How are you cheap?

[SKP82]

Aug 13, 2012 14:24:57 GMT -5 EmilieMadison said:

Aug 13, 2012 14:14:57 GMT -5 SKP82 said:

Wait, what? How do you even....?

Lets just say, if there was an olympic event that involved contortion, pain management, cringing, and sweating, I'd probably get a medal.

No, really, I've gotten really good at it! And the savings is AMAZING. I was spending $80 with tip for one brazilian at the salon but now I can get 4-5 brazilians with one pot of $13 wax myself. WIN!

What wax do you use? Do you use the strips or the wax that you peel off? I don't know if I could handle the pain of doing it myself, but I would totally try it. Hahaha.

[eddy]

Oh we have pay as you go phones. We did get fancy and buy smart phones, but still we have phones that have a limit on how many minutes you can talk each month. Which is great since I loathe talking on the phone. We save an insane amount of money by doing it this way each month.

[ThirdandLong]

Alot of ways already mentioned. I buy generic most of the time. My kids wear hand me downs. We don't buy very much alcohol. I almost never buy myself clothes or jewelry or shoes or anything that's not clearance and cheap. We got rid of cable. We hardly travel at all. We almost never go out or to the movies - we have dates "in" after the kids' bedtime. I'm really cheap.

[ThirdandLong]

Aug 13, 2012 14:35:11 GMT -5 toledo said:

Aug 13, 2012 14:33:56 GMT -5 frkls said:

and i will be the last non-smart phone holdout on the planet

The challenge is on.

I'd like to throw my hat in too.

[circa1978]

I refuse to pay more than $10 for most things my toddler wears. I buy 90 percent of his clothes ahead of time at end of the season clearance sales or at Once Upon a Child. If I had known how little wear baby clothes get, I would have done that from day one. Most things our Once Upon a Child takes still have tags on them, so he wears Ralph Lauren, Janie and Jack, Children's Place, GAP and really cute smocked things - almost all new - for practically no money.

I shop sales for myself a lot of the time but not always, since I wear my clothes longer than six months. I'd rather buy a $200 dress that will last me for years than a $20 dress I throw away at the end of the season.

We do a lot of DIY around the house - we tile, paint, my brother demos and drywalls and my dad is an electrical engineer, so we're remodeling our bath right now for materials and about $2700 worth of plumbing.

I could go on. I'm pretty cheap.

[ThirdandLong]

Aug 13, 2012 14:39:01 GMT -5 letsgetweird said:

Aug 13, 2012 14:36:58 GMT -5 ThirdandLong said:

Alot of ways already mentioned. I buy generic most of the time. My kids wear hand me downs. We don't buy very much alcohol. I almost never buy myself clothes or jewelry or shoes or anything that's not clearance and cheap. We got rid of cable. We hardly travel at all. We almost never go out or to the movies - we have dates "in" after the kids' bedtime. I'm really cheap.

Sounds fun :/

*shrugs* We're happy. We try to put enough money away for education and retirement. But we have a tight budget. That's just how it is for us, ya know.

[Marle]

I'm cheap buying clothes and shoes. Getting a mani or pedi is more of a treat. I cut and color my own hair.

...... Yet will lose hundreds of dollars
Paying for a gym membership I never use

[picklepie09]

I go to the dollar store to buy all my gift wrap, cards etc.
I shop at Market Basket and coupon
I don't buy myself anything expensive. But I will splurge on the kids

[hisno1girl]

Aug 13, 2012 14:22:48 GMT -5 @tambcat said:

lol, no I am usually too lazy to take stuff back. I'll put it aside saying I'm going to and it's still there 3 months later.

I did used to be blonde! I just googled, and she's pretty hot, so I will take the comparison.

She's married to Bobby Flay.

[SKP82]

Aug 13, 2012 14:39:01 GMT -5 letsgetweird said:

Aug 13, 2012 14:36:58 GMT -5 ThirdandLong said:

Alot of ways already mentioned. I buy generic most of the time. My kids wear hand me downs. We don't buy very much alcohol. I almost never buy myself clothes or jewelry or shoes or anything that's not clearance and cheap. We got rid of cable. We hardly travel at all. We almost never go out or to the movies - we have dates "in" after the kids' bedtime. I'm really cheap.

Sounds fun :/

Haha! That's exactly what I was thinking. Wow. Exciting life you lead, there.

[peachykate]

I buy store brand for cleaning supplies and most of our food now that I think about it, besides cereal and cookies. I never pay full price for clothing and do most of our shopping at the outlets. Once Jax gets into more of a predictable size pattern I will start buying seasons ahead like I did when he was an infant but that wasn't really possible this year.

I don't shop for myself a whole lot anymore and I agree with pp, I am more likely to buy something quality for more money now than buy something cheap that will only last a season. Unless they are really out of control I wax my own eyebrows and get my hair highlighted at the local beauty school.

[chedominique]

-I only eat fast food once a week.
-I do my own nails unless I'm going to a big event.
-I do my own eyebrows unless I'm going to a big event.
-I get my hair done every 3-4 months.
-No smart phone.
-Cheapest cable. I had no cable for a long time but I got it a couple of months before my H moved in.
-Quit the gym. I have WiiFit.
-We stop ordering pizza and make our own.
-Sales, coupons and gift cards.
-We buy majority store brand food.
-When we visit home, we drive instead of fly. Flying: ~$500, Driving: ~$160
-Some of my clothes are hand me downs from my younger sister. I'm smaller than her so she usually gives me her clothes she can't fit after a year. Some she only worn once. I have a box waiting for me when I visit again.

[dcannie]

Aug 13, 2012 14:51:24 GMT -5 SKP82 said:

Aug 13, 2012 14:39:01 GMT -5 letsgetweird said:

Sounds fun :/

Haha! That's exactly what I was thinking. Wow. Exciting life you lead, there.

incredibly douchey

[idoinjuly]

Aug 13, 2012 14:51:24 GMT -5 SKP82 said:

Aug 13, 2012 14:39:01 GMT -5 letsgetweird said:

Sounds fun :/

Haha! That's exactly what I was thinking. Wow. Exciting life you lead, there.

She said she's happy, so who gives a crap how they decide to save money.

I do a lot of what has been mentioned. Lots of generic, checking store ads to see where to buy meat, buying a lot at Aldi, Dollar Tree for gift wrap and kitchen sponges, hand me downs for the kids, not pedis/manis, Fantastic Sam's for cuts, Target, Ross, Kohl's for clothes (and then mostly clearance at that), DH takes lunches, try to do free stuff with the kids

[janegold]

Um, I don't have cable?

That's about it.

Oh, and my car is old but I am waiting 'til the day it dies to buy a new one. I love not having a car payment.

[Deleted]

Aug 13, 2012 14:57:12 GMT -5 toledo said:

Aug 13, 2012 14:54:51 GMT -5 dcannie said:

incredibly douchey

yep yep yep

Yeah. Not cool.

[hulley]

I am lazy with haircuts. Go once or twice a year, tops.
Stopped highlighting because $250 every 6 weeks was driving me crazy
When I used to travel for work, we got per diem each day no matter if it was spent or not. I would eat a late breakfast and late lunch to avoid paying for 3 meals a day. I usually pocketed $100 a day this way
I won't buy anything for myself at full price but running shoes. My closet is 80% Gap, but it costs me less than Goodwill. I am really friendly to the sales girls at my store, and they will let me know when things I want are going to br marked down.
I pack a snack when I will be out all day doing errands. I always have a water bottle.
If I buy lunch at a drive through, I order the kids meal. Less money and fewer calories FTW!

[exploding people]

We do the bulk of our grocery shopping at Aldi, and buy store brands otherwise.
Cheap haircuts
I do my own nails and body hair maintenance.
Most of my wardrobe is from Target, with the occasional investment in nicer pieces.
We only have one car and it has liability insurance. I commute by bus.
$10 a month cable package
We have smart phones, but the lowest minute & data plans our provider offers

There might be more. We're super cheap.

[eightangryreindeer]

Um, I made homemade guacamole today.

...

Oh and DH and I have basically been eating sandwiches from home for lunch for 9 weeks!

[eightangryreindeer]

And I never.pay.retail.ever.never.ever.

[SKP82]

Aug 13, 2012 14:54:51 GMT -5 dcannie said:

Aug 13, 2012 14:51:24 GMT -5 SKP82 said:

Haha! That's exactly what I was thinking. Wow. Exciting life you lead, there.

incredibly douchey

Aw. I didn't mean it like that. She said she's happy, that's what matters. Good for them for saving if that's what is important.

I apologize, ThirdandLong.

[pantsparty]

The majority of my wardrobe is from H&M, Forever 21, and Target. I just bought a dress from H&M and I really wavered because it was a full $35! Robbery!

I rarely buy a pair of full-price shoes.

[janegold]

Aug 13, 2012 15:08:50 GMT -5 kevin arnold said:

Aug 13, 2012 14:58:47 GMT -5 janegold said:

Oh, and my car is old but I am waiting 'til the day it dies to buy a new one. I love not having a car payment.

I'll claim this one too. I'm driving my car into the ground! It still looks okay(ish), it's 10 years old and definitely on its last leg (er, wheel?). But I like not having a car payment. Although it's probably more MM to go ahead and trade it in before it completely poops the bed, right?

Yes, you're probably right about that. I'm almost curious to see how much I can get out of it, though. We're at 155k miles and counting.

[sonrisa]

Where I'm cheap: Clothing. Now that I'm not working at an office I buy very few clothes, spend very little on them and wear them out. Sales people (and others) often assume I'm broke as a result.

Watching money (which is different than being cheap in my mind):
Groceries - increasing consumption of the less expensive foods we like.
Cars: fuel efficiency.

Where we spend less money but for another reason:
Groceries - I try to buy more ingredients and make more myself so that I can cook it the way I like and cut down on unhealthy ingredients if I don't value them.
Cars - we don't like big cars
No smart phone.

[Nicole]

No car payment
Pack lunch every day except pay day
wash plastic utensils and reuse for lunches
Stay in on Friday nights

[dcannie]

i don't buy new clothes until i absolutely need to (this is more from hating shopping) and i never pay retail.

i will drive a car until it shuts down on me. my '98 lexus is still going strong and i hope i get a few more good years out of it.

i don't really buy myself anything. i have no problem buying for others and actually enjoy it, but most things that are not needs i wait until i have an amazon gift card or something like that. i don't know why.

[BlackCanary]

We shop at Fred Myers so we get points. And then we try and only get gas at the FM stations so we can get 10 cents off using those points.

DH cuts his own hair, I get my hair cut maybe once a year. Even then I go to a place that costs about $20.

We try and buy generic most of the time.

[Deleted]

I do my own nails unless I have a big event to attend

I buy all my clothes on sale, I hate paying full price.

I prefer to buy quality staple pieces of clothes rather than cheap ones that will go out of style quickly. Items I can wear for 5 years or more.

We bring our lunches every day.

Use Groupon's when possible for meal's out.

I typically split my dinner out with my son.

I shop circular's and clip coupon's when possible.

[murdock]

Aug 13, 2012 14:36:58 GMT -5 ThirdandLong said:

Alot of ways already mentioned. I buy generic most of the time. My kids wear hand me downs. We don't buy very much alcohol. I almost never buy myself clothes or jewelry or shoes or anything that's not clearance and cheap. We got rid of cable. We hardly travel at all. We almost never go out or to the movies - we have dates "in" after the kids' bedtime. I'm really cheap.

We're the same. Some day there will be a little more room. I should be on MM with the crap I could list.

[Jermys]

I also split dinners with Edith. She loves shrimp and would eat it for every meal if she could, and I'd rather she have that than a grilled cheese or a hot dog. Plus, after my surgery, I only eat a tiny amount, so between the two of us, we still have leftovers.