Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Housekeeping

Find cleaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Housekeeping forum.

Original poster

What tight-fisted, miserly habits would you not admit to in real life?

57 replies

FluffyHamster · 20/05/2011 21:02

I know it's very trendy to be frugal in this age of austerity, but sometimes I do things which even shock me in terms of how tight-fisted and frugal they seem...

e.g. I...

  • save all the 'return' envelopes you get in junk mail/ credit card bills etc and use them with a sticker over for school letters etc.
  • pick up the red elastic bands the postman drops
  • cut up old T-shirts etc to use as cleaning cloths
  • save anything with a 'blank side' and put it in a 'scrap paper' tray for use as shopping lists/ kids homework scraps etc
  • always take the pens/pencils/pads from hotels/ conferences etc
Blush

What about you?

OP posts:
Thingumy · 22/05/2011 22:47

No 'rule' but ds's teeth need a high fluoride toothpaste and some of the cheap contains low levels.We were advised to use sensodyne by dentist .

Saw the red elastic band 'trick' on scrimpers programme (channel 4).

Life is too effing short for elastic band picking up.

Teabags get dunked twice in our house (dh's trick)

Stale bread gets blitzed and used as breadcrumbs

Wine bags get removed from wineboxes and are squeezed to the death.

TheSecondComing · 22/05/2011 22:57

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

slartybartfast · 22/05/2011 23:03

i read this on mn.
buy value bubble bath, refill the soap dispensers with it.

most things are on offer that i buy, cereal, coffee, bread etc.,
take bottles of squash when we got out, in an old think its power aid bottle. despite it saying, do not reuse

Thingumy · 22/05/2011 23:14

soap dispensers?

I just buy bars of soap.

I find soap in dispensers get pumped into the sink and wasted (ds's trick-grrrr)

slartybartfast · 22/05/2011 23:16

ok but value bubble bath is only about 17p for a HUge bottle Grin

i dont like hand soap personally, and neither does anyone else in the house.

choux · 22/05/2011 23:20

My mum picks up the red elastic bands She has a huge ball of them at home - more than she will ever use!

Things I do which I wouldn't tell friends about:

  • unless I am buying for a specific recipe I will only buy veg which is on special offer.
  • I check for offers on washing powder, dishwasher tabs, toilet roll before I need it so I never pay full price.
  • I often check the reduced aisle in supermarket and buy things to freeze.
  • I buy my face creams, toothpaste from the local market. I use Loreal / Roc / Sensodyne and can't help thinking they must have 'fallen off the back of a lorry' but they are £6 for a face cream selling for up to £16 in Boots.
  • there is a book I'd like to read. It probably costs £6 on Amazon but I have it in my head that is was so popular a while ago that charity shops must be flooded with unwanted copies. I've been popping into charity shops for months looking for it. It's like a game with myself now - I refuse to buy it for £6 even though I could afford to. This makes me think I am on the way to eccentricity!!!!

Cutting the top off tubes of creams is normal!

rey · 22/05/2011 23:30

Think I do all of the above so far (maybe one or two I don't like the popcorn and cinema one as I wait until I can rent the film from the library). I scour the charity shops and even refuse to buy some things from them as they are too expensive sometimes. I know it's for charity but without all my scrimping we couldn't make ends meet.
Wish I could think of something new to add to the list that might help others.

crystalglasses · 22/05/2011 23:39

I fill up empty bottled water bottles with tap water. I can't think of any others.

TINKERBELLE33 · 22/05/2011 23:44

When I make my morning cuppa, I use the rest of the water to make drinks in travel mugs.(often sharing tea bags as I like it weak) These stay hot enough until tea time, and I have no need to boil the kettle again until then. This works better than a flask, as once you take a bit out of a flask, the rest cools really quickly. Probably doesn't save much money, but it should be a little greener and there's no more waiting for the kettle to boil.

vintageteacups · 22/05/2011 23:51

didn't think it was possible to snap dishwasher tabs in half - will try in a moment.

I do pretty much all of the above (original op) except reusing teabags - I like a proper cuppa x 8 a day.

My french friend cuts the tops off all her toothpaste/make up products and bathing products. She stores them all upside down neatly in boxes and it does look odd but don't we throw away a third (or something like that) of product if not?

MollysChamber · 23/05/2011 00:48

You can't snap the Finish tabs with the ball in the middle - has to be the cheap ones.

Gay40 · 23/05/2011 01:06

Most of my miserly habits involve buying things that are on special offer that we would use anyway, but apparently I am renowned for my "eating the cupboards down before holidays" creativity.

I once had to live on very little money (but had lots of time) and used to challenge myself on how far I could make food go while spending very little.

Original poster
FluffyHamster · 23/05/2011 10:46

Ooh - I like that idea... "eating the cupboards down before holidays"

In fact my 11 year old DS gave me the ultimate compliment the other day, when he was helping watching me cook with a variety of 'left overs' in the fridge.
He said, "Mum, how on earth do you manage to create something so delicious out of, well, nothing really ?" Smile

I told him I was training him for life as a student... Grin

OP posts:
Cattleprod · 23/05/2011 10:56

I find all tea revolting so can't tell the difference between the cheap and expensive stuff. I bought a job lot of tea bags at the cash and carry - a couple of quid for about 1000 bags iirc. I keep them in a PG Tips box so my tea-drinking guests don't think I'm tight!! Blush

I also buy rolls of non-christmassy christmas wrapping paper in the january sales and use it for birthday presents throughout the year. And I wait for Cardfair to do it's '7 cards for £1' offers and stock up. There is no way I would spend up to £5 on a piece of cardboard from Clintons etc, I find their prices quite shocking!!

TheSecondComing · 23/05/2011 14:57

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Gay40 · 23/05/2011 20:05

I've always done the "eating the cupboards down before your holidays" thing but now we don't even need a holiday as an excuse - I just look at my bank balance and yip! Time to get creative while just buying bits of fruit and veg to help it along.

virgiltracey · 23/05/2011 21:06

value pantie liners and sanitary towels. 14p in tesco. bargain and who on earth would know!

UnSerpentQuiCourt · 23/05/2011 21:32

I buy odd rolls of wallpaper from charity shops to use as wrapping paper (much nicer than cheap wrapping paper, espeially my Best Buy - the Thelwell pony paper). Cut the picture bit off cards and re-use as postcards. Take home uneaten veg from school dinners 'for the chickens' Blush, freeze loads of apple pure in the autumn and use to make ice lollies, make left-over everything into soup, nettle soup in the spring ...

MoreBeta · 23/05/2011 21:40

Liquid hand soap dispensers always have a bit left in the bottom so I take all the nearly empty ones from around the house before DW/DSs get chance to throw them out. Then I carefully wash them out into the one in my bathroom.

Toothpaste tubes are never 'empty' so I cut open at the bottom and push the brush in the cut end.

Postman red rubber bands here too.

Gay40 · 23/05/2011 21:55

I am also obsessed with getting the last bit out of the washing liquid and fabric conditioner.

choux · 23/05/2011 22:53

Rinse the inside of tins of beans, soup etc with a bit of warm water to get every bit of flavour from the tin.

vintageteacups · 24/05/2011 09:54

well - broke the dishwasher tab in half and everything is just as clean as normal - what a swizz! That's a big saving!

Cattleprod · 24/05/2011 09:54

16p is the cost of my cheapest shop-bought dinner to date. A large jacket potato from the reduced section, a tin of value beans (this was when bean wars was happening and they were 2p per tin), a squirt of ketchup and some cheap margerine. Surprisingly delicious!

peachybums · 24/05/2011 12:01

I used to cut hoover bags from Henry at the bottom, empty and tape up for another use. Then i got a reusable bag lol.

When theirs only a tiny bit of washing up liquid left i fill with water and tip into the sink, still bubbles up and ive used it all. Do this with bubble bath too!

Use up everything in cupboards to make some great meal combos haha.

Buy big bags of sweets then divide them up into paper cups for the kids, cheaper than buying individual bags and they think they are like the pic and mix cups you get at our cinema. Take own sweets & juice to cinema too.

Re-use gift bags and wrapping paper

DD1 makes all our birthday cards and xmas cards

vintageteacups · 24/05/2011 12:40

At Amazon, you can get paks of 20 or 30 mixed birthday cards (photgraphic nice ones) for only about £3/4.

They are a really good mix and can be used for loads of stuff, not just birthdays and suit all ages too. I buy a couple of packs and put them in a box - they last for ages.

Swipe left for the next trending thread