Comments on: Your Mileage May Vary

By: Steve

Steve — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 00:18:50 +0000

decent toilet paper on sale can be had for around a penny for 10 sheets. that’s a price I’m comfortable paying.

By: Fairy Dust

Fairy Dust — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 14:59:30 +0000

We used a Flowbee to cut the family’s hair for years – worked great and saved a fortune! Now, DH and I just let out hair grow. Our son is out on his own – sometimes (when he has no $), he cuts his hair, but usually he pays for a cheap cut at some place like the salon in Wal Mart (often to fix what he started himself – LOL!).

By: Ms. Ferret

Ms. Ferret — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 23:40:10 +0000

Agreed on the reusable feminine hygiene products. I’ve been on the flannel pads/Keeper bandwagon for years and will never go back to sticky uncomfortable plastic pads.

Don’t think I’d be able to do the cloth toilet paper thing though — blood != poop, and I only have to deal with the blood one week out of the month.

By: Rosa Rugosa

Rosa Rugosa — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 23:10:33 +0000

I think the toilet paper tip just reminds us that we all have to draw a line somewhere – and it’s a personal decision. I’m glad that my budget decisions never get to this level!

By: C

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 19:25:52 +0000

Ha Ha Ha You threw that part in about the old cloth diaper just to see what every one would say and you are sitting behind your desk laughing about how gullible we all are. You went one step too far and I’m not buying it.

By: anna

anna — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 16:33:56 +0000

I’m all for the reusable feminine hygiene products, or the menstrual cup. I’ve even crocheted myself a tampon. Sorry for revealing that… Anyway I’ve been in countries where people were so poor, there was no toilet paper. It was newspapers or nothing. Funny how you get used to it.

By: deRuiter

deRuiter — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 14:58:36 +0000

Many times at the grocery store, an item is marked, “$X. (whatever amount) coupon when you buy 2 of this product.” At the checkout counter, when the items are scanned, out pops a coupon of $X. amount. You are supposed to get this coupon after you pay, and bring it back the next time you shop. It’s more effiecient (and you won’t lose the coupon or have it expire!) if you keep back a few items, pay for your groceries, collect the $X. amount coupon AND USE IT TOWARDS BUYING THE REST OF THE GROCERIES. After getting generous coupons like this, and losing them or having them exire, I started using them immediately, harvesting my savings right away. Works like a charm!

By: Rachel

Rachel — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 13:16:00 +0000

I absolutely hate buying toilet paper! I think of how that money could go to something else that doesn’t get flushed away. Also, the cost seems to be rising for paper products. But using the homemade kind, I don’t know. Depends on how poor we actually were. I can’t imagine my husband going for it at all. I’m really surprised at the number of people who will not try to cut their own hair. I don’t “cut” mine, but I do trim between haircuts. I wear my hair short, so it requires more maintenace, and it grows very fast. I just kind of cut off the parts that look wrong to me, and I cut it when it is dry. At $25.00 per cut, if I go from 12 to 6 cuts a year I have saved $140.00. To me that is a lot of money, and worth something I can spend 5 or 10 minutes doing.

By: DivaJean

DivaJean — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 13:02:14 +0000

Another reason not to convert to diaper wipes-

When teaching kids how to potty train- the phrase “No job is complete until the paperwork is done” will be rendered useless.

By: colleen c

colleen c — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 11:17:46 +0000

Everyone remember to be careful when reusing any type of plastic for food storage. Some plastics are not meant to be washed a re-used over and over again and can leach into foods. Certain containers are safe to reuse. From what I have read, #2, #4 and #5 are fine to reuse. DO NOT wash and reuse #1 (water bottles.)

My family recently invested in stainless steel water bottles and they are working out well.

By: Noelle

Noelle — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 02:07:50 +0000

We were adamant about not letting people copy from books at the NYC bookstore where I used to work. But that’s because we had actors come in and copy down entire monologues. The reference books were also a problem for copying, because that was the entire reason for their sale. It’s a fine line between good customer service and setting a bad precedent.

That being said, I go to bookstores and copy down ISBN’s quite often for purchase elsewhere, later.

By: sewingirl

sewingirl — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 00:46:01 +0000

You all missed a biggie, reusable sanitary products for women. There are whole websites with directions for making washable pads, and “other” things. I had four kids that wore cloth diapers, and I never bought a single thing all those years. I made washables, and just dropped them into the diaper pail. If the diapers were sanitary enough to go back on the babies behind, the pads were sanitary enough for me.

By: Matt

Matt — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 00:41:32 +0000

Tip number 10 is the TRUTH! I see a lot of “so called” grown people who spend un-imaginable amounts of money entertaining children who are so young that 2 days later they won’t remember what happened. That is a great way to save money.

The toilet paper idea?…. …… ……. …..

By: Bobby

Bobby — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 20:07:14 +0000

Fantastic tips–the thirty-day rule should be particularly useful. My girlfriend uses plain chalk to prevent ants from entering her house. Apparently they don’t like to cross chalk lines–I don’t know the science behind this but it works. Saves on expensive pesticides–and the health risks associated with noxious chemicals.

By: EGD

EGD — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 19:43:45 +0000

It’s interesting to see so many have said they won’t cut their own hair. I’ll add myself to that list, though my husband would disagree. He’s cut his own hair since high school — but his haircut requires no skill, he just shaves it off! At least one of us spends nothing on haircuts!

By: Rabia

Rabia — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 19:14:52 +0000

We already do a lot of what’s on your list. The tips that have no impact on my spending habits have to do with credit cards. I buy less with credit cards than if I had cash. Real money slips to my fingers like water because it’s easier for me to spend a dollar here and there than buy something that’s more than $10. Since I won’t pull out my credit card for a few bucks, I’m better off carrying as little cash as possible.

Other things that I won’t/can’t do: take public transportation (not convenient where I live), cut my own hair, pack lunch for a long car trip (not a big fan of sandwiches), go the speed limit on the highway (I live about 30 minutes from everything, so I’ll take the hit to my gas bill in exchange for saving me some time), or make my own gifts (I’m not just that crafty and I’ve gotten too many homemade gifts I’ve never used–not all of us like fancy soap and soup mixes).

By: Kevin@OutOfYourRut

Kevin@OutOfYourRut — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 19:14:43 +0000

I have no problem buying second hand clothing at thrift stores, reusing dryer sheets or gussying up left overs into a main course, but I draw the line at anything that smacks at unsanitary, like the used diaper thing.

Another category would be trying to save money by doing things the hard way rather than paying for some level of convenience. For example fixing my car–I may be able to do it, but the time I’d spend on it wouldn’t justify the savings on hiring someone who does it all the time and can do it quickly.

It takes longer to do things when you’re trying to save money, so you have to be careful that you’re not spending all of your extra time saving money when you could be earning more. Opportunity cost is a real cost too.

By: Michael

Michael — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 19:06:38 +0000

I hope a local dairy farm starts a “milkman” service, but I’m concerned it’d have to be pasteurized, and if so we would continue to pick up raw milk from another local farmer.

By: Juli

Juli — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 18:51:21 +0000

Buying a bidet attachment would cost very little, be very sanitary and would pay for itself quickly. The thought of what she is doing just turns my stomach.

By: tina

tina — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 18:47:12 +0000

Another take on TP and frugality….

It’s not so much about the cost we pay, but the cost that we’re not paying when we buy toilet paper. Water is not priced accurately. Think about all the water and resources that go into making toilet paper. Then, think about where it ends up…

In my house-hold, we use what we refer to as “the Nepali method.” It involves a pitcher full of water and 1 left hand. It sounds disgusting at first, but I have realized that a) it uses a ton less resources, b) you feel cleaner (think washing instead of smearing), and c) you wash your hands after anyway so it’s not that much more hassle.

I was loathe to try it until I found myself in Asia for 5 months. You have to be really committed to toilet paper (or spending a lot of $) to not be forced to try this method. I also think that the bidet/sprayer is another great option.