Do you know anyone who
By Modestah
@Modestah (11179)
United States
May 1, 2008 11:59pm CST
...goes to great extremes to save a penny?
my beloved spends hours and hours each week collecting soda cans and then crushing them (by hand) in order to redeem them. After he collects a few thousand we take them to another city (about 50 mile round trip) and cash them in. It is nice to get the money, and to him it at least feels like free money - but for all the effort he puts into it, it does not seem free to me. Right now they are being redeemed at 70cents to 75 cents per pound depending on where we take them.
The last two drops we got close to $70 each. I make sure to do shopping that I can not do in our own area when we go - like the bread store and a discount food place and the healthfood store.
4 people like this
16 responses
@tigerdragon (4297)
• Philippines
2 May 08
in the philippines, where i am now, we also collect a few bottles, cans , paper scraps and PET bottles to sell but it ain't much . this is just enough for a few things for the day. if we want to have extra cash , we have lots of ways to do it here like we sell a lot of things without being taxed. we sell ice, ice candies, prepaid load for our cellphones, we buy and sell clothes, offer services. actually, the cost of living here is not that steep. if most of us are only wise spenders then life isn't that hard. we can commute anythime here. we look for work near our place so transportation hasles such as fares and traffic can be placed at a minimum.
@tigerdragon (4297)
• Philippines
3 May 08
these are plastic bottles used for bottled water and sodas. i can't say we are that frugal, let's just say , we are resourceful, in a way. we complain about the high cost of living but we still find a way to have a good time every week with friends and families. almost all filipinos have cellphones and would you believe, most of us have new cellphones at an average, every 3 mnonths. we sell the old one or trade it with a new one and we just add extra cash.i will share you something, we can sell a stick of cigerette, a piece of candy, a small sachet of shampoo, a few penny of cellphone minutes. and people sell it in the middle of the street , at times on the major thorough far. and we have this mini convenient stores called "sari-sari store" where we sell small affordable consumer products.mind you , these are not taxed and it is legal because there is nothing in the law books that says it is illegal.
@Angelwhispers (8978)
• United States
2 May 08
it is not free money look how long it takes to collect and that is hard work! i wish your recycling center was loser, the price of gas gouges what ever you have earned. We are all in that boat looking for alternatives to the high prices. I hit the day old bread section, cut coupons, look for coupons on the internet. We have to.
1 person likes this
@Modestah (11179)
• United States
2 May 08
right, about the gas - that is why we wait till there is around 100 pounds before taking them - and arrange it to go to those stores that are not in my area - so we save in that sense too.
The only thing is all the hard work he does to collect them and crush them. Boy, before he was crushing them we could never get 100 pounds in the van.
1 person likes this
@minnie_98214 (10557)
• United States
2 May 08
My grandma used to collect cans when she was around we hated it cause shes stop the car and make us go collect the cans everywhere we went. She also stole sugar ans salt packets so she never had to buy any she was funny.
1 person likes this
@happythoughts (4109)
• United States
2 May 08
The gas on that trip can eat into your earning for that really fast. We save cans and turn them in but it recycling plant is on my way to my grandmas house so I make the trip when I am on my way to see her so it isnt to much gas waisted since it was a trip Id make anyway.
Our bread store is as much as buying it at the grocer. I wish we had a cheap bread store around us.
@cher913 (25782)
• Canada
2 May 08
well i am like that to a certain extent. i only buy stuff when it is on sale (that includes snack foods and that sort of thing)...i never shop at the mall (mostly thrift stores) and sometimes walmart (i have gotten some really good deals there)
i pick up pennies on the street (i actually look for them while i am walking!) and i have been accused of being cheap too lol! we go to a butcher for our meat and to discount places for other food items as well...
1 person likes this
@scarlet_woman (23465)
• United States
2 May 08
i do in as far as fabric goes..old clothes become potholders,quilts etc..cans i used to do,but the
weight/drive/gas ratio wasn't equaling out no matter how i worked it.it was a bit better when i worked in housekeeping though-i brought home bags of cans in summer from the tourists,it was quite a bit extra here and there.
@MsTickle (25180)
• Australia
4 May 08
He goes to a lot of trouble, doesn't he? At least we get to sit at home to make our few bucks....lol. What's the cost of fuel for him to collect?
I do a few things to save energy and water, which we pay for. The twist is though that if we don't use enough water and generate the cost of servicing us then the rates go up. Weird, huh?
@callarse1 (4783)
• United States
3 May 08
We used to do that, but it's so much work. Actually I think our center gives more (like about $1.50/pound) because we had about 80 pounds that we saved for a year and got around $180 in money! It was nice, but it took forever to collect that many cans, it was messy, and it took up so much space. Now we just take it to the recycle center (no money) every week with all the recycled material...it's so much easier and we don't have to worry about crushing the cans and storing them. So, it depends on what you want to do. It sounds like your husband loves to get the money, plus it sounds like you do shopping when you go to the other city...so it's probably worth it for you all
Pablo
@sid556 (30960)
• United States
3 May 08
Actually, if he enjoys it and feels good about doing it , this is not a bad thing. He could be spending his time doing something that he earns no money at all on. Look at all the guys that play softball for example. $70.00 is 70.00 and now a days that is a lot to some people. I have a friend that collects cans from anyone who will save them and he does the same thing. He saved all his money from them in a separate bank account and bought himself a harley with them. He was guilt free because he was not taking from the household budget to get it.
@Modestah (11179)
• United States
3 May 08
fantastic! yes, I will not deprive him of this activity as it is harmless - and gives him a sense of accomplishment. with waiting till there is 100 pounds of cans - it is not so bad to pay the $15 in gas to go to the recy. center... especially because we are making other stops on that trip.
@Armstrong7886 (303)
• United States
11 May 08
We try to save as much money as we can weather it is using tons of coupons or just buying the cheapest possible thing. It makes you feel good when you see your receipt and how much you saved.
Also I used to help this guy collect cans and crush them to recycle for money. It is a lot of work. He doesn't do it anymore though because the place banned him because he would putting a little sand in each can before he crushed them, adding weight to it. He did that for years before they caught him though. Each can probably weighed a couple ounces more than they should ha ha.
@Ldyjarhead (10233)
• United States
3 May 08
I think I'm past the point of simply frugal.
If he enjoys picking up the cans and getting what he can for them, more power to him. I need the exercise so I'm thinking about doing it myself. I've done it in the past and there's no reason not to do it again.
It helps clean up the roads and hey, a penny is a penny. As long as it's worth the drive to cash them in, why not? I'll have to check and see what the going rate is around here.
@GreenMoo (11834)
•
9 May 08
I suppose my partner would tell you that I spend hours and hours on MyLot just to earn a penny! He's right I suppose! The money that I earn on here really doesn't warrant the time I spend earning it, when I could be doing something more profitable. But of course I enjoy it as well!
@saundyl (9783)
• Canada
9 May 08
I'm going to have to say I'm someone like that. I pick bottles/cans when i go for walks and save them up. I dont make a special trip to sell them i take them in on days i work in town.
I print or send out for coupons and freebies. (gotta love freestuff) I'm more apt to stay in and do things than i am to go out and do something that costs me money.
I love shopping at dollar stores and i try to carpool as often as i can.
@Elixiress (3878)
•
10 May 08
I am planning on starting to collect pennies physically, putting them in a jar and waiting until I have a pound and then cash them in. I agree with you it is not exactly free money and when you think about it the money he spends on gas to get out of town is it really worth it. I think it is a good way to make $70 dollars though. I wish there was such a thing near where I live.
@Hatley (163781)
• Garden Grove, California
2 May 08
I knew of an elderly friend well really more of just an acquaintance who was too frugal. the man would spend hours seperating two ply toilet tissue into two rolls lol thats
just plain nuts. we used to do the can bit then figuered'
out we were spending more on gas than we made on the cans and gave up on that one. I do try to use store brands versus
well known brands where its feasible and that saves a lot]
specially on thing like paper towels and toilet tissue.I
also use less prepared foods than I used to as it saves
money and just tastes better also.
@b1jah2 (31)
• United States
3 May 08
I am a coffee drinker, that is the first thing I need when I wake up! But, when you think about how much you can spend on coffee, it can be ridiculous. So, I make sure to fill only at those gas stations where they offer free coffee with a fill up. I also take advantage of McDonald's free coffee days, and I try to muster as much of the coffee at work as possible!
One of my friends just told me a story about a man she knows (he is way beyond being frugal). He finds online coupons and will photoshop the expiration date! I blame him for stores no longer accepting online coupons!!
