The Scottish Frugality Thread

[CaberTosser]

I thought I'd fire up a thread in which we can all share our various money-saving tips & tricks, the concept struck me as I tried a new to me cheap-trick just recently. As grandma would say: "We're not cheap, we're frrrrugal!"

My recent trick involves those soap dispensers that pump out the handful of foam, which seem a good way to reduce soap use over liquid soap. We had some empty foam dispensers so I mixed up some liquid soap at a 20%-25% ratio with water and refilled the things. They work great and by doing so it's way less expensive than buying a full foam pump with its watered-down soap when you can get a big jug of liquid soap that can refill it 8 times over for about $1 more.

How are you frrrrrrugal?

[Rumtan]

I take all the leftover barsoap and microwave it for 25 seconds and melt it into one bar....... don't touch it too soon because it holds the heat and do it on a napkin. I roll it into a big ball and let it harden. och eye laddie its a wee bit o frugality at its finest.

[coreya3212]

Originally Posted by Rumtan

I take all the leftover barsoap and microwave it for 25 seconds and melt it into one bar....... don't touch it too soon because it holds the heat and do it on a napkin. I roll it into a big ball and let it harden. och eye laddie its a wee bit o frugality at its finest.

Good lord no you do not?

[recce43]

When I purchased the last drop of whiskey out the bottle I turn it upside into glass and let it sit for awhile to get every last drop . Sometimes you have to tap the the bottle

[fitzy]

Originally Posted by Rumtan

I take all the leftover barsoap and microwave it for 25 seconds and melt it into one bar....... don't touch it too soon because it holds the heat and do it on a napkin. I roll it into a big ball and let it harden. och eye laddie its a wee bit o frugality at its finest.

Just stick the old piece to the new bar when they're both wet. My grannies soap trick.

[wind drift]

Originally Posted by recce43

When I purchased the last drop of whiskey out the bottle I turn it upside into glass and let it sit for awhile to get every last drop . Sometimes you have to tap the the bottle

I've learned it's better to just lay back for a few hours with the bottle in your face.

[dodger]

Keep inviting myself to people's places and then hang around until supper.

Just kiddin, but I do know this person.

Watched a show where a lady unravelled a roll of double ply toilet paper to a roll of single ply. You would figure the single ply was double the length of double ply but it was actually 5 times longer! You get lots of single ply to build a large wad to keep the ar&$ clean

Dodger

[CNP]

Originally Posted by dodger

Keep inviting myself to people's places and then hang around until supper.

Just kiddin, but I do know this person.

Watched a show where a lady unravelled a roll of double ply toilet paper to a roll of single ply. You would figure the single ply was double the length of double ply but it was actually 5 times longer! You get lots of single ply to build a large wad to keep the ar&$ clean

Dodger

5 times longer? I rip an 8' piece of lumber and I only get 2 X 8' pieces of lumber. I guess it only works with TP Stretching is cheating

[bagwan]

Originally Posted by recce43

When I purchased the last drop of whiskey out the bottle I turn it upside into glass and let it sit for awhile to get every last drop . Sometimes you have to tap the the bottle

26 drops to a 40.

[rugatika]

Originally Posted by dodger

Keep inviting myself to people's places and then hang around until supper.

Just kiddin, but I do know this person.

Watched a show where a lady unravelled a roll of double ply toilet paper to a roll of single ply. You would figure the single ply was double the length of double ply but it was actually 5 times longer! You get lots of single ply to build a large wad to keep the ar&$ clean

Dodger

We used to work with a guy that would come for drinks with us after work on Fridays. Usually about 8 - 12 of us, each taking turns to buy a round. By the time it got to him he had to go.

[CaberTosser]

For firewood I had picked up the $5 permit to cut from forestry reserve, and that certainly makes to a fun day out, but if your main motivation is to be as frugal as possible line yourself up with an arborist company to be on their firewood call list and you can pick up firewood from their jobs in town. Obviously those fellows will have all the firewood they can stand so when people pick up from their worksites it saves them labor and increases their profits, win/win! This approach saves you time and gas, plus you'll wind up with some hardwoods too, which aren't particularly common in our forestry zones. If you can respond in a timely fashion and leave your pick-up area clean they'll call you back. Remember that if you leave a mess or whatnot at their clients property you might not get called again as you'd reflect badly on them corporately.

[Stricks]

Originally Posted by Rumtan

I take all the leftover barsoap and microwave it for 25 seconds and melt it into one bar....... don't touch it too soon because it holds the heat and do it on a napkin. I roll it into a big ball and let it harden. och eye laddie its a wee bit o frugality at its finest.

At an art auction in Edinburgh, Scotland, a wealthy American lost his wallet containing £20,000. He announced to the gathering that that he would give a reward of £200 to the person who found it.

From the back of the hall a Scottish voice shouted, 'I'll give £250.'

[elkdump]

Take 1 sheet of toilet tissue , fold it in half , tear a small piece if toilet paper( making a 1/2 inch hole in centre of this single sheet of toilet tissue) keep small piece of toilet tissue in right hand, insert middle finger of left hand partially thru hole in toilet tissue ,

Wipe desired area with left middle finger carefully, gently remove middle finger( slightly soiled) from larger piece if toilet paper,

Now very carefully wipe left middle finger tip with the 1/2 inch piece of detached toilet tissue,

If successful with NO mess , then dispose of soiled 1/2 inch piece of toilet tissue,

If you complete this procedure with good results ?

You are quite frugal and deserve to be very proud your Scottish heritage

Save remaining sheet of toilet paper to blow your nose

[CaberTosser]

You can contribute a joke if you first contribute something frugal and helpful, that's the point of the thread lads. Let's keep it on-topic, seriously.

[LSLAKER]

It been said that one can make toilet paper go twice as far simply by just using both sides.

[wolf308]

Tagged for when not exhausted

[fishtank]

walking to the corner store rather then driving .
Cooking at home rather then dining out .
cutting my own steak from a bulk...( better yet hunting my own steak instead of buying)

[elkdump]

Originally Posted by CaberTosser

You can contribute a joke if you first contribute something frugal and helpful, that's the point of the thread lads. Let's keep it on-topic, seriously.

Buy bleach and dish soap and vinegar for a $ a bottle at a dollar $tire rather than at Safeway or SuperStore for $5 a bottle

Buy white eggs for $2.50 a doz rather than brown eggs for $4.50 doz

The contents are the SAME ,

BRIWN EGGS TASTE BETTER , LMFAO

[Rumtan]

My gran always said "Ye canna nay be throwin the nubbins away, save em for another day".
She usually said it while hanging tea bags out to dry.......lol

[Redfrog]

Originally Posted by CaberTosser

I thought I'd fire up a thread in which we can all share our various money-saving tips & tricks, the concept struck me as I tried a new to me cheap-trick just recently. As grandma would say: "We're not cheap, we're frrrrugal!"

My recent trick involves those soap dispensers that pump out the handful of foam, which seem a good way to reduce soap use over liquid soap. We had some empty foam dispensers so I mixed up some liquid soap at a 20%-25% ratio with water and refilled the things. They work great and by doing so it's way less expensive than buying a full foam pump with its watered-down soap when you can get a big jug of liquid soap that can refill it 8 times over for about $1 more.

How are you frrrrrrugal?

Love those dispensers for the kids. They actually want to wash their hands.
I use dawn dish soap and when the bottle is empty I add enough water to fill the hand soap dispenser and give it a shake. Washes a lot of dirty little hands.

We don't go through stuff as quickly now that the kids are gone. when I find cheese or onions or peppers etc, on sale. i run them through the food processor, into a zip lock and use it in soups sauces, pizza , nachos etc.

My MIL was a war bride from Edinburgh. My wife claims she only stays with me cause divorce is so expensive. She says instead of getting half now, she'll get it all when I die.

[Stricks]

Ok Caber… to follow protocol, my frugal tip is to change your underwear only once a week.

Caber, you change with Rugs
Rugs you change with Froggy
Froggy you change with………..

Just let us know where you are at all times.

[Dean2]

Instead of buying bug remover for your windshield, add a few drops of sunlight to plain water. Takes bugs off great.

Straighten bent nails and re-use them.

Save all spare fasteners in jars sorted by size.

Make your own jumper cables out of welding leads. Way cheaper and far more effective.

Cut up your own salad rather than buying pre-packaged.

Boil your chicken and other bones to make soup.

Buy a whole ham hock, make ham and scalloped potatoes, use the left over for ham and eggs, use the bone for French Pea soup.

Change your own oil. Cost $20 versus $69.99 at the lube shop. Recycle takes the used oil for free. ( no $4 enviro fee).

Use cloth diapers instead of disposables.

[Grizzly Adams]

Originally Posted by recce43

When I purchased the last drop of whiskey out the bottle I turn it upside into glass and let it sit for awhile to get every last drop . Sometimes you have to tap the the bottle

I just add a touch of water and rinse. Especially the expensive stuff.

Grizz

[LeroyvdH]

I dehydrate veggies always good in meatloaf and rice

[Au revoir, Gopher]

Originally Posted by Dean2

Make your own jumper cables out of welding leads. Way cheaper and far more effective.

Where are you getting your welding cable? Best price I could find for #2 cable was about $3.80/ft but I found a set of 20ft #2 jumper cables for about $120 (on sale)...

Boil your chicken and other bones to make soup.

Have I mentioned I like soup? I currently have about 30l of stock in the freezer (venison, pheasant, chicken and duck).

Other tips:
Keep a grease jar by the stove to collect drippings and then cook with them.

Render your own fat... instead of throwing out the fat trimmings off that pork roast, make use of them. You already paid for it. I also render chicken and duck fat; I use the duck fat to make duck confit.

Make your own vinegar; not hard, it practically makes itself :-)

Once you have vinegar, make your own whole grain mustard.

Make your own wine/beer (one of the greatest tax dodges going) and can provide the raw ingredients for the vinegar.

ARG

[jstubbs]

Anything I need and can reasonably purchase on Kijiji, I will try to purchase on Kijiji. Vehicle parts, wheels, concert/game tickets, furniture, tires, tools, textbooks, technology, you name it. I'm a fairly good negotiator and smart with inspecting stuff before purchasing to ensure I don't get burned. Gotten tons of screaming deals on barely used or brand new stuff.

Makes me feel sorry for all of the chumps who pay full pop.

I.e. Right now I attend the U of A, and parking there is around $1000 for two semesters, give or take. I rented a parking spot a block away from campus for $520 for two semesters. Or this summer I purchased a great condition slip tank with working GPI pump, hose and nozzle off a guy for $300. It must have cost $2,000 for that set up brand new.

I've probably saved tens of thousands of dollars over buying retail and never really had a problem. I've only sold tons of my old junk that I didn't need/want and made some good money from doing that.

[grouse_hunter]

I always add a small amount of water to an "empty" shampoo, conditioner, shower gel container and get every last bit out.
I always take lunch to work. Usually it's soup. I make 10-12 liters of hearty soup at a time and it provides me with two weeks of meals. Costs about 25-30 bucks to make. I heat it up at home, pour in my wide-mouth thermos and viola!
Cooking at home is not only more satisfying, but is much more cost effective.

[saskbooknut]

Previous post saying that he hunts his own meat rather than buying it - hilarious !

I usually carefully avoid calculating what my game meat costs.
$73 for tags and license, say....$300 for gas ( optimist), we'll not count the trips to the range to practice, reloading costs, depreciation, gift to landowner.....

Game meat is priceless.

[ceadog]

I lived in Edinburgh for a while, then Cork a few years later. Both islands know how to be frugal big time.

We're big fans of making our own bread - $0.25-0.50/loaf!

I'm waiting for someone to say hunting for meat because it's cheaper....

[Au revoir, Gopher]

Originally Posted by saskbooknut

Game meat is priceless.

Have you checked the price on free range organic beef? The game meat starts to look cost effective.

ARG