What is the tightest thing you do on a regular basis?

Here I am heating my apartment with my gas stovetop, purely because the gas isn't individually metered so is included in our rent. It got me thinking, I wonder what the tightest thing ozbargain users do on a regular basis.

What are your worst tight-arse habits?

Comments

  • +4

    I peel and re-use stamps on letters I receive in the mail. Many times Aus Post doesn't mark over stamps that have already been used. I haven't had the need to buy stamps for the past 12 months.

    • Technically, this is a Federal offence. Look it up.

  • +2

    I just write 'Postage Paid' on my envelopes where the postage stamp would go. Always gets delivered.

    • Serious!?

    • SERIOUS!?!?!

    • Why so serious?

  • woow nice thread & informative….
    - charge ur mobile phone/phons in teh office…

  • +3

    I boiled eggs in my hotel room kettle to save money on overpriced breakfast

  • I ring out used paper towels, hang them to dry, then use them the next day for floor spills/kids mess

    • +1

      We stopped buying paper towel over a decade ago. We wear our clothes until they are too shabby for op shops anyway. So instead of throwing them out - and paying money for chux/sponges/etc., we just cut the clothes up instead and use them as cleaning rags, dishrags… I cut up a really course-weave shirt that is supplying great dishrags at the moment. Far better than those stupid sponges that are half green scourer, half yellow sponge that fall apart too soon.

      • On paper products…

        Our local green grocer sells paper serviettes (100), 3 packs for $2. We recycle these most nights if they're not too grubby.

        When buying lunch or a coffee, we also grab extra paper serviettes.

        Then we fold and stack them in a pile. Suitable enough for the cat bowls.
        Our cats are fussy eaters and wiping out leftover food before a rinse makes it easier.

  • +1

    Just started using vinegar/water mix as a general house cleaner and floor cleaner. Apparently healthier and at a buck a litre for vinegar, even better! Better still, cleaning smells like my favourite old school samboy chips and not like some chemical death!

    • You can use vinegar as fabric softener and germ killer in the wash too :)

  • +1

    This kinda reminds me somewhere a workplace's lunch room had a tea bag stuck to a wall with a sign that says "3 dunks maximum" and people were lining up for their turn lol

  • Waiting til 8.45pm week nights to buy Woolies cooked chooks heavily reduced.
    Morning shower and free muesli,fruit toast and tea at Fernwood.
    Watching that the price scanned at checkouts for food is same as ticketed price. Policy is to give it free if not match. Once scored a free huge Xmas Ham this way.
    Colour my own hair and stock up when top quality hair colour on sale. Haircuts from hairdressing colleges $10 cut and blow dry. almost always the instructor (better than average hairdresser )has a lot of input into the style and picks up scissors to finish it off.
    Took an electric frypan on a family road trip. Used for fry up breckies and basic evening meals in motels.
    Spent a lot of time cruising the sale racks on Thursday night for fashion.
    Bought a half price 3 month eurail pass outside the Amsterdam railway station once.
    Anyone know if you can still do that? ;)

  • My student kid and his mates catch up for pre's somewhere then head to town. They bought a free admission pass at Uni and sit on 2 drinks for the night. Then I pick them up at 2am. It's a nice life for some isn't it? :)
    My brother used kerosene lamps for a while in a caravan.
    A friend slept at her workplace, while dodging the early morning cleaner. She didn't have the money to finish off a little shed on her land at the time. Eventually she moved into the shed, and now she has built and lives in a gorgeous qlder.
    To the guy who freezes waterbottles at work… If you shopped regularly you could use these as ice in an esky for meat butter vege etc.
    I know a guy who went to NZ for World Cup. Bought a tent and camp stove secondhand. Cops were tolerant given huge nos of people in the country. Camped free mostly, staying about 2 hours from games. Caught train to games. Each morning his brecky was a nice coffee sachet and a couple of lovely pastries bought the day before. Luxury!

    • Kero became too expensive years ago to qualify. ;-p

      WW chickens USED to be a good bargain. They would get marked down again and again - as low as $1! Sadly they have a new policy now. They only mark it down a certain %, and if it doesn't sell at that price within a certain time, they toss them out. Not even staff are (legally) supposed to touch them at that point.

      • And those organisations are worrying about the global warming, landfill and hungry africans, and eyeing on our hardly earned after tax money……

      • The throw out polkicy probably has to do with food safety.

    • Aren't you glad you know where your kid is at 2am and that they don't have to take any risks coming home.

      • Sure am Voteoften. Wouldn't have it any other way. :)

  • -3
  • Hm… Still 33 subscribers. Just thought of another one because I was about to do it. I hate paying for books. Postage is usually the killer. So (only if I'm motivated enough) I sometimes scan books and turn them into PDF files.

    • …after borrowing them from the library I assume?

      • Sorry, yes - of course. :-) Although I have purchased some things on ebay, scanned or copied the books/CD/DVD, then resold.

        I'm about to scan a book about "fishing baits and rigs", so we can try and catch some fish. Because the price of meat is getting to the point where you need a personal loan to buy some.

  • +2

    Here are some of mine:

    I love my wife – and one of the reasons I love her is her taste in tea. I like my tea strong and white and she likes hers weak and black. So we buy extra-strength tea (when it is on special) and one tea bag does both of us.

    Join your local library and RSL. Your rates pay for the library anyway, and the range of books and DVDs available is huge. We are currently researching an overseas trip with books I have borrowed from the library. Cheaper than buying a Lonely Planet.

    Apart from being a good cause, an RSL offers cheap meals and drinks to members and other inexpensive activities. My RSL even offers free haircuts!

    On the trip we are planning (and we bought the fares after an alert on OB) we are staying at a hotel in California that not only has inexpensive rooms but has an arrangement with local restaurants to get meals delivered at a discount. Well worth investigating that. They also have a 'soda' machine with 1990 prices (50c a can!).

    Whenever you go on holidays, research free activities that the local city council or tourism authority offers. Even in the most expensive places – like London and New York – there are lots of free tours and things to see and do.

    I am always searching for things on the net with the word 'refurbished' and 'warranty returns' attached. Some shops will have a number of near-new items that have been returned under warranty and repaired to almost-new condition. I just bought 2 premium suitcases that had been returns, all repairs done with new parts, they have a few scrapes but once they do a lap of a baggage carousel, they will have those anyway! They were 80 percent under rec retail and I haggled a further discount for buying 2!

    • Not that I've been to many, but I've never seen cheap meals in an RSL. Well, not cheap compared to what we can make ourselves at least. So you're lucky. And free haircuts!? Wow.

      The last time we went to an RSL, before purchasing our meals, we checked the price of a jug of softdrink. It was ridiculous of course, but after we'd ordered and paid for the meals, the bar guy says, "Sorry, I got the price wrong - it's actually $1 more." It was something like $7 for a jug of softdrink!

      We water all softdrink and flavoured milk down IF we ever buy them. Since he jacked the price up another $1, we asked for NO ice in the softdrink jug and a separate (free) jug of ice & water. Then we mixed it the way we like it to make it go further.

      • +1

        I bought a lifetime membership at an RSL for $1. Reciprocal rights at all other clubs. German club in Brisbane included. Amazing food!

      • RSL membership can be a cheap gateway to free activities like snooker and bowls.

        I was once a member of an RSL that had a squash court. Most members didn't know or care for the squash court so it was accessible almost always and we could play as long as we wanted; no "get off now" bell ever. $5/year membership for unlimited squash court use! Unfortunately they shut the court after some years because of insurance implications or similar but it was sweet while it lasted.

    • 'refurbished' and 'warranty returns' - love that idea Branners!

    • I just bought 2 premium suitcases that had been returns, all repairs done with new parts, they have a few scrapes but once they do a lap of a baggage carousel, they will have those anyway! They were 80 percent under rec retail and I haggled a further discount for buying 2!

      Hey That's interesting, where did you buy those?

      link or more information please.

  • Have 'eat out of the freezer' weeks, to clear it out totally/ spend nothing that week. Good to do when you come back from holiday and the budget is a little stretched. Have "spend nothing" weeks where you leave wallet at home. Boil up pasta and rice on Sunday and store in fridge as a basis for meals through the week(dress pasta with olive oil to avoid sticking). Also mashed potato in bulk. Freeze the mash in patties on an oven tray in freezer then transfer to freezer bag. Saturday morning soup or stew with every vege close to use bay date going in pot. Keep bread in freezer and use it a slice at a time. Never fill petrol tank beyond first click point as fuel is wasted (read in RACQ mag years ago). Buy bulk sauces and decant into smaller bottles, I had a friend who did this with cheap scotch (into expensive bottles). Oats is the only cereal in the house. Serve hot or cold, in summer, in a shaker- put overnight in the fridge with skim milk Greek yoghurt and fruit sometimes protein powder.Shake well. Tastes like the lovely bircher muesli you get at good hotels. Add tin of lentils or cannellini beans to any meal/casserole/stew/soup you can to boost servings/protien. Lentils are good in spag bol sauce. I love to Google what ever have in fridge eg 'recipe parmeasan broccoli eggs ham" brings up recipes like Parmesan Bread Pudding with Broccoli Rabe and Pancetta. Yum!
    http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/quick-recipes/2013/04/parm…

    • Good stuff. I'd be interested to know more about the reason/s for not filling fuel tank beyond the first pump click.

      Some other points to consider:

      I only found out fairly recently, you shouldn't keep cooked rice to eat later. Apparently it turns toxic!?

      Freezing things is good, but I think I read somewhere not to freeze things containing eggs. Probably another poisoning thing. And we don't use eggs in mashed potato, but maybe some folks do.

      Anything in tins is more expensive than dried. If you can get something in dried form instead (like lentils, beans, peas, barley are available at WW & Coles) do that instead - and cook in a pressure cooker to reduce the cooking time to a quarter I think it is (lentils take ages to cook). Cook the entire bag and freeze so they're already cooked when needed.

      We do the google-ingredients-on-hand and freezing bread thing also.

      • +1

        I only found out fairly recently, you shouldn't keep cooked rice to eat later. Apparently it turns toxic!?

        you can, but be sure to freeze it within the hour (as a rule of thumb for me but can be up to 4 hours according to ABC.net.au) of it being cooked.

        For those who can't be bothered to read the article, here's a quick summary:

        • The cause of food poisonings is due to toxins produced by a bacteria which is heat resistant (i.e. survives the cooking process)
        • Freezing will not kill the bacteria; merely delaying growth
        • Any frozen leftover rice should be discarded after 3 days

        and you'd be surprised at the amount of people who think risotto isn't a rice dish. It is and leftovers should be treated as such.

      • I'm curious about the fuel thing too. Only thing I can think of is more fuel = more weight which would cause more fuel consumption but I don't think it's that big of a deal personally.

        Personally I'd say having a full tank so you can put off refueling longer waiting for a lower price at the petrol pump and also less stops to a petrol station would even it out. You could also make more use out of petrol dockets if they happen to be worth while at a time. Depends on your driving habits, how big your fuel tank is and a bunch of other factors I guess.

        • Filling past the first click can allow petrol to overflow into the evaporative emission control system, resulting in unwanted emissions.

          http://community.cartalk.com/discussion/2287878/what-gets-da…

        • eh wait. 'the first click' means when you fill the car to full and the pump stops, but then u pull the trigger again anyway to get more in? (finally got around to reading the whirlpool linked below and came back and saw your comment).

          I was thinking the first click meant the first notch on your fuel gauge. (Mine is at 25% of the tank). Thanks for the clarification.

          So it's less about wasting fuel (seems like it would be an insignificant amount and only until you use a few ml's of petrol) and more about damaging your car then? As the article says in older car's it just vents some of the fumes.

          Further edit: Seems like people can put in more than 4 liters of fuel after the click. I was thinking it was like 200ml's or something :p Today I learned.

  • +1

    We just bought one of these…

    http://yourhomedepot.com.au/search/?q=foam+pump&x=-916&y=-28

    My wife usually makes her own hand soap by grating cheap bars of soap and boiling/mixing with water on the stove. We haven't tried the homemade stuff in the pump yet - just some cheap stuff from Aldi. With a family of 5, we would empty a handsoap pump every 3 or 4 days. We've had the foam pump two weeks now and it's not even half empty. (It mixes air with the hand soap to make it come out a froth - and so people use far less soap to wash their hands.)

    We also bought:

    http://yourhomedepot.com.au/search/?q=Adjustable+Rolling+Pin…

    http://yourhomedepot.com.au/search/?q=pie+dishes&x=-916&y=-2…

    My wife wanted the pans to make her pies to freeze. I bought the rolling pin too - as a surprise (hey, she appreciated it!) - to make rolling pastry to a uniform thickness much easier.

    And: http://yourhomedepot.com.au/search/?q=avanti+egg&x=-916&y=-2…

    It saves much of the time and electricity wasted by poaching eggs the normal way (only a couple at a time by stirring them in boiling water).

  • Those kitchen gadgets look like a lot of fun RFM! Let me know how you like eggs out of your new poacher. My husband does a lovely poached egg freehand that I reckon would be worth the energy costs but I am very interested to see what ypu think. Just googled filling fuel to first click off point. Wouldn't you know it our mates at whirlpool have it covered! http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/64705
    Must admit I was struggling to see value in a pressure cooker (and a little bit scared of their power) but they would be great for reduced cooking time on legumes. Over the years I have picked up from Vinnies: a huge Bessemer cast aluminium pot; a La Crueset Casserole dish and 2 food processors (one large, one small which get weekly use at our place. Hubby makes a great coffee on our little Breville; usually he microwaves the milk but I bought him a milk heater/frother from aldi this week for $24.99. Heats 250ml milk. Woolies version does 100ml for 29.99. Adds a lot to the coffee, I recommend it.

      • Thanks twinbag.

      • Hm… Interesting. Thanks!

    • +1

      We've used the egg poacher twice. The first time we didn't grease the ceramic cups and the eggs stuck. We haven't mastered using it yet. i.e. So eggs come out with cooked whites, but runny yolks.

      It uses much less water though, and is better/quicker because if we cook more than two eggs the usual way, you can't always tell which one to remove first so the yolk doesn't go hard. So we don't cook more than two at once usually. Then there's the saving of the little bit of vinegar used when we cook them in a saucepan of water.

      If anyone gets the Avanti, it doesn't come with any instructions. So I did some searching online and typed this out:

      Egg Poacher Instructions

      1. Remove cups and cup holder.
      2. Fill pan with water to just below egg cups. (Never allow pan to boil dry!)
      3. Bring water up to a rolling boil on medium-high heat.
      4. While water boils coat egg cups with oil or butter to prevent eggs sticking.
      5. Crack eggs into a separate cup then tip into the poacher cups.
      6. Season with salt and pepper.
      7. Fill any unused cups with water to prevent the ceramic cups cracking.
      8. Lift cups with holder and place into pan. Cover with glass lid.
      9. Reduce heat to a simmer.
      10. For soft-poached eggs cook approximately 4 minutes so whites set but yokes are runny. For regular poached eggs cook approximately 6 minutes until whites are completely set and yolks begin to thicken but are not hard.
      11. Run knife around edge of cups and invert to slide eggs out.

      Pressure cookers are very safe nowdays. Our first one (years old now) has something like 3 different safety releases. We even fry chicken in it, in oil, which is supposed to be anathema. It comes out 4x better than KFC.

      If you know anyone that already has a PC, take a beef roast over and ask them to season it with salt & pepper, then seal/brown it on all sides with the lid off. Then add a couple of cups of beef stock, lock the lid on and cook. (Not sure on time. My wife went to bed so I can't check with her.) I suggest this because it's very simple to make to try one out. Once done, use the liquid to make gravy. If you do this, you'll probably be searching where to purchase one the next morning.

      There's a couple of free recipe books online in PDF format. Search for "Beyond Pressure Cooker" & "The Everything Pressure Cooker Cookbook".

      But basically, if you've ever had a roast from an RSL and thought, "Gee, I wish roasts would come out moist and taste like that at home…" Well, they do in a pressure cooker, only better again.

      We even make cheesecakes and xmas puddings in ours. As long as a meal already worked using another method, everything that comes out of a pressure cooker tastes brilliant - a notch or two better again due to the pressure aspect locking in flavour.

      I probably said it already in this thread, but if anyone decides to buy one… Don't skimp and buy the cheap aluminium ones like on ebay. They cook at a lower pressure. So they take just as long to cook as a frypan/oven does.

      We recently purchased a second one. A Fagor Duo 9.5L from Le Domaine for $172, here:

      http://www.ledomaine.com.au/fagor-duo-6L (click the 9.5 box). You can get another $5 off if you're signing up for the first time.

      I did a LOT of research and wouldn't buy less in price/quality, or you'll probably find out later you got one that operates only at the lower pressure. (You want it to be up close to 15 PSI. The cheaper ones only operate at around 7 PSI, I think it was.)

      Fagor do make a cheaper one called a "Fagor Splendid". It's great too, but we bought the Duo because it has two pressure settings - whereas the Splendid has high only (15 PSI). That isn't a bad thing. It's just that our first PC is high only and we figured we might find something to cook one day that needs the lower pressure, so we paid more to get the Duo.

      BTW. If you read reviews on Amazon, you'll note lots of negatives about Fagors and breaking handles due to being made in China. I've emailed a few Australian stores and so far they've all sold Fagors made in Spain (higher quality).

      Finally… You can buy a glass lid on Amazon that fits the Australian Fagor Duo, so you can also use it as a saucepan/stockpot. You can also get a spare gasket cheaper than here in Australia. (Both are 10 inch.) I know this 100% for certain because we also bought both.

      • Oh - and she loves the rolling pin.

        You can buy a set of different sized silicon rings on Amazon that will do the same thing, if you already own a good rolling pin:

        http://www.amazon.com/Casabella-Silicone-Rolling-Spacer-Band…

      • Well you sold me RFM! One Fagor duo heading my way. Thanks for the discount first order heads up too. It must have been your evocative description of the RSL roast! Sorely tempted to ask for your recipe for KFC too, but resisting…… the idea of forcing molecules of fat into a chook under high pressure….it's just wrong. (But delicious I'm sure!) :)

        • +1

          You're welcome, LOL…

          I think Domaine emailed me the other day that I could get some kind of referral credit. Ah well, no matter. ;-p

          Re: KFC… The oil is only used to brown the chicken at the start, with the lid off. After that some people replace the oil with a little water, and only then lock the lid on to cook. Myself, I can't be bothered. When done in the PC, you dry it out in the oven on low heat which removes a lot of the oil.

          A tiny bit of the process (along with a list of ingredients) is found here:

          http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/97632

          I thought I explained it in more detail in another thread, but I can't seem to find it now.

        • Lol, had to read your comments twice when I saw PC being used in a cooking context.

          Good work RFM and keep it coming. Think you're the unofficial mod/admin for this thread.

  • Alas, a classic case of how being a tightarse can sometimes bite you in said arse…

    Wandered down to the local shops, came home via a side-street I don't usually walk down. Mandarine tree hanging over the fence across the naturestrip, laden with some great looking fruit, hands full but tall enough to reach some.
    No need to buy much that's orange-coloured for a few weeks. Resolve to come back with a shopping bag.
    Aah, fond childhood recollections of the bedraggled old mandarine tree in my grandparents front yard and the amazing fruit it used to produce…

    Yes, well, suffice it to say - on the fast track to the wheelie bin, a big bag of fruit only useful for bloody juggling practice.

    Only solace is that I wouldn't have been the first in the neighborhood to discover, but my tastebuds are yet to recover/forgive me…

    • Should've given them to neighbours you don't like - or someone that 'works' for the government.

  • +3

    Not sure if this counts, but I get really happy when I find 5c on the ground.

    • If this happens every second day, that's $9.13 every year! You can buy lots of things for that price on Ozb

      • +2

        how did you get 3c? haha :P

        • 365 days a year. One day would be a half day. Then rounding up I guess.

  • +1

    I take wasabi packets from sushi places in the city because my uni cafeteria charges 30c for wasabi.

  • +4

    The biggest money saver is to pay the full amount on your credit card every month, don't buy what you can't afford.

    • True. And you can do it by direct debit. Even if you have to transfer from a line of credit to do it 6% interest way better than 21%

      • I see it as "why do you buy on credit and then pay it back later?"
        if you're going to pay it back later then why not save for it first and buy it outright?

        • +3

          You've diverted a bit, but here's three reasons:

          • Credit card damage insurance and price protection.

          • If you spend a lot, you can redeem points for cash.

          • Bill auto-payments if a cc fee isn't charged. It's easier to dispute or cancel a credit card auto debit than a bank account direct debit.

          (in all three cases you're not actually using credit, you're just paying with your credit card which you totally pay off immediately or on time)

        • Good point. For us it's a way to track business expenses and chase points. Cash is definitely the best way to budget though, I agree.

        • buying on credit and taking advantage of the "up to 55 days" means you can have the money in a high (relatively) interest rate account for the extra time.

          I quickly make up the cost of the annual fee on my card doing this, and I also keep the 28 degrees card (no annual fee as well as conversion rate advantages).

  • +12

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_taxes_in_Australia
    Tightest and best thing I do is not pay a cent in fuel taxes (I take the bike).
    * I don't pay cigarette taxes (don't smoke).
    * I don't pay alcohol taxes (don't drink alcohol).
    * I avoid nearly all foods attracting GST.
    * I avoid eating out nearly always (your own prepared meals and snacks are so much better anyway, and GST-free).
    * I boil several litres of water for tea and use just one small bit of loose-leaf tea (I don't buy wasteful teabags in super-wasteful packaging for sky-high prices).
    * I turn lights off always.
    * I never buy toilet paper from supermarkets but cleaning supply stores.
    * I nearly always rug up rather than turn the heat on.
    * I never buy bread, I buy flour.
    * I never buy drinks.
    * I have something to say about just about every item on the supermarket shelves, usually negative, so I'm great company and cool to hang around with, naturally.
    * I often pee in the backyard rather than the State-endorsed way. If I had my way, I'd buy a composting toilet pronto. I don't want the State getting access to my poo, or paying for its disposal.
    * I am thinking of seriously stockpiling any glass jars and stuff, and getting paid to have it recycled rather than hand it over freely to the State at rubbish collection time
    * I often go out of my way to buy something overseas sometimes, often for savings but sometimes even not for that; sometimes it's just to avoid giving local stores that I dislike any money (usually those with crap service or company policies).
    * I avoid ebay as much as possible and try to contact sellers and deal with them directly for a discount
    * I try to avoid buying with PayPal as much as possible, along with their poor exchange rates
    * I grow some of my own food in the same garden I pee in.

    Food and the GST
    http://www.ato.gov.au/businesses/PrintFriendly.aspx?ms=busin…

    • +3

      +1, looking at your list, i would guess youre motivated more by sustainability, waste and health than money.

    • Yeah, we skip all the processed food aisles.

      ebay… pfft… They've really ruined ebay. I've 'met' lots of people through it over the years - some even from other countries. Now you don't even have contact with a seller anymore - and if you do send them a message, everyone else gets to read it! (Although I soon found a way around that problem, LOL.)

      Composting toilet… You sound like me. We want acres, our own clean water, generate our own electricity, food, straw bale house… Nothing to do with the green side of things though - the cheapskate side of things more like it! :-D

      • what way around the ebay problem?

        • gumtree. trading post. local supermarket community notice board. uni poster boards. ozbargain selling forum. ozbargain find me a bargain. word of mouth. freecycle. etc

          Ebay avoidance - actually contact the seller and make a side deal.(saves them seller fees and paypal fees).

        • +1

          Ebay avoidance - actually contact the seller and make a side deal.(saves them seller fees and paypal fees).

          This is where some of the eBay scams stories come in I think, buyer getting item cheaper, but seller doesn't post item. Buyer loses as there is no buyer protection. This only works for cash on pick ups.

        • yeah. play it smart. sight the item. get someone to collect.

          1. Don't "watch" any of the seller's items. (Remove them from your watchlist first.)

          2. Click on one of their other items - one that is NOT the one you're asking the question about.

          3. Click their name, contact seller, etc.

          If you're watching an item, the ebay site will always default to sending your question about that item. If you're not watching any of their items, it can't.

          Also, if you send your message from a different item to the one you're interested in, the seller has no reason to "publicly list" (or whatever ebay calls it) your question for everyone to read.

  • I take tons of the hotel amenities when i travel so I don't have to buy products.
    Get extensions to pay bills so I can have the cash in my acct for longer, since interest is calculated daily.
    Only buy sale items.
    Always get a price match
    Mystery shop so I can get paid to eat or free products.
    Cook at home most days.
    Avoid middle isles at supermarket
    Find foxtel shows online

    • How much does keeping money in the bank a little longer get you in interest exactly? Maybe I'm using the wrong bank account but usually the interest I get on my bank statement is less than the cost of a phone call to get an extension. Maybe I just don't have enough money in my bank account because I'm not enough of a tight ass :p

  • Sell everything you don't need on gumtree

  • +1

    Avoid buying crap-
    a small thing I do is to look at woolies/coles catalogs and go through them with a marker/sharpie and cross out anything that has high sugar or is junk or has no nutritional value. that cuts out the majority of the stuff. it re-inforces the idea to buy only what I need. need and want are 2 different things.

  • +1

    Brushing teeth

    • Squeeze just enough toothpaste (hard to describe how much is "enough" though) and not the whole lot across the entire toothbrush head as often advertised on tv.

    • When using mouthwash don't fill to the line. I found this when switching brands and they all recommend different amounts per rinse. About 2/3 of Colgate Plax's huge lid line does the job.

    • Finally when flossing I never use the recommended length. Just 15cm is sufficient.

    Paying bills

    • Quite often bills have a pay by date that are only due in weeks. I diarise those dates and only BPay on the day (or the day before) and keep the money in my savings account for longer.
  • +1

    I put together a cheap home gyms, as a beginner i brought a second hand bench, some weights and two dumbbells. I've used them for a few months. Saving on gym fees, travel expenses and time also not having to travel from and to the a gym. Next investment will be a barbell a brand new at Kmart cost $33. Which I'm sure I'll be able to use for years. It’s a one-time fee and I won’t need to replace them.

    Check fuel price everyday, fill up tank when its the cheapest during the week.

    Brought a Hair Clippers & Cutting Kits for hair cut at home.

    Check WW and Coles catalogue every monday for specials. Buys mainly half price items.

    And like OP, using gas stovetop as heater as its included in my rent.

    • +1

      Gym memberships are a total ripoff.

      Buy secondhand gym gear or even check the freebies section of gumtree. There's heaps of exercise bike etc being given away because they have a broken screen or some other problem that doesn't affect there calorie burning function.

  • I'm not tight. I'm generous, soft-hearted and some would say, gullible.

    • +1

      A fool and his money…ಠ_ಠ
      Welcome to ozbargain Mr Wicket. We'll 'tighten' you up in no time:)

      • .

      • +1

        Since when is being a tight-arse a good thing?

        • +3

          I hope these 2 Wickets aren't married. Could be some financial incompatibility there. :)

        • +1

          Well, it depends on what you align as being that, but… many of the things mentioned in this thread are advocated by authors of budgeting and get-free-of-debt books. And some of them (never buy a new car for example) are advocated by wealth creation books.

        • +1

          you're right kobrien, nothing could be worse than being married to a beautiful woman who doesn't like to spend her hubby's money..oh wait! Wiki, marry me! We'll hv cute little ewoks together:)

  • +2

    I have "time of use" electricity meters at home so I run my washing machine, dishwasher, dryer etc during off-peak times (10pm - 7am). I just set the timer on and let it run overnight. Also anything that can wait, such as charging mobile phones, laptops etc I do overnight.

    I started to do this when I realised peak period electricity (2pm - 8pm M-F) costs about 4x more than off-peak period and about 2.4x more than shoulder period.

  • share small cup of soft drink at hungry jacks with 4 other friends and keep refilling with free refils

    • +4

      4 guys and a cup…is that the sequel to the 2 girls and a cup movie %-)

        • +1

          risky click

        • also relevant

      • Note to self- you don't have to understand every reference on the Internet. Holy s**t.

        • sorry :$ Should have mentionned that its a fetishistic porn movie which involves scat…

          Edit: scat as in scatophilia not as in scatman

  • +2

    When I went to uni I stayed on campus and had access to the college gym. The rule was that alumni are allowed to use the gym, provided that there are no current residents using the equipment. From time to time I still go back to use the gym when there's no one around, which is just a short bike ride away :D

  • I watch porn instead of having real sex. Saves cost of a condom.

    • +2

      condoms are free at uni campuses.

      toilet paper costs money, so does internet and computers.

      anti-bargain

      • Who the hell uses toilet paper for porn?!

        • +1

          I think it's more for .. cleaning purposes.

        • Recycle it and use it as a face mask. The proteins are good for skin apparently ;)

      • Yes but Uni is not free.

        • no, but you do not need to be an uni student to be at a uni campus. it's a great place to pick up someone to use the condom with too ;)

  • Dry my clothes using heater at the same time heating up my room, save money on the dryer.

    • +3

      That's what the sun is for.

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