Frugal men and women are sharing the unlikely and ‘weird’ changes they’ve made to their lives to cut costs.
From saving restaurant napkins to reusing contact lenses and even skipping meals, the high cost of living has forced many people to go to extreme lengths to save a dime.
A Brit asked a Facebook acquaintance group what strange things people do to save money especially on food and bills and got hundreds of answers.
“I use tissues I collect from various sources (like the break room at my work and the ones downstairs near the prepared food section) as toilet paper instead of just buying toilet paper,” one person replied.
“I’m not sure how much money that saves, but every bit counts.”
People are sharing the ‘weird’ things they are doing to save money amid the rising cost of living. One man said he had started ‘dumpster diving’ while another washed Ziploc bags
“Wash Ziploc bags and glass jars to reuse,” said a second.
One said they do online surveys for a little extra pocket money, while another sends her savings to her aunt so she can’t dip into them.
“I’ve seen people open a wad of toilet paper and paper towels from public restrooms and fill empty soap bottles the same way,” one user recalled.
“I eat my kid’s leftovers and if I’m lucky the school I teach at and my son goes to will give me a free lunch,” replied another.
“I ate a $2 package of instant mashed potatoes for lunch. Only that. Just mashed potatoes. The ones where you add water,” said a third.
One person said he collects napkins from cafes and coffee shops to use as toilet paper, while another washes and reuses Ziploc bags (stock image)
“I’ve seen people open a wad of toilet paper and paper towels from public restrooms and fill empty soap bottles the same way,” one user recalled.
“Dumpster diving saves a ton,” wrote a fourth, while another said they spend hours compiling their shopping list while comparing the prices of each item at different supermarkets.
Things are getting so tight for some that they used to skip meals.
“Eat one, maybe two meals a day and I fast every few days. It’s actually pretty good for you as long as you eat healthy!’ one person explained.
“I don’t eat breakfast or lunch. I just have a really big dinner,” admitted someone else.
Others felt that eating out and buying groceries every day as they needed it was cheaper than doing a big supermarket shop.
“It might not work for everyone, but we buy what we’re going to do that day instead of buying in bulk for the whole month or week, every day after work we go and buy what we need for dinner that day and there less waste,” the person explained.
One saver said they hide money from themselves to stop them from spending, and a second said they use the bathroom at work as much as possible to save water and toilet paper.
“We eat out a lot, which sounds weird, but it’s just the two of us and it’s so much cheaper for us to get fast food or even just Subway than to buy ingredients to cook dinner,” commented a second.
One saver said they try to hide money from themselves to stop them from spending, and a second said they use the bathroom at work as much as possible to save water and toilet paper.
‘Keep all my receipts. It’s going to be the weirdest places trying to scam you,” one woman said, adding to make sure items aren’t accidentally scanned twice or at the wrong price.
And finally one thrifty spender said: ‘I reuse my daily disposable contacts for three or four days per couple.’
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