It is wise to be frugal, and in these tough economic times it is a survival skill that many of us are learning for the first time. While cultivating good financial sense is a good thing, it is possible to have too much of a good thing. Some people really take penny pinching to an extreme. I am not one to pass judgment on the habits of others, especially since some people are in dire circumstances and have to meet their basic needs in any way that they can. The following examples of extreme penny pinching are for informational purposes only – you can decide for yourself whether you think that they go too far.
Dumpster diving is an area where some people really get carried away. I can understand grabbing an item out of a dumpster if you are walking by and you spy a perfectly good looking piece of furniture or something on top, or you see someone walk out the back door of a store and dump new-looking merchandise into the trash bin. However, some people say that you can get “perfectly safe” food out of dumpsters. There are even web sites dedicated to dumpster diving that provide safety tips, hints on where the best dumpsters are, and even recipes.
Some people will occasionally stop to pick up money off of the ground. It is great when you happen to look down and see a shiny quarter, and I even found a twenty dollar bill once while I was on a ski trip. I must have looked down at just the right time and in just the right spot, though, because I do not always walk around with my head down scouring the ground for money. There are people that do just that, though, and I also read about someone who purposefully opens the car door every time they are at the drive-thru window to see if there is any change on the ground.
A third example of extreme penny pinching comes from the open road. I’m talking about road kill. While many of us might stop to assess the damage (to both our car and the animal) if we hit a deer, raccoon, or other animal while we are driving, some people would take it a step further and bring the unfortunate critter home for dinner. Depending upon where you live, you may have a right to pick up dinner on the way home but in some places it is not legal. Check with your local game warden for rules and safety tips before trying this cost-cutting measure, as citations for violating fish and wildlife regulations can be expensive.
What extreme penny pinching measures have you seen, heard of, or implemented?