Funky Frugalities

by Andy Hough on May 14, 2007

These are some frugal things I do that others think are weird. They don’t really save much money but I like to do them anyway. If you are a frugal person though they probably seem pretty normal.

Reusing paper towels-If I use a paper towel to cover something in the microwave or as a plate for a sandwich I use it again if it didn’t get dirty. I know I shouldn’t be using them at all and I could save even more money. I read somewhere about using newspaper for covering your dishes. I might try that.

Unplugging the microwave-I keep the microwave unplugged when I’m not using it. It doesn’t save much money but it is easy to do so why not.

Using grocery bags for trash bags-I don’t see any reason to buy trash bags when plastic grocery bags work just fine. Of course I should be using a reusable bag at the grocery store. I’m trying to do that now but I still seem to be accumulating plastic bags.

Cut my own hair-Since I keep my hair buzzed it doesn’t really take any skill. Why should I pay to get it done?

Walk places-If I need to go somewhere close by I’ll walk. This seems logical but lots of people drive everywhere even if it is close. A few years ago I was with my sister and we were going to eat at a restaurant that was at the other end of a parking lot from the store where we were at. She wanted to drive there. Granted it was a big parking lot but I thought she was crazy for wanting to drive there. Of course she thought I was crazy for wanting to walk there.

The next one I don’t do but I just want to show there are limits to my frugality.

Reusing Kleenex-I read somewhere online about a frugal tip of saving your used Kleenex to use as TP later. That tip is a little too disgusting for me and it seems unhygienic as well.

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Festival of Frugality #74 - Millionster.com - Personal Finance, Business, Investing and Life
May 16, 2007 at 5:27 pm
Tight Fisted Miser » Festival of Frugality #74 Is Up
May 17, 2007 at 2:03 pm

{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }

Mom2fur May 17, 2007 at 10:07 am

OMG, I sure hope the reused Kleenex thing was a joke. Yuck!
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with reusing a paper towel you just used to cover something in the microwave. So long as it’s clean, why not?

If it is a nice day and you don’t have heavy packages to carry, walking is great exercise.

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Debbie May 21, 2007 at 9:49 am

I usually microwave things in bowls and I use a plate for the cover.

If you used cloth napkins instead of paper towels, that would probably also work for microwave duty (assuming there are no metallic threads!).

(Note: you can make napkins from favorite old clothes by cutting out a square and hemming the edges.)

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J2R June 20, 2007 at 9:53 am

Boy, I used to save all my grocery bags and use them as trash bags, but I had to stop because I found out that spending a few dollars on trash bags is worth not having the wife nagging at you :)

Regarding paper towels, do you do the same as me and don’t take a whole sheet if you don’t need? Some time I just need a tiny piece to wipe something off, so I just tear a small piece instead of the normal sheet, which is huge.

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