To ask what small cheeky things you do to save money?

[monroeagogo]

DH routinely reuses stamps. His excitement when an envelope arrives and the stamp isn't marked is a wonder to behold.

Franking is the enemy.

What cheeky things do you do to save the pennies?

@ParalysisByAnalysis

I once saw someone caught for that. They do use CCTV. Can you imagine the embarrassment? The woman I saw tried to argue that she’d miscounted but she was still taken into the back. Not worth it

This is my absolute fear with the self scanner. I would never intentionally not scan anything but I’m always worried when I have to have a “quality check” that they’ll find something I’ve forgotten to scan.

Exacerbated when my four year old insists on doing all the scanning for me 😥😥

I used to be petrified of this happening, so I have only started self-scanning in the last year - finally realised how much more efficient it is if you don't have to hoist everything onto the conveyor belt and re-pack it at the other end.

Anyway, remembering to scan everything has been easier than I thought, but I did finally make a mistake last week for which I was caught. They selected me for a random check of 20 items, one of which I hadn't scanned, so the assistant very politely and apologetically took me over to a till and scanned the entire contents of my trolley through. I hadn't made any other mistakes.

I am guessing that they now may have me flagged as a potential thief or careless shopper and might subject me to extra checks in future, which is fine.

So I just want to reassure you that the supermarket isn't likely to want to lose a loyal customer by treating you like a criminal when you've just made a mistake.

I don't have anything "cheeky" just the usual economies most of us have like adding a smidge of hot water to get the last of the ketchup out, etc.
I don't think I'm a prude but adding stuff at a checkout is not cheeky in my opinion, it's theft

@monroeagogo

I've also been known to add extra rolls or cakes at the self checkout scale. Quite often, actually.

I'm like a big time thief.

This isn't cheeky or anything to about. It's downright dishonest. You do know that supermarkets just add a bit to all their prices to cover shoplifting, so that people with very little money and who are not dishonest have to pay a bit more, don't you?

But the sewage systems cannot cope with anything more than human waste or toilet paper. Paper napkins are not the same as loo roll and will block the pipes

I don’t use the napkins to wipe with. Those are used in the kitchen. I also buy the snowman loo roll made by Nicky and sold by wilkos and the main supermarkets at Christmas. This one and after Christmas you can usually get the surplus stock for 50p a pack

@VelvetChairGirl

oh yeah checking arcade machines return change draw.

hanging around the penny pushers while people were using them, waiting for them to give up and bugger off (people never seem to realise how long penny pushers take to release funds).

collecting the prize tickets off the floor.

checking round trolleys at the supermarket for dropped pounds.

The day I pick things worth about 0.01p off the floor and actually go searching for pound coins in the trolley bit (very different from accidentally finding one) is the day I disown all my friends and family so I don’t have to experience the awkwardness of them disowning me out of sheer embarrassment.

I always do think people like this are absolutely loaded and get their kids Terry’s chocolate oranges and a Poundland DVD for Christmas

@PandemicAtTheDisco

Cheeky things to save money?

My friend's ex always asked to charge his phone up at everyone's house. He wants to know wifi passwords even if it's a quick stop at someone's house rather than a visit.
He stuffs himself with food at parties, brings cheap stuff then drinks the expensive stuff. He takes leftovers home and freezes them.
He forgets to buy his round of drinks, he cadges lifts and doesn't offer petrol costs.
He regifts or buys in charity shops yet claims things are brand new and bought at full price. He resells charity stuff on ebay.

He goes into the charity donations store and takes anything he can use or sell.
He pretends to be asleep on trains or hides in the toilets to get out of paying.
He gets up early at the weekend and checks around cash machines to see if drunken revellers have dropped money or left it in the machines.

He sounds extremely unwell. Poor guy

In the days before easyJet changed their baggage rules, you could take ONE bag up to cabin size on board. I used to travel a lot for work with a cabin bag and a small handbag, so I kept an old world duty free carrier bag and would just drop my handbag into it on the way to the gate.

Not frugality as such as I could have avoided an extra charge by just taking a bit less stuff and dealing with the hassle of my wallet and passport needing to be in my case, but it worked a dream.

@Nomorechange

I dont drink coffee and I hate the price. I buy cheap nescafe coffee and pour it into a more expensive brand of coffee jar. DP is still alive.

Sainsburys coffee tastes just like Douwe Egberts. It’s amazing. Far better than nescafe and far cheaper too. I did write to DE to ask if it’s their coffee but they didn’t give me a straight answer so I assume it is lol.

@QueenOfHiraeth

I don't have anything "cheeky" just the usual economies most of us have like adding a smidge of hot water to get the last of the ketchup out, etc. I don't think I'm a prude but adding stuff at a checkout is not cheeky in my opinion, it's theft

Absolutely, money save but don't be dishonest or at the expense of someone else

@Sparklingbrook, I'm not a (hot) coffee drinker but I did use instant espresso powder when making myself an espresso martini last week. 'Twas lovely!

*@Bitofachinwag Thank you for calling it "the swimming baths"

confused as to what else you would say instead?

Down our way it’s just called The baths or the pool

“ mum can I go the baths with my mates?”
“ I’m going to the pool for a swim after work”

I sneak alcohol into festivals. It's not so much saving money but the thrill of not getting found out. I do save a fair few quid but still buy lots of overpriced booze too. I'm getting better and more ingenious ( although I do look to old so maybe that's why I get away with it)

@Fivemoreminutes1

When I’m going out shopping or with the fam on a day trip, I take an empty thermos mug with a pre-measured amount of instant coffee. When I need that caffeine hit, I just ask a nearby cafe to fill it with hot water, which they normally do obligingly. I also take a tea bag and do the same later on in the day.

Blimey, how tight can you get?!

@PukkaP

Not much really. I wear my Oodie as I’m struggling to afford the heating bills. I buy the yellow stickered food and batch cook for the freezer. Always grate a couple of courgettes into spaghetti bolognese or chilli to make the meat go further.

You can afford an almost £100 Oodie but struggling to pay fuel bill?

@VelvetChairGirl

You get in the bath… and wash the face masks you wear on your mouth in the bath… while you’re also washing your bum and feet and armpits???? Surely not. How much money are you saving that it’s worth it?

saves on hand washing, just leave em to soak then rinse them off with the shower, dont worry my arse is clean.

This is why face masks make me vomit.

We used to have an ikea in nearby but it’s gone now. I’d go in midweek for free coffee and get a decaf. They give you two sachets at the till. Then I’d go to the cofffee machine and get a caffeinated coffee and pocket the decaf sachets. They were perfect for my self catering holiday evening coffee for years!!

Pastries through as bread rolls on self scan

We used to take small bottles of gin on nights out and surreptitiously add slugs to glasses of plain tonic water.

I still quite often take my own snacks into the cinema.

When I wore fabric face masks I just stuck them in the washing machine with the rest of the load in one of those nets you put bras in.

@mum2bee2022

Pastries through as bread rolls on self scan

That's just outright stealing/fraud, not cheeky.

@LemonJuiceFromConcentrate

Also diluted liquid hand wash is horrible to use, squirting out too fast and dribbling and not lathering properly, whereas a small dot of normal hand wash is perfectly fine

My mum washes down her body wash. I can’t stand it when I visit her as I forget and usually it’s freezing cold and comes out quick and runny so I take my own when I visit now!

Had some invitations to send; all those not local went via WhatsApp as way cheaper than stamps

@ButtercupOfFlorin

We were at the services once & DH came back with about 70 of them!

I would seriously lose my erection over a bloke who did that. You can get a small mill of pepper for less than £1

But Butter, with his little sachets he is the David to Big Pepper’s Goliath. They give him a heady sense of victory and sticking it to the man

@ginswinger

I really wanted a Miele tumble dryer but a new one was not within my means. So I searched until I found one for sale, broken, 30 miles away and taught myself basic electronics with a few youtube videos and replaced the thermostat with a £20 part. It's still merrily going on, 3 years later and I am most pleased with my cheapskate self.

That’s not being a cheapskate, it’s saving on waste and learning a new skill - very clever, I’d be proud too!

@WhiteJellycat

I sneak alcohol into festivals. It's not so much saving money but the thrill of not getting found out. I do save a fair few quid but still buy lots of overpriced booze too. I'm getting better and more ingenious ( although I do look to old so maybe that's why I get away with it)

Last festival I went to I had a mini Jäger bottle in each side of my padded bra. Nearly passed out when I realised they were patting people down (the bra was SO padded they didn't notice them).

A friend got a half bottle of vodka in taped to her leg under her wellies with flared jeans over the top.