Being smart withmoneymeans knowing when to save and when to spend. Because if you cheap out on the wrong things, you might end up paying even more to fix the consequences.No one learned that lesson better than these folks, whose extreme frugality came back to bite them. To avoid making the same mistakes, read their stories below and take note of what’s actually worth the splurge.More info:Reddit|Quora|RedditThis post may includeaffiliate links.
Being smart withmoneymeans knowing when to save and when to spend. Because if you cheap out on the wrong things, you might end up paying even more to fix the consequences.
No one learned that lesson better than these folks, whose extreme frugality came back to bite them. To avoid making the same mistakes, read their stories below and take note of what’s actually worth the splurge.
More info:Reddit|Quora|Reddit
This post may includeaffiliate links.
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When I collapsed in the mall waiting lane. Turns out eating only noodles for months isn’t enough to maintain a body. The more you know !
It was probably the time I was standing ankle deep in sewage in my basement trying to work my small, hardware store toilet snake. Sometimes its better to call a plumber. The really sad part? I finally did, and the plumber told me over the phone it was probably backflow due to a blockage in the city sewer and that I should call the city. I did, and the city fixed it for free.
I’ve been saving 40-50% over the last couple of years, pretty happy with it, and I easily have enough money to do something special for my mother who is getting older (she’s always wanted to go to Italy) without really making much of a dent in my savings. So I’ve committed to traveling with her next year for a few weeks so she can do that (and paying for both of us), but I’m so used to being very careful with money that I’m feeling huge anxiety about the expenses constantly, even though I can actually afford it. I don’t know if it’s a hangover from growing up not wealthy and having to be careful or what, but I really need to learn to relax and enjoy some big things when they are worth it :/.
Ugh, my inlaws are frugal in puzzling ways. They will inconvenience everyone around them to save a buck, yet blow money in stupid ways. For example, they are really opposed to paying for airport parking. It’s $10 a night, not a huge sum. They’d rather I wake up at 4am to go take them to the airport, and then interrupt my toddler’s nap/sleep schedule to have me come pick them up. If my toddler is still napping and I refuse to wake him to pick him up, they would rather hang out at the airport for an hour (usually eating something overpriced) instead of taking the $15 cab ride to my house where they leave their car. Sometimes time and convenience > money.
Bought a $30 suit from goodwill, spent 200 getting it hemmed and fitted.It still didn’t look right. :/.
I once learned the hard way that nobody needs a quart of homemade mayonnaise.
When I accidentally dropped my plate of spaghetti on the carpet one night, and instead of making another dinner and be over budget, I picked it all up and ate it while picking out pieces of hair that has snucked in.
I had to book a motel room for a wedding, but I noticed that as you drove further and further out of town the motels got cheaper. We figured it would be fine to go super-cheap because we’d only be coming back late and leaving early. We booked into the $25/night place, took our key and went on to the wedding without ever looking in the room. Coming back late at night and it was absolutely exactly what you’d expect from a low-budget horror movie. We spent the night sitting back to back on the vibrating (not vibrating; broken) bed staring out of the front and back windows looking for m**derers.
Dog poop bags at Dollar Tree, a lot of them weren’t sealed shut at the bottom.
My main thing is that you skimp on the daily things so you can buy experiences with it. How much does that diet coke that costs $1.50 from the vending machine actually increase your enjoyment out of life? Not much. But that $100 you saved over three months because you didn’t continually buy stupid things can be used for 2-3 days in a hotel.I think a motto for frugal should be “experiences > stuff.” That’s the way I look at it.
One time I bought the generic brand Q-tips…Never again.
I moved to a new place and didn’t have bowls, plates, and utensils. I had some friends who had extra and we just needed to meet up and I could pick them up. Our schedules don’t mesh and it takes a couple weeks before I can meet up with them. In the meantime I’m heating food in my pyrex measuring cup and using my measuring spoons as utensils.Being able to eat out of a proper bowl and use a proper spoon was awesome. I should have just spent $20 and gone to Target to pick up some bowls, plates and utensils. I found out where the line crossed from being frugal to cheap was for me.
After the fifth $1 pizza cutter.
When I was sewing up my ripped underwear.
I had these moments watching my parents. Both my parents are immigrants from Latin America to the USA. They had to be frugal to survive, and I am frugal as a result of watching them save up and, in fairness, do a lot of clever and cool tricks to save money. But I also learned not to take things too far like they did at times.When my parents moved from one house to another when I was in college, I came back home to help them move. I knew it was going to be bad, as they were semi-hoarders, but nothing could prepare me for how bad it was. My mother had a spare refrigerator she got for free somehow in the basement. I never opened the fridge much, but I did use the freezer to store fish that I would catch out fishing and give to my parents.Anyhow, I can’t even recall all the contents of that damn basement fridge that I forced my mother to throw away. Jars and jars of jam and Miracle Whip she bought on clearance that were years past their date. Jars of old tea she didn’t want to throw away so were “saved” for later–and forgotten. The worst part I will never forget was jar after jar after jar of pickle or jalapeno juice. That’s right–old a*s brine. After my parents would finish either a jar of pickles or jalapenos, they would save the brine in jars. I asked my mother again and again why they would do this, and she either pretended not to hear me or would just tell me to shut up.I have lots more stories, but this is the first one that popped into my head that sums up what absurd lengths my parents would go to save things and be cheap.Oh, okay, one more one. My parents were too cheap to buy either good knives or good cutting boards to cook with. It was so hard to cook with dull knives on old, uneven wooden chopping blocks. So I bought them a nice knife sharpener and a nice chef knife after college. A few months later I noticed how worn out the sharpener was, and yet the nice chef knife had been blunted down. I figured out what was going on watching my father cook later on that day, watching him use the nice chef knife to chop through a whole chicken (bones and all) directly on a marble slab that I thought they were using as a place to put hot pans/pots.I told my mother, and she said that my father did that all the time with all the knives, and then she would sharpen the knives in an idiotic, absurd cycle. I was so angry with my father I took the knife back, and to my surprise he didn’t care because he said it got dull too quickly as opposed to the ancient, clunky meat cleaver they had. That god damn cleaver. I have clear memories of them using it when I was a child all the way up until I was out of university. The handle on it actually snapped clean off while I was in high school, but rather than buy a new one, they got a friend that did some metal work to weld it back together.When your life becomes more difficult because of how cheap you are, it’s time to re-evaluate things.
Our dryer was making horrible screeching sounds. I researched and watched videos, figured out it was a pulley, ordered the part and we fixed it ourselves! Then at the very end my husband noted the gas line shut off valve was no longer screwed to the floor. He put a screw right through the gas line. Ended up paying $385 for the plumber to come out and repair the line
Buying cheap shoes. I pay for it with foot and knee pain.
When I skipped Christmas.
I didn’t have a vacuum, so I bought one at a thrift store (Hoover Windtunnel 2). Turns out that nobody sells bags for them anymore, so I spent 20 minutes cleaning out the old bag while I waited for the bags I bought on ebay to show up. I neglected to buy a filter. Still smells like wet dog whenever I vacuum.
Probably when my wife started washing and rewashing Ziploc bags until they could no longer be used.
I called Comcast for a credit because my internet was out for a day.Total refund: About tree fiddy.Total time on the phone: 45 minutes.
When I turned my fridge off for two weeks when I was out of town. Turns out when you turn the lower part off, the freezer turns off too. Came home to some dead flies and live maggots. Cleaned it out, and still using it despite everyone telling me to get a new fridge.
Not really backfired, but got less than optimal results buying the generic chunk of Parmesan cheese. I don’t use it often, but shave it on the occasional pasta dish or salad. It took forever to use it up. When I needed a new chunk, I decided to splurge on one that was more mid-range price, and what a difference! When this is gone, I might actually buy the expensive one. I use a few cents worth of cheese each time, so it’s not really that much more money, and the taste is MUCH better.
You need to read “die broke"Frugality is great, but enjoying life before you die is greater still.
I drink a lot of pop/soda. I buy it in 2 liter bottles because it’s the cheapest. But I live in California where I have to pay 10 cents a bottle for California Redemption Value. I collect two huge plastic bags worth of empty bottles and then take them to a recycling center to get my refund. It’s crowded, dirty, smelly, and noisy. Usually I get at least a 5 dollar bill. This past time I only got $4.75. At that moment I reevaluated my life and decided it was no longer worth my time and effort.
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Not me, but my father in law. Bought a $600K house with cash. Didn’t want to “waste” $300 on a home inspection before closing. After closing, they found out the house was full of termites from top to bottom. Ended up having to tear down the whole house and build new on the plot.
While planning my trip to Korea I spent 50+ hours figuring out the cheapest combinations of flights, which ended up saving three people going $30 each. Probably wasn’t worth the time.
When you start thinking about homemade devices made out of coat hangars to fashion into a key to open the toilet paper dispensers to steal gas station 1 ply tp.
I went to Starbucks with a friend and made “free” chocolate milk from the complimentary milk / chocolate powder / sweetener at the coffee bar.
I once moved out to Oregon to get away from Tennessee. I lived with my brother for a few months before I had realized I made a terrible mistake. So all the flights back were quite a bit more expensive than a bus ticket. So I get on a greyhound for four days. The difference I saved from riding the bus I ended up spending on food.While the bus ride was hell, looking back I did enjoy it!
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I would say any time I’ve bought the “cheap” product thinking I was getting a good deal. Then it breaks, and you have to replace it. Buying slightly more expensive quality products that last is frugal.
Not a huge backfire but I was down bad on Valentine’s Day trying to find a place to take my gf for dinner. Spent probably 2 hours sifting through menus til I found something I could afford. When we got the check I learned that they hadn’t updated their online menu in years and dinner ended up being more expensive than over half the places I looked at.
Buying a house that didn’t check all the boxes. I really should have stretched the budget a bit more. The timing would have been perfect (pre-covid).Now I’m “stuck” in a house I hate with a fantastically low mortgage.
When I rocked up to a family gathering with bandages to the balls of my feet.“Eet,” they said as they sat me down, “it’s time we held an intervention. You do realise hospital bills, time off work etc. will end up costing you more than a pair of runners?“So I bought a new pair. I still have to be forced to buy new trainers every once in a while. Old habits are hard to break I guess?
He continued to be frugal and work until he couldnt so that his wife and 2 kids would live good lives.then>I don’t know the details, but I heard that his wife ended up remarrying her personal trainer not long after. I’m sure they are enjoying his hard earned money, basically none of which he enjoyed.And I’m pretty sure they are using his hard earned money to raise the children he left behind. Jesus, what would you have her do? Remain single and depressed forever? NOT spend the money he left her? Did you give a single thought to what it must be like for a wife to watch her husband, the father of her two children slowly die over 3 years?
I will NEVER buy generic Nyquil. It’s a rancid, gag inducing nightmare flavor.
Tried to replace iPhone battery, ended up ruining it and had to get a new phone.
When you start doing anything that aligns with something you’d see on /r/Frugal_Jerk. For instance, lentil bread may be cheap, but seriously? Lentil bread?
If you’re working for a paycheck, you’d better cash in, ‘cuz life’s too short to never have lived. :).
I’ll never drive from NJ to FL and back again to save money vs flying. I’ve done it a number of times, but at this point I’d rather just fly and be there in a few hours.
I was cutting dog treats in half with chicken shears. Went to cut raw chicken one day and realised I’d blunted them on the dog treats. Not a total fail as I can use a knife for the chicken and they still cut the treats well but still, not great.
I bought an umbrella from the dollar tree and it broke within 30 seconds of me opening it due to wind
I bought a twin bed for myself instead of a double. I could not turn over or spread out. It was not meant to take the weight of an adult. I was so glad when I finally replaced it with a double.
I once avoided charging my electric car during peak hours when it was low on miles. I ran out of charge going to pick up my daughter that resulted in a larger tow charge than having charged it during peak hours. Will never make that mistake again.
Decided to build a fish tank stand instead of buying one
Buying second hand pants online. Second hand dresses online? Yes sure , because the size is more forgiving. Jeans? No way. They either fit or they don’t. I keep forgetting that I need to try pants before buying. I have waster two or three pants. I could have bought a new one with that wasted money
Yeah, I’m not much of a Bible-beater or anything, but this parable (Luke 12:16-20) hits a little too close to home.> A rich man had some land that produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, “What should I do? I don’t have space to store all my crops.” Then he said, “Here’s what I’ll do. I’ll replace my barns with larger ones, and then I’ll store all my grain. And then I can finally say to myself, ‘you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry!'” But God said to him, “You fool. This very night your life will be taken from you.”.
I bought a container of generic Dijon mustard from Walmart.It was the worst mustard I’ve ever had.
I live in tropic climate, SEA,my first house is heavily shaded and almost no windows, the bedroom is located at the most inner part of the house, no sunlight, it needs lots of lighting and heatpump, fan to circulate the air and cool the house, and without heatpump cooling, it felt like sauna, but I can’t smell smoke, I can’t hear anything.I decided to built my current house with good cross ventilation lots of sunlight, problem is I can smell smoke from trash burning from 100 meters away, there are lot more dust, I can also hear music playing from 100meters away.the electricity consumption decrease from 1800 kwh to 1000kwh a month, but at what cost?btw the location of both house is 40meter away. the size of the house is almost equal.
Bought an upright carpet cleaner. Bad idea-it has to be stored and there is never time to even vacuum, let alone wash the carpeting. Better to rent one..
I know someone who got colon cancer from years of eating cheap processed foods even though she couldn’t afford a better diet
I got out of a cab at 4:00AM 1km from my house, to save 3-4 dollars.I walked the rest of the way with a two inch gash on my leg, spewing out blood. Unsure as to wether I had severed an artery or anything else major.Every step squelched as my right shoe was literally filled with blood. I received 15 stitches later that day.At the time, I had close to $1000 dollars cash in my wallet and waited for the change from the cab driver.I’m sure I spent in excess of $150 dollars that night on alcohol, food, friends and gambling.It is important not to confuse being frugal, with being cheap.
When I read the end of Scrooge McDuck’s youth.You know, when he spends Christmas all alone in his fancy mansion, crying.
Instead of spending an extra $50 bucks on a later flight out, I bought an earlier flight that went out at 7am. My boyfriend at the time had to take me to the airport on a Monday before work. We left his place around 5:30am. For some background information, we were long distance and I was in town visiting him, he wouldn’t have to be into the office until around 11am, even later if he chose, but he isn’t a morning person, so it was rough on him. Two weeks later he broke up with me; having to take me to the airport that morning was one of the reasons that influenced his decision.
Books. As Mark Twain said, “the man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can’t read them.”Travel. From low budget road trips across the U.S. to Bora Bora and snorkeling, or car racing in Saudi Arabia, it really expands your world perspective.Condoms.Experiences.Good food.
Refusing to use the heaters when the temperature is -10° and end up having swollen digits due to chilblains for the rest of winter. Didn’t have to go to the doctor (there wasn’t much to do about it anyway), but soon figured out that my fellow housemates have been living in a ‘tropical’ environment in their rooms to the point where they roam around topless.I’m in a share house, and we spilt the rent.TLDR: Tried to save money on heating, end up with painful chilblains; and paying for housemates ‘tropical’ getaway.*Edit, I still don’t use the heaters (I don’t know why, but I just refuse to).
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