I’m back and marginally human. I slept nearly 11 hours last night, which probably helped.
I wanted to put something up today, but I’m still a little out of it. So I think you guys should have to do the heavy lifting. (More on that in a moment.)
I had gathered several t-shirts at FinCon to get Mom extra giveaway material. Unfortunately, this year she was so harried that she hadn’t brought an extra bag. Meaning she had to be very picky about what she’d bring with her.
I was annoyed about having a bunch of extra shirts. Then I realized I now had a bunch of new tops to wear around the house. Ones that — and here’s where my frugality shows through — didn’t have holes in them.
Right now, I have literally two shirts to wear around the house that don’t have holes in them. The other half dozen have enough holes that I don’t feel comfortable wearing them outside. One is so bad that I sometimes put my arm through the hole, rather than the armhole.
So I tweeted “#YouKnowYoureFrugalWhen conference t-shirts mean things to wear around the house that DON’T have holes in them.”
Here are the a few others I’ve come up with:
- #YouKnowYoureFrugalWhen you shudder at the thought of paying retail.
- #YouKnowYoureFrugalWhen you can’t not call a company over a $5 rate hike.
- #YouKnowYoureFrugalWhen you check at least three websites/stores to make sure you’re getting the best deal on a product.
- #YouKnowYoureFrugalWhen you regularly rotate cable/TV/phone companies to ensure you always have a promotional rate.
Since you’re all so frugal — and since most of us are able to find the humor in our penny-pinching practices — I want to hear more. So tell me, what’s your #YouKnowYoureFrugalWhen?
Catseye says
You know you’re frugal when you continue to wear a nightgown bought 30-something years ago. (wash in cold water and hang to dry) You know you’re frugal when you use a paper plate at least twice before throwing it away. You know you’re frugal when you ask for a rent reduction in exchange for signing a 2-year lease. (Hey, it worked!) I could go on and on and on… ;o)
kim says
You know you are frugal when you go through a market only to spy anything on a close out deal and that is it.
Abigail says
Haha, yeah that sounds about right. Impressive commitment!
Abigail says
Niiice! My mom had the same robe for at least 20 years. It was one she had when I was a baby. I bought her a new one either when I was in high school or college. But she still kept the old one for quite awhile. There was something comforting in that. And nice going on the rent reduction!
Kristin says
You know you’re frugal when your kid brings home his now-empty foil muffin cups from his lunch, just in case you might want to use them again. (True story!)
Abigail says
I. love. this.
Nancy says
Girl, throw out those holey t-shirts! Or at least cut them for cleaning rags. And if you can’t just do it, cut up half of them.
Abigail says
Yeah, now that I have a few extra, I’m at least going to go after the most egregious offenders. Most of the other ones just have tiny holes, but I still wouldn’t feel comfortable going out in them.
Shirria @GDTH says
Why you make sure you child uses the same Ziploc bag for his chips, when you pack your lunch and breakfast EVERYDAY, when stay home on the weekends to avoid putting as in your car twice in one week
Shirria @GDTH recently posted…Money Saving Grocery Tips!
Abigail says
Yeah, those are pretty good indicators. Nice job saving gas!
JC @ Personal Finance Utopia says
You know you’re frugal when you take time to make a list of all the ways you are frugal! ๐
JC @ Personal Finance Utopia recently posted…Should You Lend Money to Family or Friends?
Abigail says
It’s hard to argue that one!
teinegurl says
#youknowyourfrugal when you teach you kids to look for coupons in the grocery stores
#youknowyourfrugal when I you pick up pennies from the ground ๐ see what I did there but I got my kids trained on that to!
Abigail says
Heehee. Very nice. It’s never too early to start training the next generation of frugalists!
Kate @ Cashville Skyline says
I felt pretty frugal rushing to the bank to deposit a $1.97 rebate check this week. Bonus: the bank has free, fresh baked chocolate chip cookies!
Kate @ Cashville Skyline recently posted…Why Setting Intentions Matters (#FinCon15 Recap)
Abigail says
Okay, I was going to say that you could’ve just remote deposited the check but coooookiiiieees!
Jess @ Best Credit Cards Canada says
#YouKnowYoureFrugalWhen you wash and hang cloth baby diapers every night because it’s just such a great savings!
Jess @ Best Credit Cards Canada recently posted…RBC Cash Back Visa Review
Abigail says
Definitely. My mom kept using the cloth diapers as cleaning rags for years. I was in my late 20s when the last one finally died.
Donna Freedman says
You know you are frugal when…
You pack your lunch (sandwiches, chips, whatever) in reusable plastic containers vs. foil or Ziploc bags.
You bring the partial bar of hotel soap home from conferences.
You save vegetable scraps in a bag in the freezer to make soup stock.
You’ve got a nice collection of discounted gift cards for everyday purchases (drugstore, pet emporium, movie theater and others).
I could go on, but I’m sleeeeepy. Enjoyed everyone else’s.
Donna Freedman recently posted…60-second tip: What time is it?
Abigail says
The soap AND the shampoo/conditioner bottles. They’d just be thrown out anyway!
AuntLeesie says
You know you’re frugal when…
you find it impossible to toss chicken, pork or beef bones into the trash before making a nice pot of broth from them first,
the plastic wrapping around Costco (bulk buy) paper towels and t.p. become trash bags in the various tall cans in/around your home,
bread wrappers, produce bags and so on are reused to collect scooped cat litter or doggie bombs before tossing,
you cut up old, frayed towels to make washcloths, pet bed “liners”, etc., use holey socks as hand dust mits, and have an overflowing bucket of rags from no-longer-wearable clothes. Just to name a few things. ๐
Abigail says
Some pretty good ideas in there!
Do people NOT use grocery bags to hold the scooped litter? Weird.
AuntLeesie says
Plastic grocery bags have been banned/outlawed in my area for 3+ years.
Abigail says
Ah, well that’s an exception to the rule, clearly.
Lisa says
When your non frugal daughter calls to let you know about a toilet paper sale. Or you turn that holey and stained Tshirt into a hair towel (cuts down frizz!)
Abigail says
I just pictured a frantic women scooping packages of TP into the cart. I suppose that’s definitely a frugal moment. I’ll have to remember that about the t-shirt.
Katie C says
You know you’re frugal when you pack the soap/shampoo/conditioner/lotion in the hotel bathroom away every single day of your trip in order to get fresh ones the next day, which you then also pack away in order to get fresh ones the next day, and on and on and on. Basically, I came home with wayyyy more shampoo/soap/conditioner/lotion that I needed. I ended up donating it to the local women’s shelter to avoid the embarrassment. Now I pack what is in the bathroom at the very end of a trip and no more!
You know you’re frugal when you accidentally burn your breakfast toast and force yourself to eat it anyway just to avoid wasting food. (Yup, happened last week.)
You know you’re frugal when you refuse to buy new shoes for winter because you have perfectly good flip flops to wear! That shoe money could be put to better use in savings!
You know you’re frugal when you swap an entertainment budget for free trips to the library.
You know you’re frugal when you spend indoor time over the summer naked to avoid turning on the air conditioning and wrapped in flannel pajamas, fuzzy socks, and blankets in the winter to avoid turning on the heat.
You know you’re frugal when you have one day set aside to run errands to save gas money.
You know you’re frugal if you observe the “if it’s yellow let it mellow” rule of toilet flushing.
You know you’re frugal when balancing your budget spreadsheet at the end of every month sounds like a good time.
Abigail says
Haha, several of these applied to me.
I wrote a whole post about being naked (or just in underwear anyway) to keep the temperature higher in here. Tim spends the winter in flannel PJs and sometimes long johns. I bought a cool Hot Topic cardigan last year — and I’m psyched the weather is dropping so I can wear it again. Growing up in Alaska, layering to avoid upping the thermostat was a way of life. Unfortunately, here we can’t keep it too cold because of his joints, but it’s something.
Mom and I actually avoided packing up the shampoos because Westin has caught on and now offers a $5 credit or 500 points on your account for each day you refuse housekeeping. Which is still pretty frugal! But we do take any shampoo/conditioner/lotion home with us. I think it’s cool that the shelter benefited from your frugality, even if that wasn’t your initial plan.
Way to go on the toast, and the shoes. I only wear shoes outside, and I bought those BOGO at outlet prices. So… I guess that kind of counts?
Awesome that you can consolidate your errands. Thanks to the health issues, we can’t do that. But on the other hand, the health problems means we tend to only drive every other day or less.