Hands up if you love budgeting.
The odds are, most of you will be shaking your heads, rolling your eyes, or perhaps even thinking about moving on. Seriously, who wants to read any more crap about how to budget?
But wait!
We know you’ve heard all the “right” ways to budget. You know … turning off lights, doing weekly shopping on a full belly, taking your lunch to work, yadda yadda. So let’s explore some of the cheekiest ways to save cash. After all,cheapskates like to save money too!
Just remember: What you’re about to discover you’ll never hear coming from mega-rich financial advisors, or see on TV shows — but your inner-cheapskate will love them.
Dry and reuse your paper towels
Kitchen towels are the best for clean ups, which is why almost every kitchen has them. But rather than buying incredibly cheap versions, buy the slightly more-expensive ones. Once used, rinse it off, squeeze it out and hang it up to dry. Then voila, it’s ready for another use. Oh, and a word of advice: please, don’t follow this theory with toilet paper — that’s just icky.
Make your own bottled water
There’s a natural phenomenon where the gods occasionally sprinkle us with water. It’s vital for humans, and it falls straight from the sky! With that in mind, why not pop a few buckets outside and collect this natural resource for free? Now before you health experts get in a huff, boil the water, let it cool, and then pour it into reusable bottles. And if you want it to look fancy, grab a marker and create your own label on the bottle.
Score a free lunch at your local supermarket
If you’re near a supermarket at noontime, ditch the cafe, and pop into your local Safeway or Costco for lunch. The latter, especially, is like a full-on smorgasbord! Food reps practically throw food at you: dips, cooked chicken wings, pasta, heated-up frozen meals, desserts and even coffee. If you don’t want to look greedy taking too many samples at once, circle the shop. It doubles as a free workout.
Turn off the phantom power sucking monsters
There are phantoms lurking in most homes. All those chargers, computers, TVs, microwaves, washing machines, etc. that are sitting in a switched-on power point are adding to your electricity bill. So, if you’re not using them, flick the switch and kill those power-loving monsters.
Chuck a tantrum at a restaurant
Summon your inner child, drop your bottom lip and look sad. Why? Because your salad has a bug in it that you’ve found half way through, so you need a fresh salad. (Just remember to BYO bug.) Or maybe it was because you found a hair in your entree, so you need a fresh meal. (Again, BYO hair — but not yours.) And if you can’t eat all that extra food, then ask for a doggie bag; tomorrow’s lunch is made!
Buy a sheep
Buy a sheep and pop it in your backyard. Not only will you have your lawn mowed for the next two years, but your family will have a pet that’s so much cheaper — and cooler to walk — than a dog. Then, after you’ve raised your little lawn mower, hire a butcher to turn it into dinner for the next few months. Adorable, versatile and cheap.
Photo Credit: free pictures of money
My hand is up, you just can’t see it 😀
However, even if I’m all for living a frugal lifestyle, there are certain things I simply wouldn’t do to save money. Most of the above mentioned, to be precise.
However, avoiding paying for water is something I used to do for years. Not by squeezing any gutters dry, but by walking with empty bottles to the neighborhood fountain and filling them up with healthy, natural water.
I don’t do it anymore though. Switching apartments meant not having a drinking water source nearby. Now it’s silly to drive for miles just to fill up a few bottles! I’m sure bottled water isn’t as healthy but it’s still water.
The “sheep” tip made the entire article stupid and rather gross. You should know better Len.
Hold on now, LW. Yes, I can see how some may see it as you do. But to be fair, the title plainly states “6 Cheeky Ways …”
The definition of cheeky is: “boldly rude, impudent, or disrespectful in usually a playful or appealing way”
The author delivered exactly what was advertised in the headline.
Re; “Dry and reuse your paper towels (also in view of “Don’t do it with toilet paper):
I’m 86 years old and have had radiation therepy for prostate cancer. It saved my life (seven years PSA = 0) but it did a number on my colon so I’m fecally incontinent. So what? – no problem, just be cheeky!
Use the recycled paper towels for butt cleanup, put them in plastic grocery bags and dispose of them in the local trash pickup.
Bonus: Septic system might live forever…
Recycling paper towels????? I’m all for frugality but come on now.