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Saving old newspapers to sell them to recyclers, sometimes as part of a "paper drive" for charity.
Selling old cloth and rags to recyclers (or giving to the "rag man" who sells them)
Turning shirt collars on old shirts, darning socks, turning torn long-sleeve shirts to short sleeve, turning torn long pants to shorts, etc
Patching torn knees and worn crotches of pants, and keep wearing them
Buying children's clothing way oversized to grow into, and wearing them until way too small
Saving elastic from old pantyhose and underwear to use elsewhere
Saving buttons in a button jar for use on other clothes
Every piece of clothing and cloth is re-used or a hand-me down (sheets became pillowcases, socks became pocket liners, old jeans became patches, etc) to the point they became used as cleaning rags, and eventually to the rag man
Re-using plastic bread bags for schools lunches multiple times
Closing off part of the house in the winter to save heating costs
Hanging clothes to dry in the basement during winter (no clothes dryer)
Drinking powdered milk, or mixing real milk with powdered milk to make it last longer
Re-soling everyday shoes, and/or using inserts or cardboard inside show if there was a hole in them
Wear 2 pairs of pants, and put newspapers under you jacket, to keep warm in winter (instead of new warmer clothes)
Growing and canning any and every type of food you can grow in your own yard
Painting and fixing yourself the rust holes, scratches, and dents in your old car
Walk and/or take the bus (functionally obsolete in much of the country by necessity or choice)
I agree with you that most of the things you list here are not obsolete save one:
Hanging clothes out to dry in the open air.
Clothes actually smell better when you do that (even if you use scented detergents and dryer sheets), but the hardware for doing so, which was once quite common even in suburban developments, is no longer part of the package offered to homebuyers in new subdivisions. Washers and dryers are considered part of the standard appliance package. I suspect that if you asked a builder to install a clothesline in your backyard, you'd get funny looks.
My husband put a retractable line on the back of our house. We hooked the end up to a fence post.
Saving old newspapers to sell them to recyclers, sometimes as part of a "paper drive" for charity.
Selling old cloth and rags to recyclers (or giving to the "rag man" who sells them)
Turning shirt collars on old shirts, darning socks, turning torn long-sleeve shirts to short sleeve, turning torn long pants to shorts, etc
Patching torn knees and worn crotches of pants, and keep wearing them
Buying children's clothing way oversized to grow into, and wearing them until way too small
Saving elastic from old pantyhose and underwear to use elsewhere
Saving buttons in a button jar for use on other clothes
Every piece of clothing and cloth is re-used or a hand-me down (sheets became pillowcases, socks became pocket liners, old jeans became patches, etc) to the point they became used as cleaning rags, and eventually to the rag man
Re-using plastic bread bags for schools lunches multiple times
Closing off part of the house in the winter to save heating costs
Hanging clothes to dry in the basement during winter (no clothes dryer)
Drinking powdered milk, or mixing real milk with powdered milk to make it last longer
Re-soling everyday shoes, and/or using inserts or cardboard inside show if there was a hole in them
Wear 2 pairs of pants, and put newspapers under you jacket, to keep warm in winter (instead of new warmer clothes)
Growing and canning any and every type of food you can grow in your own yard
Painting and fixing yourself the rust holes, scratches, and dents in your old car
Walk and/or take the bus (functionally obsolete in much of the country by necessity or choice)
We could do something to make that last an option for more people again. (It's not only frugal but it's also healthier.) But it would require some changes in the way we think about (and regulate) our built environment.
I was a poor cheap kid growing up so I found lots of ways to get by without money. Lying and stealing helped a lot.
Calling the operator from a pay phone and telling her I tried calling someone and got a busy signal but the dime wasn't returned. She would then ask what number I dialed and call it for me.
The same with vending machines. We would wait around a gas station watching a bunch of people buying sodas from a machine and then tell the guy who was working in there that the machine didn't give us a soda after we put the money in. He was usually too busy to count how many sodas and coins were in there so he just opened the machine up and gave us sodas.
I once got a coupon from Burger chef that allowed me a free game at the nearest bowling alley. I purposely avoided throwing strikes so I could bowl more, not only that, but I got a good pair of durable shoes for only 35 cents. I didn't care if they said Brunswick size 8 on the heels.
I used to cut Christmas and birthday cards in half, throw away the half that people wrote on, and mail out the front half, sort of like a post-card. I would also check the postage stamps on all my mail and re-use any stamps the post-office forgot to cross out.
Years ago when I cancelled cable, I watched the guy disconnect it and when he left I used my ladder and went up the telephone pole and connected everybody's back up. I had free cable for 2 years.
Under my kitchen sink I have a bucket full of soap bars that got too small to wash my hands with and am planning on melting them down to make bigger bars. It sure smells good under the sink.
I used to call those 1-800 numbers on the back of snack packages and complain about the snack. A lot of times they would mail me a free snack or a coupon for one.
Saw a lot of free movies as a kid, sneaking thru the exit doors or hiding in the trunk.
There were a lot more but i don't want to confess too much.
Upthread someone mentioned hand-loading and re-loading ammunition. I do this more to get specific loads that are not commonly on the shelf at my favorite discount store, Bi-Mart. Now 12 gauge target and light field loads, with the cost of components now, I can't save much money, while ironically the little .410 costs more per round factory loaded and I can save some coin loading them.
Centerfire handgun, I can cast my own bullets from various lead alloys, and save a good bit of money over factory ammo, particularly factory ammo featuring a jacketed bullet.
Centerfire rifle, yeah, I can save some money and I can load my own cast bullet for next to nothing. In the 30-30 for example you can obtain full performance with a cast bullet of the right alloy. In the 30-06 you can get close to full performance in the heavier bullet weights. .220 Swift, yeah, I'm closer to 2200 than 4000 FPS, but still good plinking ammo. And it's been a while since I saw any factory .220 Swift ammo on the shelf.
I was a poor cheap kid growing up so I found lots of ways to get by without money. Lying and stealing helped a lot.
Calling the operator from a pay phone and telling her I tried calling someone and got a busy signal but the dime wasn't returned. She would then ask what number I dialed and call it for me.
The same with vending machines. We would wait around a gas station watching a bunch of people buying sodas from a machine and then tell the guy who was working in there that the machine didn't give us a soda after we put the money in. He was usually too busy to count how many sodas and coins were in there so he just opened the machine up and gave us sodas.
I once got a coupon from Burger chef that allowed me a free game at the nearest bowling alley. I purposely avoided throwing strikes so I could bowl more, not only that, but I got a good pair of durable shoes for only 35 cents. I didn't care if they said Brunswick size 8 on the heels.
I used to cut Christmas and birthday cards in half, throw away the half that people wrote on, and mail out the front half, sort of like a post-card. I would also check the postage stamps on all my mail and re-use any stamps the post-office forgot to cross out.
Years ago when I cancelled cable, I watched the guy disconnect it and when he left I used my ladder and went up the telephone pole and connected everybody's back up. I had free cable for 2 years.
Under my kitchen sink I have a bucket full of soap bars that got too small to wash my hands with and am planning on melting them down to make bigger bars. It sure smells good under the sink.
I used to call those 1-800 numbers on the back of snack packages and complain about the snack. A lot of times they would mail me a free snack or a coupon for one.
Saw a lot of free movies as a kid, sneaking thru the exit doors or hiding in the trunk.
There were a lot more but i don't want to confess too much.
A lot of this I would consider dishonest and being a grifter, not being frugal.
I recall when my home state enacted a bottle and can bill. Stores hated it (they were required to be collection sites, initially earning 1 cent per item they took in/passed to the recyclers) but the litter along roads and highways significantly reduced in a hurry.
Employees hated it too. I worked at an IGA store in High School, and hated when I had to do "bottle duty". We had to sort them out by vendor (eg no Pepsi bottles in Coke containers, etc). The bottles were always sticky and a pain to deal with.
Employees hated it too. I worked at an IGA store in High School, and hated when I had to do "bottle duty". We had to sort them out by vendor (eg no Pepsi bottles in Coke containers, etc). The bottles were always sticky and a pain to deal with.
My grandparents did the same thing for road trips that your parents did, but by the time they started taking road trips cross-state — first just to see St. Louis, then to see relatives who moved to an Illinois-side suburb — the Interstates were in place, and the rest areas on those were better than the "roadside parks" with picnic tables and no facilities on the primary state highways.
I don't know what Missouri's Interstate rest areas look like now, but I suspect they're even better equipped than the ones in the 1970s.
Well, I AM pushing 80.....without having to reach out very far......
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