Friday OT #1 - Rubbing Pennies

[Angie]

@ruxCYtable came through with another great thread idea! Here it is:

What are ridiculous things your parents/grandparents or even you do/did to because they were cheap-ass tightwads?

 

[Cyclonepride]

Our local hardware store was having a sale where everything you could fit in a 5 gallon bucket was discounted a certain percentage (and the bucket was free). I can't tell you how excited my wife was to go (because she wanted a free bucket )

 

[scyclonekid]

Powdered milk, never got to eat state fair food always had lunch at the car while my cousins got to eat all the fair food.

 

[madguy30]

5 for $5 Arbys was a pretty regular deal in my house in high school.

Metabolism and being in sports year round was my friend at the time.

 

[cycloneG]

Dangerous thread title.

I don't water my lawn because I don't want a higher water bill but I still pay for a lawn service. I'm complicated.

 

[JM4CY]

I first read that as rubbing penises

 

[Dr.bannedman]

I save seeds from store bought produce and try and grow in my garden.

 

[Mr Janny]

I'll go grocery shopping, and put back a relatively inexpensive item because "$5.99 is too much to pay for a frozen pizza!" but then walk directly over to the meat counter and drop $25-$30 on a couple of steaks and not think anything of it.

I realize the steak is better in damn near every way. But my 6 year old would probably prefer the pizza.

 

[cychhosis]

I had depression era parents, my kids have seen me smooth out aluminum foil.

 

[coolerifyoudid]

College Cooler was an expert at the cheap. Sunday meals of Cub Foods samples happened more often than I'm proud of.

Fresh outta college, Totinos party pizza, PB&J and ramen were still in the regular rotation for longer than necessary. We also used to wash out Ziploc bags and reuse them.

These days, I make a big deal about the cost of subscription services (Hulu, Sirius) that I'll use, but have little issue dropping that same amount of money on something stupid on impulse.

 

[NDMARTIN2015]

My dad worked 80 hour weeks until I was about 10. Tuesday was my mom’s time to shine, because it was Taco Tuesday at the local Taco Johns and dollar movie rentals at Video Warehouse. She would pick us up from school and first take us to Fareway where we would pick out a single can of “fastco” soda off of the flat packs, which were ~.25 cents, then we would rent 4 movies for 4 bucks. Lastwe would pick up .49 cent crispy tacos. We probably watched each movie 3-4 times over the course of a week.


Video Killed the Radio Star, Movie Gallery killed the Video Warehouse, Netflix killed off Movie Gallery, and taco Tuesday is like 1.50 for a crispy taco now.

 

[Cyclonepride]

I first read that as rubbing penises

Lol, now I can't unsee it

 

[cyrocksmypants]

Keep watering down that milk jug until the actual milk taste was undetectable.

 

[oldman]

College Cooler was an expert at the cheap. Sunday meals of Cub Foods samples happened more often than I'm proud of.

Fresh outta college, Totinos party pizza, PB&J and ramen were still in the regular rotation for longer than necessary. We also used to wash out Ziploc bags and reuse them.

These days, I make a big deal about the cost of subscription services (Hulu, Sirius) that I'll use, but have little issue dropping that same amount of money on something stupid on impulse.

My mom still does this. She was born right before WWII.

 

[CRcyclone6]

My dad and stepmom go to FL every Feb-Mar. My dad will bring pop cans and bottles home from FL so he can take them to the Can Shed. Way to fill up your $12 bag Dad.

 

[Angie]

I first read that as rubbing penises

Have you guys not heard the phrase "I didn't have two pennies to rub together"? Am I using an esoteric phrase?

 

[dosry5]

I remember as a kid my parents trying to switch to the milk bags from Kwik Star. Back then Kwik Star was the gross gas station in Marshalltown and you had to buy the pitcher to put the milk bags in. No mom, we’re not doing this….

 

[20eyes]

Keep watering down that milk jug until the actual milk taste was undetectable.

This was everything, ketchup bottle, taco sauce jar, mustard...

 

[EnhancedFujita]

My grandma saved every margarine and cool whip type container she ever came across. They had an old fridge that had stopped working in a back room that was packed full of various plastic containers.

 

[BCClone]

For Christmas we didn’t tear open the packages, we carefully unwrapped them so we could save the wrapping paper. I still carefully unwrap gifts to this day, don’t save the paper but I think about it times.