Friday OT #1 - Rubbing Pennies

[Isualum13]

Our local hardware store was having a sale where everything you could fit in a 5 gallon bucket was discounted a certain percentage (and the bucket was free). I can't tell you how excited my wife was to go (because she wanted a free bucket )

The Runnings bucket sale is wonderful. The buckets are good quality. Also free as long as you spend at least $5. Plus %15 off pretty much anything in the store that fits in the bucket. And they are very lenient on their definition of fits.

 

[CYdTracked]

My dad will run the gas tank down to the last drop if it means he can make it to the exit with the cheaper gas. For the extra dollar or 2 he might save on a tank of gas to me seems silly for the inconvenience it would be to run out of gas and have to walk to go get some. Although I swear he also will drive somewhere to buy something for less and have it wind up costing him the same anyways because of gas and time it spent to drive further to get it.

 

[CYdTracked]

My dad and stepmom go to FL every Feb-Mar. My dad will bring pop cans and bottles home from FL so he can take them to the Can Shed. Way to fill up your $12 bag Dad.

We had a guy on our floor in college from Michigan we would send all our cans and bottles back when he went home for breaks.

 

[khardbored]

My grandma saved every margarine and cool whip type container she ever came across. They had an old fridge that had stopped working in a back room that was packed full of various plastic containers.

My grandmas (both) and mom did the same. A few years ago, my mom got mad at us (my wife and I) because "every time I send leftovers home with you, I don't get my 'good plastics' back!" By "good plastics" she meant old, used margarine, cool whip, etc. containers. Yes, she was upset because we would be forced to take leftovers home and we had the audacity to throw away the used containers when we were done. From that point forward, we had to save, wash, and return used containers to mom for the sake of family unity.

 

[Clonefan32]

For Christmas we didn’t tear open the packages, we carefully unwrapped them so we could save the wrapping paper. I still carefully unwrap gifts to this day, don’t save the paper but I think about it times.

My wife has become big on keeping gift bags. Drives me nuts. I can appreciate the thought of them not being ruined and being reusable, but the idea of continuing to store something so inexpensive drives me nuts.

 

[cyclones500]

For Christmas we didn’t tear open the packages, we carefully unwrapped them so we could save the wrapping paper. I still carefully unwrap gifts to this day, don’t save the paper but I think about it times.

I think of that when I open, too, and always start with carefully unwrapping, then tear into it when Spousal500 scoffs at me.

I still save gift bags (other than the super-cheapie kind), regardless of her eye-rolling. I'm not throwin' away a perfectly good bag!

 

[GMackey32]

My Grandma grew up in the depression so had some quirks to her. Would save the wrapping paper and bows on gifts to be re-used. Made spaghetti sauce by mixing flour and tomato juice together. I'm sure there were other things she did, but those are the two that stood out to me so far.

 

[JP4CY]

My wife has become big on keeping gift bags. Drives me nuts. I can appreciate the thought of them not being ruined and being reusable, but the idea of continuing to store something so inexpensive drives me nuts.

Better not write on the gift bag mini tag on the handle strings either because you'll need it for a wedding gift eventually!
Gotta use a gift sticker that can be peeled off!

 

[JP4CY]

The cool whip and margarine container thing is so true. Have a big Thanksgiving meal then pack it up into 34 containers.
When you want leftovers, you have to completely empty the fridge because you have no idea whats in them.

 

[BCClone]

I first read that as rubbing penises

 

[Mr Janny]

One of my long standing memories of my grandmother was her relationship with her deep freeze. She never threw any leftovers away. They just went into the deep freeze. She had this big Tupperware container in there, that she kept cookies in, (because frozen cookies!) and it never got empty. She would bake every week, and just add the new ones to the top. Legend has it that the cookies at the bottom had come over on the Mayflower.

 

[wxman1]

Powdered milk, never got to eat state fair food always had lunch at the car while my cousins got to eat all the fair food.

I don't remember going back to the car to eat at the state fair but I wouldn't put it past them. On vacations we never went to restaurants while driving but instead would stop at rest stops and have lunch meat sandwiches. I believe we would eat them while at our destination as well. Almost never ate out growing up at all.

My dad and stepmom go to FL every Feb-Mar. My dad will bring pop cans and bottles home from FL so he can take them to the Can Shed. Way to fill up your $12 bag Dad.

I briefly debated doing this when we moved to Kansas but quickly decided it wasn't worth the effort/space.

 

[CYdTracked]

I think we all probably have stories about the battle of the utility bills. The thermostat wars and not leaving lights on or wasting water and such

 

[Cydkar]

Just here to state that I thought the thread title was "Rubbing Penises", at first glance. That's all I have to add.

 

[ISUCyclones2015]

I am thankful to have never had to think about food or shelter or lunch money or fees for little league or summer camp or any of that. So this is a little different than some people's experiences.

My dad was very weird when it came to travel and I wish he was around so I could ask him why. We also barely took any vacation besides going to Iowa but when we did it was exhausting lol.

He would refuse to take a plane. So we had wonderful things like going to San Francisco from Ohio and he would drive two 18 hour days. Just to be there two days and then drive two 18 hour days back. Sometimes I felt like the vacation for him was the drive itself.

Then when it came to hotels, he would pick the crappiest motels like Motel 6 or Days Inn or some random no name place instead of spending an extra $20 for a nicer hotel like Courtyard or Fairfield Inn (and this was the 90s/early 00s so probably less than $20 difference).

Even when we went to Disney, he made it hard on us because we stayed at whatever motel that is just outside Disneyworld.

It was so weird considering we were honestly upper middle class but always chose to make the experience as difficult as possible.

Then as soon as I graduated high school, he flew around the country and world, stayed at super nice hotels, would go on vacation every other month. I was deeply offended lol.

Now I don't even have a car, I always try to stay at great hotels, I always fly unless it's less than 3 hour drive and I go on vacations all the time. He didn't teach me crap

RIP dad.

 

[EnhancedFujita]

I don't remember going back to the car to eat at the state fair but I wouldn't put it past them. On vacations we never went to restaurants while driving but instead would stop at rest stops and have lunch meat sandwiches. I believe we would eat them while at our destination as well. Almost never ate out growing up at all.

The first thing in our trunk when going on our road-trip vacations with my grandparents was the cooler loaded with all of the food for our various stops at rest areas for meals. However, if the route had a Cracker Barrell on it, my grandfather always stopped, usually for breakfast. In fact, I'm pretty sure he planned a decent amount of the trips around where he could find a Cracker Barrell LOL

 

[Angie]

My wife has become big on keeping gift bags. Drives me nuts. I can appreciate the thought of them not being ruined and being reusable, but the idea of continuing to store something so inexpensive drives me nuts.

I do this. We can afford the $1.50 it takes to get a new one, but it seems wasteful environmentally? And Christmas is expensive enough as it is, why spend extra? However - my poor family, they generally end up getting the crappy ones. The fancy ones are for company or people out of the house.

 

[Cybone]

There was one winter growing up where my folks and I lived out of one room in the house they were renting. They could only afford to heat one room in the house, so we lived out of the living room.
How many of you remember wearing bread sacks on your feet when wearing your snow boots?

 

[JP4CY]

One of my long standing memories of my grandmother was her relationship with her deep freeze. She never threw any leftovers away. They just went into the deep freeze. She had this big Tupperware container in there, that she kept cookies in, (because frozen cookies!) and it never got empty. She would bake every week, and just add the new ones to the top. Legend has it that the cookies at the bottom had come over on the Mayflower.

Are you my cousin?

 

[Mr Janny]

Are you my cousin?

My grandfather's "rubbing pennies" move was to turn the "profo" inside out and get another use out of it, so it's possible we're related.