I don't waste money, but I don't buy cheap stuff anymore. I buy whatever works best for me at the best price I can find. I'll always try to buy from locally owned stores in my area first, and I have no problem paying more for American made products. Within reason.

I'm not particularly cheap about anything really, but I'm sure people who ask me to donate money for various charities or causes think otherwise. I do not donate money when the grocery store check-out clerk asks if I want to donate to whatever cause they're hawking or parents are asking for money on the side of the road to raise money for their children's sports teams. I remember doing actual work for to raise funds for charitable causes, not asking for handouts. We give a generous portion of our income to charities of our choosing, but it's planned and researched. I'll donate to disaster relief funds if I'm familiar with the organization getting the money. I'll buy things people are selling for fundraisers or donate $20 to have my car washed, but I guess I'm cheap when it comes to straight handouts.

All this Cheap Frugal Talk - Yes I am to a degree of usefulness but then I saw "old rugged cross" homemade stuffed green peppers and I'm going nuts.
I want some so bad and my wife and chief cook won't do it. Too Messy. I'm about ready to put on the apron.

quote:

Originally posted by RGRacing:
All this Cheap Frugal Talk - Yes I am to a degree of usefulness but then I saw "old rugged cross" homemade stuffed green peppers and I'm going nuts.
I want some so bad and my wife and chief cook won't do it. Too Messy. I'm about ready to put on the apron.

Do it! They were delicious. I mean really delicious. And make enough for left overs. Left three. I am sure they are going to be great although I won't get to part take in those.

Interesting question. Most things in life that I expect to use or last I’m a “ buy once, cry once” and lean towards US made whenever possible. Things like clothes food and most consumables I want as cheap as possible within reason on clothes. Usually just Hanes T-shirts or Lee/wrangler jeans etc. but boots. Danner’s. Belts, custom artisan made I expect I’ll never buy another. I’ve been wearing the same pair of new balance tennis shoes for at least 5years. But every spring I will buy a $8 pair of flip flops at Walmart.

I buy only the cheapest of clothes; jeans and slack from Wal-Mart, the occasional shirt from there also, but most of my shirts come from a thrift store, usually with the new tags still on them! For a buck apiece, I ain't paying $20+ at any other store unless necessary!

I will generalize, with medical care I’m pretty damn parsimonious. $45,000 to cut my jaw loose and reset it so my teeth align better? Ain’t happening. Hip, shoulder x2 surgery? I’ll figure a way around till I can’t.

Non resident big game tags? Sign me up…

Repairs and maintenance stuff. If I can do it without killing myself for less I will before I’ll pay someone else.

Dining out, anywhere. I loathe it. I only do pickup once a week and instead of a cheat meal it’s more of fuck me can I have one meal throughout the whole week I don’t have to cook? Restaurants, I don’t like wasting the time (I eat 6 small meals a day), and I really don’t like spending the money on it. Same goes for bars/boos. I will happily spend good money on top quality things, especially aftermarket motorcycle and car parts, motorcycle gear like suits, flat panel, something I’m going to use a lot. I’m cheap when it comes to spending money on something where I have nothing to show for it. So even on a vacation I get a room with a kitchen, buy groceries for the week, and cook all my meals and apply my same rules from home.

If my 18 year old self knew the toys I'd have now, I'd have needed to pinch myself. Arrived at by a strange combination of frugality and splurging.

Something valuable I learned was a sense of quality, one of the things I'm proudest to have instilled in my kids. That and them taking good care of their health. Quality in selection of possessions is part of it.

Buying that quality at the best price is part of the game, and my son does that about as well as I. My daughter is capable of it also, but she thinks she's above it, and can afford to splurge all the time.

quote:

Originally posted by armedprof:
I like to think I am frugal and not cheap.

Same, I mostly buy things that are quality, at times high end. But I have many frugal habits.

I like using soap bars, but I use 'em until they are tiny, and I will collect them into a soap dish and press them together to use at the laundry room sink. I tear paper towels into smaller panels because much of the time, I only need a small square. I can get get two cups out of a single tea bag. Many times I will reuse a piece of aluminum foil. Etc. etc....

The Biden Inflation is kicking my ass.

Went out for a beer with a friend the other day, 2 beers each and a couple orders of shrimp appetizers > $70

I'm not exactly cheap with any particular item, but I will hold on to things way longer than I need to because, "It's still working." Here are some examples:

I started cutting my own hair with an electric trimmer from Wal Mart when I was in college. I'm now in my forties and I still use the exact same electric trimmer. The blades aren't that great, it rattles like a rock tumbler, and I've lost all but one or two of the guards, but I still use it and have no plans to retire it.

The first company I ever worked for was throwing out an HP 4M laser printer, and I snagged it for myself on the way to the dumpster. That printer moved across three states in the back of U-Hauls, I don't think I ever bought a toner cartridge for it, and I only replaced it when it began speaking in tongues and printing out random ASCII characters rather than whatever it was supposed to print. I think it made it around 12-15 years.

I won't get into the gory details, but lets just I've had some underwear where my entire leg went through a hole that wasn't there when I got them. To be fair, I did throw that particular pair away...after I wore them one last time.

- Bret

My underwear holes have holes.....

Cheap only on some tools, things I might only use once in a blue moon since I'm not a mechanic or home builder by trade. Have a few tools from Harbor Freight, they have worked well, and if they fail, it's not a ton of money out of pocket.

Other than that I do look for deals on better products, like the golf cart batteries, Trojan and top of the line and $255 each, bought new Interstate Batteries from Costco for $118 each, less than half the cost, and Interstate makes good quality stuff.

This thread has got me thinking pretty long and hard. I don't buy anything simply because it's the cheapest. Sometimes it might be the case but at least 70% the time I look for the best combination of price and value, 10-25% of the time I'll pay a premium to get quality items (guns, auto performance parts, coffee/groceries) with <10% of the time just paying out the nose because it doesn't happen that often and I would appreciate the extra craftsmanship and attention to detail (watches, pens).

Once I do buy something I typically use and repair it until it's beyond saving. I'll drive it till the wheels fall off so to speak. Living in Puerto Rico has forced me to buy cheaper/lower quality items and food just because there isn't much selection without paying an unjustifiable premium. I'm stuck buying a lot of things from Walmart because to get anything shipped to the island takes weeks and paying 11.5% sales tax on premium items starts to make the cheaper options more attractive.


My GF and Father on the other hand.... when I go shopping with either of them they go right to the cheapest item and take it off the shelf no questions asked. Just recently my Father tried to make the argument that all butter, ice cream, milk (all of which he consumes a lot of) tastes the same.


Some people are more simple than others I suppose.

When traveling in the V-Tail, I always checked fuel prices in advance when planning a refueling stop. If overnighting, many places charge a fee of maybe $30 or so (could be more), and many waived the fee with a fuel purchase, so I always calculated the least-cost solution.

I also considered route and altitude (re winds aloft) for minimum cost.

There were times that the low-cost option was not the best choice because of weather and other considerations.

I am a brass scrounging fool. If I loose a piece of brass, it’s the end of the world. If it’s a piece of fancy rifle brass, like 338RUM, call the authorities! I’ll line everybody up for a search like a missing person. If we’re shooting trap and you’re stepping on AA hulls, we’re no longer friends.

quote:

Originally posted by sadlerbw:
<<snip>>
I won't get into the gory details, but lets just I've had some underwear where my entire leg went through a hole that wasn't there when I got them. To be fair, I did throw that particular pair away...after I wore them one last time.

- Bret

Sounds familiar, only I don't toss the worn-out undies. They make great shop rags and last many more years under normal use!

I am less cheap aka price sensitive on many things now days as I get older but as I mentioned above when inflation has killed a lot of demand.
Especially noted is eating out and concerts.

I will fix and refurbish the shit out of everything/anything before I spend money to replace it.