As a blogger about frugal living, I’ve pretty much heard it all. Frugal people are so creative, and they can find so many ways to save some money. It is a challenge to come up with great new ideas. But sometime, I confess that I have to shake my head a bit. I hope that I don’t offend anyone, but there are some frugal ideas that simply don’t make sense to me.
For example, I was recently reading an account of couple who got by when they were newly married and poor by saving all of the ketchup packets and the mayo packets and the sugar packets from fast food places and restaurants. When they got home, they would empty the packets into their own bottles.
Now, I am not opposed to using up condiment packets that just happen to get included with my order and squeezing them over a sandwich made at home, rather than tossing the packets, but to purposely collect them seems a bit strange to me. A better way to save money (and even more money at that) is to avoid eating out altogether and either eat at home or bring meals from home. A five-pound bag of sugar costs much less than one meal out.
Another crazy way to save money that makes no sense to me is to intentionally starve oneself all day or skip meals to save money. Chances are that you will probably be so hungry at the end of the day, that you will eat your self silly. Beside endangering your health, you probably aren’t saving any more than simply using inexpensive ingredients in your meals (beans are cheap) and buying them in generic forms. Eating beans and rice three times a week may not be ideal, but it is better than not eating at all!
Have you ever heard of a frugal practice that just doesn’t make sense to you? Tell us about it on our Facebook page.
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