I was watching television with my boyfriend last night, and he put on a show that we both had never heard of. The show was on TLC and called “Extreme Cheapskates.” I’ve watched lots of shows about personal finance, but this one, this one took it to a whole new level. I am still recovering from the shock.
The show was a documentary style, which followed around several people who were, at the title claims, extreme cheapskates. I will recap some of the most shocking things I witnessed during the hour this show was on.
Cheapskate # 1 :
- Went into restaurants, asked for ketchup packets, and then filled up his entire ketchup bottle with them.
- He went dumpster diving to find his wife a present for their 25th anniversary (Got some half rotting flowers and an unused tea kettle). He also bought her animal crackers, a bottle of water, and a weird toy for $1.
- They would go out to eat to pretty sketchy looking restaurants (probably a very cheap price for him to bother) and ASK OTHER CUSTOMERS FOR THEIR LEFTOVERS. Their plates would be in front of them, and if there was any food left he would go over to their table and ask for them.
- Gathered the rice thrown at weddings to cook at a later time. One grain at a time, off of the ground.
This guy by far bothered us the most. BF said, “Noooo” in disbelief about 7 times in the first 10 minutes. To fill up the bottle with ketchup packets would take at least 50 packets I’d think, when to buy no-name ketchup is just a few dollars. And lord have mercy on the man who gives me rotting flowers and animal crackers for our 25th wedding anniversary. The leftovers was quite disturbing. I would not even know how to react if someone asked me for my leftovers at a restaurant. And the best part was he made a promise to the wife he would not ask anyone on their anniversary date, and he STILL could not help himself. The rice thing is just ridiculous.
Cheapskate # 2 :
- Did “no shopping weeks”.
- Rode around town on his bike using a measuring tape to check cracks around payphones for change; went into restaurants and snuck into booths to stick his hand down the chair cracks to find change.
- Used the $7.50 found change to buy GOAT’S HEADS to have for dinner.
This family started off more normal, with the idea of not buying anything for a week. However, when I saw the lengths this man went to to get money to buy “meat” for the week, it was ridiculous. It took him hours to find just $7.50 in change, and instead of buying even a $1 burger, or some other sort of cheap meat, he chooses to buy goat’s heads. His wife chose to eat a vegetarian dinner, while we were subjected to watching him eat the goats tongue and eyeball. Yikes !
Cheapskate # 3 :
- This woman has a family with two small children.
- To cut back on toilet paper costs, they use re-useable toilet paper.
- She buys all canned/dried food at a warehouse that holds only expired food.
The reusable toilet paper. Basically, she sews cloth pads and when you go to the washroom, you take a clean cloth, then put it into the “dirty bin” when you are done. I for one, would not want to smell that bathroom. And I would definitely not be the one washing the poo-cloth bin. The family does a babysitting co-op, so they take a bunch of extra children one Saturday of the month, and get the other 3 Saturdays babysat for free by the other families. When it came to get dinner, she bought cheese that was expired by 6 months and pizza sauce that was 3 years old. Granted, it MAY have still been okay, but that’s a big chance to take, especially when you are feeding children.
This show made me feel like such an amateur when it comes to saving money. Although I find their ways pretty extreme, it seems to work for them and everyone on the show seemed pretty happy.
Watch this clip of the show for even more crazy cheapskate action!!
What is the craziest thing you do to save money?
