6 Wacky Examples of Extreme Frugality

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6 Wacky Examples of Extreme Frugality

Submitted by: Kira @ Tip Hero 11/17/2010 4:43 PM

Some people are looking to save a few bucks here and there when they can. Others take frugality very seriously and regard it as their way of living. Where do you fall? Somewhere in between?

In any case, there are some tips that seem like no-brainers to the average person looking to save money. Then there are tips like these; tips created for and by extreme frugalistas that are not intended for the faint of heart. In all seriousness though, some of these tips may seem perfectly normal to you and some might just seem a little too out there. No matter which side you're on, no one is judging. But I thought it would be fun to take a look at some of the wackier and eccentric things that I've found that people do to save money. Will you shake your head and laugh or jump on board with any of these ideas? Take a look:

Water it Down: if you're trying to stretch out a liquid, water is always a free solution. Some people, including Frugal Dad, stretch out their milk or juice by adding water to it. Some add water to laundry detergent, hand soap and dish soap. But the sky's the limit. You could even add water to things like spaghetti sauce to increase the time between shopping trips.

Toilet-Training Your Cat: if you have a cat, do you find yourself spending tons on kitty litter? Apart from making your own kitty litter, there is a crazy way to save on cat costs. Follow in some extreme frugalistas' (and cat lovers') footsteps and learn how to toilet-train your kitty.

Grow Tomatoes in An Old Bra: some larger tomatoes need extra support to grow in your garden. Here's a frugal way to, well, support them.

Use Beer to Repel Mosquitoes: this woman saves beer bottles (and even collects them from the side of the road) to hang from tree branches in her yard to repel those pesky insects.

Move to A Lower Cost Area: if you're serious about your extreme efforts to save money, it might not be a good idea to live in an area where the cost of living is high. Check out Kiplinger's list of the 10 least expensive places to live.

Invest in Some Chickens: this family has the room to raise chickens in their backyard, and the kids even help collect the eggs.

Do you practice any of these techniques? Have any other wacky ideas to add? Let us know in the comments section below, and thanks for being a Tip Hero!

Special thanks to Bankrate!

Photo credit: deborahdegolyer

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Comments:

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To me these aren't so out there. I doubt I'll try to potty train my cats, but the homemade kitty litter sounds like it might be doable. I love hearing about all sorts of frugal ideas. Does anybody have any more???

Posted by Lisa on November 18, 2010 12:08 PM

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Although the photo of a cat on the toilet was a little bit of a turn off, I really liked the video links for some family frugal ideas.

I tend to need a refresher every now and then to jump-start my frugal agenda and get it back on track. I still fail at doing the mass coupon
clipping, it seems that the groceries we use regularly don't have coupons, but I'm doing well
at store brand purchasing. I was so thrilled when I sent my husband out the other morning for cream cheese, he bought the Kroger's store brand..and I didn't even ask him to! He's catching on:)

I'm always interested in looking at what other families do to tighten things up in their lives and to see how the 'sacrifices' they make work for them and not feel like something's missing.

Posted by Trish on November 18, 2010 1:04 PM

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we don't have a cat, but we raise chickens for eggs, sheep for wool (its cheaper to have it processed that do it yourself, but wool socks and mittens wear forever), grow our own veggies and try to barter for anything we can't grow or make ourselves. We survive on Social Security Disability, so being as frugal as we can be makes sense. We wash plastic food storage bags, dry them on a rack and re use them.

Posted by Cheryl Dwyer on November 18, 2010 1:25 PM

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A good friend of mine trained her cat on the toilet -- it's brilliant and does save a lot of money. I do almost all of these (don't have a cat, and won't hang beer cans around my yard) ... esp the chickens and gardening. I grow my own tomatoes, but don't really need a bra to hold them up!

Posted by Cassandra Brush on November 18, 2010 1:30 PM

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Seeing a cat on the toilet seat I would sit on was a definite turn off. Very unsanitary. I currently have a friend that might have contracted a super bug through her cat. She has been sick for two months. Please be smart about where your cat is allowed to roam.

Posted by Maria Daroczy on November 18, 2010 1:32 PM

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I love the family story! These are two very rationale parents and four very responsible kids, already mature for their age. I'm sure your journey to common-sense living will be challenging, but as you can already tell, it will be fun, as well as very satisfying and peaceful at the end of the day. It has been said that God does not give us all we want, but He gives us all we need. With your own determination, you are in a great position to have both!

Posted by EarthWWWalker on November 18, 2010 2:33 PM

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If you choose to use beer as a mosquito killer, make sure the opening is small enough that bees will not go in. I accidentally killed two bees that way. I felt awful, as the bee population is dwindling as it is. Gah!

Perhaps but some wide mesh, over the beer bottle or something, to deter bees.

The others frugal examples aren't so awful. I want to potty train my cat, but my husband is all against it. He's afraid the both him and the cat may have to poo at the same time, and he might lose that battle.

I would love to have chicken. I hope we move soon so that I can get some chickens.

Posted by me on November 18, 2010 2:56 PM

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We have been living off our one acre garden for the last seven years. We have Buff Orpingtons which we get all our eggs and hatch out a few dozen each spring. The excess that we produce I sell at our local farmers market. We also raise bees for the honey and pollinating crops. We have rabbits and hunt deer and turkey. It's nice knowing what we are eating and not leaving a huge carbon footprint. It sure saves a lot of money, too.

Angela in north Florida.

Posted by natural2aT on November 18, 2010 3:24 PM

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When my children became teenagers, I realized i didn't need to buy any toiletries because they were forever trying new things and leaving them unfinished. Since then, people have come to know that I'm frugal but not fussy and will happily take odds and ends. This system works so well that I've never had to buy shampoo, soap, lotion etc, and at this point my grandchildren are in college. My daughter just cleared out a closet and brought me enough to last quite awhile, though it may be a little strange for a woman of my years to smell of bubblegum or passionfruit.

Posted by Sandy Sterner on November 18, 2010 3:32 PM

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I didn't think these were too off the wall either. I use coupons, have always shopped store brands, don't eat out much (Some places do have inexpensive things). I add water to soap and other things but for some reason I haven't added it to body wash hmmm...I buy things on sale with coupons and get them almost free. I haven't had to buy shampoo or conditioner for a long time! I go to many freebie sites and get things from them too.
I use groupon.com, ksl.com, eversave.com, and others for good deals mostly 1/2 off, or more! I rarely spend full price. :)
Oh ya and I use swagbucks.com too ;)

Posted by JO-dy on November 18, 2010 6:06 PM

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I found The Frugalists & Simple Living team when I joined SparkPeople.com and we constantly post ideas and suggestions back and forth, as well as links to freebies and other money-saving things.

I live in a very small apartment in New York City, so I can't do as much as I'd like, but I do quite a bit -- not just because I want to, but with the economy the way it is, I have to.

Posted by KLinNYC on November 18, 2010 6:15 PM

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Actually, I don't think many of these ideas are far out. Watering down--usually not milk or juice, but lots of times dish soap, shampoo, because there is a lot of product left sticking to the bottles and you'd be surprised. You can usually get 2 or more shampoos out of an "empty bottle", same thing with liquid laundry detergent.
Your "lower cost" areas are much more expensive than mine here in rural NE Florida; I would like to get chickens too. Lots of people raise their own beef and pork to eat too--no additives. I heard you can also train pet rabbits to use kitty litter, one step behind the cat on the toilet (which I have heard of too but I would have to have two bathrooms, one for kitty and one for me! You have a very good blog here and I enjoy it everytime it comes out!

Posted by Sharon Warden on November 18, 2010 10:22 PM

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My buddy and I are dumpster divers. Especially around college campuses and apartment complexes, people throw out some really good items. I've found household furnishings, books, stereos, clothing, baskets, plants, lamps and all kinds of things in or around the trash. I've also found them on the curb on the night before trash day. If folks are crazy enough to throw perfectly good items away, I'm crazy enough to take those perfectly good things to my place. What I can't use, I give away -- either to friends or charities. It's good for the environment and great for the wallet.

Posted by Fru-gal Lisa on November 19, 2010 12:10 AM

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While I do not water food products down, I find it is usually less expensive to make products from scratch. Taco seasonings, cream of soups mixes, pancake syrup, mixes for flavored coffee drinks, laundry detergent, stain remover, ect, ect.....yes, this takes more time than just grabbing a packet of seasoning at the store but making my own I know what ingredients are in my mixes. If anyone looks and reads the ingredient list on packages you should see all the added preservatives, artifical "flavorings" and colors, straight-out chemicals used to produce that so-called "food". Can you imagine what that does to your health? It is ass-backwards, IMO, when companies use "real citrus" in our dishwashing liquids but artifical junk in our food products.

There are things I will not skimp on though like heat in the winter and air in the summer...the cost is worth the comfort to me.

Posted by LisaE on November 19, 2010 11:35 AM

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Nine Years ago my aunt died on a Tuesday and was buried on Friday. Because both my aunt and uncle came from large families, She came from 9 my uncle was one on 12, and that fact that my uncle had been n business for years she received close to 50 flower arrangements. When my father who was VERY FRUGEL died on the Thursday of the same week, my nephews with the o.k. of my cousins took the flowers that the family could not use and made about 4 "new" flower arrangements for my dads funeral. I know if my loved ones had been alive to see this they would have gotten a kick out of it. The Idea came from my mom.

Posted by Annie on November 19, 2010 1:12 PM

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We are making changes little by little I have traded out my dishwasher soap for a mixture of Borax washing powder and baking soda mixed together. I use 2 Tbsp one in pre wash and one in wash cycle. and traded the rinse aid for Vinegar So far dishes are just as clean as before when I was using Cascade gel packs. I haven't figured out yet what the per load cost would be but know its a lot cheaper. Borax, baking soda, and vinegar has also replaced most of the high priced cleaning supplies as well. I am trying to figure out what to use in my steam rug shampooer that is a lot cheaper than the bottles of rug shampoo. but will clean and deoderize just as well. We have pets.We also looked in our bathroom shelves and discovered we have upteen bottles of shampoo and rinse plus same with shower gels and bar soaps and decided that we will not buy any more until all is used up same with body lotions. clean out your shelves more often and save money by using what you already have before buying more. We have 2 male cats that once in awhile spray when in house I was buying high priced pet odor sprays and it didn't work very well I mixed equal parts of Vinegar and Water in a spray bottle it works real well for pennies. I was buying the high priced Oxy clean for laundry booster found a cheaper kind in a Dollar tree store and in my grocery store In the dollar section works just as good as the exspensive stuff. smaller container but I only use it when clothes are really soiled last a month for me.

Posted by Snooky60 on November 19, 2010 3:59 PM

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I don't mind many watered-down products, but I must say that I never knew anyone besides my dad who watered-down ketchup!! Oh my gosh, it was awful!! Sort of like tomato water, I'd guess! (This was in the 60s for our family of eight, but he's gone now and I'd give anything to be able to use his watered-down ketchup!)

Instead, just tip the bottle upside down in the fridge and the next time you use it you will be able to get it all out. Don't make your family suffer from watered-down ketchup!

Posted by Judy Rossetter on November 19, 2010 5:15 PM

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During the depression my mother would get hot water and pour ketchup in it for a faux tomato soup.

Posted by Rinchen on November 20, 2010 8:05 AM

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I agree; these tips aren't extreme at all. Now, if you want some real examples of extreme frugality, look here: http://community.stretcher.com/forums/t/19.aspx?PageIndex=2

Posted by haverwench on November 21, 2010 10:30 AM

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Can the cat be trained to flush the toliet too?

Posted by mesarobins on November 22, 2010 12:01 AM

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to save on utilites, especially hot water is to
shut it off after the tank heats up approx. 2hrs. this will provide enough hot water for almost twenty four hours, shutting it off and on will depend on the size of family

Posted by s.perry on November 28, 2010 11:24 AM

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