The first post I did regarding this topic was about a month and a half ago. It was a popular post and I feel like it’s nice to just have some fluff stuff to read on Fridays.
Sometimes, I’m just too stubborn to spend money on stuff, and sometimes I genuinely just am too cheap to do so. Here are some more dumb/silly/ridiculous things I do to save or make money.
- Since I switched jobs recently, my new job has pay parking. It’s $4.50/day and I’m far to cheap to pay it. So, to save that amount, I walk for about 10 minutes and park in a neighborhood a few blocks away. This may not sound ridiculous, but on Monday I had to carry a huge box with all of my files and office supplies from my old job in the pouring rain. Everything (seriously) was soggy.
- I have a dress that has a hole in the rib cage area. I like the dress, but it’s easily replaceable – it’s just black cotton and probably cost me $15. I don’t want to buy a new one, so instead, I cover the hole up with a belt.
- I’ve reused plastic grocery bags (which really aren’t reusable if you want them all in one piece) because I didn’t want to pay $.05 for a bag at the grocery store. In my defense, this is also my way of trying to be more eco-friendly.
- When I was 16, in order to avoid spending a whole bunch of money on movie popcorn (no outside food was allowed in the theater), my friends and I had an old movie popcorn bag that we used over and over again to fill up with homemade popcorn and sneak in. You can’t really wash paper bags..
- I once thought I was super smart by moving money from my credit card into my TFSA to get the interest on it, then transferring it back right before the end of the month so I could avoid paying interest. What I failed to pay attention to was the fact that it cost me $8 to transfer the money from my credit card and I only earned $5 in interest.
- I have this dress that I love but has really thin straps. One time, the strap broke off at the spot where it was sewed on to the back of the dress. I’m useless with a sewing needle, so I took that as an opportunity to finely cut the other strap off to make it into a halter top. I must have had one too many glasses of wine, because I ended up cutting the front off of the other strap, which meant that I had to take it in to get fixed (triple reinforcement this time).
What’s the most ridiculous thing you’ve done to save money, or to make more money? If you answered my last post, have you done anything ridiculous since?
lol I like the movie theater popcorn trick. That’s one way to save at the theaters and would probably work well if it wasn’t for the bag getting all nasty. I always do the parking trick of parking further away to save money. That $4.50 per day can really add up. Sure it was a major inconvenience that rainy day, but what about all the other problem free days?
I wish I had better memory to share stories of ridiculous ways I save money. I’m super cheap on haircuts and always leave it till it’s growing over my ears. Sometimes I’m the same way with shaving too. I’ll leave it as long as possible.
Haha love these! I’ve done the belt-covering-a-hole thing too. It’s easier that way.
I chuckled when I read that you cover up a small hole in your dress with a belt, only because I do similar tricks and thought I was the only one lol. Clothes is the one thing that I never buy. I wear the same clothes for years until they finally are retired. Once they are no longer presentable, they are perfect for lounging clothes. If they are beyond wearing, they turn into rags for use around the house or washing the car.
I wish all stores would start charging for plastic bags. It would be a good reminder for people to start bringing their own. I reuse paper bags because they last longer, then recycle them when they’re no longer usable.
To save money, I cut dryer sheets in half. Half a sheet does just as well at reducing static as a full sheet.
$4.50 a day is a lot! (although, given what you had to carry in the rain, I probably would have sucked it up for the day)
The belt over a hole is awesome. I can’t tell you how many inner-thigh tears, holes and worn spots I’ve haphazardly stitched back together.
I included a link and short description of this post in my weekly blog roundup. Thanks for the great content!
I’ve walked out of stores with a handful of groceries because I didn’t want to pay for the 5 cent bag.
We reuse plastic bags all the time, all around the house actually and we even use them for our cat’s litter box cleanup activities =)
Haha, the grocery bag thing! … maybe you coudl invest like $5 in 5 reusable bags? They’re sturdy, they don’t fall apart, and they last awhile. And they’re easier to carry than the plastic ones that I always seem to drop stuff out of.
I only park in a certain lot downtown where I can use my dad’s parking sticker so I don’t have to pay. The lot is a 10 – 15 minute walk to where I usually end up (I am a gentleman and always drop my old lady off first).
My wife keeps throwing away my socks because I hate buying new socks (but LOVE wearing a new pair of socks) and will continue to wear them even if they are riddled with holes
Thta’s funny that you cover the hole in a dress with a belt. Practical though 😀
I love the belt trick!
One of the reasons that my friends and I got purses back in HS was to be able to sneak food into the movies (no popcorn though) 😛
Transferring money from your c/c account and paying $8 in fees without realizing it made me LOL. Way to go girl!
This just happened this past week: I play in a recreational sports league, which we pay for at the beginning. This past week, a shift at work fell on the same day. I figured that I didn’t want to miss out on a game I had already paid for, so I got someone to cover my shift at work. Too bad that after I confirmed the shift coverage, I realized that I was giving up $150 in incoming money to play a game that cost $8!!! I think the sports gods gave me a break by giving me the satisfaction of scoring a goal, and I likewise console myself by telling myself that the social gains I made were priceless. (No, I don’t know what’s wrong with me).
Yeh, sometimes you have to be careful not to take it too far, otherwise it can backfire like when you were transfering cash from your credit card. For instance, some people will travel several miles to find a cheaper fuel station,not realising that they have probably burned more than they saved travelling there!
Haha, some of this are great! I loved the story about the credit card and the TFSA. We didn’t want to buy drapes for our apartment, so we bought some cheap closet rods and draped old bed sheets over them.
Another funny story, a month or two ago, a gas station in Toronto did a half-price gas promo for one day or until they ran out of gas. People lined up for hours to get gas, idling their car the whole time. One guy ran out of gas in line and had to push his car into the station. I wonder how much money people actually saved that day…
Can’t really say that I’ve done anything ridiculous to save or make money, but your stories are hilarious!
I reuse grocery bags, too! Though not necessarily for groceries. (You have to pay five cents for them?!) I use them to line my mini trash cans so I don’t have to pay for mini trash bags.
The popcorn thing is hilarious! Those bags must have been pretty nasty!
Love this post. It’s got me thinking about a few of my wardrobe items that have holes or damage that I don’t want to part with / still wear. My favorite black turtleneck is a really nice brand and fits SO WELL. I just noticed a tiny hole in the sleeve the other day and wanted to draw a black Sharpie spot on my arm so it wouldn’t be noticeable. I might have a problem! Haha.
hahaha I do the parking one too!
I love these posts too, Daisy..
We always get paper grocery bags, and then use them in our recycling bin to hold all the bottles, papers, cans, etc.. The trash company doesn’t allow plastic bags in the recycling bin anyways, so it works out quite well!
Ha! This morning I had to change pants because the ones I was wearing had a hole in them. As soon as my friend saw me, he said “Your pants have a hole in them.” I knew there was a bleach spot on them, but I didn’t realize the hole was so noticeable. 🙂
There’s one way of reaping rewards and gifts but requires a lot of trust and friendly sales talk. When a friend wants to buy a new set of entertainment showcase or wants to travel for a vacation, I volunteer to do the payment processing. I get his payment and charge it to my credit card. At the end of the day I get the rewards and increase my credit score also.
You are unbelievable lol. The popcorn bag was genius. Not paying for parking on Monday was the opposite.