just that their particular quirks are heavily dramatized to make for good television (i.e. make spendy people feel better about themselves, "thank god I'm not that person").

And of course one's perception of others is all a sliding scale... anyone who spends significantly less than you is crazy for making whatever sacrifices or badass life choices they make, and anyone who spends more is obviously a wasteful consumerist.

FrugalUndercover

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Re: Extreme cheapskates
« Reply #4 on: October 31, 2013, 07:58:14 PM »
I won't: reuse paper towel or dental floss.

But I am interested in addressing phantom load

Gin

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Re: Extreme cheapskates
« Reply #5 on: October 31, 2013, 08:07:39 PM »
I saw the show last night.  I was grossed out when the couple shared dental floss.  That couple shared everything and kept track of every expense.  They kept track of who flushed the toilet, used more electricity, label eggs with their initials.  They labeled everything like roommates.  They seemed happy so it must work for them.

brewer12345

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Re: Extreme cheapskates
« Reply #6 on: October 31, 2013, 08:10:11 PM »
Be careful with the water barrel idea: it is against the law in some places.

Russ

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Re: Extreme cheapskates
« Reply #7 on: October 31, 2013, 08:12:04 PM »
Thinking about:
...
Unplugging all electrical items to not draw phantom load

http://michaelbluejay.com/electricity/vampire.html

and I think the more commonly accepted term is vampire power. phantom power usually describes a situation where both power and a signal are sent over the same line (e.g. condenser mics)

Basenji

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Re: Extreme cheapskates
« Reply #8 on: November 01, 2013, 05:55:28 AM »
Be careful with the water barrel idea: it is against the law in some places.

Not where I live. I already have one and I'm thinking of adding more. It is such luxury to use that water, free!

I was grossed out when the couple shared dental floss.

Yeah the dental floss and toothbrush sharing made me squirm, but I held on...


Thinking about:
...
Unplugging all electrical items to not draw phantom load

http://michaelbluejay.com/electricity/vampire.html

and I think the more commonly accepted term is vampire power. phantom power usually describes a situation where both power and a signal are sent over the same line (e.g. condenser mics)

Nice! Vampire power...anyhoo, want to find out what I could be spending on that for the various appliances and electronics, etc. in the house.
« Last Edit: November 01, 2013, 05:59:55 AM by Basenji »

exranger06

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Re: Extreme cheapskates
« Reply #9 on: November 01, 2013, 07:46:43 AM »
Thinking about:
Unplugging all electrical items to not draw phantom load
Instead of going around the house unplugging everything one by one, it would be much easier to simply shut the circuit breakers off.

Frankies Girl

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Re: Extreme cheapskates
« Reply #10 on: November 01, 2013, 07:53:43 AM »
Thinking about:
Unplugging all electrical items to not draw phantom load
Instead of going around the house unplugging everything one by one, it would be much easier to simply shut the circuit breakers off.

We use power strips so there are several items plugged in on a strip. Turn off the strip, you turn off the power to a whole section of stuff. And no hassle of unplugging/plugging back in.

ace1224

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Re: Extreme cheapskates
« Reply #11 on: November 01, 2013, 08:03:45 AM »
i'm not reusing toilet paper or sharing dental floss.
and i'm not dumpster diving.  kudos to those who do but i just can't. 

Cromacster

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Re: Extreme cheapskates
« Reply #12 on: November 01, 2013, 08:16:44 AM »
I think the funniest thing that I saw on this show was a couple who bought the cheapest two-ply toilet paper they could get, then they would un ply it getting twice the length out of it.  I think the show stated their yearly spending was around 10,000 total.  If I can find the link I will post it.

Then later I was watching the office, there is a scene where dwight is trying to cut expenses for the office and he rigged up a machine that un plies toilet paper.  Cracked me up!

chardog

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Re: Extreme cheapskates
« Reply #13 on: November 01, 2013, 09:13:03 PM »
Thinking about:
...
Unplugging all electrical items to not draw phantom load

http://michaelbluejay.com/electricity/vampire.html

An Austin original.  I have enjoyed reading his articles on bicycling and line drying laundry.

Albert

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Re: Extreme cheapskates
« Reply #14 on: November 02, 2013, 12:57:35 PM »
Whatever people like as long as it doesn't directly harm others around them. Nevertheless when I read about cases like this I wonder what are they saving money for? Dead people don't need any... Plus they can't be having much of a social life by living their lives like that. I'd say it could get to the point of mild mental illness similar in essence to hoarding.

Miamoo

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Re: Extreme cheapskates
« Reply #15 on: November 02, 2013, 03:41:56 PM »


We use power strips so there are several items plugged in on a strip. Turn off the strip, you turn off the power to a whole section of stuff. And no hassle of unplugging/plugging back in.
[/quote]

Been doing that for a few years here.  One power strip in the office upstairs to shut down the monitor & router (we still need one here)- modem stays on for voipo- one strip downstairs on the tv that's attached to a Sewell device to let us stream from the laptop to the tv.  Unplug the microwave if you use one, unplug the coffee maker, kitchen radio with led display clock that we don't use.  You'll be surprised at how much you can save if you get into a habit of unplugging certain things and switching off the power strips nightly.  Just a habit.

MrsPete

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Re: Extreme cheapskates
« Reply #16 on: November 03, 2013, 11:27:18 AM »
Live at your comfort level.  If she's comfortable living like that, more power to her!  It just means she's more badass than you or I.
No, I've watched this show on TV a couple times, and some of these people border on mentally ill.  I'm thinking particularly of the woman who was sabotaging her relationship with her boyfriend over the cost of water.  She had money, he'd just moved in, so she had more income coming in . . . Yet the show gave the impression he was ready to move out already over her turning off the water on him, feeding him out of the garbage, etc.  She wasn't seeing the world clearly. 

Same thing for the woman who kept saying, "Why should I pay for this?  Why should I pay for that?" 

Of course, I also agree with the previous poster who says that they're upping the drama for TV. 

engineerjourney

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Re: Extreme cheapskates
« Reply #17 on: November 03, 2013, 12:08:26 PM »
I am watching this show on Netflix with my husband right now!  Some of them seem to have some problems but some of them really aren't that bad.  They have some pretty creative ideas!

more4less

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Re: Extreme cheapskates
« Reply #18 on: November 03, 2013, 04:29:20 PM »
I watched the pilot episode of this show. Roy, the guy from the 1st story is an idiot. Driving 2 identical 2002–2006 Honda CR-V vehicles? Dining out? Driving an SUV few miles to get $1.29 worth of stuff? 15c of which is bottled water. The guy is clearly enjoys being cheapskate, but fails at doing math.

engineerjourney

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Re: Extreme cheapskates
« Reply #19 on: November 03, 2013, 05:22:50 PM »
Yeah quite a few of them are wasting lots of $$ driving around to get the cheap stuff.. Jeff was my favorite though, he was in two episodes for season1.  He did a 'vacation' weekend where he rode his bike 70 miles to sleep on a friends couch.  He and his wife also retired at 40 so I think he qualified as mustachian.  He was a little weird in that he ate goat heads..  but otherwise he seemed like a pretty sweet guy, haha. 

oldtoyota

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Re: Extreme cheapskates
« Reply #20 on: November 03, 2013, 05:34:09 PM »
Be careful with the water barrel idea: it is against the law in some places.

That is just nuts.

sherr

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Re: Extreme cheapskates
« Reply #21 on: November 04, 2013, 11:13:44 AM »
Be careful with the water barrel idea: it is against the law in some places.

That is just nuts.

[shrug] Water rights are serious business in a desert.

Basenji

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Re: Extreme cheapskates
« Reply #22 on: November 05, 2013, 06:19:29 AM »
Yeah quite a few of them are wasting lots of $$ driving around to get the cheap stuff.. Jeff was my favorite though, he was in two episodes for season1.  He did a 'vacation' weekend where he rode his bike 70 miles to sleep on a friends couch.  He and his wife also retired at 40 so I think he qualified as mustachian.  He was a little weird in that he ate goat heads..  but otherwise he seemed like a pretty sweet guy, haha.

I agree that the thing that bugged me was not the extreme things they did that made sense, but the stupid expenses and thinking they were being frugal by, for example, bargaining at a McDonald's drive through. WTF?

Dezrah

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Re: Extreme cheapskates
« Reply #23 on: November 05, 2013, 08:27:00 AM »
There's definitely a risk that some of the more extreme behaviors could be manifestations of OCD.  Even then, it's only really a problem if it causes them perpetual anxiety (i.e. "I can't relax because someone used an extra egg that was outside of budget") or hinders their relationships ("Sorry, Mom and Dad, you can't visit because I think you might flush the toilet"). 

I'm not a doctor and I haven't watched the show, but even the chance that such a show is possibly exploiting people with a mental disorder who may be suffering turns my stomach.  It's the reason I had to stop watch "Extreme Couponing".

Eric

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Re: Extreme cheapskates
« Reply #24 on: November 05, 2013, 11:40:26 AM »
I haven't watched the show or the youtube links above, but even so, it's amusing to me that 98% of America would look at these people and think they are crazy, and lots on this thread are like "that's a pretty good idea!" or "I should start doing that!"  You guys are great!

oldtoyota

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Re: Extreme cheapskates
« Reply #25 on: November 05, 2013, 12:47:48 PM »
Be careful with the water barrel idea: it is against the law in some places.

That is just nuts.

[shrug] Water rights are serious business in a desert.

The normalizing of it is quite disturbing!


Mega

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Re: Extreme cheapskates
« Reply #26 on: November 06, 2013, 05:46:13 AM »
I actually kinda like the show for providing great ideas to save money. E.g. Using the matchbook striker to sharpen razors (I think I should get a strop), using a binder clip to adjust shorts (I have some with worn out elastics).

However, I do wish the show did a better job of differentiating between being frugal and being cheap.

Frugal - sharpening used razors, eating perfectly good food even though it has "expired", bartering for goods,

Cheap - making visitors use bare wires to ring the doorbell, wearing and then returning clothing, asking other people's leftovers (GREAT way to get hepatitis or other diseases)

MrsPete

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Re: Extreme cheapskates
« Reply #27 on: November 06, 2013, 11:28:57 AM »
I watched the pilot episode of this show. Roy, the guy from the 1st story is an idiot. Driving 2 identical 2002–2006 Honda CR-V vehicles? Dining out? Driving an SUV few miles to get $1.29 worth of stuff? 15c of which is bottled water. The guy is clearly enjoys being cheapskate, but fails at doing math.
I didn't see that episode, but I agree that lots of people who think of themselves as thrifty don't do the math.  For example, I'm thinking of a relative who will drive 10+ miles to save 2 cents/gallon on gas.  It's a waste of both time and money.  And I can think of other things (lots of things from my childhood) that were just out of balance with the amount of money saved.


There's definitely a risk that some of the more extreme behaviors could be manifestations of OCD.  Even then, it's only really a problem if it causes them perpetual anxiety (i.e. "I can't relax because someone used an extra egg that was outside of budget") or hinders their relationships ("Sorry, Mom and Dad, you can't visit because I think you might flush the toilet"). 
Whether it's OCD or something else, I agree.  Some of these people are unable to live their lives because they're caught up watching pennies.  I think the key, the point where thrifty behavior becomes unhealthy behavior is the point where you value pennies over people.  Or where it is an obsession instead of a choice. 

Lots of healthy choices can be taken too far. 
Saving money is one of those things. 

MrsPete

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Re: Extreme cheapskates
« Reply #28 on: November 07, 2013, 05:16:06 PM »
Did anyone watch this show last night?  My youngest and I watched several episodes, and we found it to be a mix of good sense and craziness.  I'd be interested to hear what other people thought:


- We started watching mid-episode with the young couple pre-planning their funeral.  Since they were dead-set (ha-ha) on going with the very cheapest option, I don't know why they didn't consider cremation or donating their bodies to science.  Perhaps that was covered before we started watching. 

- Pre-planning your funeral and paying up front:  We say good sense.  A funeral is bound to cost more in the future, and it'll save your family emotional stress as well as cash.

- Planning to exhume the coffin /place the newly-dead spouse on top of the been-dead-for-years spouse:  We say off-the-wall-crazy. 

- Using the same Christmas tree year after year -- that's totally cool and environmentally conscious too, if you have an artificial tree . . . but who would want that brown, dead real tree in the house?  It's a fire hazard, and I can't believe the needles don't fall off.  Crazy. 

- The woman who has no furniture in her house because it's too expensive:  Crazy.  Used furniture is cheap and sitting in chairs instead of on the floor would improve her family's life.

- Same woman burning trash:  Very questionable.  Doesn't burning plastics release toxins into the air?  I agree that $80/month is high for trash service, but she says she saves $13/month in gas by not driving her trash to the dump herself.  Sounds like a high estimate.  If she did that in conjunction with other errands, it shouldn't be expensive. 

- Same woman planning to use electricity between midnight and 5:00 am:  Interesting.  I didn't know electricity was cheaper then.  I don't see how she saves money by cooking her family's dinner in the middle of the night.  Doesn't she have to warm it up again the next evening, negating her savings?  And most foods taste better when they're fresh -- enjoyment is worth something.  Also, even though the vacuum cleaner is a big energy sucker, I wouldn't run it in the middle of the night, knowing that it'd wake my family (who have to get up for work and school the next morning!).  That's just rude.  On the other hand, I frequently use the delay feature on my dishwasher /run dishes in the middle of the night; I've been thinking it'd reduce strain on the hot water heater in the evenings when we're all taking baths . . . but perhaps it's a money-saver as well.  If I were buying new appliances anyway, I would consider opting for a "delay feature" on a washer/dryer to take advantage of early-morning electricity savings. 

- Holding her son's birthday party in a retirement home:  Stupid.  The kid looked embarrassed, and she could've gone to the park for free instead of paying $30 to the retirement home.  Also, she promised to bring refreshments for the retirement home folks, but there's no way that tiny cake fed everyone -- and she didn't provide any drinks or other snacks. 

- The father who held his daughter's Sweet 16 in a strip club.  Stupid. 

- The mother who forced her daughter to get married in a high school gym:  Obviously set up.

- The hillbilly family who all sleeps in the same bed, wouldn't open up their other two bedrooms (too expensive to heat and cool) when her married daughter /husband /two children came to visit, makes the family bathe in cold water, shoots squirrels for food:  Crazy.  People matter more than money.  That daughter isn't going to be coming back to visit any time soon, and she's going to miss out on seeing those grandchildren.  My husband walked through as they were showing their "refrigerator", and we all agreed that we wouldn't eat meat that'd been stored in that thing.  Definitely crazy. 
« Last Edit: November 07, 2013, 05:59:31 PM by MrsPete »

Hotstreak

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Re: Extreme cheapskates
« Reply #29 on: November 10, 2013, 07:58:56 PM »
I watched a few of these on Netflix.  I really liked the idea of gathering food from the park.  I've picked wild berries & apples for years, but I'm going to keep my eye out next time I'm on a walk and see what I find.  It'd be nice to find a few honey holes to swing by on a long walk.

I liked the lady who showers at the Gym too.  All those places seem to have really hot water that they don't run out of :).

Some things were a bit strange though.  What's the deal with that guy driving a huge van around looking for roadkill?  Stopping if you see something on an errand is one thing, but putting that kind of mileage on a vehicle for a wild rabbit (small!) does not seem worth it.

Loved loved loved that guy buying the fish scraps.  I just got back from the store, I asked if they had any, they did not.  I'll try another though!  That homemade soup stock is the shit!  If his friends didn't actually like it the man should focus on his kitchen skills a bit more :).

lentilman

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Re: Extreme cheapskates
« Reply #30 on: November 10, 2013, 08:37:59 PM »
I haven't watched the show or the youtube links above, but even so, it's amusing to me that 98% of America would look at these people and think they are crazy, and lots on this thread are like "that's a pretty good idea!" or "I should start doing that!"  You guys are great!

Ha!  I love this comment!

4alpacas

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Re: Extreme cheapskates
« Reply #31 on: November 13, 2013, 04:38:21 PM »
I just found this show on Netflix! I'm so amused.

I think a lot of these people are cheap, not frugal. While I do appreciate some tactics, I wonder how much some of the participants pay in healthcare costs.  It might be worth it to splurge on some produce rather than cheap diner food.
« Last Edit: February 11, 2014, 09:36:56 AM by 4alpacas »

the fixer

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Re: Extreme cheapskates
« Reply #32 on: November 13, 2013, 05:49:54 PM »
I watched a few of these on Netflix.  I really liked the idea of gathering food from the park.  I've picked wild berries & apples for years, but I'm going to keep my eye out next time I'm on a walk and see what I find.  It'd be nice to find a few honey holes to swing by on a long walk.
I like foraging, too, though I'm not very good at it yet (that reminds me to start a thread on it!). One thing I know is to be very careful about where you gather. Public places with landscaping and gardening don't expect people to be eating the plants, so they might be getting sprayed with some pretty nasty weed-killers or pesticides.

In Washington we have tons of blackberry bushes everywhere. Over the summer I gathered tons of blackberries from the side of the road within walking distance of where I live. I made a blackberry pie with some of them and froze the rest. I still have a mostly-full freezer bag of them left that I'm using to make muffins. Oh, and the bushes I gathered from have rotted remains of berries on them, so we could have gathered even more this season without depriving others who wanted some.

Miamoo

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Re: Extreme cheapskates
« Reply #33 on: November 15, 2013, 02:23:38 PM »
Yeah quite a few of them are wasting lots of $$ driving around to get the cheap stuff.. Jeff was my favorite though, he was in two episodes for season1.  He did a 'vacation' weekend where he rode his bike 70 miles to sleep on a friends couch.  He and his wife also retired at 40 so I think he qualified as mustachian.  He was a little weird in that he ate goat heads..  but otherwise he seemed like a pretty sweet guy, haha.

I agree that the thing that bugged me was not the extreme things they did that made sense, but the stupid expenses and thinking they were being frugal by, for example, bargaining at a McDonald's drive through. WTF?
[/quote

Sometime google Jeff Yeagar and see how many new ideas you might find.  I think he proclaimed himself "the Ultimate Cheapskate" or some such as long, long before this show.

MrsPete

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Re: Extreme cheapskates
« Reply #34 on: November 15, 2013, 03:33:01 PM »
I agree that the thing that bugged me was not the extreme things they did that made sense, but the stupid expenses and thinking they were being frugal by, for example, bargaining at a McDonald's drive through. WTF?
Yeah, I think some of the things they do . . . well, they would've been laughed out of the place, had the camera not been present. 

As for saving at McDonald's, I do know one way:  4 times a year (Christmas, Valentines' Day, Easter, and Halloween) they sell coupons for kid-type things.  The coupon books are $1 and each contains coupons for 4 free hamburgers, 4 free ice cream cones, 4 free apple dippers, and 4 free apple juices OR milks.  That makes the items about .08 each.  They'll let you use two coupons per person during any one visit, and the coupons are good for about 3 months.  My kids -- well, they're teens now -- love them; I've mailed a couple to my college daughter, and they were a huge hit with the girls in her dorm.  Then when you get your receipt, often there's a free-cookie-during-next-visit-if-you-respond-to-this-survey thing. 


fmzip

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Re: Extreme cheapskates
« Reply #35 on: January 11, 2014, 03:03:19 PM »
I am watching this show right now on TLC.

Getting some chuckles, getting grossed out and applauding ingenuity!

One lady scrapes already been used salad dressing and pasta sauce off all the family plates after dinner! Yikes!

Then she makes Lasagna, and puts it in a foil pan, covers it with tin foil, puts it in the dishwasher, runs a load. Viola, cooked Lasagna! LOL

Sad part, she serves it to unsuspecting guests at a Sunday football get together at her house!


pipercat

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Re: Extreme cheapskates
« Reply #36 on: January 12, 2014, 09:52:30 AM »
I watched the pilot episode of this show. Roy, the guy from the 1st story is an idiot. Driving 2 identical 2002–2006 Honda CR-V vehicles? Dining out? Driving an SUV few miles to get $1.29 worth of stuff? 15c of which is bottled water. The guy is clearly enjoys being cheapskate, but fails at doing math.

I've only watched a couple episodes on Netflix, but that is exactly what I was going to say!  If he really wanted to save money, he wouldn't be eating out to begin with, never mind driving the CRV all over town to get cheap gifts for his wife.  They both seemed happy, though, so who am I to judge?

exranger06

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Re: Extreme cheapskates
« Reply #37 on: January 12, 2014, 08:25:24 PM »
I am watching this show right now on TLC.

Getting some chuckles, getting grossed out and applauding ingenuity!

One lady scrapes already been used salad dressing and pasta sauce off all the family plates after dinner! Yikes!

Then she makes Lasagna, and puts it in a foil pan, covers it with tin foil, puts it in the dishwasher, runs a load. Viola, cooked Lasagna! LOL

Sad part, she serves it to unsuspecting guests at a Sunday football get together at her house!
Ugh, note to self: if I ever meet/become acquaintances with anyone on this show, never eat ANY food they serve me! Even if it's (supposedly) store bought - they probably salvaged it out of a dumpster behind a grocery store.

ginastarke

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Re: Extreme cheapskates
« Reply #38 on: April 26, 2014, 05:10:34 PM »
Jeff Yeager is a hoot- I love his youtube videos. He's  the only one I'd take cooking advice from - Maybe not the whole head (all those prion based diseases that don't cook out have me scared of cooking/eating brains), but beef cheeks are great.

I think his mistake was letting the family know they were eating "carcass". I'll bet the son eats chicken nuggets without a second thought of the "mechanically separated" stuff... way nastier in my opinion.

Small rant: I HATE when they focus on washing paper towels . If you're washing paper towels, just stop buying them and use rags!

greenmimama

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Re: Extreme cheapskates
« Reply #39 on: April 26, 2014, 05:45:06 PM »
Jeff Yeager is a hoot- I love his youtube videos. He's  the only one I'd take cooking advice from - Maybe not the whole head (all those prion based diseases that don't cook out have me scared of cooking/eating brains), but beef cheeks are great.

I think his mistake was letting the family know they were eating "carcass". I'll bet the son eats chicken nuggets without a second thought of the "mechanically separated" stuff... way nastier in my opinion.

Small rant: I HATE when they focus on washing paper towels . If you're washing paper towels, just stop buying them and use rags!

Exactly and it seems they do a lot of those types of things.

Cassie

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Re: Extreme cheapskates
« Reply #40 on: April 26, 2014, 11:55:16 PM »
I watched this show a few times but actually found it disgusting for many of the reasons that people have already mentioned.  I love shows on how to save $ etc but this was just terrible.

paddedhat

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Re: Extreme cheapskates
« Reply #41 on: April 27, 2014, 10:11:45 AM »
I've had a few coworkers like this over the years.

 One drove a early 70's Nova and would get used tires from a really sketchy junk yard, since they would charge him $8 for a usable tire and rim. He would also get used brake pads, air filters, ball joints, etc..... from the same place. He spent a few weeks on the verge of a mental collapse when it was time to replace his worn out clothes washer. His Mom forced him to go to Lowe's and buy a new one on a CC. This transcaction had him unbalanced enough that he had to make immediate arrangements to pay the balance in full, before the bill came, since owing anybody $300 was more than he could handle ( he was 28 at the time, was making $70K + a generous benny package,  looked like a late 40s, homeless bag of shit, and had $400K in the bank)

  One was a young kid who was raised by multiple generations of extreme cheapskates. When his grand dad died, they discovered an attic full of hundreds of rolls of paper towels and hundreds of bottles of outdated, stale, two liter, store brand soda. This family would vacation, for months at a time,  by stuffing six or seven adults in a minivan, staying in fleabag hotels (in one room), and cooking everything in the room. His girlfriend had enough when he stopped to grab a dirty sleeping bag on the side of the road, and took it home to wash it.

 Another guy drove a 40 year old jalopy with a stick shift. He would park on hills, and be livid if he couldn't coast out of his spot to compression start the cars, since he wanted to get the maximum life out of the car's battery, and in his mind, using it to start the car was simply a frivolous waste.

Squirrel away

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Re: Extreme cheapskates
« Reply #42 on: April 28, 2014, 01:49:39 AM »
I've read about this show and some of the things people do on there sound absolutely revolting. I can't even remember what the things were as I must have deliberately repressed the information.:)

KathleenTurnerOverdrive

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Re: Extreme cheapskates
« Reply #43 on: April 28, 2014, 02:32:24 PM »
I love this show :) It's a little bit of fun, mindless entertainment, and it's nice to know that I'm not the only "cheapskate" out there. And Jeff Yeager is an inspiration. I think probably 99 percent of the gross/weird things people do on the show are for the producers/entertainment value and not true to life.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!