Cheapskate things you did in your life
 

My family is like a roller coaster ride of financial stability. We once had a 5 bedroom house and stuff, but problems with forclosure, my dad's mental breakdown, mounting debt, and a plethora of other things forced us to take extreme measures to be super frugal. Do you have any stories? ^.^

*We once collected ketchup packets whenever we went to a fast food place and use them at home

*I used to collect cans and sell them to the recyclers, for extra cash. I remember making $20 from a sackfull of empty soda cans

*We once diverted our rain gutters into big barrels to collect water so we can use them to water the lawn, wash the car etc

*Stealing the neighbors unsecured wi-fi

*No more home heating on winter

*Eating only at work, because they had free food

*eating cheap things like 50 cent ramen all the time, when no ones watching.

Most of the people I knew thought I was loaded tho, because Id still drive around alot when gas was $4 a gallon, and treated some of them to pizza or coffee from time to time.
I used to feel ashamed thinking about this, but I find it funny now ^.^

Get drunk before I go to the bar.

Get drunk then forget to go to the bar. :\

When I was a teenager my grandparents kept two refrigerators in their garage. One was turned way down and was more like a deep freeze. The other was packed full of soda and beer so they always had drinks for guests. When I first moved out of my moms I would regularly creep in there at night, because they would go to sleep around 8, and jack food and beer from them.

When I lived on my own, I used to grocery shop in my parents cupboards.

The first time I was in college, I regularly stole toilet paper from the bathrooms (figuring i paid for it anyway). I also snuck ziplock baggies into Ryans and took home food.

I've gone to the food bank a great many of times.

We cancelled gas and cable, ate ramen, and eliminated birthday presents. With all of that, plus my mothers $11.80 paycheck and my $6.80, we worked it out.

Now the government's paying for the majority of my higher education.

I just got some sort of poor-disabled-person bus pass from the county. The trouble with that is, they were just like, "Here's your pass" and didn't bother to explain what exactly it meant. I don't know if I get free fare, reduced fare or what.

Even more confusing, this comes just a couple of months after they sent out a letter saying disabled funding for the buses had been cut and if we wanted to travel the prices were now ridiculous (I can't remember what, exactly, but it was a substantial part of my income).

Never eat any form of condiment. Including butter, gravy and custard.

Always opt for the 80p pasty, instead of the splash out £1 pasty.

Keep all your coppers. And anyone elses.

Whenever possible, stay in town until your mum is driving home, and get a lift.

STUDENT!

When I used to go to the grocery store on pay day, i wouldn't buy any products priced over 3 dollars. ended up being mostly ramen noodle, mac n cheese and rice. the rest of the pay cheque was mostly on indian ciggs and cheap rum. I was a janitor at the time and they pay was shit.

Unless it's something I can't find anywhere else, I look for my books at thrift stores. My favorite, the St. Vincent DePaul in Wisconsin, has books for around 20 cents ea. I can fill a shopping cart for $20 if I want.

I make my own wine sometimes :lol :(

Protip: putting grape juice in a wine glass doesn't make it wine.

Yeah, you have to mix it with yeast in an old milk jug, stick a balloon over the top and hide it in the toilet cistern for a month

My dad used to own a construction company and when I was born my family was living in this huge mansion he'd built

Five years later, both my parents were bankrupt and divorced and they were living in lower-middle-class apartment complexes

Now, they're both doing reasonably well for themselves and at least own their own houses

AMERICA

I financed my new laptop! :eek

We rented a room from another family where myself, husband and two young kids were all sharing one room. Most the cash went to baby food and diapers. We ate alot of mac and cheese and bought alot of whole chickens when they went on sale for 90 cents a pound, cut it into portions and froze most of it. After a while living with another family got a little too much so we bought a used camper and put it on the truck and lived out of that for a while. Thank god we both got into good paying jobs. lean times are good

Fucking amen to that. I also remember being out of toilet paper and no money and going to the bar and stealing rolls of that rough ass toilet paper.

Edit: And taking the free tour on porn sites and having no intention of paying.

Some of these things I would call being a cheapskate, just survival.

mostly survival from what I've read, it's not like any of these things described are situations of people with loads of cash on hand and just not willing to pay. That's a cheapskate in my books.

also the free tour on porn sites is like Internet 101. Never pay for porn.

I could buy my own tp. However sometimes I work late just so that when everyone is gone I can steal it from the office. :\ Oh and batteries too.

I drink Pepsi max instead of Coke light and save roughly 0,50 €

Whenever I go to lunch with my friends, I always ask for a water, and fill the cup with soda.
I've also made four LIVE accounts by now.

no ice in my soda hahahah. I haven't done that one in a long time.

One time at a con, the hotel had free fountain drinks (and beer at happy hour). I walked across the street to a Target, bought a cheap plastic pitcher, and drank soda from that fountain all weekend (and even took some home).