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Food from the trash heap, showers in clothes: how the most greedy people in the world save money
Some are even ready to remove their own teeth in order to save an extra couple of thousand.
My colleague at one time, having decided to buy a new car without loans and borrowings, walked every day to the office for a whole year – 10 km one way, and managed only free meals at work. Another friend paid off her mortgage in three years, mastering the art of artistic darning and switching to homemade food.
There is nothing shameful in the fact that when you leave the room, you turn off the light, and when you come to the store, you do not buy unnecessary goods “for the promotion”. But among the “economists” there are real extremals, to whom they even devote shows on TV.
Toilet paper from a public toilet
Keith Hashimoto, a New York-based chartered accountant, spends about $ 200 a month.
Expenditure item: taxes and utilities. The girl gets everything else from life for free, since the apartment is in her property. Toiletries and hygiene items – pads, tampons, stick deodorants, dental floss, contact lens solution – these are gifts and samples from sales sites. It is enough to fill in all the required forms.
Toilet paper? No, I have not heard. And why, if there is water and soap. You can also wipe yourself with a paper towel taken from a public toilet. “I wash my hands thoroughly so I can keep the towel for myself. Paper towels are not disposable at all. Why throw it away, especially if it’s free? ” – says Kate.
Kate does not disdain scraps from someone else’s table. Previously, it took $ 20-25 a week for food – about 900 rubles at the then exchange rate. “Colossal money,” she decided, and now she eats only what she found in … garbage cans.
She selects food carefully: in sealed packaging, without traces of mold or rot. Sometimes, Keith argues, there are real delicacies. For a dinner party she invited a longtime boyfriend and girlfriend to, Kate found a package of chicken and asparagus and two more side dishes. Products expire on the day of search, but that’s not a problem. At least for her.
“Many people think that once food has expired, it has become poisonous. As a rule, this is not the case, ”the woman is sure. But the guests almost vomited from such a treat.
Vicki Smith from Idaho, as well as her husband and five children, do not disdain even carrion. From time to time, the whole family goes on a “hunt” in their minivan, carefully examining the roadside along the way. The fox’s body did not suit them. But the woman considered a rabbit that ended its life under the wheels of a car a few hours ago as a suitable find. And what, “the skin is good, the paws are not damaged.”
Vicki made wallets from fur – “a great gift for Christmas”, and made a barbecue from meat with a side dish of flowers collected right there, on the sidelines. “I work as a butcher, so if I find something suitable, I will cook and eat it without any problems, if the meat has not deteriorated,” says her husband.
Medicines for a pregnant woman from a garbage can
Angel Der from Texas – third generation curmudgeon. This is what her mother did, this is what her grandmother did. So she has some experience. But in garbage cans she is not looking for food, but … medicines and vitamins for pregnant women. And the expiration date does not bother her. But in 8 months of pregnancy, she saved $ 350.
But it is not customary to save on children. The average American family only on the equipment of the nursery – wallpapers with unicorns, a crib, a canopy, lockers, etc. – spends about 5-6 thousand dollars from the family budget. But Angel and her boyfriend found everything they needed for the baby, of course, in the trash. Yes, the expectant mother thoroughly disinfected everything. But even her own parent, who herself loves to rummage in garbage cans, was shocked. The walls of the baby’s room resemble the scenery from some psychedelic thriller. After all, the painting went … 42 samples of paint, which Angel begged in stores for free, saving on it another 126 dollars. So we got some kind of “Malevich’s squares” in color and not always of the correct shape.
Melody Rose she became a curmudgeon out of excitement: once she and her husband decided to check how much they could save during the week. Yes, they got so into the taste that they have not been able to stop for several years. However, you will not surprise anyone with water procedures, when a family is washing in the same water one by one. As well as using newspapers instead of toilet paper – this “life hack” is well known to most Russians born before the collapse of the USSR. But in one way Melody seems to have outdone herself. In any case, she talks about this with a mixture of horror and delight.
“The most extreme in terms of saving on medical costs was the decision to remove my teeth myself. If a small hole appears, I take a chisel, a hammer and hit the tooth a little until it falls out, ” the woman admitted. – It happens that I hit too hard, I even lose consciousness. But then I finish what I started anyway. “
Mark Parisi from Las Vegas not only saves on medicine, he makes money on it. Over the past six years, the man has participated in hundreds of different medical studies. The more risky the experiment, the more they promise to pay. Mark was even ready to part with one of the testicles, having put an implant in its place. After all, 35 thousand dollars are not lying on the road. But low testosterone levels let down. Not a problem: on the other hand, he underwent a medical examination for free, while others pay $ 750 for a similar one.
But Mark still prefers to buy food in stores. True, he spends about $ 60 a month on it, often choosing expired goods. Shoes are taken from shoe shops – people often forget them there or leave them specially for people like Mark. He also picks up small change wherever possible. During the year, he accumulates about $ 800, which he spends in slot machines.
Shower and wash in one go
Not only medicine, but also utilities cost a pretty penny. Greg from Cincinnati unscrewed the light bulb in the refrigerator: $ 40 savings per year. Another $ 15 a month brings a shower in your clothes. No need to spend money on powder, conditioner, soap. “When I wash, I put a bucket under the shower head,” the man shares his know-how. At the end of the week, he pours this water down the toilet, draining any accumulated waste. And that’s another $ 30 a month. Instead of toilet paper, he uses newspapers, instead of hand towels, too.
Victoria Hunt from Columbus she does not use the bathroom at all, she has it “with a needle, on the seams – not a speck”, and takes a shower in the gym. Victoria loves to play sports and goes to the “rocking chair” every day. He does not go to the toilet for minor needs, but into a bottle of juice, and pours the contents into a compost heap in the yard.
But the water bill was immediately reduced by ten. But okay herself, she and her boyfriend, with whom she decided to move in, made her to relieve a small need for glass containers! “If you don’t want to go to mine, let’s get you a separate one,” Victoria persuaded her fiancé. The man, of course, was shocked. But love works wonders, and now he too has become an adept of economy.