I couldn't help but think of the opposite in the splurging thread and really get some kicks out of what my own father does as far as cheap, as he grew up in a very poor household, with 11 brothers and sisters. Here's a few things he still does to this day that are jaw dropping cheap:

1) He usually brings a can of tuna to lunch to work and drains the cans water into a cup to drink it because he says "I don't want to waste it. it's good water." (he never wastes food, even at an all you can eat buffet, he wipes his plate clean every meal)
2) The wife and I will invite our parents over for dinner and when we're cooking he'll clean up the small amounts of spilled ingredients, cut off chicken wastings, etc and pack it up to bring home to use later.
3) He'll routinely spend hours building a tool or method to save the less than $10 he could have spent just buying the thing to do what he needs to begin with.
4) He's 65 now and uses the same hairbrush that he got when he turned 18! Every 10 years or so he takes it down to the shop and cuts it down a little more and refinishes it. (some old famous wood brush he says. haha)

There's others I'm sure.. but I thought it would be an entertaining thread. Share your stories!

to save on utility bills, i reuse my underwear by turning it inside out!

I pirate software instead of buying it.

I started shopping at the A&P instead of at Wendy's.

rileymartin said:i pick up pennies. i shut down the engine like 50 feet before my car rolls into a parking space at work.

Have you read the book The World According to Garp? Interesting story about that.

ppatin said:I pirate software instead of buying it.

i thought stealing software, cable, and internet went without saying. i also lived in a mexican ghetto to save money, which totally wasn't worth it.

Sex is free.

so I was actually just talking about this with a friend the other day. The topic was a bit different though, it was "How poor were we in college?".

The following were the top ones:

My wife used to "steal" ketchup packets from McDonald's and then squeeze it into her ketchup bottle, just to make it last a little longer.

My wife used to buy text books, then scan every page onto her computer and return the book before the 3 day return period (in case you drop a class) expired.

We used to shop at the salvation army.

Ramen...

We carpooled in one car, even though our destinations were 15+ miles apart (back when gas was relatively cheap).

Bought food from Costco, then disbursed it among friends because we wanted the good price, but couldn't each afford that much at once.

Stole utensils and plates from the school cafeteria

I'll add more if I can remember them later.

1) He usually brings a can of tuna to lunch to work and drains the cans water into a cup to drink it because he says "I don't want to waste it. it's good water."

I give it to the cat.

89transam said:Sex is free.

Kids aren't