A Reddit user shared a hilarious story about how frugal their household is, triggering responses from other members who shared frugal tips considered ‘over the top.’
According to the OP, her 98-year-old grandpa tapes light switches in the up position so they do not wear out after constant use. When one wants to switch the light on, they have to twist the lightbulb until it turns on and unscrew it when turning off the light.
Other members of the Reddit community shared their experiences as well. We have sampled some of the best ones here.
1. He Refused To Spend $80 To Fix Drainage Piping for Seven Years
“My great-grandmother had to wash dishes in a tub and throw the dishwater out the back door because my great-grandfather was too cheap to fix the drain/plumbing under the sink. Great-gran had wicked forearm strength after about seven years of this. Then she had it all repaired for $80 two weeks after he died,” noted one user.
2. Repair Broken Ice Maker? No, Would Rather Buy Ice Cube Trays
“Husband and I lived with a broken ice maker in our fridge’s freezer for about 14 years bc we didn’t want to pay to have it repaired. We bought some ice cube trays instead.
One day our son told us to order an ice maker (about $40) on Amazon (he looked up the model# for us). He came over and replaced the broken ice maker for us in less than 5 min,” noted another user.
3. Adjust the TV Color to Black To Make It Last Longer
Another user said, “When my grandparents bought their first color TV, they adjusted the color to almost black and white “to save the color so it would last”.”
4. Hot Water as Weed Killer
A user said, “She also used her hot water from cooking or canning as a weed killer. She poured it around the edges of her porch and driveway.”
That’s actually a great idea! Especially since weed killers can have very bad chemicals that can harm humans and animals.
5. Unplugging Everything To Save $2 per Month
“Nothing is plugged in at my parents’ house unless there’s a manufacturer warning to leave plugged in or it’s being used. He said he saw a significant amount of electricity being saved monthly from this. I saw the bills of before and after, and it looks like he saves about $2 a month,” added another user.
6. Want to Wash? Good, but Do Not Pick up the Soap!
“My grandma had bar soap in a soap holder by her kitchen and bathroom sinks. You did not pick up the soap, ever. You got your hands wet and rubbed one hand on the top of the soap two or three times when you needed to wash,” added another user.
7. What a Strategy To Avoid Having Septic Tank Pumped
Another user shared, “My grandpa was 95 when he passed. For at least the last 10 years of his life, he put his dirty toilet paper in the trash instead of the toilet because he didn’t want to have to get the septic tank pumped.”
8. Re-Using a Birthday Card
A user narrated a frugal side of their rich relatives, “Here’s my story about the Jones side of my family. Scots. When they (Most Of my grandma’s 6 siblings and most of their children) give birthday cards, they write their best wishes And sign their name on a post-it note inside the card. This is so the receiver is free to easily reuse the card. They’re all in on it and find it delightfully practical.”
9. He Cut off the Top of Shoes for Toes To Stick Out
“When I was a kid, I outgrew my tennis shoes, and my dad just cut the top off so my toes could stick out. We weren’t poor, but we lived like we were. My dad was pathologically frugal,” added another user.
10. Rinsing Trash Bags and Hanging Them To Dry for Re-use
“I have an officially retired co-worker who still comes in to work. He rinses out all the trash bags from the entire factory and hangs them to dry to use them again. Also, empty’s out all the paper and cardboard bins to make everything extra flat and small,” said one user.
11. Walking 10 Miles at Night To Save Money Meant for Taxi
“My spouse walked 10 miles with her suitcase to the airport in Washington DC at midnight to save a taxi ride,” shared another user.
12. A White Button for a Tooth
sjhuls via DepositPhotos.com.
“My grandfathers’ brother had a set of fake teeth. When a tooth broke loose from it, he used a white button to carve another tooth to glue in,” quipped another user.
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This article was produced and syndicated by A Dime Saved.
