One of my guilty pleasures is watching the show Extreme Cheapskates. I know that everything on the show isn’t real (quite a bit of it is fake from what I’ve heard), but I’m sure some people do go to crazy measures in order to save some money.
I’m not making fun of anyone who is an extreme cheapskate because I know I probably do some ridiculous things that people laugh at as well, but what is life if you don’t make fun of yourself occasionally?
On a side note: I do think that some circumstances can occasionally mean that being cheap is actually stealing, which I talked about in the post Frugality And Ethics – Are You Being Cheap, Frugal, or Stealing?
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Here are 8 ways to be an extreme cheapskate. If you are looking for extreme cheapskate tips, then here you go!
8 extreme cheapskates tips
1. Dumpster dive for free food.
I don’t know if this really needs any explaining, but dumpster diving is when you go around to various dumpsters (homes and stores), and dig around until you find yourself a treasure.
A few people on the show have made full meals for their guests all from dumpster food.
I know that some people dumpster dive and that you might be able to find some good things. However, dumpster diving isn’t for me.
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2. Dig through trash cans to find free refill cups and bags.
There was one episode where a husband took his wife to the movie theater. He then dug through the trash at the theater in order to find a cup and bag of popcorn so that he could get free refills while they were there. I think he cleaned both items, but this was too much for me.
We usually just skip the popcorn and drink when we go. I think it’s crazy that it often costs $20 just for those two things! However, I won’t eat with someone else’s garbage in order to save some money.
3. Go to the bathroom in a jar or bottle instead of using the toilet.
There was one episode where the woman had a working toilet, but wanted to save water. In order to save water, she had a jar next to her toilet that she would use the bathroom in.
There was another episode where a guy only flushed his toilet once a week. It didn’t matter what happened in his bathroom, he waited ONE ENTIRE week to flush it.
OH MY!
4. Take extra condiments from restaurants.
I have seen this several times. This is when a person takes things like ketchup and mustard packets from stores and uses them to squirt into their own bottles at home.
I think this sounds like a lot of time wasted, and it really crosses the theft line as I have heard of people taking hundreds of extras in order to have enough for themselves.
I don’t think we have any ketchup or mustard in our home since we never use any, so this is something I don’t really understand. However, if there is an extra buffalo sauce in the bag after I have fast food, I tend to just throw it in my fridge. However, I will not go out of my way to take it.
5. Bring your own food to a restaurant.
In one episode, someone brought their own food for the restaurant to cook for them. It wasn’t anything crazy as it was just white rice, but she did ask the waiter to heat it up for her.
While this sounds crazy, I have actually seen something similar to this happen in person.
6. Eat leftover food when at a restaurant.
This one kind of makes me sick. This is where a cheapskate will eat what is left on a stranger’s plate. They will wait until you are done and then will ask for whatever is left.
Just eat at home!
7. Eat roadkill.
I know that all food comes from somewhere, but driving around trying to find a dead animal just seems a little extreme to me. One family did use almost every single part of the dead animal they found though.
They ate the animal and I believe the mom made keychains for their guests as well.
8. Wear dead people’s clothing.
One woman on the show would often read obituaries in search of dead people who might have clothing that she liked. She would offer to clean the person’s home in exchange for some of their clothing.
This just seems crazy to me.
How to become an extreme cheapskate- summary
As you have learned from reading the above, there are many ways to become an extreme cheapskate.
From finding alternatives to toilet paper, reusing bathwater, cutting down on laundry, stretching your water bill, and lowering your entertainment spending, you can save some money.
Would you do any of the above and become an extreme cheapskate? Why or why not? What’s the cheapest thing you do?
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Wow, that is extreme! I wouldn’t feel comfortable doing any of those things. I like to save money but I draw the line at dumpster diving.
Haha agreed!
We would always take any extra sauce packets that we got from fast food and throw it into a small container in our pantry. After a couple of years, we had the entire basket filled up and it was mostly Taco Bell packets….and we don’t go to Taco Bell all that often. It just goes to show how wasteful they were being, so now we’ll actually ask for specific number of packets so as to avoid waste.
Yes, we always ask for a specific number now. That way we always get exactly what we need.
I must to say that I find weird but interesting and funny at same time this series, some suggestion could be good oher are terrible…savvy ok, some extreme cheapskates are too cheapskaters!!!
Haha I agree 🙂
That show seems so crazy to me. The producers contacted me about appearing but after watching a few episodes I knew I was not willing to do anything crazy enough to appear on the show. I’m all about being smart when it comes to spending money and there are plenty of things I do to save, but alot of the stuff I’ve seen on the show is downright embarrassing!!
Haha I think a lot of the things you see on the show is fake, but it does make for good TV 🙂
Yes, even if it’s fake — who wants to do those things just to be on TV? I wouldn’t compromise myself or reputation that way, LOL.
Haha I agree!
There are pivotal moments in life that will forever change who you are, either for the good of bad. I am not sure reading this post was a pivotal moment but it changed me. I learned something I did not know, and will forever be grossed out. I am certainly not opposed to reusing or re-purposing items, but why, really why would ppl eat a strangers leftovers (by choice)….got to the bathroom in a jar…by choice. Ok I am going back to work now, but……whhhhyyyyyyy…lol
Hahaha I’m glad you read this post Candis 🙂
We wear dead people’s clothes. People we knew though. Might as well put it to good use. My husband loves the cardegan my papa used to wear. I never even considered that this would weird people out! Glad I already call myself cheap.
I don’t think that’s weird. In the example I was talking about in the post, this woman would search obituaries and contact strangers about the dead people’s clothing.
Wow these are pretty crazy things! I couldn’t imagine doing any of these just to save a few bucks.
On that note, I have picked a couple of free side tables and a piece of art left next to a dumpster at my old apartment complex. I also keep condiment packages from restaurants if there are extras. I would never go out of my way to take more though!
When I lived in Kentucky, it wasn’t unheard of for people who hit a deer with their car to take the deer home for the meat. For some reason this isn’t as disgusting to me as actively seeking out something that’s been sitting on the road for who knows how long.
Haha thanks Jessica for reading!
A lot of these are flat out gross. Dumpster diving for food and wearing dead people’s clothes is kind of on the crazy side. I won’t even get into flushing the toilet just once a week.
Haha I agree Jason!
Ughh…the first three made me sick.
I agree!
Your examples are frugality to the extreme. That’s a little bit too much. I would never wear dead people’s clothes or eat food from the garbage. Gross!
They are cheap to the extreme 🙂
I don’t think #8 is that off, especially since people often look for Estate sales in that manner to buy antique furniture. I maybe wouldn’t offer to clean but i would look out for the possibility of an estate sale to find high end clothing and/or furniture which I would then pay money for.
Also, you forgot about taking hotel soaps, or at least grabbing extras from the cleaning cart. Unless the hotel I’m staying at has AMAZING brand name products (which is rare for me with the quality of hotels I stay at), I don’t use the free toiletries (outside of opening the soap to wash my hands). There are people I know who hoard all these little bottles, even though they have plenty at home already! Unless you’re grabbing them to donate to a homeless shelter, I don’t see why people take the toiletries.
I agree, #8 isn’t too bad, but I think bothering someone right when their loved one has passed away is just a little too much.
I honestly question how much people really do these things versus making them up to get on tv. I am all about frugal living and making smart choices, but I would never sacrifice personal hygiene to save a few bucks.
I know that some of the stuff on the show is fake, but I bet there are some people who do some of these scary things in real life!
I agree. There is a line between theft and being frugal and many of the above are stealing.
Wow! I’ve never heard of this show before. I’ll have to check it out, but these people certainly go to the extreme. I could never dumpster dive or eat other people’s food. I’m too much of a germaphone!
You should definitely watch it! It’s addicting 🙂
All of these ideas are way too extreme for me. I am unwilling to compromise on food like that. We have been known to keep extra containers of Whataburger ketchup in the fridge to use later. For those not from the south, y’all are totally missing out on the glory of Whataburger ketchup. Someone was finally brilliant enough to bottle it and sell at the grocery store now too! To die for!!
Haha that’s how I feel about some of the buffalo sauce I get from some of the restaurants around here. It can’t be beat so whenever they give me extras, I gladly save them! 🙂