This
is a guest post from David Bakke. David is always looking for ways to
save money and live frugally. He shares his tips and strategies on Money Crashers Personal Finance.
During
my journey to escape $30,000 worth of personal debt, I wore my
frugality like a badge of honor. I had no problem bragging to people
about all the ways I saved money, regardless of their quizzical
reactions. I was on a mission, and I achieved my financial goals as a
result.
Once I became financially fit, I
thought I was a
frugal guru. Oh, how wrong I was. Since then, I’ve uncovered a number of
new, even strange, ways to save money. I’ve now gone to the extreme
with my money-saving efforts. Here are five of the odd methods I’ve
implemented to save some extra money each month.
1. Bring garbage to work
When I moved into my current home, I found that garbage pickup would
cost me $300 per year, so I decided to go a different route. I recycle
all paper, plastic, and glass, and I compost a lot of my organic waste
to be used in my backyard garden. Whatever is left gets tied up in a bag
and goes off to work with me each morning. I deposit it into the
Dumpster behind my office, and voila – $300 in annual savings. Just be
sure you get permission from your employer to do this (at least, if they
pay the bill) or find out who owns or rents the Dumpster and ask them
if it’s okay.
2. Put bricks in the toilet Due to some
upcoming infrastructure improvements in my city’s water system, water
bills are expected to as much as triple in the near future. So to cut
down on my expenses, I put a few bricks (wrapped in plastic bags to
prevent clay from entering my plumbing) in my toilet tank. This
displaces water in my tank, and I use less each time I flush. This
doesn’t save a ton of money, but it can add up significantly over time –
plus, it’s more environmentally friendly.
3. Recycle shower water in the garden
I shower with a strategically placed five-gallon bucket, which catches a
lot of the water I use. I then use this to water my flower garden.
Again, this won’t save you millions, but every little bit counts.
4. Use coupons on (first) dates I’m a divorced single father, and I finally got fed up with wasting money on first dates that never went anywhere. Too many women on online dating sites
are out for a free dinner and that’s it. Therefore, I use a coupon on
any first date I go on whenever I can scrounge one up. For the ladies
who react negatively to this practice, oh well. The way I see it, I
wouldn’t want them for a long-term partner anyway if they can’t
understand the value of a coupon.
5. Return almost all gifts
Most of my friends and family know that I prefer gift cards as gifts,
but some still insist on buying me actual items. As an avid Internet
reseller, I’m pretty good at finding the cheapest price on just about
anything, so I usually return most gifts I receive and repurchase them
at a cheaper price. So actually, I
make money on the gift and
still get to keep an identical item. For those gift-givers who don’t
include a gift receipt, I figure out where the item was purchased and
can usually get store credit or sneak a return through.
Final thoughts
Look, no one is going to save money for you. Your friends won’t and
your family won’t. Therefore, this job is completely up to you. You can
go the extreme route like I do, or start slow, but the important thing
is to start saving money today.
What odd things do you do to save money?

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