What are your OTHER frugal secrets?

I had a friend that was a terrible tipper. Everyone knew it so we always had to put extra money in the tip to cover her lousy tip.

Here’s a satisfying tip, continuing from R600 of previous thread.

My bro in law is also Irish and always fights over a restaurant check, even if I initiated the dinner invite by saying that I’m taking them out at my expense. Anyway, he will argue over the bill. He wants to pay for it. I hate arguing, and I give it two tries to pay. After that, I sometimes will just say, “Well if you insist on paying, thanks.” I’m sure he hates that, but it’s his own fault.

I had another Irish friend who felt that was being “polite”. Is that a custom among the Irish? Arguing like that over a restaurant check? I hate conflict, theater, and that it’s contrived machismo, or whatever. I wish people could just graciously say “thank you”.

Anyway, this can save you the price of dinner, and some time and aggravation, to just give in to demands to pay.

I've always thought of it as a straight couples thing, r2, taking turns paying for dinner.

I used to go out with a group that reminded me of R1 and R2.

Unlike R2, this group had two people who would never reach for the check. They would literally just sit there quietly as long as they could, until someone else picked up the check. We tested once how long they could go sitting there, and it reached a half hour before the check was finally brought up.

These two people also had a similar issue to R1. One would not contribute toward a tip and the other would not calculate tax into their share of the bill, when they were forced to pay for their meals.

Yes, R3, but I think they lose track of whose turn it is to pay, or have other reasons to demand to pay. But be mindful, it’s just theater, and out in the open. When it comes to tipping, that isn’t public, they aren’t necessarily generous, or even normal.

Here are some very valuable tips for anyone who uses AirBNB, Homeaway, VRBO, etc.

1. Always try to get the owner off the web portal site so you don't pay their outrageous fees. To do this, write your email address without the @ symbol, and separate the words. $10 for a one night stay is fine, but since it is 10-12% it can add up to hundreds for a longer stay. To avoid getting ripped off by a fake listing, choose one that has a lot of reviews.

2. Read the reviews carefully. Often this can help you avoid a bad place. Learn to read between the lines.

3. Never send any money without getting a signed agreement. Do not send money via Western Union; only by wire transfer and only to an account with the name of the owner.

4. Do not pay more than $250/€200 deposit and make it contingent in the contract that you will get it back when you hand over the keys. And if there is any funny business at the end - no deposit, no keys. Stay calm and polite but stick to your guns.

5. Make a checklist of all relevant things to ask the owner, because photos can be very deceptive. Eg, how many m2 is the apartment or house? How many stairs? Is there a lift? Are the owner's clothes etc stored in the apartment? Always ask for the physical address so you can see it on Google Streetview.

This should have been titled Cheap Whores Thread Part 2

^But you got here quickly enough as it was.

I once would occasionally eat out with a large, very mixed group. The cash for the bill always was short, but there were always a couple of guys who couldn’t really afford it, so I had mixed feelings about covering their bill.

If it was me with no money, I’d have skipped the dinner, or arranged to borrow money from someone else there, before eating.

There was a guy back in college who would tag along with a group of us going out and when the bill came would announce he didn't bring any money so someone would have to spot him and he'd pay them after. I guess his strategy was that the person would forget but if they ever did ask for the money, he'd argue with them that he paid them back already.

Reminds me of what some of the bitches on the last thread would proudly claim they do.

Besides reading reviews carefully, i would never do what R6 suggests. I like booking on a platform in case problems come up. And NEVER wire transfer money -- when you use paypal or whatever, you can challenge charges on the credit card, but if there's a money dispute and you wired it, tough titties. And wire transfer out of the country is expensive. I never pay a deposit, and skip right over any listings that require it. And the last thing, I wouldn't even be looking at a sloppy listing that couldn't describe the property correctly and use clear pics. Happy travels!

Yeah, the problem with R6 is that if you book outside of the site, you're pretty much screwed if they fuck you over. You have no recourse.

I have booked away from Abnb but only with people who I've successfully transacted with prior.

One tip that is worth a try when using ABNB is to contact the renter and ask if they'll discount the rate if you're staying a week or so. I've done that. Some people will also try to negotiate a lower rate if the place isn't rented out a day or two before when they want. A lot of hosts say they hate when people try to negotiate the price, but I say everyone is free to ask and you're free to say no.

Can we stop with the Airbnb and tipping stories? I wanna hear how you tretch your dollars through month!

You're welcome to skip those posts, R13. It's not like those posts are preventing others from posting or clogging up the thread.

OTOH, r14, you could start an Airbnb thread for those who care.

Again, it's not like Airbnb posts are taking up so much space from an overly active thread. Just skip them if you don't want to read them.

To save money when you're low on cash and you don't want to starve, do the following. Get a 5-10 bag of potatoes, 1-2 big bags of family size frozen vegetables, and 2 pounds of dried split peas or lentils. You can make soup out of some potatoes, vegetables, and split peas/ lentils, add some sautéed onions and vegetable stock if desired and season to taste. It can last a week because soup gets you full. If you eat meat you can add some leftover chicken or other meats when you heat individual portions of the soup. You'll even have some potatoes that you won't end up using, so you can create more potatoes dishes. Soup was my go-to meal when I was a poor college student living off campus except instead of meat I had egg dishes on the side.

R17 reminds me of this:

Eww R18 hot dogs in soup? Potatoes are filling and actually quite nutritious full of minerals so it's a good base for poor-as-fuck meals.

Use newspapers to clean glass. If you can find newspapers. This was a Depression era thing, but some people think it is better than using paper towels.

Can we please cut military spending by 20%? That would save a lot of money.

R19 it wasn't a soup. It was more like a hash.

[quote] Again, it's not like Airbnb posts are taking up so much space

But there's AN ENTIRE FUCKING DIFFERENT THREAD THAT EXISTS SPECIFICALLY FOR THAT SHIT. If you're still insisting on sharing it here, you're just being a cunt.

In case anyone missed it, the frugal travel thread, created days ago

Get over it, R23, and stop trying to play hall monitor. Skip the damn posts you don't want to read.

And this was the original travel thread created.

Let's talk coupons and savings apps

I have one of those grocery store savings cards. I use it, but I hate it because you are giving up your privacy. Years ago I read an article about a woman using one of those cards. They deduced, correctly, that she was newly pregnant by what she way buying.

R28 they're doing the same thing if you're charging your groceries to your credit card.

One way around the Grocery Store tracking you is to open a card under a different name.

R20

Who gets the deadtree edition of the newspaper anymore? The more frugal option is to cancel your newspaper subscription.

Newspapers also suck at cleaning because sometimes the ink comes off onto the glass.

I imagine that people who are frugal and clip coupons still get the newspaper, R30.

Using newspaper to clean glass was not really about frugality and more about effectiveness. It is easier and faster than using rags, etc.

And no, the newsprint does not come off onto the glass.

(I would not use newspaper to clean anything else though.)

At the supermarkets I go to I needed to show ID and proof of address to get a store card for sale items. I've never had them intrude on me or target anything to me in the over 20 years I've had the cards. I have one from Shoprite and one from Foodtown and used to have one from Pathmark before they went out of business. I also have a card from Staples. No problems.

R33, if it matters to you, you can get a new card, at least for Shoprite, online, without having to show an ID or proof of address.

Good to know. Thanks R 34.

The company that sells you your insurance products -- home, auto, life, liability -- should be price checked every three years.

It's a pain in the ass trying to keep the coverage quotes apples-to-apples, but it can save you a lot of money. Remember -- a cheaper rate may just mean crummier coverage.

There is no reward for being brand loyal for decades. Your friendly insurance agent can smile and say he "I tried" when your claim is denied by the adjuster hired by the "home office."

My parents learned this the hard way when they filed a claim after a bad hurricane and their insurance agent who went to their church turned out to be worthless in the whole claims process.

Recommendations for price checking, R36?

Your insurance agent can't get involved between you and the insurance company R36.

The agent is really just a sales person. It's important to review the contract carefully and ask the home office any questions you might have. I'm not saying that all agents are fraudsters or anything - most are very good, and all are bound by rules and regulations, but they might not understand the particulars you might need from a policy.

Their job is to be Joe (or Jane) Social, jolly everyone up, and create that feeling of "I don't have to worry about it, Joe worries about it for me." And with all due respect to agents, I don't think that blind faith is exactly a good look in this day and age.

I have a $2 million umbrella policy that will pay for a defense lawyer in some cases. But it won’t pay for damages if we lose. Does anyone have a policy that pays for damages? If so, what seller? Ty.

I've never heard of a supermarket or store that asks for ID when signing up for discount cards.

My roommate has like 5 CVS cards. Sometimes are limits on weekly deals so he got a couple of cards so he could buy more to stock up. Nobody cares, as long as you buy their shit.

I have a CVS card with a fake name but I'd always forget to carry it so then they'd ask for the telephone number. I had used the number for the old time/temperature recording. The clerk would look it up and say, "we have ten customers listed with that phone number". Lol

[quote]I had used the number for the old time/temperature recording. The clerk would look it up and say, "we have ten customers listed with that phone number".

For quite a while, I resisted getting the Safeway card because I didn't like the idea of having every purchase tracked. One cashier said, "Oh, just make up a name. Lots of people do. I've seen a Felix D. Katt recently and there's a Minnie Mouse who comes through here every now and then. Nobody stops them."

Eventually, I broke down and got the damned card. I'm not positive, but I think they did require ID at that time.

Stores have gotten better about sending useful discounts to card holders. Safeway sends electronic coupons on items I buy routinely and the discount is applied automatically when I log in at the checkout. I don't mind the tracking now that it equals real $ savings.

[quote]Felix D. Katt

I love this. It makes me want to apply for a new card somewhere.

CHEAP WHORES REJOICE!

CBS Sunday Morning will have their annual money segment this Sunday, and it will include places to buy cheap remainders and returns at 40 percent off or more.

Thanks r46!

They will, of course, omit any ideas about how to watch CBS streaming shows for free.

Rinsing our condoms and using them again. Rinsing off dental floss and using it to cut cheese.

R20 I don't buy newspaper I use my neighborhood freebie paper. Another alternative is to ask the library for any discarded newspapers.

This might not strike anyone as a frugal secret, but it is for me... I spend a lot of time in Italy, and in the large city flea markets, ie, Florence and Rome, there are a lot of stalls selling new, high-quality, often designer Italian clothes, shoes and accessories, which most likely fell off the back of a truck. Cashmere items are a great buy. However, anything you buy there must be put in the freezer for 24 hr as a precaution against moths etc.

R51 " ...fell off the back of a truck."

Sure, like the Italian wine that fell of a truck and right into Tony Soprano's trunk.

R36 is exactly right. You get no rewards for loyalty at most insurers. I just shopped mine and saved close to 20% by switching. Of course, you do need to make sure coverages are similar. And yes, it is a pain in the ass. But you can also go to a broker.