Bad money saving ideas you tried

Here's a question that has a potential for some amusing answers: what are some of the more foolish things you've done in an attempt to be frugal?

For me I think it was cutting my own hair. I went through a phase where I bought a pair of clippers and just buzzed my hair very short once every month or two, thinking it was the most convenient and economical thing to do. After about a year one of my friends told me that he didn't mean to be a jerk, but that I should stop doing my own haircuts because they made me look like I'd just been released from a POW camp and lots of people were poking fun at me behind my back. After that I decided that spending $15 at the Hair Cuttery a few times per year wasn't such a waste after all.

Most of mine are related to not going to a professional sooner.. this applies to doctors, dentists, lawyers, accountants. I am not ANY of those and my resources are best spent doing other things. Takes a while to learn that though...

ppatin said: Oh yeah, using one month disposable contacts for much longer than a month was also a terrible idea. Eye infections are not fun.
Cheap and vain don't mix.

ppatin said: sechs said: ppatin said: Oh yeah, using one month disposable contacts for much longer than a month was also a terrible idea. Eye infections are not fun.
Cheap and vain don't mix.

Wanting to be able to see clearly makes me vain?
maybe it was not wearing glasses instead?

Selling cheap items on e-Bay. I thought I could nickle and dime my way to some extra money, but by the time I pay for fees and other little costs, I wind up losing money - plus it's very stressful - i.e. am I gonna get negative feedback for a $3.99 item that I worked real hard to list, pack, and then ship?

ppatin said: Here's a question that has a potential for some amusing answers: what are some of the more foolish things you've done in an attempt to be frugal?

$10 bj from toothless granny instead of $40bj from 25yr old hooker.

sushiosushi said: $10 bj from toothless granny instead of $40bj from 25yr old hooker.Amen, bra. If you skimp on the sushi, ya gonna be sik.

curlychiquita said: My husband once walked in and said "you use that much toilet paper?" (yeah, it was the time of the month, I was using a lot of it.) His idea was that I use less toilet paper. My idea was that me using as much toilet paper as I wanted was cheaper than getting a divorce.

I also remind him of this comment every week or so (he said it last year) so it was an expensive comment for his emotional well-being.

Whenever I'm spending money to make my wife happy, in my mind I file it under the title "divorce insurance"

Whenever I'm spending money to make my wife happy, in my mind I file it under the title "divorce insurance"

One can then ask why get married if your are going to just keep your wife happy with "divorce insurance"?

Buying cheap dress shirts. They fray quickly, shrink at the dry cleaners, and look unsightly after just a few uses. By spending a bit more (say $25 per shirt or stocking up when quality shirts are on sale), I can get 75+ uses out of a shirt before I consider retiring it. I wear dress shirts 4 out of 5 days a week.

Getting the last smidgen of toothpaste out of the tube. It makes a mess (cutting open the tube), requires 5-minutes of time that I'll never get back, and doesn't seem to accumulate any tangible financial benefit.

Buying CVS brand personal hygiene products. This is definitely YMMV. Some products are okay (cotton swabs), while others do not compare well with their brand counterparts (facial soap). Even with the CVS receipt coupons ($4 off $20 in CVS brand purchases), it just wasn't worth the savings. I think you can get a refund on some of these items, but the time/fuel required didn't justify it.

Price hunting on <$20 items for 30-minutes on Amazon, Fleabay, HD, etc.

Foolish frugality? Buying cheap insurance - this goes for health, auto, etc. I learned that quality does matter.

Buy things in bulk to save money, only to not be able to use it all by the expiration date.

This goes for food from Costco, and those stupid condom deals that keep popping up over at hot deals...

Some generic products are the same as or better than their name brand counterparts; however, this does not hold true for things like ketchup, mayo, cereal, soda, salad dressing, and especially toilet paper.

turtlebug said: Some generic products are the same as or better than their name brand counterparts; however, this does not hold true for things like ketchup, mayo, cereal, soda, salad dressing, and especially toilet paper.Kirkland (Costco) toilet paper is the company's biggest selling item.

I went to the dentist to have a tooth looked at that was bothering me. He said I had two cavities. I asked if it would be harmful to wait 4 months (so I could pay for it out of an FSA that I had not yet established) and he said I would be back within a month from the pain. I told him I handle pain very well which he just laughed at. Went back in for a checkup just in case two months later and was told the same thing. Marched in on the second of January (4 months after the initial visit) to find out I now needed two root canals, a post and core, and two crowns. Overshot my FSA allotment (based on their estimates the previous two visits) and insurance maximum by ~$3000. I made sure to give the work to another dentist at least...

I started Roth IRA three years ago. Contributed maximums for each year (13k total). I see ~20% lost there. It would be better to keep that money in savings account and gain at least 2-3%... uf...

I bought stocks worth $8000 around March 2000 (seriously). Then I went into hibernation for a long time. Came back to see two of those companies were bankrupt. Two of the remaining ones were trading barely above a $1 mark. They still are by the way.

Buying penny stocks.

Trying to push buying a new fridge to next year

Every month or so the food goes bad... and I have to defrost the 'frost-free' GE fridge *sigh*

It's a bad idea... will probably get one if therez a good deal arnd TG...

Buying fruits in bulk from Costco to reduce cost/weight but wasting a lot of it as they went bad before we could consumer it. Now we buy only as much as we can consume

I bought cheap knock-offs of Gillette Sensor razor blades. I should have known better because even my father, the cheapest person on earth, pays extra and buys Gillette.